Beyond the Horizon

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.