Christ of the Breadlines,
Fritz Eichenberg
I returned home this afternoon from a gathering of persons in the Catholic Worker movement from the Midwest at Sugar Creek in Iowa. Being with all those kind and wonderful persons in a beautiful country setting, the numbness and hardness of heart since the death of my son, three weeks ago, started to melt. Starting to feel the loss of my ‘best friend’ hurts, but being there, in such peaceful surroundings, helped to ease the growing pain.
Tonight, the wife of a dear friend, Jim, who recently died after a long illness, called me to say that Dismas Becker, a dear friend of both of us, died tonight. Hearing of Dismas’ death was sad but not a shock. He had been in great pain dying at home for a very long time. With some of his other friends I had visited Dismas last Tuesday. After our common friend Jim died we had moved our gatherings on Tuesday to the home of Dismas, who had been a member of our Tuesday group as long as he could.
Dismas had wanted to die for a long time. The widow of our common friend told me tonight that when she called to tell Dismas that Jim had died he told her he was ‘jealous’. Jim did not have pain when dying, unlike Dismas.
Last Tuesday, when we went to his home to visit, he was in a hospital bed in his front room, aware, but so close to death. As I held his hand, gave him a drink of water and saw him struggle for words, I felt a deep peace come over me. He was comforting me on the loss of my son as he lay dying in pain. When I tried to make light conversation with him he gave me his famous smile. His smile, his joy of life, will be something I will always remember.
Tomorrow I will be back to the driving ministry, taking my friend Ann to yet another doctor’s appointment as she struggles to find the source and relief from her great pain. People dying and suffering from pain — Dismas, Ann, my son and best friend, Peter — are great blessings in my life.
Many of the Catholic Worker families had brought their children to the gathering. Talking and playing with the young children, so full of hope and imagination brought great joy to my life this weekend.
Unlike most of the persons gathering this weekend I do not live in a Catholic Worker community of hospitality. However, by being with the suffering and dying I feel the most like a Catholic Worker, being a friend to persons in need, as the person blesses me. Yes Dying and the Catholic Worker movement are explicitly joined together.
Comments
(:commentboxchrono:)