10-21-25

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
October 21, 2025
Some folks who attended the memorial service on Saturday asked me about the opening words of my homily. I shared how I believe grief is love trying to find its bearings after loss. Grief is love trying to locate itself after being turned upside down by an event that has shaken one to the core. People can experience the ache of loss even when love wasn’t present. Some of this can stem from simply being empathetic. However, I firmly believe that grief does not happen without love first existing. Even when it feels as if love shared has vanished, it doesn’t mean love has ceased to exist. Of course, since I believe love is eternal because God is love, we can trust that even in the deepest grief, God’s love will persist, bringing us back to a new and steady normalcy. The loss will never be forgotten, and the upheaval experienced will forever be etched upon us. Yet I have walked alongside people who, at one point in their grief, could not imagine how they’d ever move forward, but through the love of God, they found a way.

Thank you for your love that will forever be present to me, even when it feels as if I have lost everything that has mattered to me. Thank you for allowing your love to help me find some steadiness and hope. Thank you! Amen.