Remember Poor Souls

Nearly every day during my regular commuting I drive by a certain roadside memorial.

It has a couple of worn wooden crosses and piles of blue, pink and yellow artificial flowers. Because of the abundance of flowers, I can tell that the person who is memorialized is certainly loved. The flowers are replaced regularly, but they still fade because of the weather and heavy traffic that rushes by just a few feet away.

Every time I pass by, I think about the young woman who died at that spot. I remember details from newspaper accounts. She was a pedestrian who was hit by a vehicle whose driver never stopped to help. The driver later turned himself in to police, but now two families suffer from the mistakes he made that night.

The woman had a boyfriend. She started walking home after the two had a fight, so she was alone when she died on that dark stretch of road. A day or two after the woman's death, I tried to contact her family. I stopped by her house, but no one was home. I was sort of relieved, because it's difficult to talk to people whose grief is so fresh.

Nearly every day I am reminded of that woman and all those who still suffer because of her sudden, premature death. And every time I think about her, I pray for her, those touched by that incident -- and all the souls of the dead. Her memorial has become part of my regular route, and my prayers for her and others have become part of my regular routine.

November, the month when we traditionally pray for the souls of the departed, is upon us. Please remember to pray for them this month and all through the year. We never want to leave them abandoned, without our prayers.

Inspired by this Year of Faith we will be posting columns like this from Susan Szalewski about exploring and/or deepening our faith. Watch for it on Thursdays and see the Year of Faith Blog here.