In the wake of tragedy Amy Welborn has turned in some beautiful writing as she mourns and thanks those who have lent prayer and support.
At the news of Michael’s death there was certainly a great outpouring of prayer with news of his sudden death. This sad news was spread throughout St. Blogs, social networks, and the Catholic world. I never met Michael and only saw him across the room at the Catholic New Media conference this year. Though I have been reading his blog Annunciation since around 2001. The one thing about new media such as blogs, podcasts, and social networks is that you often have a better idea of the sense of a person than you might have had otherwise. These mediums are much more personal than a column on a website or in a magazine. You feel much more connected to someone in a more interactive medium such as blogging. Judging by the reaction in St. Blogs I am not the only one to feel this way.
In many ways St. Blogs is a real parish and in the Catholic Podcasting. I mourned at the loss of Gerard Serafin, Karen Knapp, and now Michael along with others. I also mourned at the two miscarriages of the Willits’ family from Rosary Army and then rejoiced at the recent birth of their first daughter after four boys. Over the years there have been plenty of births to rejoice at and it is almost like there is someone joining your own family. By the way congratulations to Steve Skojec and family on their latest child. There have also been plenty of people requiring prayers over the years that so many of us have joined in with intercession. One of the reasons I love being Catholic is the Catholic community. Yeah sometimes we grip a lot, but when it comes down to what is truly important then the Church militant really comes alive.
When Amy Welborn first announced the sad news I was also surprised to find that Michael was just one month younger than myself. Every death is a reminder to us of our own mortality. But we usually see it as a distant mortality. The question of being prepared for judgment once again comes to front, even though we should always live our lives in preparation. Not our of fear, but love. Earlier this week was also the 6th anniversary of my mother’s death from cancer so this topic has certainly been on my mind for the last week. Once again I thank God for being Catholic knowing that life is not a dead end and that we can pray for our relatives and others. The mystical Body of Christ is such an awesome reality.
5 comments
Thanks for such a beautiful post.
I, too, want to live a life in preparation out of love (and I would add respect for sacrifices made for me) and not fear. I don’t fear. I want desperately not to disappoint and only want – when I cross the finish line – to, in my small way, let Jesus know what he did was worth it.
I could sense – in her beautiful emotive post – Amy was dealing with the increased intimacy of the blog medium, when after all, she hasn’t met all these people pouring forth their well wishes and condolences. I don’t know what to make of it all when it’s looked at from that perspective only. But I am in awe of the way a life can touch so many others and we haven’t met and he isn’t a best selling author (not yet!) on a large well-known-to-all scale. I felt and feel affected by Michael’s death and it’s as though I knew them somehow. I think that something that plays into it is that you know (or have an idea) that you share a certain viewpoint and so the loss of that person is felt a little more. I’m not saying I have to agree with people to mourn their passing. I’m sick over the fires in Australia. But something that kept tugging at me and still does is that I KNOW both Amy and Michael understood how important it is for young boys to be raised with their father, and now, among the many other things to mourn, that is lost. I’m sad for them. For personal reasons too, in that I was raised without my father, so I know first hand how critical it is for daughters, too. It is a great loss.
Still, I think they were blessed to have each other even for such a short time. And, I might not have known about Michael’s work as I do now, and considering how many profound and important things he wrote about, if his passing gets the message out that much faster since now he is being linked more than when he was alive, well – I think that would please him, and Him, and it’s a life well lived. We should all hope for that.
Jeff, I read your blog and was moved by it. Thanks for this poignant account of the reality of life and its meaning within our faith. May Almighty God bless you and keep you always in His care, that you may in turn share His light with others. Thanks.
Very nice, Jeff. God Bless you.
These last few days have reinforced for me all over again how real and tangible the Communion of the Saints is… It’s a beautiful thing.
Beautiful post.