Val was a seeker. She sought & found Christ in every soul she met. She prayed every day: Structured prayers, like the ones below, novinas & prayers that sprang from the depths of her soul. She used to sing the Our Father while working. Whenever she heard the sirens of an ambulance or saw an accident she prayed. She prayed in gratitude, for the safety & healing of loved ones, the opening of the hearts of those who had walled themselves off by hardness & for the dead. She knew there were a lot of ways to know God. Val was a perpetual student (in all aspects of her life), she studied philosophy & meditation & welcomed conversations about faith and practice. She believed in miracles. Her life was a miracle! Val passed away on June 28th, the feast of the Sacred Heart, the day dedicated to God’s infinite love. Fitting.

A PRAYER OF SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon,
Where there is doubt, faith,
Where there is despair, hope,
Where there is darkness, light,
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled, as to console;
To be understood, as to understand;
To be loved, as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive —
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

THE LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father,
who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Amen.