It is easier to minister to non-family members. Perhaps this is a no-brainer, but it truly hits home when your own family is experiencing loss and looking to you - the seminarian - for the right words to say, the right decisions to make, etc.
To be fair, my family has not done this nearly as much as I have been doing it to myself. My own expectations of having just the right thing to say to make everyone feel 'o.k.' are in high gear this week - or perhaps I am only hoping for just the right things to say to make me feel 'o.k.' In either case, a little CPE wisdom is in order: silence can be exactly the right thing to say when there are no words to be said.
To be fair, my family has not done this nearly as much as I have been doing it to myself. My own expectations of having just the right thing to say to make everyone feel 'o.k.' are in high gear this week - or perhaps I am only hoping for just the right things to say to make me feel 'o.k.' In either case, a little CPE wisdom is in order: silence can be exactly the right thing to say when there are no words to be said.
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