1. God
2. I went to a funeral the other day. I didn’t know the departed, but I know her sister-in-law, who works with me, and who was in Scotland with her husband when they received the tragic news.
3. I took time to look around this church, unknown to me, the intricate colorful stained glass honoring the saints, the pillars, the rafters, the distant pews, sparsely populated at first but eventually filled, and sitting in and breathing with the silence.
4. Listening to stories from the dead woman’s relatives, how she became a court clerk, then an immigration lawyer, and a lifelong Red Sox fan.
5. The bishop said she came to mass every Sunday and considered it a privilege and lived the gospel, especially through her professional life and helping so many people, and also with a kind word for each person she met there.
6. I didn’t know the woman and learning a little caused me to wish I had, and then I thought of those known to me doing good work and serving others whom I may not recognize or fully appreciate.
7. Conducting the rituals and telling the stories.
8. Maybe if only for a moment remembering the dead who are saying “finish our work.”
9. And for those who do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with their God.