Thursday, July 30
“ Nothing can make up for the absence of someone whom we love, and it would be wrong to try to find a substitute; we must simply hold out and see it through. That sounds very hard at first, but at the same time it is a great consolation, for the gap, as long as it remains unfilled, preserves the bonds between us. It is nonsense to say that God fills the gap; God doesn’t fill it, but on the contrary, keeps it empty and so helps us to keep alive our former communion with each other, even at the cost of pain.
• Dietrich Bonhoeffer, from Letters and Papers from Prison. I have been giving thanks for beloved parishioners who’ve died, people I’ve loved and do love still who’ve joined all the company of heaven.
