January is an interesting month. We celebrate the coming of a new year, filled with hope for the future and we reflect on the year we leave behind. We celebrate the Epiphany and the revealing of Christ to the three Wise Men or Magi who came from three very different parts of the world. It is in this revealing that we are introduced to Our Lord and Savior and it is in this visitation that we can find the wisdom of our faith. Three learned men found themselves honoring a child born in a manger.
In our Catholic faith we find the wisdom of good judgment when we are instructed by Christ to love God above all else and to love each other as ourselves, and we find understanding in those instructions because Christ wants us to love each other regardless of who we are or where we are from. The three Wise Men came from different places but together honored the true King of Kings and in this we are given the knowledge of a life beyond this journey.
As we prepare for the families that need us in this new year, we have a deep understanding of their needs, and we know to act with sound judgment to assist them in their most difficult hour. It is this wisdom on the part of our staff that is a blessing to the families we serve. I know that our staff dedicates themselves to the corporal work of mercy to bury the dead and the spiritual work of mercy in caring for the living. I see a certain wisdom in the work they perform as they move through their daily routine. I acknowledge their love for our families when I see how they so gingerly lay a mother, father, or child to rest.
May this new year be filled with the hope of what is to come and may we all take a moment and remember what Christ asks of us.
Andrej Lah
Director of Cemeteries
Faith, Hope, and Remembrance 