We seem to give him
back to you, dear God, who gave him to us. Yet as you did not lose him in
giving, so we have not lost him by his returning. Not as the world gives, do
you give, O Lover of Souls! What you give, you do not take away. For what is
yours is ours always, if we are yours. Life is eternal; and love is immortal;
and death is only a horizon; and a horizon is nothing but the limit of our
sight.
Lift us up, strong
Son of God, that we may see further; cleanse our eyes that we may see more
clearly; draw us closer to yourself that we may know ourselves nearer to our
beloved who are with you. And while you prepare a place for us, prepare us for
that happy place, that where they are, and you are, we too may be; through
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Rossiter Raymond
This prayer, by Rossiter Raymond, who lived in the early
1900’s, is a wonderful reminder to us of the both the pain and the joy found in
the limitedness of our humanity. While it is true that we are limited by our
mortality, we also need to be reminded that we are limited as well in our full
understanding of reality.
Because of the limitedness of our ability to fully
comprehend our existence, our creator became flesh, lived among us, and showed us
a glimpse of what lies beyond the horizon of our senses. Because of Jesus’ life
and gospel, we know that what lies beyond the horizon is a place of joy and
peace, a place of heavenly bliss beyond our ability to describe.
Today, even though Jesus is not physically with us, we
are still able to peek beyond the horizon. We see beyond the horizon with the eyes
of our heart and the eyes of faith. We see beyond the horizon when we feel the
love that we and our departed loved ones still share. Love is not limited by time
or space. We see beyond the horizon when we know God’s love and are strengthened
and empowered by the presence of the Holy Spirit. That same spirit which also knows
no bounds is always calling us to keeping our course true. May it continually
guide us until we reach that beautiful land beyond the limit of our sight.
