Suffering

My mother battled cancer. I was sure she would win the last battle.Then on a Tues morning my brother called me at 11:15 and told me mom had died. I was heartbroken.She was fine the day before. My dad battled Parkinsons until he told my mother he was ready to go home. He was no longer the active healthy man he once was.I watched him fall many times and there was nothing you could do.It was painful to see a man who had been our superhero became so fragile.

He lost his battle to Parkinsons and passed at home in his sleep peacefully.I couldn't ask for more.

Now i know of a friend who is afraid to go to the Dr for fear of what she will find out-she is afraid it will confirm what the doctors already suspect.It is human nature to fear the unknown.For this reason people fear illness especially those they don't understand and more than that death.

Jesus was dying on the cross when He cried out My God,My God why has thou forsaken me.It is the cry of every human. We now know that Jesus endured suffering in his human body-we know he suffered emotionally abandoned by many of his disciples.We know He suffered the sins of many people who rejected His love. We also know He conquered sin and death.

So what do we have to fear? We have to know that He is with us no matter what we are going through and we can go to Him. He is our strength in the fear of the unknown.

There is no unknown because He has told us there is life after death. The one thing that carried my parents through all the difficulties,illness,suffering and trials was their faith.I cannot believe how much my parents endured.It had to be their faith that got them through it.

What a wonderful loving Holy Father we had in Pope Benedict XVI.Keep him in our prayers.