On March 19, the Feast of St. Joseph our family, Brian and Melanie Glaser, Meg and DiegoTeran and 5 grandchildren, Andoe, Diego Andres, John, Claire and Sabine, came together at Fairhaven Memorial Park in Santa Ana. We buried Jack, Grandpa's ashes in a lovely ceremony. Each one put something into the vault with him.
I made these remarks. I post them here in loving memory of Jack.
"Having our family gathered around in this lovely park-like cemetery makes me feel very grateful and appreciative that our bodies and are spirits are here! for months we've been planning for this day. I think we picked just the 'right time' for this occasion to bury Grandpa's ashes. yet we wonder how this will be for us.
This precious box has been on a special shelf in my living room. Grandpa's ashes are from his physical body. We will bury them in the ground, as is the custom in many places around the world. WE'll lay over his grave the special marker with his name and some important things about him. This will now be a public place where we can come and honor his memory.
Grandpa was our dear leader when he was alive. Even in his death he continues to lead us by our memories and thoughts of him. What would he say to this/ What would he do in this situation?
It is interesting that today is the Feast of St. Joseph, who was known as a wise protector of his family. A psalm for today reads, "Behold a faithful and wise man, which the Lord set over his household".
Grandpa lived a good life - and he died a good death. Such ideas were some of what he thought and wrote about, and they were part of his scholarly work and teaching.
As a boy, as a teenager, as a student, as a grown-up in all these stages he was loving and curious. He developed his talents. He worked and played and laughed and loved. He used his brains and his heart. He liked sports. He was musical, artistic and poetic. He liked to fix things and even to cool sometimes!
As a husband, as a father and as a Grandpa he was present to us, very loving, ever curious. He was enchanted with us, cherishing our special beauty and uniqueness. Grandpa died a good death. He came to understand his age and his illness. He had the good fortune to be in the care of doctors he respected. He died in a hoppital that he knew and he even caled it "my hospital". Wonderfully, he got to say good-bye to all of us.
Grandpa believed in Easter! New life! Hope! No matter the trouble, the problem, the sorrow, how big or small the disappointment. He knew about a future we can surely believe in through it all. As G. M. Hopkins wrote: "For all this nature in never spent..." As the engraving on Grandpa's marker reads: "There is the dearest freshness deep down things".
There will always be his spirit to guide us with "warm breast and ah bright wings".