I Know He Will Rise

“The one you love is ill.” I heard those words three weeks ago when my mentor and closest friend, Roche La Fleur, shared his diagnosis of stage IV pancreatic cancer. After his first day of chemo, I asked him how he was. “Awful” was his final text to me. Over the next two days, hospice was deployed, his sister flew in from South Dakota, and less than an hour after she walked in the door, Rocky breathed his last. I couldn’t help but think, “if you had been here…”

This week I grieved like Mary and Martha. Rocky’s passing has the most devastating of my life so far. When the West Hollywood Library opened in 2011, he dedicated a shelf in the design section to me. A few years ago, Rocky gave me his high school letterman sweater for band and his daily missal with Latin on one side and the transliteration on the other. For someone familiar with pastoral care, I’m not one to easily accept that care from others. So, as we encounter the raising of Lazarus in the Gospel this weekend, it’s a reminder that we must always raise those we’ve lost in our own lives—not as Jesus did, but in prayer, with stories and memories, and in Rocky’s case with the great American songbook. “Open a new window, open a new door.”

St. Monica is a place where our clergy and staff not only work—but pray, mourn, receive the sacraments, and celebrate. Your commitment to offertory giving truly sustains us. It supports the day-to-day life of this parish, so we can be there in times of need. We hope that your expression of gratitude and generosity is matched at every turn, and we can raise you up every day. Thank you!