As I have mentioned on previous occasions, one of the ministries here at St. Francis of Assisi in Triangle, VA, is to celebrate interment services at Quantico National Cemetery. It is an honor to minister to the families of women and men who served our country with honor and distinction. I am always moved when driving past the rows upon rows of my veteran brothers and sisters.
As I get older, I am not unaware that I am increasingly laying to rest a person younger than I – a little dose of mortality now and then is a good thing. Psalm 90 says that we are given 70 years or 80 for those who are strong. Yesterday I help lay to eternal rest Celestino Almeda. He reached 104 years old – and it was an active 104 years. At age 99 he was roaming the halls of Congress and the Veteran’s Administration seeking to right a wrong, an injustice.