Brethren, peace and good to you in the name of Jesus our Lord. I regret to inform you of the recent passing of my father, which has required my precipitous departure from Afghanistan to attend his funeral and memorial service. I ask for your forbearance in the next few days as I recover from all this, as well as for your prayers.I am my father's firstborn son and of the brood, the only one who has produced male children and grandchildren. My feelings, as you can imagine, are sharply conflicted. I mourn him, and also mourn with his passing many could've-beens and now never wills.
Of my father I can say many things, but they will be colored by our many conflicts and reconciliations, as it is so often true between fathers and sons. The fact that he wasn't a Catholic added an additional layer of difficulty to our communications, a subject that we both knew to avoid. Yet, nothing can stop me from praying for him, for an explosion of God's grace through faith in Jesus his Son, true God from true God, made flesh for our salvation.
Regardless, all things having been said and done, I am proud to have been his son. Now, it is our turn to carry on, in Jesus' Name, Amen.