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Signs, Everywhere a Sign May 21, 2014
Here is Heaven "I watch for, notice, and trust the signs that heaven continually sends." I was meditating on this quote from the weekly guidance and thought about my mom who passed away eleven days ago. It will take some time to process her passing, but I was thinking that mom is possibly already sending signs she's still here. Because here is heaven. Mom had a great life. She raised 9 children, enjoyed her 11 grandchildren and now the great grandchildren are coming up. Being a mom was her greatest joy. She did other things. She was trained as a Bel Canto singer in the choir at OLPH and sang the Ave Maria as a soloist. She was an avid tennis player and spectator. She once snagged an autograph on a tennis ball from John McEnroe. Mom had "go to" phrases when my brothers and sisters complained about things -- like for instance, a stain on a shirt. "A blind man would be glad to see it," she would say. Once several of my brothers and sisters got a list together of all her sayings .. there were about one hundred. It's those unique things about mom that our family members share these days so soon after her passing. But it's the intangibles that we carry with us. The things she taught us can be summed up in the words "never give up." "Be persistent." "Keep trying." And of course, "enjoy!" Mom loved the outdoors and in the later years appreciated a lunch that included a chardonnay. Intangible is a good word for what I am speaking of now. Gosh, mom herself is intangible -- not made of physical substance. But she's not gone. She's still here. And she's not limited to her physical frailties that frustrated her during the last years. She's whole now. I can see, hear and feel the signs. On the way to my son's college graduation Mass on Friday night, I told my mom to send me a sign. I acknowledged it when during Mass, Father prayed for our loved ones who recently passed. I said "Thanks, for the sign mom." And after Mass ended, Father had us pray for sunshine for the outdoor ceremony the next morning. Thunderstorms were in the forecast. When a beautiful, lightly breezy sunshine day presented itself, Father again took to the podium and instructed us to thank our mothers for the weather. "Yes, thank you, mom!" Her presence was there in New York City, as it was in Boston where my sister's family was celebrating my niece's graduation. I believe that in mom's passing just days before the graduations, she found a way to be at both celebrations that meant so much to her. There have been other signs. I feel mom's presence with me. It offers comfort. It is also a reminder of who we are -- you and me. We are all in Spirit. While we have a body, most of our being is in Spirit. That part of us never dies. If you love someone who passed over, you did not lose them. Look for the signs they are with you now more than ever.
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