A Reflection

To the entire DeSmet Jesuit family:

The following reflection was written by Sister Louise Lears and appears in this week's bulletin from St. Cronan's Church. The reflection is entitled: "Simon, Son of Jesus, Do You Love Me?"

"I've been thinking a lot about my brother Jim these past two weeks. Some of you remember that Jim, aged 55, died suddenly in November, 2002. No warning, no symptoms, no signs of heart problems. He was with us one moment and gone the next. His death stunned us, and in the past four years, our family has learned that closure is a myth, that time does not heal all wounds (though it does smooth the jagged edges), and that life will never be the same again.

"Along with so many in our nation and world, I am grieving the terrible, sudden loss at Virginia Tech. My brother Jim would have been around the age of the slain facility members, some who sacrificed themselves trying to save their students. I have shuddered at the questions asked by journalists of surviving students and facility: 'How will you put this behind you? What will give you closure? When do you think that life will get back to normal?'

"Don't the reporters know that life will never be the same again for the Virginia Tech community? As Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote: 'Nothing can make up for the absence of someone whom we love, and it would be wrong to try and find a substitute; we must simply hold out and see it through. That sounds very harsh at first, but at the same time it is a great consolation, for the gap, as long as it remains unfilled, preserves the bonds between us. It is nonsense to say that God fills the gap; God doesn't fill it, but on the contrary, keeps it empty and so helps us to keep alive our former communion with each other, even at the cost of pain.'

"In our gospel story last weekend, Peter and the disciples tried to 'get back to the normal' after the execution of Jesus. They went fishing, perhaps hoping that the familiarity of that daily task would help them cope with the devastating loss of their rabbi and friend. But they could not 'go back'- they had to find a new way to go forward with a new mission. Jesus helped Peter to see the new way.. Three times he asked: 'Simon, son of John, do you love me"' Peter must have been frustrated, wondering why Jesus kept asking the same question and giving the same response. But Jesus wanted Peter and the other disciples to understand fully their new mission: service for the love of Jesus.

"I've been thinking a lot about Jim, the Virginia Tech students and faculty, and the people who died in Iraq. How do we 'go on' when we know that life will never be the same? Our brother Jesus shows us all the way. Do you love me? Then feed each other. Reach out to each other. Nourish each other for the love of God."

May the peace of God be with you all,
Dennis Morgan