A year of storms and darkness

I'd like to take this opportunity to address the reality of suffering, death, hardship, and grief.

So far this year has been filled with more than it's share of those things for me. I founded a fire department honor guard and color guard about 5 years ago, so I get called periodically to to perform at funerals and memorial services for fallen firefighters. The year started with the line of duty death of a firefighter from Ocean Shores. His brother also happens to be a firefighter in my local group so my honor guard was part of his memorial service. I even got to do a reading at the memorial. Then a longtime local firefighter who worked for the Federal Fire Department on the Navy base and used to volunteer at the department where I work, died from a cancer caused by exposure to work related contaminates. My honor guard provided services at his memorial also. And again, I did a reading. Just two weeks ago we provided a color guard for a firefighter in Port Angeles who died in a plane wreck off duty. The first two guys both had young children and the third had just put in his retirement papers.

A former co-worker just died unexpectedly two weeks ago and was found by his teenage son. A family member's Mom is very ill with Cancer and appears to be near her time to pass from this life and enter in to eternal glory with Christ our Savior. And distressingly, my good friend and brother firefighter's 14 month old daughter was just diagnosed with stage 4 liver cancer and began aggressive chemotherapy over the weekend.

It gives me pause and causes me to reflect on end of life issues, suffering, the pertinance of faith and so on...

I like this prayer from the book "Arise from Darkness" written by Fr. Benedict Groeschel. Fr. Groeschel is a Dr. of Psychologly as well as being a Fransiscan Monk and was a close colaberater of Mother Teresa of Calcutta and her missionary activities in New York.

The following is the prayer written at the end of Chapter 6: When Death Robs Us

O Holy Spirit, enlighten my mind that death may not be my enemy, that I may not fear it in an unseemly way for a Christian, that I may not run from death, so that when death comes and takes those dear to me, I may welcome their release from this valley of tears although I am myself deeply moved and even deprived by their departure from this world. Let me know that death reminds each of us of the infinite reality of life with you. Let me see all things in the perspective of death and everlasting life. And let me not be filled with grief either at the anticipation of my own death or the experience of the death of those dear to me. Rather, strengthen my faith, that in the midst of this changing world I may always come closer to you, who never change and who await me and those dear to me together with the Father and the Son in life everlasting. Amen.