Death

A Prayer for All Saints Sunday

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos
This week we remember those who passed away this past year

They left us this year
by the doorway of death.
And we miss them, dear God, how we do.
The memories they leave us
help smooth grief’s long road.
How I wish that this journey was through.

But mem’ries alone
cannot silence or quell
the deep ache in our hearts that we feel.
A loss is a loss
even though time has passed.
But admitting our pain helps us heal.

O God, on this day 
when we ponder our friends 
who have dented our lives with their love,
please comfort our sorrow
as only You can
with the hope of reunions above. 

The image that accompanies this post is by my good friend Timothy R. Botts. Check out his website at https://www.timbottscalligraphy.com/

Remembering a Pioneer of Peace

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos
Here I am with Father William Treacy as he prepares to celebrate his 103rd birthday

A pioneer of peace has passed
bequeathing us the timeless task
of sowing seeds of brotherhood
and reaping hearts of love.

He had no children of his own,
but that by which this father’s known
are sons and daughters who reflect
his passion to seek peace.

This theologian, priest and sage
would live to be a ripe old age
and to the end would challenge us
to see all folks as friends.

I toast Bill Treacy’s faith and life.
This one, who never had a wife,
would serve the Bride of Christ with joy
and fill us all with hope.

Peace to his memory!

https://nwcatholic.org/news/northwest-catholic/interfaith-pioneer-father-william-treacy-dies-at-103


Greg’s book,
“Sheltering Grace“
is listed on the
BOOKS menu
at $15.00 from
Lulu Books.

Goodbye Mrs. Potts

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos
A poetic tribute to Angela Lansbury, a giant of stage and screen

Murder she wrote,
but Disney she sang.
Mrs. Potts fit her role to a tee.
(Just ask Chip!)

Yes, Angela had the voice of an angel.
She was hardly short on talent.
This Mame truly could coax the blues right out of the horn.
She could dance and act and sing.

This beauty was truly a beast when if came to hard work.
Mrs. Potts poured herself into all she attempted.
Playing Elizabeth Taylor’s sister
or Elvis Presley’s mother,
she was all in.

A rather tall woman,
she stood head and shoulders
above her peers.
No wonder we looked up to her the way we did
and the way we will continue to.

Peace to her memory!

*My wife and I had the privilege of hearing Angela Lansbury talk about her life and her career at the Lesher Center in Walnut Creek, California three decades ago. That was about the time we visited Mendocino (on the California coast) for the first time. While there we drank in the quaint setting where “Murder She Wrote” was filmed for a dozen years.


A Prayer for God’s Reign

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos
King Charles walks with those who carry his mother’s casket at her funeral

With half the world
we watched, O God,
as one so dearly loved
was carried on the shoulders of our grief.

In silence and in song,
we heard You speak, Lord.
Through the words of Your Book,
we were reminded
of the pages of our lives
still being written.

Ironically, we recognize that
a world divided by race, religion, injustices and war
was united in this sacred moment
by a common task:
to remember Her Grace,
with somber gratitude,
as we contemplate Yours.

We acknowledge our alienation
from one another
and from You.
We confess our need of a Savior.
We embrace the gifts
of His presence and forgiveness.

For Elizabeth,
we voice our praise.
With knowledge of Your sovereign reign, we quiet our pride.
With a desire for Thy Kingdom come,
Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven, we pray.
Amen!

May God Save the Queen

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos
Remembering Great Britain’s longest reigning monarch

Your Majesty, you claimed your crown
the year that I was born.
You grieved your father’s death atop the throne.
And now it is my time to grieve
for one so loved as you.
Your reign has been the longest Britain’s known.

You showed courageous dignity.
You modeled poise and grace.
You lived your faith with reverence, quietly.
Your Highness, when life bent you down
and you were feeling low,
you found the strength to stand tall capably.

Elizabeth, you’ve left your mark
on more than England’s soil.
Your legacy around the globe will shine.
And as the world bids you goodbye
with tributes well-deserved,
we sing “God Save the Queen” one final time.