Reflection 7 - IN MEMORIAM
IN MEMORIAM
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On a very frosty yet healthy morning I walk in the hills and as I come to a roadway I see before me a miniature memory stone which is situated on a sharp bend in the road; it is surrounded by a place of beauty; the trees; the singing birds; the beginning of growth and a dog makes himself heard in the background. Way in the distance I hear and see the speed of modern life – the motorway; the noises of the cars which resound up the mountains. Thankfully, for me today the speed of modern life is in the distance.
I am captivated by the miniature memory stone that is worn with age; where birds have left their mark. The inscription on the stone reads very simply yet powerfully
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“Michele 1968 – 1989” This place of beauty has been the place of death for Michele whose young life was cut down. I know not the circumstances yet it is and has been a place of great pain for those whom she has left behind. In front of the memory stone is a glass jar with discoloured water and some flowers; the colours are red and white; they contrast powerfully with the late January scenery. Michele’s memory is alive; her memory is held dear. I touch the flowers and they are literally frozen with the sub zero temperature of this early morning. Our grief and the shock of it especially with the experience of sudden and tragic death sends each of us to sub zero temperatures within. Our bodies become cold; rigid indeed frozen as the warmth leaves our bodies in shock as we begin to experience the horrible pain that has frozen us; as we hold on to a light hope that this tragedy may be unreal; we will accept any nightmare rather than the reality of this experience. “In memory of…..” gives us great comfort. We hold dear the memory of those who have been truly significant and part of each of us. The wonderful gift of memory and its place deep within the hearts of each of us brings us great consolation. The more we invite memory; the more we befriend it; the more we are gifted with healing. A healing in all life’s moments that comes profoundly from within our own spirits; a healing that comes from the God of our understanding. As those close to Michele pass this place on the road their hearts and minds are marked in a very profound way that they would never have envisaged. Yet with time they know this place; the place of her death; in the distance the river Arno flows peacefully; the sun begins to take its place in the sky; its heat I can faintly experience. Yet, thankfully the heat of the sun comforts me. Nature brings us its own comfort and healing. And so we stand: “In memory of….”; as those flowers are frozen so are our spirits; as the thaw comes so do we feel the pain; as the heat of the sun comes to us so are our hearts warmed by the comfort of others; as time moves so do we come to heal slowly; very slowly as we hold the place of memory dear so also may we hold the place of healing. As the sun moves to its noonday place in the sky so may our hearts be moved to heal; to let go as we hold memory dear. The gift is truly to be able to surrender that horrible pain which hinders us from embracing the gift of life that those whom we have loved would wish us to live, to the God of our understanding. For sometime I sit beside Michele’s place of death; only two cars have passed me. I pray not so much now for Michele but for all of us who have experienced the horrors and pains of tragic deaths of those who have loved us and whom we have loved.
Thank you God for the place and gift of memory; especially for the gift of those memories that bring us profound healing. Our time of great darkness and pain moves us into a place of hope and healing; a healing that comes from within and with the helping hand of the God of our understanding.
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Written by Frank DOWNES OP (Winter 2009) Click here for other reflections..... |
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