Adam McHugh’s Meditation on Life, Death, and His Hospice Work

Last updated on: March 1, 2013 at 9:30 am by Ellen Painter Dollar

Adam McHugh’s Meditation on Life, Death, and His Hospice Work 2013-03-01T09:30:08-05:00 Ellen Painter Dollar

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Good morning friends. I will be back with some original stuff of my very own next week. I’d like to end this week with one more link to a colleague’s post. I first got to know Adam McHugh (as much as one can get to know someone solely through Facebook, blogging, and emails) because of his book Introverts in the Church and his blog of the same name. But Adam is far more than a champion of introverts and the contributions we can make to our communities. He is also a pastor, a wine aficionado and sommelier-in-training, and a freshly retired hospice chaplain. Yesterday, he wrote a gorgeous post after his last on-call hospice shift.

As I wrote to Adam, I think his post ought to be regular reading for all of us, particularly in this season of Lent, because of how it so beautifully articulates the beauty and ugliness of death, the sadness and joy of life, the fleeting and eternal natures of human life. There are so many striking phrases that I can barely decide which to feature here. There is this one:

I have holy memories, and I have haunted memories, and they mingle in my mind, like a wedding attended by two families who hate each other.

And this one:

When you spend as much time around death as I have over these last 2 years, when every day on the calendar is Ash Wednesday, you learn that ultimately life offers no happy endings. Every life ends in sadness and grief and pain and silence. And all we can do is struggle and work, believe and doubt, hope and fall, run and wrinkle. Every person has both a victor and a victim inside of her. You have more fight and strength in you than you ever imagined, but you also have more weakness and vulnerability than you ever thought. Your bodies will decay and ultimately lose the fight, but you will battle valiantly and courageously. I have seen it time and time again from people you wouldn’t think would be so strong.

Adam ends with one of my very favorite prayers from the Book of Common Prayer:

Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ, give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous, and all for your love’s sake. Amen.

Go give the entire post a read, and offer Adam a word of thanks and blessing if you will.

Previous Post

February 26, 2013

Mourning Clothes: A New Retro Clothing Trend?

Next Post

March 4, 2013 The Dangers of "Solutionism" Applied to Our Always Less-than-Perfect Children

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category disability ethics parenthood Uncategorized

Select a Month September 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

A leper A centurion A tax collector A blind man