Friday, June 11, 2010

Burial of 29-year-old Don

Don lost his job after graduating from the University of Michigan years earlier.

Devastated, he began to drink alcohol in volumes.

Today, he will be buried.

His life began within his mother's womb. Amid water he grew there.

Shortly after, he was baptized by me in Saint Rene Goupil Church in Sterling Heights, MI.

I forgot that, until Denise, his mom told me that along with Don's final moments before he gave way to death.

"He was seeing angels and people welcoming him to Heaven," Denise slowly and sadly reported.

"I told him if he wanted to go to a better place, to go."

Moments later, his mom said, his breathing seemed to stop and saliva flowed from his mouth in his hopsital bed at Henry Ford in Macomb, MI.

Alcohol attachment disorder.

That diagnosis marked him.

With a rise of addictions, one would think that this culture would better prepare the jobless with the reality that they could be "let go" any time in this depressed economy.

Losing one's job is a reality many face today.

Meaning is derived from one's work.

That's true for Don. For most.

Yet, when one slides into the murky tunnel of alcoholism due to work, this nation needs to rise up.

Life is more than one's job.

Eternal rest unto Don, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. +

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