Remembering a friend

Yes, I know it's been a while since I've posted. the reason being that I've been mourning the loss of a friend and counselor whose life was taken by some gunmen who didn't know him and may have been corrupted by officials in Guatemala to silence him. the friend to which I refer is Father Larry Rosebaugh, OMI, aka "Lorenzo". I've attend two memorials (one informal, the other a mass) for him and still can't make sense of it. Here was a man who spent his whole life as a priest being an advocate for the poor, even living with them, sleeping with them, eating with them, in the streets of Brazil; who was imprisoned in the US for his non-violent protests against the Vietnam War and the terrorist-training School of the Americas; who lived humbly, simply, never owned a car; who radiated Christ's joy and compassion to all who knew him. He was planning on "retiring" at the end of this year and returning to the US. Whatever the motive behind the gunmen's actions, we'll probably never know for sure. Only that he is now with Jesus in the "eternal Sturgis of tomorrow" (his own words) passing "the angels on their Harleys" . yes, he had quite a sense of humor and zest for life. His joy is now complete, but we'll have to wait a while longer to experience that joy. Heaven is richer, and the world a bit poorer, but all who knew him will keep alive that determination and will to live according to one's convictions. He was closer to being a saint that anyone I've ever met. No, he was a saint--and I'm grateful for having known him. i only hope that I can somehow live up to the standards he set--there's so much more to this life than we can possibly ever grasp.