{"id":70780,"date":"2019-02-24T09:32:01","date_gmt":"2019-02-24T16:32:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=70780"},"modified":"2019-02-24T09:38:44","modified_gmt":"2019-02-24T16:38:44","slug":"at-the-end-of-a-good-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/at-the-end-of-a-good-life.html","title":{"rendered":"At the end of a good life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Clouds<\/a>
\u201cLet not your heart be troubled.\u201d \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0(Wikimedia Commons public domain)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Yesterday (Saturday) my wife and I attended the funeral of a member of our congregation<\/a>\u00a0whom we\u2019ve known for a number of years. \u00a0He and his (second) wife even came with us, a few summers ago, on a tour of Israel. \u00a0He died on St. Valentine\u2019s Day, and he would have celebrated his ninety-first birthday today (Sunday). \u00a0Although inevitably aging, he was in quite good health until just a few days before his passing. \u00a0Enviable, that.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Music was a very important part of his life \u2014 he sometimes played the organ in our sacrament meetings \u2014 and, before the service began, a recording of his own piano performance of various hymns and other pieces sounded in the chapel. \u00a0So the music for the funeral was, predictably, very nice, including vocal renditions of\u00a0\u201cWeeping Mary\u201d<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0\u201cThe Prayer\u201d.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The link above takes you to a magnificent rendition of \u201cThe Prayer,\u201d but, alas, the video is slightly out of sync with the sound. \u00a0Here, though, \u00a0are the lyrics:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

[Celine Dion:]<\/i><\/span>
\nI pray you\u2019ll be our eyes<\/span>
\nAnd watch us where we go<\/span>
\nAnd help us to be wise<\/span>
\nIn times when we don\u2019t know<\/span>
\nLet this be our prayer<\/span>
\nWhen we lose our way<\/span>Lead us to a place<\/span>
\nGuide us with your grace<\/span>
\nTo a place where we\u2019ll be safe<\/span>\n

[Andrea Bocelli (Celine Dion):]<\/i><\/span>
\nLa luce che tu hai<\/span>
\n(I pray we\u2019ll find your light)<\/span>
\nNel cuore rester\u00e0<\/span>
\n(And hold it in our hearts)<\/span>
\nA ricordarci che<\/span>
\n(When stars go out each night)<\/span>
\nEterna stella sei<\/span>
\n(Whoa)<\/span>
\nNella mia preghiera<\/span>
\n(Let this be our prayer)<\/span>
\nQuanta fede c\u2019\u00e8<\/span>
\n(When shadows fill our day)<\/span><\/p>\n

Lead us to a place<\/span>
\n(Guide us with your grace)<\/span>
\n[Both:]<\/i><\/span>
\nGive us faith so we\u2019ll be safe<\/span><\/p>\n

Sogniamo un mondo senza pi\u00f9 violenza<\/span>
\nUn mondo di giustizia e di speranza<\/span>
\nOgnuno dia la mano al suo vicino<\/span>
\nSimbolo di pace, di fraternit\u00e0<\/span><\/p>\n

[Andrea Bocelli (Celine Dion):]<\/i><\/span>
\nLa forza che ci d\u00e0<\/span>
\n(We ask that life be kind)<\/span>
\n\u00c8 il desiderio che<\/span>
\n(And watch us from above)<\/span>
\nOgnuno trovi amor<\/span>
\n(We hope each soul will find)<\/span>
\nIntorno e dentro s\u00e9<\/span>
\n(Another soul to love)<\/span><\/p>\n

[Both:]<\/i><\/span>
\nLet this be our prayer<\/span>
\n[Celine Dion:]<\/i><\/span>
\nLet this be our prayer<\/span>
\n[Andrea Bocelli:]<\/i><\/span>
\nJust like every child<\/span>
\n[Celine Dion:]<\/i><\/span>
\nJust like every child<\/span><\/p>\n

[Both:]<\/i><\/span>
\nNeed to find a place<\/span>
\nGuide us with your grace<\/span>
\nGive us faith so we\u2019ll be safe<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00c8 la fede che<\/span>
\nHai acceso in noi<\/span>
\nSento che ci salvera<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I love to hear about lives that have been well-lived, and this one was definitely among those. \u00a0Even when we\u2019ve known people for a long time, we still learn much about them, about their earlier lives and about how they were seen through the eyes of their families, at their funerals. \u00a0And, in my judgment, persons are the most irreplaceably valuable and interesting constituents of the universe.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 Yesterday (Saturday) my wife and I attended the funeral of a member of our congregation\u00a0whom we\u2019ve known for a number of years. \u00a0He and his (second) wife even came with us, a few summers ago, on a tour of Israel. \u00a0He died on St. Valentine\u2019s Day, and he would have celebrated his ninety-first […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nAt the end of a good life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    Yesterday (Saturday) my wife and I attended the funeral of a member of our congregation\u00a0whom we've known for a number of years. \u00a0He and his\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/at-the-end-of-a-good-life.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"At the end of a good life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"    Yesterday (Saturday) my wife and I attended the funeral of a member of our congregation\u00a0whom we've known for a number of years. \u00a0He and his\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/at-the-end-of-a-good-life.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sic et Non\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-02-24T16:32:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-02-24T16:38:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2016\/12\/Beautiful_misty_view_of_Pillar_Rocks_of_Kodaikanal_Tamil_Nadu_India.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/at-the-end-of-a-good-life.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/at-the-end-of-a-good-life.html\",\"name\":\"At the end of a good life\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-02-24T16:32:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-02-24T16:38:44+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\"},\"description\":\"    Yesterday (Saturday) my wife and I attended the funeral of a member of our congregation\u00a0whom we've known for a number of years. \u00a0He and his\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/at-the-end-of-a-good-life.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/at-the-end-of-a-good-life.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/at-the-end-of-a-good-life.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"At the end of a good life\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/\",\"name\":\"Sic et Non\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\",\"name\":\"Dan Peterson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dan Peterson\"},\"description\":\"\\\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\\\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"At the end of a good life","description":"    Yesterday (Saturday) my wife and I attended the funeral of a member of our congregation\u00a0whom we've known for a number of years. \u00a0He and his","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/at-the-end-of-a-good-life.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"At the end of a good life","og_description":"    Yesterday (Saturday) my wife and I attended the funeral of a member of our congregation\u00a0whom we've known for a number of years. \u00a0He and his","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/at-the-end-of-a-good-life.html","og_site_name":"Sic et Non","article_published_time":"2019-02-24T16:32:01+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-02-24T16:38:44+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2016\/12\/Beautiful_misty_view_of_Pillar_Rocks_of_Kodaikanal_Tamil_Nadu_India.jpg"}],"author":"Dan Peterson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dan Peterson","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/at-the-end-of-a-good-life.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/at-the-end-of-a-good-life.html","name":"At the end of a good life","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-02-24T16:32:01+00:00","dateModified":"2019-02-24T16:38:44+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045"},"description":"    Yesterday (Saturday) my wife and I attended the funeral of a member of our congregation\u00a0whom we've known for a number of years. \u00a0He and his","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/at-the-end-of-a-good-life.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/at-the-end-of-a-good-life.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/at-the-end-of-a-good-life.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"At the end of a good life"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/","name":"Sic et Non","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045","name":"Dan Peterson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dan Peterson"},"description":"\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1019"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70780"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70780\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}