Dear Friends,
We begin this letter by reminding you that at The Spirit of Life, the time for our liturgy changes with the seasonal changing of the clock. Beginning this Sunday, Nov. 4th the time for our liturgy will change to 4:00PM,
until the clock changes again in the spring, Sunday, March 10th, when we will return to our 5:00PM time. This Sunday, we invite you to bring a photo of your loved ones who have died to share on our Altar of Remembrance.
This week we celebrates the Festival of All Saint & All Souls, as a community we at The Spirit of Life are remembering in a special way one of our own “Saints”, Paul Lynch, on the 1st anniversary of his death. Paul was one of those “bigger than life” figures….a large man with an even larger spirit. We’ve selected a reading by John O’Donohue for this Sunday’s liturgy, and one line especially speaks to me as I think of Paul and other dear ones in my life who have died: “You would want us to find you in presence…” Often I have the experience of those I’ve loved who have died ‘popping’ into my mind as I notice a glorious sunset as I drive home on the Mass Pike, or watch as a tree in our yard turns from green to brilliant red, or am captivated by the stars shining on a dark night at the ocean. In these and moments like them I’m reminded of our “communion of saints” and trust that their “presence” is one that can be felt and embraced as we live with the reality of loss in our lives. We hope that you find this reading one that breathes life into a loss that you might be carrying.
On the Death of the Beloved
Though we need to weep your loss,
You dwell in that safe place in our hearts,
Where no storm or might or pain can reach you.
Your love was like the dawn
Brightening over our lives
Awakening beneath the dark
A further adventure of color.
The sound of your voice
Found for us
A new music
That brightened everything.
Whatever you enfolded in your gaze
Quickened in the joy of its being;
You placed smiles like flowers
On the altar of the heart.
Your mind always sparkled
With wonder at things.
Though your days here were brief,
Your spirit was live, awake, complete.
We look towards each other no longer
From the old distance of our names;
Now you dwell inside the rhythm of breath,
As close to us as we are to ourselves.
Let us not look for you only in memory,
Where we would grow lonely without you.
You would want us to find you in presence,
Beside us when beauty brightens,
When kindness glows
And music echoes eternal tones.
May you continue to inspire us:
To enter each day with a generous heart.
To serve the call of courage and love
Until we see your beautiful face again
In that land where there is no more separation,
Where all tears will be wiped from our mind,
And where we will never lose you again.
-- John O’Donohue (adapted)
At The Spirit of Life, we are intentional about following the call of the Spirit in our lives, by deepening our understanding of what it means to be humans who are truly led by the Holy Spirit. We invite you to come and walk with us in prayer and action at The Spirit of Life. Through our time of prayer and sharing together, we work together to grow in our self-understanding and in our relationships with God and with God’s people. We celebrate the gift of our faith and the responsibility that is ours as followers of Jesus Christ. It is our prayer that what we as a community experience in our praying together will overflow into the rest of our lives, making us more fully human and more ‘whole’….holy! We invite you to join us in this endeavor and journey with us as we seek to grow in our love of God and to grow in our capacity to be living expressions of God’s loving peace and justice in our world.
Blessings of peace and presence,
Jean & Ron