Mourning the Deceased
Published in
1 min readNov 29, 2018
Two plus years of mourning (the loss of my Mom Marie Bilodeau) has afforded me insight into death as a concept and the larger process of grieving. Throughout the mourning process, my Catholic views guided and re-conceptualized my views on loss itself. Here are a few of those thoughts. You can read more of them in my book Running to Heaven: The Story of Marie Bilodeau.
- In St. Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians, we are implored not to grieve like others who have no hope. This reminder helps guard one against a long-term nihilistic turn in spirit and psyche. Clarity of heart and mind are necessary during heavy times in order to avoid despair.
- As the old hymn rhetorically asks, “How can I keep from singing?” in a world that, although filled with suffering, nonetheless affords us a daily and direct view of our beautiful God.
- Consider this: if God could allow Mary to mourn (and witness) the loss of her Son, and Jesus to mourn the loss of his friend Lazarus, then who am I not to taste the bitter pill of grief? From my perspective, anger at and frustration with God is just not a tenable long-term position.