On the Level w/ HandyGramps - A Love Story Like No Other

The following was written by HandyGramps in October & posted in their church's monthly newsletter for the month of November. With his permission, I am sharing it here.

***********************

A Love Story Like None Other

One day last month, September 2013, HelpfulGrammy and I lost a grandchild.  Our daughter, Maria, miscarried at 6½ weeks.  As sad as that was, there came to be an element of joy in what happened, a joy that can only come from the strength of true faith.  Let me explain.

A few days after it was discovered that the baby had died in utero, Maria passed what looked to be some kind of tissue.  Realizing that it could be the baby, she carefully preserved it in a brine solution and took it to her doctor.  The doctor confirmed that it was, indeed, the baby.  Maria knew that because it was a baby, a proper disposition of the remains was needed: the baby would be buried with all the sacredness and dignity of a Catholic burial.  That evening, the whole family – Maria, Matt, children The Prophet, The Archangel, The Princess, & The Saint – talked over what had happened.  Together, they decided that if the baby was to be buried, a name was in order.  After some discussion they all decided on Francis Mary – Francis in case it was a boy, Mary if it was a girl.  (Now, if you think about it, that’s not all that odd.  Many nuns have taken names such as Margaret Joseph, and monks have taken the likes of Bernard Mary.)

Maria located an organization called Back In His Arms Again (www.backinhisarmsagain.com) that dealt with babies that do not make it full term.  With their help, she arranged for a burial in Resurrection Cemetery near Lewis Center, north of Columbus.  A new plot had just been designed for babies just like Francis Mary.  It’s still being developed and has not yet been consecrated by Bishop Campbell.  Maria asked me if I would do a memorial service at the cemetery, and of course, I agreed.  It was decided that Friday, October 4, would be the day. 

After we decided on readings and the form of the service, I began to think about what words I would say.  I’ve done a lot of funerals over the years, and I either know the person from the parish or I usually have a chance to meet with the family if I don’t know them.  That helps determine what I would say in a homily.  But, what could I say about an unborn child, especially my own grandchild?  For some reason, I decided to wear a red shirt with a red and black tie with crosses on it.  As I was putting them on, the Holy Spirit smacked me upside the head (as the Spirit often does).  Suddenly, I knew what I would say. 

Life has a purpose, but what purpose is there to a life so quickly ended?  What purpose could there possibly be for Francis Mary, whose life never came to full term?  The color red gave me my answer.  It is the fire of true Christian love.

You see, Francis Mary was loved with a love that was anticipated even before conception because Maria and Matt had wanted another baby.  There are countless millions of babies just like Francis Mary, many whose lives ended in the womb through abortion.  Those babies never knew love in this world.  Yes, they are certainly loved by God, and that is certainly more than sufficient.  But they never knew the love of mothers and fathers who wanted them.  They were simply disposed of.  That, I believe, defined Francis Mary’s purpose in life.
 

Like them, Francis Mary’s life ended in the womb; so, in that respect, they would be able to identify with Francis Mary.  The way I see it, thanks to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, Francis Mary was conceived, and then taken to Heaven, in order to let them know that they are indeed loved in this world as well as in Heaven.   The very love that created Francis Mary, the love between Maria and Matt, the love of their four children, is the love that Francis Mary was created for, a special love to take to all those millions who never knew love here on Earth.  Thanks to Francis Mary, they would know that there are countless people on Earth who truly love them.

And, you know, the story does not end there.  As Maria and Matt said their morning prayer the day of the memorial service, Maria realized that October 4 was the feast of St. Francis of Assisi.  So maybe, just maybe, Francis Mary is a boy.

God works in mysterious ways.

(HandyGramps, October 2013)

On the Level with HandyGramps

WOW! These are powerful! The first half (Sharon's letter) came from Patrick Madrid (not sure whether he personally wrote it or if he'd gotten it elsewhere). HandyGramps decided to take it a step further & write the second letter (Tommy's). 

*************** 

The following is FICTION; but is our society headed in this direction?  Think about it!

January 22, 2023

Dear Mom,

            Can you believe it is already the year 2023?  I’m still writing ’22 on everything!  It seems like only yesterday that I was sitting in the first grade and celebrating the change to a new century.

            I know we really haven’t chatted since Christmas, Mom, and I’m sorry.  Anyway, I have some difficult news to share with you and, to be honest, I really didn’t want to call or talk about this face to face.

            But before I get to that, let me report that Ted just got a big promotion; and I should be up for a hefty raise this year if I keep putting in all those crazy hours.  You know how I work at it.  (Yes, we’re still struggling to pay the bills.)

            Little Tommy’s been okay at kindergarten, although he complains about going.  But then, he wasn’t happy about the day-care center either.  So what can we do?

            He’s been a real problem, Mom.  He’s a good kid, but quite honestly, he’s an unfair burden on us at this time in our lives.  Ted and I have talked this through, and we have finally made a choice.  Plenty of other families have made the same choice and are really better off today.

            Our pastor is supportive of our choice.  He pointed out that the family is a system, and the demands of one member shouldn’t be allowed to ruin the whole.  The pastor told us to be prayerful and to consider all the factors as to what is right to make our family work.  He says that even though he probably wouldn’t do it himself, the choice is really ours.  He was kind enough to refer us to a children’s clinic near here, so at least that part is easy.

            Don’t get me wrong, Mom.  I’m not an uncaring mother.  I do feel sorry for the little guy.  I think he heard Ted and me talking about this the other night.  I turned and saw him standing at the bottom of the stairs in his PJs with his little teddy bear that you gave him under his arm, and his eyes were sort of welled up in tears.

Mom, the way he looked at me just about broke my heart, but I honestly believe this is better for Tommy, too.  It’s just not fair to force him to live in a family that can’t give him the time and attention he deserves.

            And please, Mom, don’t give me the kind of grief that grandma gave you over your abortions.  It’s the same thing, you know.  There’s really no difference.

            We’ve told Tommy he’s just going for a “vaccination”.  Anyway, they say the termination procedure is painless.  I guess it’s just as well that you haven’t seen that much of Tommy lately.

            Please give my love to dad.

Your daughter, Sharon.

Several weeks after the “vaccination” – oddly enough on what would have been Tommy’s seventh birthday – Sharon found the following letter on her pillow.  It was handwritten in an elegant, beautiful script, in gold ink on paper with a pearl-like finish.

Dear Mom,

It’s me, Tommy.  I’m in Heaven.  It’s so beautiful and peaceful here that you couldn’t even imagine.  One of the wonderful things about Heaven is that there is no time.  With a few exceptions, we can not only see things that happened long ago but we can see things that haven’t happened yet – at least on Earth.  I’ve met a lot of beautiful people since I got here, including my aunt and three uncles who were never born because grandma chose not to have them.  And the angels, Mom, they are such a joy.  I wish you could meet my guardian angel.  He held my hand at the clinic so I wasn’t afraid.

What is really neat in Heaven is that we all see one another as we really are.  We don’t see babies or old people or anyone in between.  That’s because our bodies really aren’t us.  We are all simply beautiful people who radiate infinite love, a love that is a reflection of God who is Love.  And, when God raises our bodies at the end of time, our bodies will glow with such glory that you would not recognize us.  It makes me sad that you and grandma may not be able to share in that.  All you have to do is to accept God’s mercy and forgiveness like so many others like you have.  You can open yourself to His grace.  That’s a choice you do have the right to make.

I’m looking forward to seeing Dad and his new wife, Angela, here in Heaven.  After the two of you separated, he met her.  She was working with an organization that believes life is a precious gift from God, and that it should never be seen as an inconvenience – or an unfair burden.  She got him to rethink the choice you and he made, and he turned to God for forgiveness.  In fact, Dad is going to become a United States senator and sponsor a lot of bills in Congress to prevent abortions and euthanasia.  Their efforts to teach people to respect all life will one day extend around the world.  It’s too bad that everyone can’t be as Christian as Dad and Angela will be.

It’s really a shame that a lot of folks will never see how wonderful their children are.  I’ve met so many – millions – who were not allowed to be born, or who were terminated as I was.  A lot of them would have been scientists who could have built colonies on other planets and done things to make Earth a better place to live.  So many others would have discovered cures for a lot of the diseases that afflict people, a lot sooner than the discoveries will be made.  One, a real character, would have been a comedian who made people laugh and feel good about themselves.  She is a real treat to be around.  There is so much talent here that was never allowed to blossom.

Well, Mom, I have to go now.  A group of us – several thousand of us, in fact – are getting ready to stand before God’s throne and sing praise to Him.  We do that a lot.  It was, after all, His love that made us who we are.  You see, we belong to God, not to one another.  So we really don’t have the right to decide who lives and who doesn’t.  It’s too bad that you never understood that.

I love you and continue to pray for you,

Your son, Tommy

Then, as tears filled Sharon’s eyes, the letter vanished.