Miriam's Well Memorial Service for John O'Donohue to be held May 3 (click for details)
My dear friends,
It is with great sadness and a heavy, heavy heart that I inform you of the death of our beloved John O'Donohue. He left his body the night of January 3, 2008 in his sleep. As far as I know he was visiting some friends in France. I don't know any more details, but I'd like to ask us all to say prayers for him, speak of him to others whom we know, read his books again, and keep him held in our hearts. He was truly a wonderful and courageous human being and a great resource to us all. He would want us to remember him with love and laughter for he had such a great sense of humor about himself and the world.
He was a blessing, and he will be missed: Here's a poem of his I find particularly appropriate:
On the death of the Beloved
Though we need to weep your loss,
You dwell in that safe place in our hearts,
Where no storm or might or pain can reach you.
Your love was like the dawn
Brightening over our lives
Awakening beneath the dark
A further adventure of colour.
The sound of your voice
Found for us
A new music
That brightened everything.
Whatever you enfolded in your gaze
Quickened in the joy of its being;
You placed smiles like flowers
On the altar of the heart.
Your mind always sparkled
With wonder at things.
Though your days here were brief,
Your spirit was live, awake, complete.
We look towards each other no longer
From the old distance of our names;
Now you dwell inside the rhythm of breath,
As close to us as we are to ourselves.
Though we cannot see you with outward eyes,
We know our soul’s gaze is upon your face,
Smiling back at us from within everything
To which we bring our best refinement.
Let us not look for you only in memory,
Where we would grow lonely without you.
You would want us to find you in presence,
Beside us when beauty brightens,
When kindness glows
And music echoes eternal tones.
When orchids brighten the earth,
Darkest winter has turned to spring;
May this dark grief flower with hope
In every heart that loves you.
May you continue to inspire us:
To enter each day with a generous heart.
To serve the call of courage and love
Until we see your beautiful face again
In that land where there is no more separation,
Where all tears will be wiped from our mind,
And where we will never lose you again.
— John O’Donohue
We'd like to get together with his friends here in the Hudson Valley and New York and remember him with a weekend of his voice and ours - to give him a real Irish send-off. Anyone who wants to help please let us know.
With love and tears,
Susan
Susan Rosen
Founder and Spiritual Director
Miriam's Well
13 Simmons St
Saugerties, NY 12477
susan@miriamswell.org
845-246-5805
