….And Jesus Wept

Last updated on: August 26, 2014 at 7:27 am by Kathy Schiffer

….And Jesus Wept 2014-08-26T07:27:29-05:00 Kathy Schiffer

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.

Mary therefore, when she came where Jesus was, and saw him, fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping who came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, and said, Where have ye laid him? They say unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept.

John 11:32-35

Jesus knew, as he approached the tomb where his friend Lazarus had been laid, that he was going to raise him from the dead. It was not a crisis of faith that brought tears to his eyes–rather, Jesus was touched by the sorrow of Lazarus’ sisters Mary and Martha and of his friends. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints; yet we cry, for we are human and we miss the person we have loved.

* * * * *

When I first met her, half a century ago, Ruth Louise Koewler Schiffer, daughter of an Ohio tobacco farmer and mother of one son and six lovely daughters, stood a proud 4’10” tall. Years later, the cartilage in her knees and her joints had degenerated until she was barely 4’6” in height, leaning for support on her walker—but still she was a giant among women, an inspiration to all.

My mother-in-law was the kindest and the bravest person I’ve ever met.

In her 40s, she was the quintessential Proverbs 31 woman: managing her small home, bulging as it was with a husband and seven children and their various friends. She could stretch two pounds of ground beef to feed a family of nine (My boyfriend–later to be my husband–joked, “How now, ground cow?”), and she served up culinary mysteries like “ketchup toast” for the school-age children’s lunches. Her garden thrived under her careful hand: roses and perennials in the side garden, tomatoes and cucumbers in the back.

I cherished the occasional invitation to dinner at her home in those days. I was dating her only son; but I knew most of the blonde Schiffer girls, too—one in every grade, friends from the library club or the National Honor Society or another school activity. The younger girls, still in elementary school, giggled nervously around the kitchen table. I, suave and sophisticated as any fifteen-year-old could imagine herself to be, didn’t giggle out loud. I was nervous, too, but Mrs. Schiffer tried so hard to put me at ease with second helpings of turkey and gravy.

During the day, there was always something to be done: cooking and baking, weeding the flower beds, ironing for her family and for neighbors, laundry for her active family. In the evening, if she sat to watch a little television, her hands kept busy crocheting afghans and baby bonnets and towels for family and as gifts.

On Sundays, she took the Eucharist to members of the parish who could not get out of the house to attend Mass.

As the years passed and as arthritis wracked her tiny frame, Ruth Schiffer could no longer stand at the sink, hand washing the dishes as the aroma from her custard pies wafted through the air. But when ill health brought her ministry of hospitality to a close, she served us in another way: She prayed for us. She watched the televised Mass each day—or more likely, more than once a day. She prayed the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. She prayed the Rosary. She prayed for each of us, by name and by inference; praying for our special needs, praying that God would bless each of us with the gift of faith.

On August 23, at the age of 96, Ruth Schiffer went home to God. On the white board in her hospital room, nurses posted a daily goal each day of her hospitalization. On the day she died, the message she’d dictated was scrawled in black marker: “Thank you to everyone who helped to care for me.”

I love you, Mom. Say hi to Jesus for me.

Death and Dying

Family

Love

Previous Post

August 23, 2014

Joseph Bottum's “AN ANXIOUS AGE”: He Had Me at 'Hello'

Next Post

August 27, 2014 If Augustine Could Sing, He Might Sound Like This....

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category #Synod14 Abortion Abstinence Abuse Addiction Adoption Advent Adventure Advertising Aging Agnosticism All Saints Day All Souls Day Amish Anathema Angels Anglican Animals Annulment Annunciation Apocalypse Apologetics Apostles Apostleship of the Sea Apparitions Archangels Archbishop Cordileone Archbishop Dolan Archbishop Vigneron Archeology Architecture Art Art Buchwald Ash Wednesday Assisted Suicide Astronauts Atheism Athletes Babies Baptism Beatification Beauty Bible Biochemistry Bioethics Birds Bishop Lori Bishops Blasphemy Books Canon Law Canonization Capital Punishment Cardinal Burke Cardinal Dolan Cardinal George Caritas Catechesis Catechism of the Catholic Church Catholic Catholic Education Catholic Higher Education Catholic Social Teaching Celibacy Cemeteries Character Charity Chastity Cheapskate Christian Unity Christmas Churches Civil Rights Cloning Comedy Communion of Saints Community Kitchens Confession Confirmation Conscience Consequences Consistory Constitution Contraception Conversion Cooking Councils of the Church Creativity Criminal Justice Cristero War Crucifixion Crystal Cathedral Culture Death Death and Dying Death Penalty Department of Health and Human Services Diaconate Dictatorship of Relativism Dignity Disability Discrimination Dissidence Divorce Doctors of the Church Early Church Fathers Easter Economics Ecumenism Education Encyclicals Environmentalism Episcopal Church Eucharist Euthanasia Evangelism Evangelists Evangelization Evolution Excuses Facebook Faith Families Family Fashion Fasting Fatherhood Federal Government Feminism Fiction Film First Amendment First Communion For Greater Glory Forgiveness Free Speech Friends Friendship Gender Discrimination Germany Gnosticism Good Friday Government Grace Greed Gregorian Calendar Happiness Health Heaven Heresy History Holidays Holiness Hollywood Holy Land Holy Saturday Holy Spirit Holy Week Holy Year Home Sweet Home Homosexuality Hope Humanism Humility Humor Imagination Immaculate Conception Immigration Impulsivity In Vitro Fertilization Incarnation Indulgences Infallibility Internet Islam Italy Jerusalem Jesus Judaism Justice Kathleen Sebelius Labor Movement LCWR Lent Life Literature Liturgy Lourdes Love Magi Marketing Marriage Martyrdom Martyrs Mary Mass Media Medical Ethics Mexico Michigan Miracles Missionaries Modernism Modesty Monks Monothelitism Motherhood Movies Mushrooms Music Muslim Mystery Mysticism Mythology Nativity Natural Law Nature New Evangelization New Media New Year New Year's Resolutions Nostalgia Obscenity Occult Old Testament Origen Orthodox Orvieto Pallium Papacy Parenting Patience Patriarch Bartholomew Patriotism Peace Peace and Justice Penitence Pentecost People Persecution Philosophy Poetry Political activism Political Correctness Politics Polls Pop Culture Pope Benedict XVI Pope Francis Pope John Paul II Pope John XXIII Pope Paul VI Pope St. Pius X Pope Urban VII Population Prayer Preaching Prejudice Pride Priesthood Pro-Life Protestantism Psychology Purgatory Queenship of Mary Racism Rape Real Presence Reconciliation Reformation Relics Religious Religious Liberty Reliquary Renewal Reproductive Technology Resurrection Rights Romance Rome Royalty Sacraments Sacred Heart Saints Satanism Science Science Fiction Scripture Seal of Confession Secularism Seniors September 11 Seventy Times Seven Sexuality Sharks Sin Smoking Social Communications Social Justice Social Networking Social Sciences Space Exploration Spirituality Sports St. Luke St. Patrick's Day St. Paul St. Peter St. Teresa of Avila Stations of the Cross Steve Jobs Superstition Supreme Court Symbolism Synod Technology Teen Rebellion Television Terrorism Thankfulness Thanksgiving Theology Think This, Not That Tobit Toilets Toys Tradition Traditions Transplants Travel Trinity Twitter U.S. Air Force Uncategorized United Nations USCCB Valentine Vatican Vatican Archives Vatican Blogfest Virtue Vocations Where We Pray White Heart Women World Day of Social Communications World Meeting of Families World News World Youth Day Worship Writing Year of Consecrated Life Year of Faith Year of Mercy Youth

Select a Month 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 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does Paul say about weakness in 2 Corinthians 12?

Select your answer to see how you score.

"Avoid all weakness." "The weak shall perish." "Weakness leads to destruction." "God’s power is made perfect in weakness."