Days 137-138 The Divine Gift of Remembrance

"To the soul memory is more important than planning, art more compelling than reason, and love more fulfilling than understanding." ~Thomas Moore

In Loving Remembrance of Patrick Gustave Gleason Mandala Watercolor by ~liz

This week, I attended a Celebration of Life for Pat Gleason, the father of my friend and colleague, Pam Paul. The priest gave an especially meaningful eulogy. He spoke of the choice we have to love. We can choose, as Pat did, to reach out to others in need and live a life of loving service. I listened as Pam shared these sweet remembrances of her dad:

My Dad

My Dad gave airplane rides to all the kids on the block

My Dad piled his entire Little League team into his Triumph Spitfire

My Dad never cooked when he was married to my Mom, but when he decided to cook, he made Crab Benedict for Easter Brunch, and it was good!

My Dad made Pasties, an Irish Meat Pie for Sunday family dinners

My Dad loved the Yankees!

My Dad loved Minnesota, state of his birth.

My Dad loved to argue and he was always right. (Even when he was wrong he would wear you down until he was right)

My Dad was devoted to Alcoholics Anonymous and credited the organization with saving his life.

My Dad was fierce, loyal and opinionated.

My Dad was exceptionally smart.

My Dad loved by many.

My Dad was loved by me.

~Pam Paul

Father Christian then spoke of the divine gift of remembrance by quoting Mathew 18:20, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." When we remember our loved ones, they too are in our midst. That is the power of Love! What a beautiful realization, this gift of remembrance.

~Liz Sorensen Wessel

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Categories: Healing Hospital Network (HHN)

Tags: Erie Chapman Foundation, God is Love, Journal of Sacred Work, Liz sorensen Wessel, Love, mandala, Mathew 18:20, Pam Paul, Patrick Gustave Gleason, Thomas Moore

8 responses to “Days 137-138 The Divine Gift of Remembrance”

Carolyn

May 15, 2010 at 2:04 am

I so agree that when we remember our loved ones who have gone into a different dimension, they are with us. Some physicists say their are 11 dimensions. God is so big that we do not know all the places that God is. And perhaps our loved ones accompany God into some of these places.
Thanks Liz for lifting up Pam’s father and the way he lived his life, full of energy and joy. May we all be sent off with such a blessing.

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Julie Laverdiere

May 15, 2010 at 10:12 am

What a gift for everyone, to have lived with such joy and character. I can just imagine meeting him. They say that you can see the love a person had in those who are here to remember them. What a great eulogy. His family will mourn, but I think with a smile on their faces, just like on mine.

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Sue Staley

May 15, 2010 at 10:56 am

Liz, Please give Pam and her family my condolences. Pam is such an awesome person. She is much like what she wrote in her poem. Let her know Sean is doing well in Little League. Wish he could have known her dad. Little League does have many dads who feel the same way. My prayers are with her and her family. Hope he died in peace.

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Maureen McDermott

May 15, 2010 at 8:50 pm

Years ago I read in the writing of Joan Chittister that Memory is God’s gift to us to make up for distance. At the time I read that I was leaving a friend whom I thought that I would never see again. The memories of what we had shared gave me life and hope and truly, they closed the distance between us. (Fortunately I have been united with this friend on a few occasions in the last fifteen years.) With death, I believe that our memories are even more necessary to close the distance between our loved one who has gone home to God and ourselves. We are so blessed to have ritual to help us mourn and farewell those who are lived life well and to remember them with joy, gratitude, love and with hope. May our memories not only sustain us but bring us closer to those whom have been separated by distance.

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Marily

May 16, 2010 at 5:25 am

May God bless the soul of Patrick Gustave Gleason. May he rest in peace.
The gift we share to each other leaves good memories of ourselves. This beautiful Mandala Liz will always be in my mind and heart… your depiction of “God is Love”.

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ann kaiser

May 16, 2010 at 5:22 pm

If it weren’t for our special and sacred memories, what would we have? How could we go on? When we lose a loved one to the gift of eternal life , their gift to us is the memories we carry with us in our life. Our loved one is as close as our heart and our thoughts. We draw strength and comfort with those memories. Liz , your special watercolor reflects the beauty of this man. Pammy , my dear friend , your poem honoring your father is truly beautiful. Carry those memories with you. Your truly are your fathers daughter….Your life shows daily that ” God is Love”.

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Victoria Facey

May 17, 2010 at 12:26 am

Mr. Gleason sounds like he was a kind, generous and loving person, father, husband and neighbor. Thank you for sharing Pam’s touching poem and your beautiful mandala.

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Marie Ma

May 30, 2010 at 1:44 pm

Thanks to Liz for this kind posting for Pam.
We came here through love and leave with love in our souls as well, I feel. Pam’s reflections of her dad show her loving the entire being just as he was.
Love is accepting and kind and non-judgemental. Blessings to you and your family,Pam. I am sorry for your loss. Thank you for showing us how love shines through many dimensions.
Marie Murphy

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