Translating a World on the Edge

By Pippalou, 2015, MorgueFile.ocm

I am going to a funeral today, a Mass of Christian Burial. I am going to celebrate a life lived in the sweetest of ways.

I am going to share in the rhythm of Mass, its recitation of prayers and rituals that echo back through the years to a little white church made of bricks, much smaller, much closer than today.

I am going with memories sliding through my thoughts like the moon passing behind the branches of pines.

I am going to a burial ground that is sacred, a spot where those who have gone before us, marked with the sign of faith, await resurrection.

I am going to a hill where I’ll step near my own parents, grandparents, other relatives and friends.

I am going to the inevitable closing of life on earth to the opening of life everlasting.

I am going to a funeral today for my beloved, forever friend.

Camille Margaret Joseph passed away peacefully on November 3, 2018 surrounded by her devoted family. She lived a spiritual life and left behind family and friends with fond memories of her kind heart, gentle soul, and great courage. She left this world with grace and beauty, just as she lived her life. She touched the lives of so many people and left her stamp on this earth. She was a devout Catholic and loved God above all.

Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you.

— Psalm 116:7