It has been a little over a month since my dear mother, Ebby, passed into the loving, merciful arms of the Lord. I am going through the ups and downs of the loss of the most significant family member in my life, my mom, the one who gave birth to me and cared for me and the rest of my siblings in a selfless way throughout our upbringing and beyond the time we left home. One thing that I am reminded of is the fact that everyone's circumstance is different when a loved one dies and the ways of grieving the loss of the physical presence of the person are varied for each person. I feel, overall, that I am doing better than I imagined I would at this point and I know the sources of comfort and consolation that have been there for me and, importantly, that I opened myself up to them in the time since my mother "passed". First and foremost is my spiritual life which is nurtured daily through the celebration of Mass and my holy hour. The comfort and strength I have received and am receiving from the Lord cannot be overstated. The Lord, in the sermon on the mount, pointed out that blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted (Mth 5:4). The Lord is at my side and his presence and the life he has won for all of faith-filled people, like my holy mother, causes me to long for, and look forward to the day I will see my Lord face to face, and see my mom, dad, and all my loved ones who assed from life to life. I have also been uplifted by so many people, especially my faith family here at Sacred Heart Church, and many of whom have expressed in various ways their thoughts and prayers for my mom and myself and other family members, especially Danny. Invitations to share a meal and conversation with parishioners has definitely been a help, as I have had the opportunity to relax and share about my mother to more than a few listening ears. Of course, the fact that I stay pretty busy doing the Lord's work has been helpful to me as I seek to be a blessing to all, especially the sick and bereaved. I have also been sharing instances where I believe the Lord AND my mother are speaking to me with encouragement and challenges for me as I continue my journey to the Lord. My mom has always encouraged me in my priesthood, and now she is doing so in a new and more frequent way. I must admit that there are two things that I am now and will continue to struggle with at least for awhile.  Going into my mom's house where she lived for all of my almost 64 years of life and a few years before that, creates an empty feeling in me and a sadness that I cannot see her or have conversation with her as I did for my whole life when I went "home". I'm also adjusting to evenings that were often spent with her, that are a challenge to fill in other meaningful ways. Finally, there is currently some family discord going on that was not present or lasted very long when my, the peacemaker, was here. I ask your prayers that the peacemakers among my siblings will prevail in efforts to bring us together in family gatherings and in other ways. What I've said many times to people in a time of grief and transition of life,  I have come to experience personally in this time after my mom's death...with faith, family and friends we can get through the most difficult of circumstances taht life presents to us, especially the death of a loved one. I thank so many of you for your thoughtfulness and care for me!