I Reflect That I Will Die Soon: Soon, Father, I Will Be Coming To You

1.
Soon I will be coming to you, Loving Father, and I reflect now
on so many blessings
you have given to me over the years.
 
2.
I am conscious
of so much beauty and so much delight that I have experienced,
and I thank you
that you have kept my eyes and ears open.
I thank you that your Spirit
has inspired me in many ways.

3.
Soon, Father, I will be coming to you, and I am conscious
of so much love and affection that has come my way,
and I am most grateful, Father, for so many individuals
who have been part of my life.

4.
I rejoice in the many people
who have accompanied me in so many ways over my lifetime,
and most especially in the last few years of an even longer time of severe illness.
I ask you to return, Lord, many times over the warmth and love, the care and affection that I have been shown.
I am grateful that all of that has been a reflection, too,
of your own love and compassion for me and for us all.
With confidence, Father,
I place myself into your hands.

5.
Soon, Father, I will be coming to you.
I look forward to meeting again
many people I have known and loved from the past. When the time is right,
I look forward to them gathering to welcome me and then lead me forward to you.
It will be good to smile and walk alongside each other as we journey together once again
to life in all its richness and abundance in your presence.

6.
Friends and relatives will be there, too,
as well as others who have touched my life: many an individual
whose life and death has influenced me, and they will accompany me still further.

7.
And then it will be Jesus, your Son and my Brother, who will take my hand in his
 
– his hand which bears the marks of love. And in that touch
I know that I will sense in all its fullness what it is to be redeemed and healed and made whole.

8.
Then, as Jesus leads me forward the next few steps, will he introduce me to you, Father,
or will you smile and show me your hand where it will be clear to see
that, there, my name is written?
I look forward so much
to all that it means to be clasped in your arms, enfolded in your life,
and encompassed, embraced, in your love.

9.
And then I will ask your blessing, Father, on so many who have enriched my life.
There, too, I trust, will be those I know
who have plumbed the depths of darkness, whose burdens
have often come close to crushing them, and whose lives, I hope,
I might have touched somehow with your love.
I will ask you to bless them and make them whole, just as others have blessed me
and have prayed
that I might be made whole.

10.
I will remember, too, Father, those I have wounded
and those who have wounded me, that all of us may be embraced
in your love and care, your mercy and kindness. With confidence, Father,
I place myself into your hands.

Nicholas Hutchinson, FSC