“Much unhappiness has come into the world because of bewilderment and things left unsaid.” – Fyodor Dostoevsky
In the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke we are introduced to the Virgin Mary. As the archangel Gabriel brilliantly illuminated the small and simple room, he told the young girl of fantastical things to come. The first words uttered in response by the trembling Christ-bearer, the young Mother of the Church, were “How can this be?”
Those of us who have experienced the death of a loved one, even if we believe that she or he has gone to a better place, still find ourselves struggling with the parting. It’s hard to let go. Sometimes it’s made a little easier if we have been present for someone’s last days, and at the moment of their death, when we experience the whole strange (and often quite beautiful) mystery of living and dying being played out before our very eyes.