Novena for the Faithful Departed

Marquette University High School Three Holy Companions Chapel

In my previous post on Achieving Graciousness I wrote about the Tenorio family who had lost their patriarch and yet still found the strength to attend Sunday morning Mass the day after his death, and more than that, some of the children in the family continued to fulfill their liturgical obligations while in their state of shock and grief.  Since that Sunday morning I learned so much about their Filipino culture and faith and have become even more impressed than I had already been.

Filipino's are traditionally devout Catholics and the Tenorio's are no exception.  Angelito Tenorio passed away on Saturday, January 26th  from what was believed to be a heart attack at the young age of 59.  By mid-week, my son Jack (who is a classmate of Anbel, the youngest child in the Tenorio family who had been understandably absent from class all week) came home from school and told us that the family had been holding a nightly prayer service at 6:30 PM each night in their home and everyone was invited to come and pray with them.  We had thought that perhaps Jack meant that the prayer service was just for immediate family members, but Jack said that some of his classmates had been going and assured us that anyone was welcome to join them.  We later learned that another custom associated with the novena prayer service is that the invitations all come about by word of mouth-no formal invitations to prayer are distributed.

Our Lady of Fatima

So on Friday night my children and I paid a visit to the Tenorio household for the prayer service and found the house to be bursting at the seams with people including many of Jack's classmates and their families.  I shouldn't have been surprised by the crowd, though, because the Tenorio family are such kind and loving people to everyone they meet that it is only logical that they would have many friends who would feel called to pray and grieve with them.  The prayer service was actually part of a Filipino tradition that called for a novena of prayers for the Faithful Departed.  A large statue of Our Lady of Fatima, a crucifix, candles and flowers were set up where everyone gathered to pray.  Prayer sheets were distributed to everyone as they arrived.  We began with the rosary and then followed along with the prayer sheets. Following the prayer service, a hearty buffet was served and everyone enjoyed a lovely time.  I was profoundly moved to realize that every night for the nine days following Angelito's death the same scene unfolded in the Tenorio home.  I find it challenging enough to host a large dinner at my home for special occasions once or twice a year, but the idea of hosting such a big event for nine consecutive nights while in a state of grief greatly impresses me.

The final novena prayer was held on Sunday, and instead of being held in the Tenorio home, arrangements were made to pray in the Chapel at Marquette University High School where the oldest Tenorio son graduated and two of the other boys are currently enrolled.  After the novena prayers, a special Sunday Mass in Angelito's honor was concelebrated by three priests with easily two hundred people in attendance.  The High School choir sang for the Mass which was followed by yet another feast in the school cafeteria.

The entire Tenorio family was extremely gracious and kind throughout this time of grieving.  They were thankful for all of the people who took time to join them in their grief and to pay their respects to their beloved deceased relative.  I am deeply indebted to Belinda Tenorio who was able to carry on this beautiful tradition of prayer and respect for her deceased husband with the greatest of strength, dignity and charity.  I learned a lot from her about prayer, hospitality and love for family by observing her composure in deep grief.

This traditional novena prayer is such a lovely way to honor the dead. The funeral for Angelito has been planned for next week Saturday to allow family members who live in the Philippines enough travel time to attend, so joining in the Novena for the Faithful Departed was a beautiful way to hold Angelito in prayer while waiting for his final commendation to God. Would you pray for Angelito, too?

Some of the prayers from the novena are below:

  LITANY FOR THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED

Leader: Lord, have mercy on us.
All: Lord, have mercy on us.
Leader: Christ, have mercy on us.
All: Christ, have mercy on us.
Leader: Lord, have mercy on us.
All: Lord, have mercy on us.
Leader: Christ, hear us.
All: Christ, graciously hear us.

Leader: God, the Father of heaven.
Response (All): Have mercy on the soul of__________________
Leader: God the Son, Redeemer of the world.
God, the Holy Spirit. Holy Trinity One God.
Leader: Holy Mary.

Response (All): PRAY FOR THE SOULS OF THE
FAITHFUL DEPARTED
 Leader: Holy Mother of God.
 Holy virgin of virgins
St. Michael and all archangels and angels
St. John the Baptist
St. Joseph
Sts. Peter and Paul
All Apostles and Evangelists
St. Stephen and all martyrs
St. Gregory
St. Ambrose
St. Augustine
St. Benedict
St. Jerome
All holy bishops, confessors and doctors of the Church
All holy monks and hermits
St. Magdalene
St. Barbara

Leader: From all evil.
Response (All): 0 LORD, DELIVER THEM.
Leader: From your wrath
From the rigor of your justice
From the power of the devil
From the gnawing worn of conscience
From long enduring sorrow
From eternal flames
From horrible darkness
From dreadful weeping and wailing
Through you most cruel death
Through your most holy wounds
Through your holy resurrection
Through the coming of the Holy Spirit
In the Day of Judgment

Leader: You who have the keys of heaven
Response (All): WE BESEECH YOU, HEAR US, 0 LORD
 Leader: You would be pleased to deliver the souls of our
relatives and friends from the pains of hell
You who would be pleased to grant them all the
pardon and remission of all their sins
You who would be pleased to fulfill all their
desires
You who would be pleased to receive them into the
company of the blessed
Leader: Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the
world.
All: Grant Unto them eternal rest.
Leader: Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the
world.
All: Grant unto them eternal rest.
Leader: Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the
world.
All: Grant unto them eternal rest.

CONCLUDING PRAYER
Leader: Merciful Father, hear our prayers and console us.  As we renew our faith in your Son, whom you
raised from the dead, strengthen our hope that our dear departed will share in Christ’s resurrection, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.
All: AMEN.

Leader: Eternal rest grant unto 0 Lord.
All: And let your perpetual light shine upon him/her.
Leader: May he/she rest in peace.
All: Amen.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Prayer for the Deceased

Loving Father, we place our loved ones in your hands, we trust in you that they will be raised to life one day and will live forever with Christ, as you have promised to all those who die in Christ.  We thank you for all your blessings, and for all you have done in your Fatherly care for our loved ones and for us.  Father, hear our prayer and welcome our loved one into paradise with you and all saints.  Help us as we comfort one another in faith that one day, we will all meet together again in Christ.  We ask this through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Prayer for Mourners

O God and Father of consolation, your merciful love toward us in unbounded, take our darkness and turn it into light of new life.  Have compassion on us in our sorrow, and be our refuge and strength, lift us from darkness of grief by the healing of your peace and light.  Jesus, your son died for us on the cross, and then rose from the dead, restoring life for all of us. Help us to go forward in life to meet Him, so that after our own life on earth is ended, we may join our loved ones, where every tear will be wiped away.  We ask this through Christ our Lord.  Amen.
 
Eternal rest grant unto Angelito, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.  May the soul of Angelito Tenorio and the souls of all of the faithful departed rest in peace.  Amen.

Achieving Graciousness

"Trials are medicines which our gracious and wise physician prescribes because we need them; and he proportions the frequency and weight of them to what the case requires."  ~John Newton

After coping with several unusually stressful situations beginning last summer and culminating near the end of the year, I found that I could no longer hold my head reasonably high and carry on  with a smile on my face but was, instead, caving to despair.  Unlike Job, when tested, I resorted to tears and anger instead of faithfully trusting in the Lord's providence and love for me.  I could not make myself say "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord."  I was feeling pretty ugly.  I was acting even uglier.  I could not seem to summon up hope, trust or faith.  Prayer was practically non-existent.  The Holy Spirit must have been working overtime in my soul, praying for me along with my beautiful family and friends who are always so generous in prayer.

"The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love."  ~Psalm 145:8

And then, through the example of several people who were graciously suffering through their own trials,  God showed me that it was not so much hope, trust or faith that I lacked, but rather it was graciousness that was in short supply in my disposition.

"To bear defeat with dignity, to accept criticism with poise, to receive honors with humility-these are marks of maturity and graciousness."  ~William Arthur Ward

The first example that God showed me was the beautiful witness of Ed and Lisa Slattery, the parents of four sons who have been coping with Ed's cancer diagnosis with bravery and joy.  This past Friday, some of their friends and family members hosted a fish fry benefit for the Slattery's that was attended by what seemed to be more than 1000 people who love and admire the family and wanted to help them.  Events like that cannot be successful for people who are stingy in the virtue of graciousness.  It was easy to see that Ed and Lisa abound in graciousness and it is returned to them in abundance.  You can read about Ed and Lisa's story of graciousness through suffering here in my previous post and here at the Milwaukee Catholic Herald.

"Gracious words are like honey, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones."  ~Proverbs 16:24

The next example of graciousness came through the words of a child.  My daughter Mary plays sixth grade basketball.  After years of watching my four sons play, I am often struck by how vicious girls seem to play compared to boys.  In their efforts to steal the ball away from their opponent, girls do an excessive amount of grabbing, clawing, scratching and elbowing.  It's often as painful to watch as it must be to play.  In one of her most recent games, a girl on the opposing team was knocked down to the ground and sat there in pain, crying loudly as she held her shoulder.  It was thought that she might have dislocated the limb and she sat on the bench with an ice pack for the remainder of the game.  At the end of the hard-fought competition, my daughter's team lost the game.  And the girl who was injured walked over to my daughter and simply said, "Your team plays very well."  What a lovely example of gracious behavior!

"Now when Jesus had come into Peter’s house, He saw his wife’s mother lying sick with a fever. So He touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose and served them."  ~Matthew 8:14-17

Finally, last weekend when my family and I attended Mass, I was deeply affected to see a friend who was sitting in front of me sobbing uncontrollably.  Several people, including the pastor, came to offer her words of comfort and prayer before Mass.  Two of her four children were participating in the liturgy, her thirteen-year-old daughter in the choir and her sixteen-year-old son assisting the little ones at the Children's Liturgy of the Word.  My friend was surrounded by family members who were holding her and crying with her.  It wasn't until the Prayer of the Faithful that I understood what was wrong.  At the prayer for those who have recently died, her husband's name was included.  After Mass, as many parishioners gathered around her to embrace her and offer condolences, she shared the fact that her husband had died the day before and they were all in a state of shock as his death was quite sudden and unexpected.  I couldn't help but be overcome by the graciousness of a family in grief, coming to Mass and worshiping with their parish, continuing in their acts of liturgical service, allowing those who love them to accompany them in their grief.  I thought of Peter's mother-in-law, who, once she was touched by Christ, continued in service to others despite her recent illness.  Joining with communal worship despite deep sorrow is gracious indeed.

"Realize that when you get older, you either get senile or become gracious.  There's no in-between.  You become senile when you think the world short-changed you, or everybody wakes up to screw you.  You become gracious when you realize that you have something the world needs, and people are happy to see you when you come into the room."  ~Carlos Santana

I am grateful for these examples of graciousness in difficulty and I pray that God will continue to convert my heart to graciousness so that like the Slattery family, the girl on the basketball team and the family in grief, I may always choose to be gracious to others, freely sharing my gifts and thereby reflecting my Christian faith and love for others despite any pain that may come my way.  After being witness to these examples of graciousness, I found that I could once again lean upon God in prayer, I could summon up the hope, trust and faith that I thought I lacked, and I learned that I, too, can be an example of graciousness for others.  The world is a beautiful place, full of blessings and the wonders of God. When we choose to focus on the good within life instead of the negative we can all become examples of His goodness and His graciousness to those around us. 

"The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace." -Numbers 6:24-26

I Won't Give Up

I had thought of my parish as a sanctuary where I could flee from the problems of life.  I had hoped to find comfort and solace in that environment.  Instead I found the cross.

I wanted to shake the dust from my sandals, thinking that I needed to break free from a big part of who I am; I wanted to leave my parish where my family and I have been members for 20 years.  It's the only parish my children have ever known.   I was filled with frustration and anger and resentment and hurt and I wanted out. Things were said that didn't sit well with me and I thought that the only answer to my anger and hurt was to leave and start over fresh somewhere new, someplace where I wouldn't have to face any difficulties over differences from the way I believe, from the way that I thought everyone should believe.  I wanted to belong to a church where everyone believed and spoke just like me.  The thought of leaving felt like a divorce or a death.  My husband and children and I were grieving and we really didn't want to leave.  But I was stubborn and leaving was the only solution, in my opinion. We began to visit other parishes and schools to find someplace new to call home.  It seemed so strange to be in this position because so often in the past I was the one begging others to stay and I was the one mourning over the loss of friends who have left the parish.

As we started to sever the ties by trying to disentangle ourselves from the various ministries and activities to which we were deeply involved, others reached out to us.  We heard from parish staff and parish members who asked us not to leave.  We heard words of love and understanding as well as offers of assistance to face our concerns.  One of my dearest and longest friends said, "I'm praying for you.  I'm not praying so that you stay at the parish; I'm praying so that you will be happy wherever you are."  It felt so good to know that we are loved unconditionally and that if we would leave we would be missed.  I learned that life at a parish is so much more than just the ideologies of a few but instead it's about the love of the many.  A parish is a home and its members are a family no matter how different we all may be.  But learning to get along with others involves some pain-it involves the cross.

As with all things in life, I gave my worry to God, asking Him to show us His will in this matter. And He spoke through my husband who decided that a meeting with our pastor was in order.  So we made an appointment and shared our concerns and he listened in love.  And he told us that everyone is important in a parish and that our differences are what makes a parish rich.  He reminded us of how dull life would be if everyone were the same.  He said that every piece of a puzzle needs to be in place to make a complete picture and he agreed to address the concerns that had hurt my heart.  And his words satisfied us.

So we are staying at our home parish where we belong, where we sit by side with our fellow Catholics at whatever stage of belief we happen to be in and we pray to our One God with whom we are all deeply in love.

I had thought of my parish as a sanctuary where I could flee from the problems of life.  I had hoped to find comfort and solace in that environment.  Instead I found the cross-which is just as it should be.

 Every once in a while a song touches me where no words on their own, without music, can. I Won't Give Up by Jason Mraz speaks so eloquently to the importance of holding on, of persevering in loving others, no matter how difficult life can become. These words in particular spoke to me as I prayed through this situation:
 
I don't wanna be someone who walks away so easily
I'm here to stay and make the difference that I can make
Our differences they do a lot to teach us how to use
The tools and gifts we got yeah, we got a lot at stake
And in the end, you're still my friend at least we did intend
For us to work we didn't break, we didn't burn
We had to learn how to bend without the world caving in
I had to learn what I've got, and what I'm not
And who I am


I won't give up on us
Even if the skies get rough
I'm giving you all my love
I'm still looking up
Still looking up.


I won't give up on us (no I'm not giving up)
God knows I'm tough enough (I am tough, I am loved)
We've got a lot to learn (we're alive, we are loved)
God knows we're worth it (and we're worth it)

You can listen to the entire song at this link.

Everything is Holy Now

Yesterday I noticed ten yellow finches on the side of the road that prompted me to think of God, but those finches also reminded me of someone else, a little girl who passed away three years ago. Today I found out that this would have been her birthday. God's timing is impeccable. Please pray for her mother, Andrea, who continues to grieve the loss of her precious daughter. From the June 2009 archives....


I’m amazed when I realize how the Holy Spirit uses people to bring about good in this world. I am even more amazed when I realize that the Holy Spirit uses me to console others. I feel so small and little, how can I be of any use to anyone, I wonder? And then He shows me that all I have to do is something small and little, and that’s enough.

I recently learned about a song from the Unitarian Church called “Everything is Holy Now”. The song focuses on how God can be found everywhere, in everything. I liked that idea and ever since I heard about it, I have been doing my best to see God everywhere and in everything.

I am an occasional runner. Last year, while running past a local park, I noticed two yellow birds flying together, in obvious joy, near a glade of evergreen trees. I felt God’s presence in those birds and ran home to write a poem about it. It wasn’t much of a poem, nothing that I thought I would ever share with anyone, but it became a prayer for me whenever I ran past those trees, to thank God with the words “Everything is Holy Now”.

Then one day, I noticed a road-side memorial set up by that glade of trees, the kind that commemorates the death of someone at that location. While watching the local news, I learned that a six-year-old girl, Mackenzie, was hit by a car and died at that very spot. I struggled to see what could possibly be holy in the death of a young girl.

A few days later at morning Mass, Fr. Dave announced that he was presiding at Mackenzie's funeral. He said that he was praying to the Holy Spirit to help him find the right words to say.

After Mass, I asked Fr. Dave why he would find it so hard to find the words to say at the funeral, after all, hasn’t he presided at thousands of funerals? He answered, with tears in his eyes, that funerals for children are rare. So I told him about my poem. I said it wasn’t much, but maybe he would find it to be helpful and he said he would like to see it. I e-mailed my poem to him, and later during that same day, he wrote back saying that Mackenzie's mother, Andrea, liked the poem and they decided to use it to begin the eulogy homily.

God used me and my simple little poem, to bring a bit of healing and comfort to a grieving family. Isn't it amazing, that there are times when we are compelled to do something without understanding why we need to do it, and after we follow through, we realize that our compulsion had nothing to do with us, but everything to do with God's will for us?

It's the power of the Spirit…

It has been one year today since Mackenzie died. The roadside memorial is still standing, often refreshed by loving and grieving family members. I continue to thank God with the prayer “Everything is Holy Now” whenever I run past the memorial, because I believe that Mackenzie is in heaven and it is she who is holy now.

I ask God to comfort all of the parents who grieve the loss of their children, I ask Him to cradle all of the sweet babies that have gone to heaven too early in His gentle arms, and I ask him to continue to help us all to find the holiness in life, even when it is difficult.

Yellow Birds

At the edge of the park, there is a beautiful glade of evergreen trees.
The ground around them is covered with wildflowers and tall grasses.

I watch in joy and wonder as two bright yellow birds
dance and flutter among the flowers.

I am filled with a delightful awe
at the quiet beauty that you have
blessed this world with, Lord.

A prayer comes to my mind and heart-
“Everything is Holy Now.”

May the soul of Mackenzie and all of the souls of the faithful departed,through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Anointing

Although the words “I love you” were rarely shared between my Dad and I, I will never forget the time when love was shared between us most poignantly.

It was three years ago today, when I received the call at work that Dad was in the hospital and wasn’t expected to live much longer. I immediately began to shake all over. As my sisters and I drove together to Manitowoc to be with him, and on that 1-1/2 hour long drive, we shared our pleasant memories of Dad and tried to keep ourselves calm. In our nervousness about what state we might find Dad to be in when we arrived, we often fell into fits of laughter about silly topics like our hair. As inappropriate as that sounds, it did help to diffuse the stress that we were feeling on that long car ride.

When we arrived at the hospital, we found the rest of the family waiting in the hallway outside Dad’s room. The hospital staff was giving Dad some kind of treatment that was causing him horrific pain. He cried out, loudly. Not one of my siblings or I could hold our emotions in check while hearing him in such pain, and we all broke down and cried.

When we were finally allowed to enter the room, we found Dad to be resting, obviously exhausted. Cindy went to him and told him the names of all of his children who were in the room with him. She said, “We’re all here Dad, and we love you.” He nodded and said, “I love you, too.” It was such a relief to hear those seldom spoken words from him. Then, as he drifted off to sleep, Diann prayed “The Three Beautiful Prayers for a Dying Person” from the Pieta Prayer Book.

I stood next to him, holding his hand, and although he appeared to be sleeping, I could feel that he was squeezing my hand. I took that squeeze to mean that he was grateful that I was there and the he loved me. In the Holy Longing, Ronald Rolheiser states that “any one of us who visits a sick or dying person, regardless of how inadequate and stuttering our actual words might be, anoints that person, just as a priest does in the sacrament of the sick. To touch a sick persons hand, or to speak words of affection or consolation to a dying person does what the woman named Mary did at Bethany for Jesus…anoints them for their impending death.”

I am so grateful that my brothers and sisters and I were able to be with Dad during his last days on earth and that we were each able to anoint him in our own way with our presence.

I know it wasn’t easy for Mom and Dad to raise nine wild children and bring us all around to a somewhat normal adulthood. But, their faith was strong and they passed that on to all of us. We each have embraced our faith in God in our own way and this embrace of faith allowed us to embrace our father with love and anointing before he returned to God and his wife in heaven, for his final, everlasting embrace.

The Power of the Spirit

One year ago today, a six-year-old girl, Mackenzie Maddox and her mother, Andrea, were hit by a car while crossing the street. Mackenzie did not survive. Her family continues to grieve,deeply. Although I have never met this family, I too, grieve with them...



I’m amazed when I realize how the Holy Spirit uses people to bring about good in this world. I am even more amazed when I realize that the Holy Spirit uses me to console others. I feel so small and little, how can I be of any use to anyone, I wonder? And then He shows me that all I have to do is something small and little, and that’s enough.

I learned about a song from the Unitarian Church called “Everything is Holy Now”. It was about how God can be found everywhere, in everything. I liked that idea and ever since I heard about it, I have been doing my best to see God everywhere, in everything.

I am an occasional runner. Last year, while running past a local park, I noticed two yellow birds flying together, in obvious joy, near a glade of evergreen trees. I felt God’s presence in those birds and ran home to write a poem about it. It wasn’t much of a poem, nothing that I thought I would ever share with anyone, but it became a prayer for me whenever I ran past those trees, to thank God with the words “Everything is Holy Now”.

Then one day, I noticed a road-side memorial set up by that glade of trees, the kind that commemorates the death of someone at that location. While watching the local news, I learned that a six-year-old girl, Mackenzie, was hit by a car and died at that very spot. I struggled to see what could possibly be holy in the death of a young girl.

A few days later, at morning Mass, Fr. Dave announced that he was presiding at Mackenzie's funeral. He said that he was praying to the Holy Spirit to help him find the right words to say.

After Mass, I asked Fr. Dave why he would find it so hard to find the words to say at the funeral, after all, hasn’t he presided at thousands of funerals? He answered, with tears in his eyes, that funerals for children are rare. So, I told him about my poem. I said it wasn’t much, but maybe he would find it to be helpful and he said he would like to see it. I e-mailed my poem to him, and later during that same day, he wrote back saying that Mackenzie's mother, Andrea, liked the poem and they decided to use it to begin the eulogy homily.

God used me and my simple little poem, to bring a bit of healing and comfort to a grieving family. Isn't it amazing, that there are times when we are compelled to do something without understanding why we need to do it, and after we follow through, we realize that our compulsion had nothing to do with us, but everything to do with God's will for us?

The power of the Spirit…

It has been one year today since Mackenzie died. The roadside memorial is still standing, often refreshed by loving and grieving family members. I continue to thank God with the prayer “Everything is Holy Now” whenever I run past the memorial, because I believe that Mackenzie is in heaven and it is she who is holy now.

I ask God to comfort all of the parents who grieve the loss of their children, I ask Him to cradle all of the sweet babies that have gone to heaven too early in His gentle arms, and I ask him to continue to help us all to find the holiness in life, even when it is difficult.


Yellow Birds

At the edge of the park, there is a beautiful glade of evergreen trees.
The ground around them is covered with wildflowers and tall grasses.

I watch in joy and wonder as two bright yellow birds
dance and flutter among the flowers.

I am filled with a delightful awe
at the quiet beauty that you have
blessed this world with, Lord.

A prayer comes to my mind and heart-
“Everything is Holy Now.”


May the soul of Mackenzie and all of the souls of the faithful departed,through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Robins Nest-Final Visit

"This is the meaning of the cross: God is heartbroken love."

Fr. Robert Barron, Heaven in Stone and Glass

Do you ever feel like a failure? Do you ever despair because your best just wasn't good enough? I'm sure our mother robin feels this way.

Her last baby bird died today. It happened so quickly. One minute, his beak was open, hungry for worms, the next minute, he fell backwards with no life remaining. The mother removed the baby from the nest, and she has not returned. How could she? She has lost 4 babies in 4 days! She knows the meaning of the cross, she is suffering heartbroken love.

Any human mother would be overcome with grief to lose her children, why should a bird be any different? Even my own children are overcome with grief for the loss of this bird family who visited our home for such a short time.

The robin and her babies are a reminder to us of how fleeting life really is. We should never take anyone or anything for granted. All of life is a gift from God, even the parts of life that hurt.

Thank you God for the spring, for birds, for life. You have given it all to us through your gracious and generous heart and we give it all back to you. We give you our joys and sorrows, our successes and failures, our births and our deaths. It is all a part of your great plan. Like the birds, we can't understand it. We can only accept it and continue to do our best. We can only join you in your heartbroken love. Amen.