In Paradisum

A reader writes to say she is at her father’s deathbed and he will soon be gone. While he has been ill for over a year, the whole family feels very blessed that they have had time together, and the opportunity to walk with each other through a journey of terrible beauty. Please pray for DMD’s father and her family.

In paradisum deducant te Angeli; in tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres, et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Ierusalem. Chorus angelorum te suscipiat, et cum Lazaro quondam paupere æternam habeas requiem.

May angels lead you into Paradise; may the martyrs receive you at your coming and lead you to the holy city of Jerusalem. May a choir of angels receive you, and with Lazarus, who once was poor, may you have eternal rest.

And while you’re praying, if you could remember Michael’s three year-old daughter who is in crisis and for adorable little toddler Gwyneth, who has been diagnosed with a sometimes-lethal skin infection.

As we know, everyone gets a turn in the crucible; if we can pray for each other, perhaps our own turns will burn a little less whitely.