Sunday, October 26, 2008

quae sunt Dei Deo

Last Sunday's Gospel reading, from the Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 22, brings one of the timeless sayings of Jesus:"Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God." Today, giving to God "what belongs to God" comes back to mind under unhappy circumstance.

This past week, my younger sister's 6 month-old son, my godson, returned to God. God had blessed our lives with John Paul, with his smile, with his laugh, and yet after so short a time we have to give him back to God. A sudden and fatal illness claimed him, and has left us all in grief.



It is with heavy hearts that we return this precious gift back to the Giver. And yet while we grieve the loss, we do give thanks to God, even for the shortest of His blessings. We trust that in this time of sadness God will give us comfort, and through our sorrows, more fully prepare us for the perfect joy of Heaven.