Thank you , welcome to this week's episode of Solace: Soul + Grief . I'm Candee Lucas . We're glad you're here . This podcast is sponsored by Catholic Cemeteries and the Diocese of San Jose .
The death of a loved one is a very difficult life transition and we hope we can answer some of your questions , help you find where God is moving in your life as you continue your grief journey , and remind you of the power of your faith and love for God . You're always welcome in our circle of healing , love and care .
What does the resurrection mean to those of us who have lost someone dear ? Does it remind us first that our loved one did not come back in three days ? Or does it remind us of the promise of a new life after death , a realization of eschatological perfect love in the divine , which may be a form of divination in itself ?
It's probably not a coincidence that the Eastertide season corresponds with spring and the reawakening of the earth and the renewal of the promise of a bounteous summer , growing season , crops and a bountiful future . Are not these very same things that the resurrection has promised us ?
The spring rituals and the renewal rituals all recognize new life but , more important , continuing life . Our souls are born malleable , with only the handprint of God's love on our hearts . We blossom , we grow into human beings , guided , hopefully , by parental love and under the eyes of a nurturing communal family .
We are allowed to stretch our wings and grow into unimaginable creatures who create song and art and poetry and reading , who discover science , who can tell the story of the world and the universe in music or mathematics . We grow in our understanding of God's love and as we grow , it seems the bounds of that love grow farther and farther out .
That circle of love surrounding us is larger and larger and more complex and more distant than the ends of the universe . Now that we have seen photographs from deep space , we understand in a way early Christians or Babylonians or Buddhists or Hindus or people of ancient religions Celts , Norsemen-- could not understand the word celestial as we do .
Looking deep into the universe is very much like looking into the eyes of God or looking into the heart of God or looking into the mind of God . When we see those photographs that are so full of color and light and form , they're quite different than the universe we imagined as children , that universe that was dark , dark and deep and unfathomable .
Dark and deep and unfathomable this is much like our grief journeys as we experience them . The grief is so dark and unimaginable and fathomless when it first comes to us . Most often it comes unbidden and unwelcomed . But after a time we learn to live with it . Some of us learn to live within it . Some of us learn to ignore it .
Until later , maybe much later in life , it comes crashing in , but it is and opens a new universe for us .
This grief , it unlocks the heart of God to us in a way we never could know without that grief , because at one time , at that moment , it freezes our love for that lost person as a diamond forever that we will forever treasure in our hearts , carry with us daily .
We learn to walk the path of grief so that we can recognize where we are situated in the world , so that we are not undone , so that our place in God's heart and in our loved one's heart are permanently and solidly made . We start to learn the depth of love , the breadth of love , the sound and savoring and features of love's face and love's heart .
It all becomes very real to us because we don't have the person , because we are missing the font--w ith the passing of our loved one , but the presence of God , the acknowledgement of the presence of God , the very act of asking for His love and assistance brings Him closer to us as close as we want Him , as close as we need him to be .
He travels our path as surely as we loved , as we were loved as we are loved . So , until that time , stay safe in God's love . Remember his place in your heart , more importantly , your place in his heart . He holds us carefully there , as if we are the dearest thing to him , because we are . That concludes another episode of Solace .
A new one drops every Friday . Please subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Amazon or find us on Google . I'm Candee Lucas , your host , or find us on Google . I'm Candee Lucas , your host , aftercare coordinator , chaplain and spiritual director at Catholic Cemeteries at Gate of Heaven in Los Altos , California .
Please contact us if you have questions or seek spiritual direction . Our contact information is in the show notes . Be gentle with yourselves . Travel with God . Vaya con Dios .