Requiem

Guest Post by Jesse

Here are the readings for Mary’s church service.

“The souls of the virtuous are in the hands of God,
no torment shall ever touch them.
In the eyes of the unbelieving they appeared to die,
their going looked like a tragedy,
their leaving us, like a desolation;
but they are at peace.
If they experienced hardship as the worldly see it,
their hope was rich with eternal life;
slight was their affliction, but great their blessing will be.

God has put them to the test
and proven them worthy to be with him;
he has tested them like gold in a furnace,
and accepted them as a sacred offering.
They who trust in him will understand the truth,
those who are faithful will live with him forever, in love;
for grace and mercy await those whom he has chosen.”

Wisdom 3:1-6, 9

“Show me your ways, O Lord, and teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth, and teach me: for you are the God of my salvation; and I wait for you all the day.
Remember, O Lord, your tender mercies and loving kindness, as they have ever been of old.”

Psalm 25:4-6

“Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I will say, rejoice;  show patience and consideration to all, for the Lord is always near.   Let nothing make you anxious; but with prayer, and by supplication, and with thanksgiving, let your needs be made known unto God; and the peace of the Lord, that surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds, in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:4-7

“And the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,

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‘Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.’

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.’

So they left in haste, and found Mary and Joseph and the baby, who was lying in a manger. After they had seen the Child, they spread the message that they had received about Him. and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

But Mary treasured up all these things, and pondered them in her heart.”

Luke 2:10-19

This recollection from her close friend Angie sums her all up:

“My favorite memory of Mary, which I will never forget, is when we were at the Bernardsville pool sitting in the chairs on the side of the baby pool. Stella was about 3. She was the only one in the pool. She kind of skipped across the pool with her back to us and had her arms kind of loose going up and down slowly in the water, seeming to be really happy.  Mary looked at me and smiled and said ‘it makes it all worth it doesn’t it?'”

“What we would like to do is change the world— make it a little simpler for people to feed, clothe, and shelter themselves as God intended them to do.   And, by fighting for better conditions, by crying out unceasingly for the rights of the workers, the poor, of the destitute— the rights of the worthy and the unworthy poor, in other words— we can, to a certain extent, change the world; we can work for the oasis, the little cell of joy and peace in a harried world.   We can throw our pebble in the pond and be confident that its ever widening circle will reach around the world.”

Dorothy Day, The Long Loneliness

“Even in a time of elephantine vanity and greed, one never has to look far to see the campfires of gentle people.  Lacking any other purpose in life, it would be good enough to live for their sake.”

Garrison Keillor, The Prairie Home Companion

Every good thing I have ever had in my life came from her.

Need little – Want less – Love more.