Looking back at that article, some readers probably saw a flagrant selfishness in the sharing of such personal matters. After all, I am not the only one to ever experience grief, and the One Voice, most certainly, shouldn’t be used as my therapy outlet. My decision to honor what I wrote last year, though, truly stems from my experience of God’s overwhelming grace and mercy as my husband’s earthly life came to an end.

Marriage is not easy. “To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part" are words that couples exchange with great excitement and joy on their wedding day, but there are times when those same words prove quite the challenge. I know deep down I could have met the challenge with greater dedication and resolve, but I fell short too many times to count.

The weight of that guilt proved unbearable when my husband’s oldest son took me aside in the hospital to tell me what Randy couldn’t bring himself to say: There wasn’t much time left.

I took the kids home and spent the rest of the night, quite literally, unable to stop crying. The next day, which just so happened to be our 17th wedding anniversary, I went up to the hospital and read him the anniversary card which I ultimately buried with him in his casket. Only by the grace of God was I able to reject my pride and apologize to him for closing my heart not only to him, but also to the grace so willfully and freely offered to each and every one of us by God.

It was in that moment that all my failings and his seemed to vanish. I had never experienced anything quite like it before: When I tried to remember hurts, I couldn’t. The past seemed all too insignificant. By absolutely no effort of my own, the rays of merciful love reaching out from the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus engulfed me with His grace, love, and mercy.

The blessing is one I hope to always cherish, for it was the first time in my life that I realized I was an active participant not just a recipient in God’s grace and mercy. I was able to consciously connect the dots: God’s grace and the acceptance of it provides the strength to act according to His will, allowing hearts to be opened to the merciful love of Jesus’ Most Sacred Heart, to trust in His love, and to show that love and mercy to others.

Over my husband’s last two weeks, I was able to help him have what a priest instructed me to provide: a good death.

Even as a lifelong practicing Catholic, my faith life never included a consistent Divine Mercy devotion or one to the Sacred Heart for that matter, yet the Lord’s grace, love, and mercy were still freely given. I am not an exception!

To anyone reading this issue, I hope the articles written by Mary Kaye Gubenski, Father Daniel Sessions, and myself will encourage a sincere trust in Jesus, fortifying belief in His infinite, unconditional, and merciful love for all. May we all come to realize our role as partakers in Christ's salvific mission, allowing ourselves to accept His grace and share His merciful love without inhibition.