We are sad to announce that our sister Albina Heindl died on Friday afternoon, April 3rd at 99 years of age! We thank God for blessing her (and us through her) in rich and wonderful ways. We also thank her family, especially her daughter Sr. Jeanette for caring for her so well and so lovingly. Please keep the Heindl family in your prayers.
Albina’s passing and our present experience of pandemic bring to mind one of the prayers from the Catholic Funeral Mass. This prayer is one of the “prefaces” provided before the Holy, Holy is sung and the Eucharistic Prayer is prayed. These words may sound familiar:
In Christ the hope of blessed resurrection has dawned,
that those saddened by the certainty of dying
might be consoled by the promise of immortality to come.
Indeed for your faithful, Lord,
life is changed, not ended,
and, when this earthly dwelling turns to dust,
an eternal dwelling is made ready for us in heaven.
It appears that no matter the cause of our distress, and while it may feel as if everything has been thrown into confusion and our world has stopped turning, unshakable truth can always be found in what we pray and the way we pray. Eventually, tomorrow will come, the hope of new life—Resurrection—will dawn, our minds will clear, and we will realize that life has not ended, it has simply changed.
Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord.
And let perpetual light shine upon her.
May her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
