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  {\torzor  From the Pulpit of Church of the Good Shepherd  \\July 24, 2009,  
10:00 AM \\
  Funeral Service for Elizabeth Rasmusen\\
 (Held at
Sherwood Oaks Christian Church) }

 

\begin{Huge}
{\torzor  “My Little Daughter Is Dying” }

\end{Huge}


{\torzor  Sermon Text: Mark 5: 21-24; 35-43 (see the middle of the
sermon for the words)}

\end{center}
 
 \begin{small}

\noindent
{\it  (NOTE: This is from  the
manuscript for the sermon. As with most sermons, some things
in the manuscript were not in the sermon and parts of the
sermon were not in the manuscript. Eric Rasmusen put this into Latex and pdf, changing  the formatting some. }

\bigskip

\noindent
(Preliminary comments on the frequency of the death of children
in Colonial America, compared to its frequency, today; followed
by excerpts from prayer requests taken from the flip sides of
Jonathan Edwards’ sermon manuscripts.)

\end{small}
\bigskip

   Professor Stephen Stein, a retired faculty member here at
Indiana University, read the flip sides of hundreds of the scraps
of paper Jonathan Edwards wrote his sermons on. At the time,
paper was a valuable commodity and Edwards recycled the pieces
of paper given him by his parishioners containing their prayer
requests each Lord’s Day. Later, Edwards wrote his sermons on
these bits of paper. Professor Stein published an article outlining
the content of those requests. The requests are instructive for us
today, on this occasion of the funeral of little Lizzie Rasmusen.

   Listen as I read you a few excerpts of these requests and see if
there is anything for us to learn from souls who have gone before
us. How do the Christians of Edwards’ day respond to the
afflictions from God that entered their lives?


 


\begin{quotation}
\begin{small}
 

    “Shortly after the death of their son on August 1, 1743,
Ichabod Strong and his wife handed a small slip of paper to their
minister …petitioning the prayers of the congregation (with
these words): ‘…that God would sanctify his Holy and afflicting
hand to them in taking away there youngest child by death.’ ”\\

 

    “Moses Parsons together with his parents desire the prayers of
the congregation that God would sanctify his holy hand unto
them in taking away his wife and their daughter by death. They
desire prayers also for the child that is sick.”\\

   “The widow Lydia Wright and her children desire the prayers
of this congregation that God would sanctify his holy hand to
them in taking away her husband and their father by death. They
desire prayer that God would cause this affliction to work for
their spiritual good.”\\

   “Widow Sheldon desires (the prayers) of the congregation that
God raise her up from a bed of sickness, it if be his will.
Otherwise determined that God fit her and all concerned for his
holy will and pleasure. And her children desire the same.”\\

   “John Parsons and his wife desire the prayers of the
congregation for her and their oldest child, they being
dangerously sick, that God would be pleased to restore them to
health if it be his will but if he has otherwise determined that he
would prepare them for his will.”\\

   “Ezra Clark and his wife desire that thanks may be given to
God in this congregation for his great goodness to him in
restoring of him from his late illness to such a measure of health
as that he is able again to come to the house of God. They desire
that this mercy and the late affliction they have been the subjects
of may work together for their everlasting good.”\\

   “William Judd desireth the prayers of this congregation that
God would sanctify to him and his children the afflicting shock
of his hand in removing his wife by death.”

 

\end{small}
\end{quotation}

   At the time of the Great Awakening, colonial Americans
believed in the sovereignty of God and their prayers were clearly
aimed at submission to His will, both in accepting with joy and
thanksgiving His blessings, but also in seeking their own spiritual
growth through his afflictions.

   Most men do what they must to keep a safe distance from
death. Most men, in their actions and thoughts, refuse to live in
light of the explicit statement of the Word of God— the only
Word of God, written— that “it is appointed unto man, once to
die, and after that the judgment.” Most men go through life
fleeing God, evading Jesus Christ, and resisting the Holy Spirit as,
from God’s kindness, He convicts us of sin and righteousness
and judgment.

   It is man’s habit to sidestep spiritual matters and the questions
of eternity moment by moment, week by week, month by
month, year by year, decade by decade; and then to put on the
stiff upper lip and face death with cheap talk about not being
afraid to die and how death is only the natural end of the human
organism.

   But every now and then, we are awakened from our stupor,
jolted out of our spiritual comas by the loving hand of God.

   Some deaths are unavoidable in displaying the stark reality that
death is an enemy, a terrible enemy. Such is the death of a tender
child. Awful in its finality; in the springtime of life with the fair
flower of youth in its budding beauty; death yanks a precious little
one from the black soil of  the love of her father and mother,
sister and brother, and she is gone.

   This one time, there is no helping it; there is no escape: we
must grieve.

   All of us must grieve. And all of us must face sin and death and
righteousness and judgment and the awful holiness of our Maker
and Creator, God.

   Not just any god, mind you; no national or ethnic or partisan
political god.

   There are lots of gods in this world, but I am no wasting time
speaking to you of any of these gods. They are idols, all of them,
made by man’s hands and mind, and bearing his image.

   Following death, though, there is only one God— all the others
are gone. They have vanished, as the early morning mist burned
away by the brilliance of the sun.

   As we stand before the Judgment Seat, we will be called to give
an account before our Creator, before the God Who, Himself,
made us and this world and the ten billion light years of the
universe.

   He is the only God and He has made Himself known to us
through His Only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

   Being jealous for His Own glory, He demands the worship and
adoration of each of His creatures bearing His Own image—
from every girl and boy, man and woman of the race of man. But
from our rebellion and wickedness, we turn away from Him and
go our own way; do our own thing; rut in our pleasures and pride
and refuse to repent and turn to Him in faith.

   So, what does He do? Faced with our depravity and endless
entertainments by which we amuse ourselves to death, does He
allow us to pass on to judgment and Hell without warning?

   From His kindness and love, today He has awakened us by an
instrument that is the source both of His most severe discipline
and His most tender affection; and that instrument is death—
the death of a tender child.

   We have gathered to mourn the death of Elizabeth Grace
Rasmusen.

   And it is her gift to us to call us to God, to holiness and
repentance and life. This is the meaning of this hour for every
one of us.

   God is calling us, through this terrible loss, to choose life.

   Satan, the Evil One who is the Father of Lies and seeks our
destruction, both now and eternally, hates life.

   But God is the God of life.

   I was reminded of this, reading through stories little Lizzie
wrote. Here’s the heart of a child who, like her Maker and
Creator, loves life:


\begin{quotation}
\begin{small}
 

\bigskip
\noindent
January 13, 2007\\

   Once upon a time, there lived one one boy and two girls. And
they wanted more brothers and more sisters. So they asked one
morning a lady, “Can you find us some brothers and some
sisters?”\\

   The lady said yes.\\

   “There's a lady right behind my house, which is the blue one.
She doesn't want so many boys.”\\

   So they went there and asked if they could have one of her
boys. She said yes. Then they asked her if she knew anybody
who didn't want a brother or a sister. She said, “Well, there are
four houses behind mine. One of them is rainbow-colored, one
of them is blue, and one of them is pink, and one of them is
aqua. Pick the one that's aqua. She doesn't want so many girls,
because she has nine girls and one boy.” So they went there. And
they asked her if she could give them a sister. She said yes. Then
they asked her, “Do you know anybody who doesn't want so
many brothers and sisters?”\\



   “Yes I do,” she said. “There'll be two houses. Pick the one
that's blue. And then go inside. She doesn't want so many
brothers.” So they did that. But instead of them picking the blue
one they picked the pink one, which was the other one. Then
when they were inside, they saw no children, so they went out.
So, they went into the other house. And they asked her if they
had any brothers or sisters. She said yes. She said she would give
them a boy. Then they asked her, “Do you know anybody who
could give us any brothers or sisters?”\\

   “Yes. Go to the house behind mine.”\\

   So they did that. And that lady said, “I'll give you a brother.”\\

   They figured out it was dinner time, so they went home. The
End.

 

\end{small}
\end{quotation}

 


   Like her Creator, Lizzie loved life. So, naturally, her death has
struck (and continues to strike) us a deep and bitter blow.

   Where might we look for God’s sovereign purpose in such a
death as hers? Of what value is such a tragedy in God’s eternal
plan?

   I have chosen for our time in God’s Word, this morning, a
passage of Scripture that shows us the compassion of Jesus for
those who mourn and His power over all the consequences of sin
in this world.  And this passage should have special meaning to
us since it tells the story of the death of another child of tender
age.

   Listen, then, to God’s Holy Word.


\begin{quotation}
\begin{small}
 

{\it Mark}  5: 21-24, 35-43.   When Jesus had again crossed over by
boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered round
him while he was by the lake. Then one of the synagogue rulers,
named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet and
pleaded earnestly with him, "My little daughter is dying. Please
come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and
live."\\

   So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed
around him. ...\\

   While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house
of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. "Your daughter is dead," they said.
"Why bother the teacher any more?"\\

   Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, "Don't
be afraid; just believe."\\

   He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John
the brother of James.\\

   When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw
a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly.  He went in
and said to them, "Why all this commotion and wailing? The
child is not dead but asleep."\\

   But they laughed at him. After he put them all out, he took the
child's father and mother and the disciples who were with him,
and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and
said to her, "Talitha koum!" (which means, "Little girl, I say to
you, get up!").\\

   Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was
twelve years old).  At this they were completely astonished.

 
\end{small}
\end{quotation}




   He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and
told them to give her something to eat.     This part of Mark’s
gospel comes in a section showing Jesus’s authority over every
weakness of mankind. His power over nature is demonstrated by
his calming the storm.  His power over Satan and his demons is
demonstrated by the casting out of the many demons in the man
who lived in the region of the Gerasenes.  Then, on His way to
the bedside of Jairus’s sick daughter, Jesus is touched by a woman
whose bleeding has gone on for twelve years with no remedy.
Upon touching Jesus she is instantly healed.

   And so we come back here to Jairus’s daughter.

{\it 22 Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there.
Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet.”}

   Now Jairus was a wealthy man and one of the town’s chief
leaders. He was a ruler of the synagogue—the center of the
town’s social and religious life back then— but neither his rank
nor his assets could keep death from the door of his house and
from his most precious daughter.

   So, today we also must keep from thinking that somehow
death can be warded off by our money, or by our defensive
driving or good doctors, or miracle drugs. We ought to be careful
lest we think the good judgment we have tried to train our
children in will make them invulnerable. Death is no respecter of
persons. All of us will die and in His perfect timing and nothing
we can do will keep us from meeting our appointment with
death.

{\it   It is appointed unto man once to die and after that the
judgment.  (Hebrews 9:27)}

   Jairus was the leader of his community, but status was
powerless to either keep his daughter from disease or to comfort
her father and mother’s sorrow when she had died.

   Notice then, where or to whom Jairus did turn for help. 

\noindent
{\it   Verse
22:    Seeing Jesus he fell at his feet…}

   This is a posture of humble entreaty.

\noindent
{\it Verse 23: …and pleaded earnestly with Him; “My little daughter
is dying.”}

A father’s heart of tenderness for his child; have you had any little
children die? Have you ever felt the same desperation Jairus felt?

\noindent
{\it Verse 23: Please come put your hands on her so that she will be
healed and live.}

   Have you known the powerlessness of watching a little one—
especially your own child— suffer? And has this caused you to
hate sin? Can we help but hate sin when we see the terrible
things it has brought on us and on our loved ones?

   In this fallen world, sin has left its mark on everything. So,
when you see a little child suffering, do you hate the agent that
caused this suffering?  Do you hate sin?

\noindent
{\it Verse 24:  Jesus went with him…  Now, when they got near the
home, this message came for them:  }

\noindent
{\it Verse 35    …your daughter is
dead…}

   The messenger of death always tries to suck us into despair and
hopelessness, but Jesus commanded Jairus to believe and not to
give in to death’s oppressive darkness. Although the messages of
the messengers were:

\noindent
  {\it …why bother the teacher anymore?   }

  The fact that this had
started out as a case of healing a physical disease, but had now
turned into a matter of raising the dead, was no big deal to Jesus.
After all, which is harder for God—to heal a physical ailment or
to give eternal life and raise a man or woman, boy or girl, from
the dead?

\noindent
{\it Verse 36 Ignoring what they said, Jesus told (Jairus), “Don’t be
afraid; just believe.”}

Jesus’ tender understanding and care for a weak and wavering
father.

\noindent
{\it   “There is never any fear that (our) faith will range more widely
than the power of God.”} Calvin on {\it Mark} 5:36 

  Jesus told Jairus  “just believe”

‘Only’ and ‘just;’ the limits of our duties in the presence of the
omnipotent God.


{\it  “Faith is the condition for Jesus to heal any of our sickness, sins,
and  sorrows.”}

\noindent
{\it Verse 38  Commotion , crying, and wailing loudly… }

 There’s no
doubt this child was dead; the wake had already begun and the
neighbors had gathered to share the sorrow and mourning.

\noindent
{\it   Verse 39  Jesus told them; “She’s only sleeping”   }

  Often death
is referred to in Scripture as a “sleep,” and by this we are to
understand the passing time of quietness and the coming
awakening of the  resurrection for those who belong to Christ.

   This is quite different from what unbelievers experience in
death; it is anything but a pleasant sleep for them, regardless of all
accounts to the contrary.

   So how did the unbelievers respond to Jesus?

\noindent
{\it  Verse 40:  But they laughed at Him…}

  What is the character of unbelief?

   Unbelief is inconsolable in grief and sorrow.

\begin{itemize}

 \item
  no hope in resurrection -belief in extinction 

 \item
 no hope of reunion


 \item
  no hope in the fatherly kindness of a Sovereign  God  just cruel
fate 

 \item
unbelief cannot say, “The Lord giveth and the Lord hath
taken away: blessed be the name of  the Lord.” (Job) 

 \item
unbelief
ridicules true faith because it cannot  understand  it 

 \item unbelievers
are destined, however, for  astonishment at “the sight of eternal
truths.”

\end{itemize}

\noindent
{\it Verse 41:  (Jesus)   took her by the hand and told her (to get up)…}

 \noindent
{\it Verse 42:    “Immediately,” she did}

   Think of the change carried out in that home, at the moment
death became life, doubt became faith, tears became laughter,
and sorrow became joy. This is the power of God over all lives,
to change us.

\noindent
{\it Verse 42:  At this they were completely astonished…}

Jesus holds the keys to death in His hands. And one day, we are
told in{\it   Isaiah} 25:8, He will “swallow up death in victory.”

\noindent
{\it Hosea } 13:14 {\it  I will ransom them...}

“When Jesus gathers His flock around Him on that great day of
His appearance, not one lamb will be missing”  (Bishop J. C. Ryle
in his commentary).

\noindent
{\it John}  11:25 {\it  Jesus said unto her, “I am the resurrection, and the
life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he
live. And whoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.”}


How often God calls us back to remember the grave, and to
prepare for it.

   Death enters all homes—castles or shanties, alike—and no bar
or deadbolt can protect us from it. It hits all men alike.    The
sinner and the lover of God; the child of rebellion and the child
of grace and beauty.

   There are many occasions to think about the coming end of
our days, but this past week, we had a particularly grievous
reminder of death’s constant presence in our midst in the death
of Lizzie.

   Let us, therefore, use this great sorrow as an occasion to think
about the divine will of God and His purposes in
death—especially the death of a little child.

   Though all men’s lives are short and, like the grass or the flower
of the field, quickly gone, death does not come to all men equally;
some are taken much sooner than others and die in their years of
tenderness.

   Many children die in the womb before we have a chance to
know them.

   Others die as infants or as toddlers.

   Others die as teenagers and young adults.

   Cut down as tender shoots or flowers in the springtime of their
lives; in the time of their glory and strength.

   So what, then, do we say to the deaths of our precious
children? What purposes does our Heavenly Father have in such
tragic events?



\bigskip
\noindent
1. Sometimes, it is those God loves best who are taken soonest.
Abel taken at a young age.  Jesus Himself made an early death
holy and good by His death in the prime of His life.

  “Whom the gods love die young.” (Menander in 352 B.C.)


\bigskip
\noindent
2. Sometimes, there are children who have a supernatural desire
for heaven—to be in their Father’s house—and this is nothing
for which to condemn them since we are all called to be
heavenly-minded.    

 Paul said: “For me to live is Christ, and to
die is gain” ({\it Philippians}  1:21).   

{\it   Now we know that if the earthly
tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an
eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile
we groan longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling. }(II
{\it  Corinthians} 5:1-2)

\bigskip
\noindent
3. It is possible that God knew that the child’s life— or anyone
else’s life, for that matter— would not have gotten better or
ended well, and that’s why He took them. After all, there’s no
guarantee age produces a greater holiness or sanctification in any
of us.    

  Paul himself talked about running the race so as not to
be disqualified at the end.  Think of how King Solomon decayed.




\begin{quotation}
\begin{small}




     “We are sailing in a very tempestuous and uncertain sea, like
mariners that sometimes set out with a fair and strong gale, and
make half their passage in a few days; but then they meet with
some rough contrary winds that force them to lie by at least, if
they are not driven back, and have many a league to measure
over again, if ever they make their passage at all. If the ship
springs a leak, though it do not founder, but after many
hardships the port is gained, yet the loss and damage sustained is
usually very much. So are there many that set out well in their
youth, and at last get to heaven, but it is sorely shattered and
broken, through their falls before temptation and another in their
way. The floods do not drown them in perdition, but yet
through their ill conduct and foolish management much of their
rich freight and lading is damnify’d and thrown overboard. They
can show the riches they once had put aboard them, but alas,
canker’d and marred now: they are not when they die, even what
they were in their early years, but their beauty marred by the
advance of age... \footnote{ Rev. Benjamin Colman, ``A Devout
Contemplation on the Meaning of Divine Providence in the
Early Death of Pious and Lovely Children; a sermon preached by
this puritan pastor on the occasion of the early death of
Elizabeth Wainwright, age 14, on April 8, 1714,''  published in {\it New
England Funeral Sermons; Scholars’ Facsimiles \& Reprints,}  Del
Mar, New York; 1978, pp. 13, 14.}

\end{small}
\end{quotation}


 


   For all we know, the child that dies might have grown in grace
closer to Jesus; yet, also, for all we know, the child might have
grown away from Jesus.

\bigskip
 
\noindent
4. God sometimes takes the righteous away to spare them from
evil (other people’s evil) to come in the future.  	  The righteous
perish, and no one ponders it in his heart; devout men are taken
away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away
to be spared from evil. ({\it Isaiah }57:1)     We don’t know how
many of even our greatest joys will turn to evil in the coming
days, and become the source of our deepest heartaches. Think,
for instance, of how many Christian parents end up seeing their
children turn away from God. How many godly mothers and
fathers live to feel a deep heartache because of their son’s or
daughter’s rejection of Jesus and their lives of sin?

   So, sometimes we remark to one another concerning loved
ones who have died, “What a blessing that he or she didn’t live
to see this day! He’d turn over in his grave if he knew what was
going on right now!”


\bigskip
\noindent
5. The death of youths is also useful to awaken the hard of heart
who want to forget about eternity.  

	{\it    “God cares for the souls
of many through His providential dealings with one.”} 
(Rev.
Benjamin Coleman,Colonial American pastor)    

 What practical
applications are there here, or how can we “improve our
afflictions,”—the constant theme of the prayers of Edward’s
parishioners.



\bigskip
\noindent
1. Young person: Think of how easily it might have been you.
Are you ready to meet the living God?

   Think along these lines: “What is my life worth in the eyes of
God compared to this life of Lizzie He has seen fit to take?”

   Are you taking advantage of the means of grace; the
instruments, disciplines, places, and times God has promised to
use in bringing souls to Himself? Are you listening to your parents
as they teach you about Jesus and eternal life? Are you seeking
God with all your heart, soul, and mind?

   How many more days do you have? Do you really think you are
invincible?



\bigskip
\noindent
{\bf Death by Sartre}

{\it  “One always dies too soon -- or too late. And yet one’s whole
life is complete at that moment with a line drawn neatly under it,
ready for the summing up. You are--- your life, and nothing else.”} 
(Jean-Paul Sartre in{\it  No Exit})




\bigskip
\noindent
{\bf 2. Adults, Parents, and the Elderly}

   What about our own souls? If the axe has come to the root of
the tender young sapling, how much longer will it be held off
from us?  When we fall, where will we fall?  Where will you fall—
into the pit of fire where the thirst is never quenched and the
worms never die, or into the arms of our Heavenly Father?


	  “God comes into His garden and plucks whichever flower
He pleases.”

   Are we preparing our precious young ones to meet their God
or are we wasting the time which remains with soccer camps, T
ball, and piano lessons with not the slightest effort to sit down
and teach them about eternity or heaven or their Savior Jesus
Christ or His precious Word the Bible?

    We must not love our children more than we love God.

   No matter how great the pain we must not rebel against God.

   Rather, let us say: The sovereignty of God is a good enough
reason for me and I need no more.  This sovereignty is worth
more than a thousand reasons when staring in the face of the
inscrutable judgments of the Maker of the universe.

   Note this well: Life and death are the sphere of responsibility of
God, uniquely; not of any man or woman. He has made life and
He holds the keys to life and death, to heaven and hell.  Shall He
not, then, do with our loved ones (and even our precious
children) just as He pleases?

  Can our children be in Heaven too soon? Can its peace,
happiness, joy, praise, and holiness come to any person too
quickly?

   If a little baby boy is taken from his father’s knees to be
gathered into his Heavenly Father’s arms, can this properly be
referred to as a tragedy?

   When a newborn infant is taken from her mother’s breast can
it be sad? Is it really heartbreaking for such a little one to leave off
its mother’s nourishment and, instead, lie in the bosom of Jesus,
the shepherd of souls? To be cared for from this point on
throughout eternity by Jesus; the one who promises to feed and
care for and watch over and protect His sheep?

   I’ll close with a couple excerpts from an e-mail I just received a
couple days ago…



\begin{quotation}
\begin{small}
 

\noindent
From: (A friend) \\
To: Tim Bayly\\
 Date: Tue, 14 Jul 2009 \\
Subject:
Anna Elisabeth… \\

\noindent
Dear Tim,  \\

  You may have heard our sad
news.  On June 24, we delivered our stillborn daughter, Anna
Elisabeth, who died after six months in the womb because the
umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck.  This is the
“official” reason, but we know God ordains all things and
supervised both the growth of that cord (we were told it was
unusually long) and its movement in the womb.  She was
beautifully formed (Ps. 139).  We were able to hold her for a long
time and she spent the night next to (her mother’s) bed.  We
had a funeral service for her followed by her burial on June 26.
 “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will
understand,” Jesus said (John 13:7).  We’re deeply grieving, but
are also sensing His great comfort.  It’s an “afflicting time” for
us, as the Puritans would say, and our heads are bowed down
under it in worship, through heaviness and tears.  We’re learning
by grace to “give thanks in ALL circumstances, for this is the will
of God through Christ Jesus” (I Thess. 5:18).\\

   It’s been hard for us to tell many people about this just yet.
We’re planning to write a letter to friends when we feel a little
stronger to write.  Meanwhile, feel free to mention it to the CGS
body as something for which we would greatly appreciate prayer.\\

   I remember the grief you felt at Nathan’s passing, and now
have some “experimental” sense of this.  I also remember the
words of your dad about the difficulty of burying one’s dear
children.  He gives and takes away; blessed be His name.  He is
good in all things,\\

\noindent
Steve



\bigskip
\noindent
P.S. (My wife) was sure this was going to be a girl (as with the
other three, we hadn’t found out), so we only had a girl’s name
picked out.  Elisabeth means “God is my oath” or “the oath of
God,” and has the connotation of “consecrated.”  Indeed, we
now see that God consecrated this one for Himself, and we take
it as a sign of His covenant faithfulness to us.  Anna of course
(Luke 2:36-38) was the prophetess who stirred people up in the
temple to look for the salvation of Israel.  We trust that at her
funeral, Anna’s mute stillborn tongue was used in the temple to
“establish strength” for the Lord (Ps. 8:2) and testify to His
goodness.  Now we trust that she has been cut out for the
temple not made with human hands (Ps. 144:12), perfectly
satisfied in the fullness of the Lord’s presence.




\bigskip
\noindent
P.P.S. Preparing to teach the Divine Comedy, I saw this morning
that Dante consigns the souls of the unborn to Limbo in hell, but
by faith we take King David’s words, under the true inspiration
of the Spirit, as our gospel comfort:  “I shall go to him, but he
will not return to me” (II Sam. 12:23).

 
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