Grief Digest Articles

Today is Sunday. It is one-degree below zero. I sit on the arm of an empty loveseat with my feet tucked under me, snug in three pair of socks. I am cozy, warm and safe in casual sweats, although there will be no sweating today. When I saw you fall, it was on a Monday, hot and humid, the weather you liked best. Today, I am warm and safe but my dear, bird friends are famished and near frozen. I feel as though it is my fault. I gaze at them outside the window as they flutter and fall from the …

The ice storm was wicked. Had I wondered through my wardrobe? Was I in Narnia? It was two weeks before Christmas. I glanced in awe out the window. The once mellow branches of the Maple trees, fixed and frozen in ice, smacked the shingles and struck the glass windows with an astounding clatter. Winds wailed and higher branches splintered and crash landed on branches below propelling them downward. No wonder my cats, Mercy and Grace crouched under the down comforter on the bed one minute and …

Recently, we experienced a pop-up memory of Chad. We (my husband and I) were driving home and stopped at the signal lights. A shiny beige pickup truck came whizzing through the intersection of the busy street and easily caught our attention. In the bed of the pickup truck was a 3’ x 5’ American flag whirling in the breeze. Simultaneously, Gary and I had an instant pop-up memory to a long ago time, when our son Chad, did the very same thing! I haven’t seen such a display since Chad’s death, …

Death, grief, and bereavement are difficult for people of all faiths. The traditional grief and bereavement practices have less utility for Roman Catholics than for people of other faith traditions. Perhaps American Indians are most similar in their grief and bereavement practices. For Catholics, the focus is upon restoring the community and the communion of saints. Catholicism is not an ego-centered religion. The focus is less upon the individual than upon the community or group. Attendan …

Reece’s friend Jeremy was murdered when he was out of state visiting a relative. The circumstances surrounding his death are still somewhat unclear; there are no suspects. She wasn’t even informed about his death until a few days after the funeral. You might imagine that Reece’s grief fluctuated between shock, rage and profound sadness for quite some time. She tried to find out more information about his death but could find little more than the details printed in the newspaper. Jeremy’s f …