A Few Days with Laura

It's Thursday afternoon now, and Laura is sleeping peacefully. I've been here since Monday afternoon and will be leaving tomorrow morning. Things are as good as can be expected at this point. She is very weak and tired, and is in bed all the time, but we've still had sufficient time to talk as she "prepares for the Kingdom." Our conversations have been fruitful, and I'm grateful to be able to support and encourage her these few days--and especially grateful for the opportunity to place the divine Host upon her tongue, her Viaticum for the journey, her sure hope for salvation.

There have been no significant changes in her situation this week, except that yesterday she felt so weak and drained that she thought she was near death. Today she has more energy and we've been able to talk quite a bit. She had been anointed recently, so it wasn't necessary for me to do that again, but I've been bringing Jesus to her in Holy Communion each day, and today I heard her confession and granted her a plenary indulgence. I'm satisfied that she is spiritually ready to meet her Lord, and this is a consolation for me and of course for her as well. There is still some "letting go" to be done, but it is all part of the process, and everything has clearly been in God's hands the whole time. She has loving and supportive family members, and the hospice workers have been very helpful and kind. The local parish has arranged to have someone bring her Communion daily.

It is sad and painful for many that she is approaching death from cancer while only in her mid-fifties, with four children, and as she was just beginning her vocation as an iconographer. But she really couldn't ask for a better or more supportive environment in which to be as she comes to the end of her earthly life--and the beginning of the life that never ends. Her spirits are good, though there are of course times of sadness and perhaps a little fear, from which even Jesus was not spared as He approached his death. But having been personally involved in the spiritual tranformation she has experienced in the past few years, I can say that she is living these days with eyes open, with hope for eternal life, and with gratitude to the Lord for having given her both the time and the grace to be able to "go forth in peace, in the name of the Lord."

We really don't know how much time she has left. She could go at any moment, though it seems likely that she has several weeks left, maybe more. But she would like everyone to know that we have always to live as if we would soon be standing before the Lord, for it may in fact be that you and I could die even before she does. No one knows the day or the hour. We may die after a protracted illness or suddenly without warning. Jesus said, "I say to all: Watch!" Laura has learned the lesson of vigilance and it is paying off now as she can face death with courage and faith. That is not something that can be improvised at the last moment. She is grateful to you for your support and friendship and prayers, and she prays for you too. I relay your comments to her as I am able. I'll give updates when there is any significant news to share.

Abbot Joseph