In the midst of all the crazy activity today (I just got done with class, there's a funeral and we have our office Christmas party in the afternoon) I wanted to take a moment to remember Christopher Hitchens, who passed away yesterday. I will give a more complete reflection at a later date, but for now it is enough to say that I am truly saddened. His was a great talent and a quick mind. It should go without saying I didn't agree with him on much, especially where questions of God and religion were concerned. That takes a back seat to the sense of concern I felt when I read the news when I got up this morning. I said a Hail Mary for him, but wondered if I had said enough while he was still alive. I thought of the Little Flower (Therese of Lisieux, not Fiorello LaGuardia) who prayed for the salvation of an unrepentant murderer and received a sign from the gallows that the man's heart had indeed softened before leaving this life. Hitchens was reportedly confirmed in his famous atheism to the end. When his cancer was made public he was unswayed by the prayers of believers.There is a belief, popular among the Franciscans, that Christ visits each person just after their death to make one more appeal, to make one last offer of mercy and repentance to the person who dies unreconciled. I don't know if this is true or not, but I hope it is. I pray for Christopher Hitchens now, and ask you to pray for him as well, that somehow he may still be open to God's mercy.
Eternal rest grant unto him oh Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. May his soul, and all the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace, Amen
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