Learning and understanding

In his Good Friday remarks, for many years, Fr. Leo would refer to the “dying side” of Easter.  It is not surprising that the focus of today’s service is death and dying, but it certainly is something to consider.  He always mentioned the sealed Tomb at the end of the Friday, and the sorrow, fear and hopelessness of the apostles after the crucifixion.  By Easter Sunday, of course, we are celebrating the resurrection and the renewal of life, but in between there is the tomb, and all it signifies — the end of this life, the absence of the one we love, a permanent separation, and an inevitable, universal end. I’ve been thinking a lot about death lately.  It’s not being morbid, at least, I don’t think that it is.  I am, though, wondering about death, and what happens to us after.  One view, to which I am not subscribed, is that death is final and is followed by nothingness.  It’s probably the easiest answer to deal with something we don’t know, but I find it hard to accept this.  It is t

Anyone have a nickname?  My younger brother gave everyone in the family nicknames when we were kids.  I hated mine, and protested, but brothers being brats (in Bosnian, anyway) he persisted and it stuck — so much so, that some of his friends have only ever heard me called by it and don’t know my actual name.  Nicknames are given to us to provide a sense of belonging; they’re an “in” message, shared only with members of a community.  Although I initially resented mine, it’s now a sign of affection.  Pet names are like that, and we use them with people we love.  There are very few people who do not have a pet name, even if it’s something as common as “dearest” or “honey.”  Names matter.  It’s how we are identified, and what makes us simultaneously an individual and a member of a family. We also use names as shortcuts to describe people.  We can pull out a label and apply it to someone and it assigns all sorts of characteristics.  I used to joke that my name was used as a swear word by