Litany of Saints

Our friends Rebecca and Paul got a difficult phone call Sunday morning. It was one of Paul's 12 siblings saying that their dad was receiving last rites at the hospital. He had been in the hospital for 3 weeks with heart and lung problems that had put him on a ventilator.

Rebecca described for me the moments before Paul's dad passed. Amazingly, all 13 children were present for this precious time. The priest from the church that Paul's parents attend was there, and he and other family members were singing together quietly. Then the priest began to sing the Litany of the Saints. It is a beautiful prayer sung to the individual saints by name, asking for their prayers. It is sung every year at the Easter Vigil service at the Basilica, and every year I cry for the absolute beauty of it. So when Rebecca told me that it was sung to her father-in-law by all of his loved ones at the time of his moving on from this world, my heart welled up. What a beautiful gift to give to an old Catholic who was known to get out of bed at 4 a.m. to go to church and adore the Eucharist! I am amazed at his children, whose faith lives span from born-again to agnostic, and how they pulled together and provided their father with this gentle and beautiful act of love. If a death can be perfect, it sounds like Wence's was.

Thank you Paul and Rebecca, for letting me share this story.