All That is Broken

“Prayer is the means by which we can repair all that is broken. Without prayer, it is almost impossible to make amends.” Teresa of Avila, The Book of My Life (1562)

I don’t know about you, but sometimes the brokenness of life is almost more than I can bear. This week was one of those weeks where I’ve had a hard time coping with the sorrow, loneliness and pain all around me. Everywhere I turn, people are suffering.

Early Sunday morning Kandyce Stoffel, a senior at the University of Minnesota, died after being struck from behind by a twenty-three year old drunk driver as she was walking with friends on 12th Avenue in southeast Minneapolis. There is so much sorrow in this first sentence that I'd encourage you to read it again (and hold all these young people in your heart). My daughter Emily Rose lives in the neighborhood, so when I heard the group was walking at the edge of the street because a construction site blocked the sidewalk, I knew exactly where Kandyce died.

Cecelia Zelman, ninety-five years old and in relatively good health, died in the early hours of Monday morning when most of the rest of Duluth was asleep. Celie was the mother of my friend Tom, chair of the English Department at St. Scholastica, and he was a frequent visitor to the Benedictine Health Center (BHC) where his mother lived. The BHC is attached to St. Scholastica, and Tom could walk from his office to Celie’s room in less than five minutes. When he was teaching last Friday, Tom had no reason to suspect that his mother’s room in the BHC would be vacant on Monday afternoon. It is an empty feeling to know that he will not be hearing his mother’s laugh anytime soon.

DeClan Sullivan, a junior at Notre Dame, died Wednesday after a portable lift he was standing on to film football practice blew over. The wind was gusting at 51 miles per hour, and it is reported that he left messages on Facebook that being up on the lift was “terrifying.” My nephew Charley Berno is a first-year student at Notre Dame, and my heart is heavy with grief for DeClan’s family and the Notre Dame community, especially DeClan’s friends and the friends of his younger sister who also attends Notre Dame.

When I find myself nearly immobilized by the pain around me, I remember what others I admire have said and done and sometimes that helps. In The Book of My Life, Teresa writes, “Prayer is the means by which we can repair all that is broken. Without prayer, it is almost impossible to make amends.” While a prisoner in Rome, Paul nevertheless remained steadfast and confident, writing: “Have no anxiety about anything but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests by made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Today I am praying for strength and confidence during the uncertainty and sorrow life brings us. I am holding up Kandyce, Celie, DeClan and all those whose lives intersect with their lives. May we be bound together in love and may that love repair all that is broken, today and every day.