The sparse hospice room was lit with filtered light, and the hall was empty. There was only the sound of the shallow breath of my loved one laying near, his hand cold in mine. I slowly slid to the foot of the bed and rubbed his feet gently through the thin blanket, thinking of how much he had liked that just days before. We had laughed then as I gave him a pedicure—his only pedicure after eighty-six long years of living. He was my first loved one to die, and he slipped away from this life much as he had lived it. Peacefully, contently, patiently waiting until we were all gathered to say our silent goodbyes.

In some situations, death comes as a shock and in others it arrives in a more expected way, giving us time to process the loss and say our goodbyes. Goodbye for now, but not forever. Believing in the mercy of God’s love and the reality of His salvation gives us the confidence that death is not the end. Although we may yet be reunited with love ones in the presence of the Lord, there is deep and very real pain at the loss of a loved one. The more we love, the more it hurts when we have to say goodbye.

Saint Paul in First Thessalonians today gives us reason to continue to pray for those even after they have passed, and especially for those who have no one to pray for them. The prayer for the departed souls is a beautiful prayer to add to your daily routine. Consider offering this prayer today for a loved one and for those who have been forgotten: Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

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