We move back to the United States this coming week.
Some weeks ago, a friend asked why we were leaving Germany. I told him that our tour was only two years, and those years are wrapping up.
“Ah,” he said, “so you knew from the beginning that it was all time-bound.”
I liked how he put that, and have thought about it the days since. It is true of our time in Germany, and it is true of our time on the earth.
We know from the beginning that our whole lives are time-bound. We don’t get forever here.
While I can appreciate this intellectually, I don’t feel that I really comprehend and internalize it until I am confronted with the pain of it.
Such a moment happened this week, when I was told of the death of a friend and mentor. Fr. Tom McDermott, CSC had just shy of 74 years to teach those who had the privilege of learning from him that liberating reality that the truth will make you strange. This week, I am internalizing the loss of him and will write more next week appreciating the remarkable human that he was.
Paul's Blog 