Daily Meditation: A Grateful Death

A Grateful Death - from Henri Nouwen's Bread for the Journey When we think about death,  we often think about what will happen to us after we have died.  But it is more important to think about what will happen to those we leave behind.   The way we die has a deep and lasting effect on those who stay alive.  It will be easier for our family and friends to remember us with joy and peace if we have said a grateful good-bye than if we die with bitter and disillusioned hearts. The greatest gift we can offer our families and friends is the gift of gratitude.  Gratitude sets them free to continue their lives without bitterness or self-recrimination. For further reflection... "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful..." - Hebrews 12: 28 (NIV) Comment on this Daily Meditation.   Visit our website for inspiration, resources, news, events, community.     Text excerpts taken from Bread for the Journey, by Henri J.M. Nouwen, ©1997 HarperSanFrancisco. All Scripture from The Jerusalem Bible ©1966, 1967, and 1968 Darton, Longman & Todd and Doubleday & Co. Inc. Photo by V. Dobson. Scripture chosen by L. Yeskoo.

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Daily Meditation: Being Ready to Die

Being Ready to Die - from Henri Nouwen's Bread for the Journey Death often happens suddenly.  A car accident, a plane crash, a fatal fight, a war,  a flood, and so on.  When we feel healthy and full of energy, we do not think much about our deaths.  Still, death might come very unexpectedly. How can we be prepared to die?  By not having any unfinished relational business.  The question is:  Have I forgiven those who have hurt me and asked forgiveness from those I have hurt?  When I feel at peace with all the people I live with, my death might cause great grief, but it will not cause guilt or anger.   When we are ready to die at any moment, we also are ready to live at any moment. For further reflection... "Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers righteousness on you." - Hosea 10: 12 (NIV) Comment on this Daily Meditation.   Visit our website for inspiration, resources, news, events, community.     Text excerpts taken from Bread for the Journey, by Henri J.M. Nouwen, ©1997 HarperSanFrancisco. All Scripture from The Jerusalem Bible ©1966, 1967, and 1968 Darton, Longman & Todd and Doubleday & Co. Inc. Photo by V. Dobson. Scripture chosen by L. Yeskoo.

Forward this Daily Meditation to a friend! This email was sent to cbgamb@gmail.com, by email_lists@henrinouwen.org Update Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ | Privacy Policy. Henri Nouwen Society | PO Box 220522 | St. Louis | MO | 63122 | USA Henri Nouwen Society | 95 St. Joseph Street, Room 214 | Toronto | ON | M5S 2R9 | Canada

Daily Meditation: Remembering the Dead

Remembering the Dead - from Henri Nouwen's Bread for the Journey When we lose a dear friend, someone we have loved deeply, we are left with a grief that can paralyse us emotionally for a long time.   People we love become part of us.  Our thinking, feeling and acting are codetermined by them:  Our fathers, our mothers, our husbands, our wives, our lovers, our children, our friends ... they are all living in our hearts.  When they die a part of us has to die too.  That is what grief is about:  It is that slow and painful departure of someone who has become an intimate part of us.  When Christmas, the new year, a birthday or anniversary comes, we feel deeply the absence of our beloved companion.  We sometimes have to live at least a whole year before our hearts have fully said good-bye and the pain of our grief recedes.   But as we let go of them they become part of our "members" and as we "re-member" them, they become our guides on our spiritual journey. For further reflection... "I thank my God every time I remember you." - Philippians 1:3 (NIV) Comment on this Daily Meditation.   Visit our website for inspiration, resources, news, events, community.     Text excerpts taken from Bread for the Journey, by Henri J.M. Nouwen, ©1997 HarperSanFrancisco. All Scripture from The Jerusalem Bible ©1966, 1967, and 1968 Darton, Longman & Todd and Doubleday & Co. Inc. Photo by V. Dobson. Scripture chosen by L. Yeskoo.

Forward this Daily Meditation to a friend! This email was sent to cbgamb@gmail.com, by email_lists@henrinouwen.org Update Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ | Privacy Policy. Henri Nouwen Society | PO Box 220522 | St. Louis | MO | 63122 | USA Henri Nouwen Society | 95 St. Joseph Street, Room 214 | Toronto | ON | M5S 2R9 | Canada