Imagine another busy week in the parish

A couple of weeks ago I posted on how busy things had been and that has not changed. Each week has been very unique and this past week was no different. On Monday, the pastor of the parish received a phone call from a family in a town about 15 miles south of Sioux Falls. The pastor got a little bit of information: a 50 year old man was dying of brain cancer and it did not look like he would live longer than another day. Most of the family was present minus some brothers and sisters who were driving in. Father began the sacrament of the anointing of the sick and finished with the apostolic pardon. We left knowing that we did all we could do and when we got back to the rectory we received a phone call alerting us that that he had passed away.

Tuesday morning we went down to visit and pray with the family and later that night we went back to begin planning the funeral. Many stories where shared about a great man who left behind a beautiful family. I was not present at the vigil service, but I was told that many of the young men and women that he mentored at a local J-ROTC branch were very touched by his life. The funeral was last Friday and it took a lot out of me personally because he touched so many lives.

This week began with a very tough day. The pastor had gone down to the local retreat center and got a call from a family who had lost their child in-utero. The priest had only been present at a couple of situations such as this. There were other things to consider as well. The child was not able to be baptized and so some care had to be taken with the funeral.

Not a half hour ago I got a call from the same funeral home and it looks like we will be doing the same thing all-over again for a still-born. Please pray for those who are mourning the loss of a loved one.