Mt. Carmel Cemetery

"We shape the clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness inside that holds whatever we want."

(Lao-Tzu). *

This is a cemetery that I pass by on my way in to work. I've spoken of this drive many times. I take the road less traveled to get to work; the speed limit is 25 mph on some parts, and on Edith, it is 40 mph. I prefer that to the insanity of trying to get on the freeway where eveyone else is doing the "me first" thing. The cemetery's name is the same as the church it is associated with, Mt. Carmel. It is a satellite church that belongs to our parish, Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on 4th and Alameda. Thanks to our parishoners and donations from the Knights of Columbus, it is cleaned up and much more presentable than it had been for many years.

I stopped by the other week for the express purpose of taking pictures; I had never wandered into that cemetery. I got to feeling the sorrow that seems to come with this cemetery; there seems to be a lot of young people buried there. Too many of them didn't even seem to have made it to age 25 and they are young men. Oh, yes, there are the usual grandpas and grandpas, moms and dads. But, I was struck by how many young ones there were. It put me into a very contemplative mood. I always wonder about the life stories that go with theses loved ones; whether they parted too soon, or at their time.

*The quote is from "Meditations From the Mat" by Rolf Gates and Katrina Kenison. It contains daily reflections for each day of the year. This one was selected for the content of the quote (day 182). In this reflection, Mr. Gates talks about how "Aparigraha reminds us to always let go and never hold on. This letting go is the cultivation of emptiness in our lives. Into this emptiness, grace will come."

So true, so true...