To anyone who has had an infant perish

Nothing replaces that loss: I know, absolutely nothing does. However, trust in God and know two things. One is that your infant, no matter the circumstances, did not die alone, for that is what his or her guardian angel does, accompany the baby's soul and providing spiritual comfort in the soul's return to God. Second, again, no matter the circumstances, the infant has no experience of pain or loss in heaven and only boundless joy in God's company. Infants are totally wrapped up in God's presence, and the angels, which is so overpowering that any pain or suffering is simply not in existence in heaven.

All I can say to comfort you-and it is a great comfort, the solace of believers throughout the centuries-is that if you heed God you will follow their path and be united again with your infants, when your own life on earth is complete.

When Jesus explained that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as them (the infants and little children) he did not mean only the obvious point, that heaven is for those who are innocent and pure like children. Jesus is also saying that the only thing one can be assured of is that innocent children have the first claim on heaven. Thus, understand, that Jesus is implying that young children who go to heaven show the way to the adults left behind. It is all the more reason to not despair or to be angry (besides righteous anger at crime or neglect, which of course is reasonable) to such a degree that one, as an adult, is tempted to lose the path that the infant has already flown with no effort to achieving, which is heaven. The tragedy is how many adults are not able, with time and healing, to feel more, not less, motivation to put one's faith and trust in the Lord God, so that they can aspire with hope to heaven and reunification.

I hope that this helps.

I love this painting of Christ blessing children

http://www.metmuseum.org/works_of_art/collection_database/european_paintings/christ_blessing_the_children_lucas_cranach_the_elder/objectview_enlarge.aspx?page=103&sort=0&sortdir=asc&keyword=&fp=1&dd1=11&dd2=0&vw=0&collID=11&OID=110000469&vT=1




Here is a note for people who do not know much about sacred or devotional art (or young people, *hi there* who are just beginning to learn about it).

Don't be put off by the fact that the great artists did not even attempt to provide historically authentic costume and settings in their art. Artists for most of human history, but particularly those of sacred subjects, tried more for capturing the essence of the moment being portrayed, rather than whether Jesus, for example, was dressed poorly, average or richly, or if the people are in more of a medieval setting than in the small poor towns or ancient Jerusalem. This picture, for example, is trying to portray tenderness, and also the nobility associated with that feeling which was not, as the Bible explains, common at the time. The disciples tried to shoo the children away, while Jesus insisted they come to him to be blessed. Thus the successful artist portrays to the best of his or her ability the virtue, the teachings and the blessedness of Jesus, and how this was appreciated by the children and their parents, rather than details of authentic historic costume and setting.

So this is one reason I very much like this painting!
:-)

A must read article, absolutely must

http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/families/article5804215.ece


The interview with this father captures what I consider to be the core of family, love and humanity. God bless them, comfort them, and all throughout the world who are in similar situations.

Greatest sympathy for the Camerons

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7909562.stm

And for all parents who experience this joy, sorrow and loss of a special needs child.

The Lord gives and the Lord takes away

When one suffers a loss, the death of a family member, a friend, a loved one, a colleague, or someone who was a positive influence, one often listens then to tributes at the funeral or memorial about how having had this person in one's life was such a gift.

This is true, and when someone dies, it is very important to remember that the time that you have had with him or her, no matter how short, was a great gift and treasure.

Read sometimes the obituaries of average people, strangers, as I do, and think about what a gift he or she was to their family as they recite who passed before them, who survives and mourns them, and their accomplishments, including "homemaker," or their interests if they were just a child.

When you are thoughtful about what a gift that person was to you, this brings you on the threshold of understanding what is one of the great "mysteries" of life. Why do people die?

That is the wrong question. The thing to remember is that God has given everyone that gift of life in the first place. When you mourn your loved one it is then that those of faith are somewhat in awe of what a great gift every life is in the first place.

The great gift from God is life of an individual, each of whom is unique and having received the gift of life from God is, in his or her turn, a gift to his or her parents, family, loved ones, friends and colleagues.

Life, therefore, is a gift to the person but also the gift of that person to the world.

God does not "recycle" gifts. Each person's soul is born out of God's love, creating that new individual, giving him or her the gift of life and therefore a gift too to all who surround that person in life, no matter how humble. In fact, the greatest of all gifts, life, is given equally to rich or destitute, and often the much loved treasure of the poorest of the poor.

There is a string attached to each gift of life, and that string is to God's heart, so that when that person dies, they return to their creator. Thus, when someone dies, we often say, the Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Yes, he gives that immeasurable gift of a new life when a baby is conceived, and like every treasure of the finest, God does not "re-gift" or let that treasure of life go out in the trash. It takes a lot of effort to snap the cord to God and defy his wish for eternal salvation in his arms for each and every person. But too many do it, far too many. Yet God never closes the way, he is not the one to remove the string, but chronic sin and defiance "frays" the string until the persons themselves snap the cord, choosing then to spend eternity in the unbearable place without God.

So the question should not be "why do people die?"

The meditation should be about the goodness of God who makes from new a life, giving that life to the world, as a gift for however long or brief their span of mortal time. An immeasurable treasure, a loved one, is an unimaginable gift, whether of the infant who has such a short life due to illness or the person who lives many years to great old age, and all those in between. It's a gift that is not measured or compared by the length of time one has the gift. After all, even when the gift returns to God, you have the memories of your life shaped and shared by that person, and that never disappears. The gift IS life and the gift IS whatever the span of time of mortal being, and the two are one and the same. It's not a "better" gift because one has it longer. All and every life is a miraculous gift from God.

Believers and those of genuine good will can then live in the hope that they will see that person again, when their own gift of life returns to God.

Bible Reading: Luke 9:46-49

Now a discussion arose among them, which of them was the greatest. But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their heart, took a little child and set him at his side, and said to them, "Whoever receives this little child for my sake, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives him who sent me. For he who is the least among you, he is the greatest."

But John answered and said, "Master, we saw a man casting out devils in thy name, and we forbade him, because he does not follow with us." And Jesus said to him, "Do not forbide him; for he who is not against you is for you."

Bible Reading: Psalm 127

Unless the Lord build the house,
they labor in vain who build.
Unless the Lord guard the city,
in vain does the guard keep watch.
It is vain for you to rise early
and put off your rest at night,
To eat bread earned by hard toil-
all this God gives to his beloved in sleep.

Children too are a gift from the Lord,
the fruit of the womb, a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the children born in one's youth.
Blessed are they whose quivers are full.
They will never be shamed
contending with foes at the gate.