Dust

As this is the beginning of Holy Week, these are the last Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy; and both go hand in hand. The first being to Bury the Dead, and the second being to Pray for the Living and the Dead. "Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return."

It's pretty remarkable how this Lenten exercise opened my eyes. Each week, I saw a bit more how God was calling me to serve those around me. And the crazy part was that each week He gave me extra opportunities catered to the specific Work of Mercy that I was highlighting. When I wrote about bearing wrongs patiently, I had a LOT of opportunities for patience come my way; both for myself and for others. When I was working on Feeding the Hungry, or Giving Drink to the Thirsty, the people who prepared meals at shelters approached me and asked if I wanted to help.

Jesus has also provided me with wonderful examples on how to Bury the Dead, and Pray for the Living and the Dead throughout the last couple weeks. Death is hard. It hurts differently than anything else. It stabs and aches, it comes in waves, and each person handles it differently. I recently went to a memorial service for a woman who lived such a beautiful life. She loved God and her neighbor so well during her life. This memorial was truly a celebration, an opportunity to see the people she touched during her lifetime.

Writing that sympathy card was hard for me. It seemed that her death was such a joyous occasion, I didn't know what to say! What I really wanted to write was "CONGRATULATIONS!" because all I felt was joy when I contemplated her life, and I had full confidence that she was with God in Heaven. She was enjoying the bliss of His presence for eternity! ... Such a countercultural way of looking at death...

Now, God has given me a new circumstance to contemplate. One a bit closer to home, and a child. Initially this brought me pain, and still it comes in waves. I heard the despair from those I love, and I felt it too. But God calls the little ones to Himself. The Kingdom of Heaven belongs to them.

So now, although it is not what I want, I can't help but feel peace with it. Thy Will be done. Do I actually mean those words when I say them?... We say it in the Our Father all the time, but what I think we say is: Thy Will be done (as long as it's what I will) on Earth as it is in Heaven... When we don't agree with what God has planned, we kick and scream, we curse Him, and we leave. It's difficult understanding the crosses He allows for us, let alone picking them up.

“How lovingly Jesus embraces the wood which is to bring him to death! Is it not true that as soon as you cease to be afraid of the Cross, of what people call the cross, when you set your will to accept the Will of God, then you find happiness, and all your worries, all your sufferings, physical or moral, pass away? Truly the Cross of Jesus is gentle and lovable. There, sorrows cease to count; there is only the joy of knowing that we are co-redeemers with Him.”

Finding joy in suffering has never been easy for me. Very rarely have I experienced the happiness that is described above. So I brought that to prayer... and Jesus showed me a room. We were both there in this room, and it became clear to me that this was the room where He did His carpentry. Instead of working on tables and chairs together, He brought me to His work table and I saw two beams...we were building my cross. Together.

Each of us has a burden to bear, a cross that is as unique as our own fingerprint. I learned that day in prayer that Christ wants to be a part of that. Not just by walking with us through our trials, or carrying our cross for us at the really hard parts, He wants that too! But by creating the very cross that will sanctify us, WITH us.

Have you ever looked back at a trial and seen exactly why it was necessary for you at that point in your life? Without that, you wouldn’t be where you are now? Have the relationships you do now? Be as close to Our Lord as you are now? ... that was what led me to understanding suffering a little better. By taking part in it, finding joy and peace amidst it, I am allowing God to sanctify me in some way. I am dying to myself and what I want and choosing His Will for me. I get to partake in the creation of my cross. I get to participate in what could make me a saint.

Corporal Work of Mercy: Bury the Dead.

• Pray for the soul of a loved one who has died.

• Next time you drive by a cemetery instead of holding your breath. Say this prayer: Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let the perpetual light shine upon them. And may the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

• Make a meal for a grieving family.

• If you can sing, sing with the funeral choir for funeral masses. Offer that mass and your time for the soul of the dead as well as for their grieving family.

• Send a card to a grieving family.

Spiritual Work of Mercy: Pray For the Living and the Dead.

• Visit a cemetery and pray for those who have died.

• Offer a Mass for a loved one.

• Ask a friend how you can pray for them (and actually follow through!)

• Offer a mass for those grieving the loss of someone they love.