Priceless

My great-Aunt Louise died last weekend.  Here’s a reflection on a wonderful life well-lived.

            When I walked into Aunt Louise’s wake the other night, I was happy to see so many pictures of her gracing the easels set up around the room.  Her grandson, Michael, told me that Aunt Louise loved her pictures.  He would often find her flipping through her photo albums cherishing her memories as she reminisced about times past.  Having known her for nearly 50 of her 101 years, I recognized many of the people, family gatherings and life events captured in those pictures, but I learned a few things, too.  I learned that 101 years generates a lot of pictures; and I learned that Aunt Louise was quite the bathing beauty in her day.   But the pictures also confirmed what I already knew:  that Aunt Louise loved her life and the family and friends who shared it with her; and most importantly, that Aunt Louise understood that life is a priceless gift from God.

            In the Gospel passage proclaimed at Aunt Louise’s committal service, Jesus calls all of us to come and “inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”  (Matthew 25: 34)  Jesus preached that the Kingdom of God is both in our midst, and there’s more to come.  You see, heaven isn’t a place; it’s a way of living.  So by humbling himself to take on our humanity, Jesus brought us a share in God’s life; he opened the gates of God’s Kingdom to us now and for all eternity.  That’s why we celebrate life at a Catholic funeral – not just the life of our loved one who died, but the promise of an eternal life of peace, love and happiness in God’s Kingdom for our beloved dead, and for us.

God’s Kingdom is ours for the taking, right now, if we choose.  So our challenge is to live the Kingdom now, to treasure life, enjoy it, and love it.  You know, Aunt Louise didn’t live a pollyannaish life that was practically perfect in every way.  She faced tough economic times, sickness, death and broken relationships like most people do.  Hard times notwithstanding, Aunt Louise still loved her life, she treasured it.  How do I know?  Because she herself was a treasure:

-         I know because In every snapshot in my mind of Aunt Louise, she’s smiling and laughing (and sometimes smacking Uncle Lou on the arm when he got too silly);

-         I know because she always spoke lovingly about her children, her grandchildren, her family and her friends;

-         I know because I’ve seen countless Facebook testimonies saying how sweet and special she was; and

-         I know because whenever Aunt Louise’s name is mentioned, the immediate response from everyone who knew her is:  “I love Aunt Louise.”

Aunt Louise proved that she understood her life as a priceless gift by living her life as a priceless gift.  We have every hope and expectation that she has inherited the Kingdom because she lived God’s Kingdom here on earth.

       I’m sure that each person who looked at the pictures at Aunt Louise’s wake the other night found a favorite among them.  My favorite is a picture of Aunt Louise walking along a roadside when Aunt Pauline and my mother were young girls (I think it was the last time Aunt Louise would have passed off as the tallest person in a picture).  The story goes that Aunt Louise, Aunt Pauline and my mother were driving with Uncle Lou to Pennsylvania when they got a flat tire.  So what did Aunt Louise do while Uncle Lou fixed the flat?  She didn’t gripe or complain; she took the girls to the side of the road to pick flowers.  They say a picture paints a thousand words, and that one speaks volumes to me.  But the hundreds, maybe even thousands of pictures that chronicle Aunt Louise’s life could never capture the treasure that she was because Aunt Louise was priceless.