PATRICIA'S LIGHT

Mother/ robert r. lackney permanent deacon

Patricia’s spirit

Rising into the world that is invisible and,

… Upon arriving there

Has been embraced with indescribable Joy

… To forever dwell in paradise. We are taught by the Saints it is:

… An honor

… A happiness

To depart joyfully of this world

… To go forth in Glory.

Patricia,

… In one moment closed her eyes that looked on
You and me in this world
… And in the next instant
She opened them, and
… Looked directly into the eyes of Christ.
And
…Heard God
Call her Name.
Pat was suddenly withdrawn from this earth
… Embraced by Christ, and
She now finds herself in Paradise.
… With all those that
She loved and who loved her back.
And so:
… This is the reality  we know to be Patricia.
Pat had within her
… A special light
A light that would flow through her entire body
… Expressed in that Precious Smile, which
Radiated out into any room and fill everything
The walls, doors, plants, the furniture, and all
… The people who were present
Including me.
We could not imagine
… That her light would ever go out.
God saw that Patricia was getting tired and
…  A cure was not to be. 
And, the time was now
… So God put His arms around her and whispered:
“Come to Me”
Although, we loved her dearly
… We would not ask her to stay.
That good heart stopped beating.
…Hard working hands now rest
God broke our hearts to prove to us. 
… God only takes the best.
Pat and I had many conversations about:
… What is life all about, anyway? “Robert!” She said,
“ The only purpose in life is to
Taste God in everything and
… Receive all the blessings we can get.” She added,
“ Don’t forget we need a Great Big Heart to share
…All that LOVE with others!”

“ Light many lamps and gather around herbed.

Lend her your eyes, warm blood and she
Will live.
But, Death replied: “I choose her”
So she went, and
There was silence in the night.
Silence and safety
And the veils of sleep.
And in the far away
The sighs of the coming summer clouds.
“Yes.” She said,
“When it is your time then Go in peace.”
And, her heart answered:
“But, you will fight a
New fight Tomorrow.
Best you sleep while you can.”
Now you know why we loved her so
She was both times right.”
Every time the eyes of someone we love closes the last time in death Christ opens a door in heaven so that their light will shine into and fill our hearts forever.
Only The Good Things
robert r. lackney, permanent deacon

YOUR TOMBSTONE

Sketch Archangel Azeral

r.r.lackney

Mark’s Gospel ends the Lord’s Passion with, “Then, they rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb. Others watching took note where he was laid.” A few months ago I assisted at a funeral service in Danville’s oldest cemetery.  As we drove beneath the iron entry gates, the beauty of the cemetery’s lawn sparkled in the morning sunlight. The deep green grass was “sprinkled” with hundreds of white, gray, and pink tombstones. A cross here, an angel there, and headstones carved neatly with the names of the dead. Silent, lonely, and mysterious tombstones to mark a Kentuckian. Each tombstone telling a story of a life lived in the sight of God’s Love. I thought, “What is the most common thing about these tombstones?” “The name of the person?” … Yes. “The dates inscribed?”  … Yes “The little crosses at the center near the top?”  … Yes, this also. For me it is the “dash” … the dash between the between the dates, That, for me, is the most common thing on a tombstone. A little dash, 1-1/2 to 2 inches long, the symbol that represents a life of all that happened.  A symbol of the all the accomplishments and failures, all the hopes, and dreams, and all the good works initiated and work left undone. A life summed up in the little “ dash’” between the dates carved into the surface of the stone. Now, everyone’s dash is the same, the dash has a “beginning and end”. And, in my mid 70’s, death seems all too soon …time much too short. The understanding of purpose, meaning, the vision of one’s life much too vague. Our life becomes the story carved into a silent, lonely tombstone will for remain a mystery known only to God. Deacon robert r. lackney My 4th Day Journal July 2012 PS: Many turn from their tombstone with dread.  Others will watch. A few will wonder. The great wonder is in not knowing how our lives will come out. We only have the opportunity to enter into our futures, full of confidence, and the promise that Christ is with us. The stone that marks your grave might read:  “I have Gone to God!”

DIVINE PRESENCE

FLORENCE: MY CELESTIAL PALACE

robert r. lackney architect

Catholics feel that there something special about a Sacred Place.

Why do we feel this way about a garden, a tabernacle, a sanctuary?

When we look around the world or look into the past time we find that there are special places where people felt something different.

Some say there is sense of “presence”, of “holiness”, of an encounter with the “divine”. Others report that they were struck by a power, something miraculous, and the extraordinary.

So what is this?

People have for centuries built stones rings, temples, and cathedrals.

These holy places were built with orientation to the celestial rotations in the sky, the rising of the morning sun, and sacred geometry.

Notre Dame Cathedral, in Paris, was constructed as a gigantic sound chamber designed to capture the songs and melodies of the angels. Attending Mass in the cathedral feels like being inside of a huge guitar.

There is another thing as to why we build sacred places?

We build with “intention”.

There is the devotion within the people who built these churches, those who come to pray and sing, and to participate in all the ceremonies that have been celebrated.

I have wondered, and deeply humbled, as I recall all the people who have prayed here, funerals, Christmas’s, and 1st Communions over the past 100 years in our sanctuary.

The power of the holy place, the power of the structure and the power of human love combine to create divine presence that surrounds and saturates not only the building but those who come to worship.

Our sanctuary is imbued with sanctity by the congregation over time.

The Church is the most important place in the life of the Catholic.

The Church building is a place of privilege where dedicated people meet and experience Christ in the present moment.

For, me it is my Celestial Palace:

A place to experience the Light of Christ … Divine Grace.

Peace and Only Good Things

Deacon robert r. lackney, My 4^th Day Journal June 2012.

PS: Sacred space is the intersection point between our humanity and Christ’s divinity, where Heaven and Earth intersect, where Spirit and Flesh meet. Our sanctuary is the “jewel” that mirrors the mystery of Christ. Where the invisible is made visible.