Wednesday, October 31, 2018
On behalf of my father Edmund, my mum, brothers and sisters, their extended families, and my own family, I offer our deepest condolences to Bernard’s wife and children, to my dear Uncle Ernest and to my cousins Mathew and Ernest D. We are so sorry for your loss. May our Lord give you strength during these difficult times and comfort you in granting him eternal rest. We shall all and dearly miss him.
In the Christian faith, the soul is eternal. For me this expression translates that the unspoken words if ever spoken can always be heard by that living soul in the eternal space. As such I would like to say few words I have not had the chance to voice before.
When the loss of a dear and respected relative reaches, melancholy marches and brings the inevitable sorrow that jolts and grieves the heart with anguishing aches. In such times, the heart it seems and not the mind comes forth to prove the truest feeling about how much we really know or knew the person we mourn. When I sadly learned about Bernard’s departure, I felt a deep distress in my heart. And although his sudden deteriorating condition caught everyone by surprise to rapidly leave this world, I do feel that our Lord chose mercy to bring him home sooner than later.
Though I dare to ask myself about the extent of difficulty can the cards in this life become, I can assuredly imagine even to understand now the extraordinary difficulties of the absolute hard cards Bernard faced and carried throughout his 55 year earthly life starting from the day he was born. Yet, despite all that, not once I saw him irritated or complaining about how hard was his either daily routine with diabetes or his life in general; on the contrary, all I saw and learned since I met him 37 years ago until our last meeting this past June, that he obediently or even saintly, if I may add, accepted such perpetual sufferings with a great and tender heart. How he managed it all is truly a mystery I believe can great souls like his only answer.
What is not a mystery however is that he was a man who regularly practiced love, kindness, sincerity and tenderness throughout his entire life here on earth. When I recently saw him, he was more concerned about my state and welfares rather than to his immediate needs. I observed a courageous man who accepted amputation, loss of sight in one eye and much physical aches with a contagious smile that simply mirrored the true fibers of his exceptional soul. I do also think that he gracefully and silently carried his heavy cross following the footsteps of our Lord and God Jesus Christ. In brief, he literally and physically exemplified on how to carry one’s cross.
Dearest cousin Bernard, I pray that in your next life you will manifest that heavy cross you so well carried to lighten all the crosses your loved ones may or may not carry in their lifetimes. May you eternally be in the Lord’s company and forever under His wings. We bid you Farewell.
Cousin Charbell.
Funeral Establishment Operator Class 1 License FE-415
