Yesterday while walking through Six Flags, a friend of mine received that phone call that no one ever wants to get. A dear friend, and former lover of his had passed away...at only 24 years old. A young man who was full of life, love, and ignited a room with his personality. As the day and evening moved along, word began to spread. His friends were naturally shocked, and undoubtedly today the reality of this horrific situation has certainly started to settle in.

Although I personally didn't really know him , I do know the impact his passing has made on my friends. It has made me think a lot about life. I have had extensive experience with death in my life. That experience includes family members, a priest friend who meant the world to me, and strangers I never knew at whose caskets I offered prayers and words of consolation to mourning family members while I was in Seminary. My ministry in the Office of Catholic Cemeteries resulted in my involvement in more burials then I can count. No one's passing however has ever made me really stop and think.

I think that we sometimes forget that we are not invincible. We forget the fragile nature of our lives. We let things get to us, and stress us out, that at the end of the day don't matter. We waste energy being upset about things that perhaps are not as important as we think they are in the moment.

When I was in Seminary I remember offering words of consolation. Words that came from a deep rooted, sincere faith in God and Heaven, and everlasting life. Those sentiments however do not take away the pain of those who mourn their loved one's passing. Those sentiments do not bring back the person that has been lost.

Our lives our short...in the end we have no idea how short. So we need to live everyday to it's fullest. We never know the impact we have on other people, and we never realize the impact other people have on us until it's too late. To my friends who mourn his passing, I offer my condolences, and prayers. I also remind you to carry him always in your heart, and live the lessons you learned from his friendship. To all my readers, and to myself, I can only say that we have no idea how much time we have, so don't waste any of it.