Love | Death | Missionaries

“He who does not love abides in death” (I John 3:14).

Sister Ann was a medical missionary from St. Louis. She was a physician and a poet and a woman of extraordinary grace. When only in her mid-40s she died. Cancer swept her away from the people she served in Central America and from her family and friends in St. Louis. A Jesuit Priest who served with her in Central America lovingly recalls one of their shared missionary experiences. He begins with these words: “The Love of Christ is the object of our faith.” Then he continues…

As a neonatal intensive-care physician, Sister Ann once took care of a five-inch premature baby named Tamika. The girl was left in the hospital, fated to die, unable to thrive, bereft of possibility. She smiled once, cupped in Sister Ann’s hands after weeks of being held, caressed and gazed upon. Then she died.

After we two buried Tamika with the help of a generous funeral director, I protested…