A good friend sent this to me along with her kind words.
For anyone who has ever lost someone...
A reading from the book of Wisdom. Ch. 4: 4-15
The virtuous man, though he die before his time, will find rest.
Length of days is not what makes age honourable,
nor number of years the true measure of life;
understanding, this is man’s grey hairs,
untarnished life, this is ripe old age.
He has sought to please God, so God has loved him;
as he lived among sinners, he has been taken up.
He has been carried off
so that evil may not warp his understanding
or treachery seduce his soul;
for the fascination of evil throws the good into the shade,
and the whirlwind of desire corrupts a simple heart.
Coming to perfection in so short a while,
he achieved long life;
his soul being pleasing to the Lord,
who has taken him quickly
from the wickedness around him.
Yet people look on, uncomprehending;
it does not enter their heads
that grace and mercy await the chosen of the Lord,
and protection, God’s holy ones.
