Wednesday, October 26, 2011

BALLOONS & JESUS

                                                                
One year ago today John and Lucille Everett, [http://blog.catholiclove.com/] and click on 2010 for their posts, experienced the immense pain and confusion of parents who suffer the earthly death of a child as that child is taken up into the eternal embrace, the everlasting communion of love, with the Most Holy Trinity.
John is my adopted son and thus in marriage Lucille is equally the child of my heart and so it was right that John called me just before two in the morning that fateful day and the Angels sure worked hard as the Everett family live in the next city over from this one, yet I made the trip as if somehow transported – of course by that I mean no red lights at intersections, for example.
It was a long and exhausting day especially for John and Lucille and for their other three children.
Their firstborn, a daughter, was just old enough to truly understand her little brother Dominic had just been born into heaven, but likewise she would not get to hold him here on earth.
Their third child, a son, was too young to grasp what had happened.
Their middle child, also a son, busied himself playing in the snow and did not say much, but I could tell he was feeling and sharing the pain of his parents.
I was granted a great grace of awareness of Dominic’s presence that day and every day since and each morning confidently ask his intercession for his family here on earth.
Yesterday, his brother the middle child, taught me a tremendous lesson about faith, about the tenderness of Jesus, about the Communion of Saints and reality of the gift of life, and yes about Jesus and balloons.
I can do no better than simply relate the dialogue without comment:
Grandson: “Papere we sent a yellow balloon up to heaven for Dominic to play with. He is with Jesus.”
Granddad: “Good for you. I know Jesus will play with the balloon too.”
Grandson: “Yeah. He likes Dominic. It is good for Jesus to have company.”