Welcome to Tom's World - Tales, Trails and Trials

St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church is located at Incline Village, Nevada, and is the beginning of this Blog's  Trail.  The blog will be all about exploring life's tales, trials, and transformations.  I look forward to sharing the knowledge and experiences, the up's and down's of life. 


Let us explore and grow in this journey together!




THE TRIAL

Randolph Green  1972-2012

On Saturday, March 31, I had the honor and privilege to preside at the Memorial Service for Randolph Green at St. Francis of Assisi Church. Randolph died at the age of 32, leaving behind his wife Amy, his two children, Charlie age 5 and Lilli age 3. Randolph suffered for three long years with esophageal cancer; Amy always at his side caring for him.  

The Memorial Service was a beautiful gathering of Randolph’s family and friends to remember and be thankful for the many ways he touched and influenced their lies.  Randolph was remembered and spoken highly of as a loving, caring, fun-loving Son, Husband, Father, Ski Coach, and Friend.  It was truly a celebration of his life, a life well lived. 

When tragedy like this happens, especially when it involves a young father, someone as dynamic and out-going as Randolph; someone who not only enjoyed many outdoor activities, but was also a devoted husband and father, it is difficult to comprehend why this had to happen.  Of course there never is any good answer to that “why.”

If we believe that God is an all loving God, then how do we reconcile that there is so much suffering in our lives?  Maybe the question isn’t “why is there suffering” but “where is God in our suffering?”

We believe that God so wanted us to know him, that he did the most humanly unbelievable thing, and that is becoming human himself. By taking on a human presence he subjected himself to all the same human conditions we face in our daily lives. In every instance in Jesus’ life on earth, he was all about life, not death.  Because God became human he has given meaning to our lives; by Jesus dying on the cross, and three days later rising from the dead, he gives hope to our own suffering and death. 

We have just commemorated Good Friday; we have seen that God did not allow evil, death, and destruction to have the last word.  Through Jesus we see the workings of God’s “amazing grace” which enables us to make the most of even the worst situations of life, where light and life have the last word.  Easter Sunday is God’s response to Good Friday; life out of death. (Remarks from “Where the Hell is God” by Richard Leonard, S.J.)