Monday, January 14, 2019
., Russell Grant August 10, 2017 Thursday, August 24, 2017 To the Russell Family I want to send you warm greetings today as a source of spiritual support to all of you at this time. Though we know that something very real has occurred, Russell�s memory will last forever in our hearts. You have all lost a loved one, someone close and dear to you. I might add that he was also dear to me as well and I was very fond of him. This loss calls for a slow and gradual awakening of a love that is for the moment lost, a life that is now no more, a relationship that in the physical sense has ceased. Nonetheless, his spirit lives on and his memory will never be forgotten. Have you ever looked over the asphalt of an abandoned air field and notice how a blade of grass can penetrate through that concrete and come back to life? In a similar sense, Russell�s life will never be silenced. It is said that death is not �after life� but more appropriately �beyond life�. It is timeless and space less. He is in the life of God. It was a matter of having given him leave to be at peace with God. St. John of the Cross tells us that the language of God is the experience He writes in our hearts. And surely, God did speak profoundly to Russell because he was in a sense in love with the whole universe and he radiated the beauty of God by his very presence. He has been escorted as it were, to his eternal home to be born into new life, a life which to us is still in many ways, �too good to be true�. Some of these above sentiments may well be reflected in the following song which I composed for a woman who I journeyed with for ten years before she died. The title of the song is For This I Pray. She asked that this song would be played at her funeral. For This I Pray Music and Lyrics by Dr. Wilfred Gallant Composed and Copyrighted � Feb. 3, 2001 Dedicated to Arlene Levac Though sorrow fills my heart with woe when the flame of life draws dim, why waste my strength on the grim and murky side of things. I may not grasp the fullness of this suffering or this pain while through God seek true comfort, how much longer must I wait, I pray? I�ll use my strength and courage to live my life God�s way and gather blossoms from the vine to grace my side each day. I need not die in sorrow like those who have no hope but turn to God for solace when there is so much to gain. So much more. (R.)Refrain: For this I pray each morning when the noon sun shines with grace and when the shades of life draw closed, oh God, do not forsake me as I weave through stormy seas. I trust your hand to guide me safely home. ou did not spare your only son through the gnawing pains of death, nor in the spring time to a mom, the throbbing strains of birth. When roses bloom in summer, they are not without the thorns for in each soul a cross is placed in a life oft�n crowned with jewels, I pray. I can�t run toward the mountain, I can�t rush toward the sea, my soul, an empty desert, seeks peace and harmony. When my heart is deeply troubled, in soreness, grief and woe, dear God do not abandon me but soothe me from my foes. Soothe me Lord! (R.) When the curtain casts its shadow and my life draws to a close, can I hear a sweet voice calling: �I�ve come to take you home�. I need not wage a battle with a force far past my strength for in the light of morning, I leave with sound consent. I pray. Was not my life just borrowed and now simply returned for I have fought the good fight and have bravely run the course. I�ve mirrored love to others, a prism of God�s grace and now I�m called to say: �Good-bye� and pray with deep conviction, dear friends: �Please, let me go!� (R.) Can I gather crimson petals in my faint and feeble stage and blend my soul with nature where a dove will raise me up? Is life a fleeing moment, a glimpse of blessed bliss arranged to bring me back again to the source of life and love. I pray. (R.) St. Augustine once said �Our hearts were made for Thee, Oh Lord, and restless shall they be, until they rest in Thee�. Happiness is not what made Russell grateful. It was gratefulness that made him happy. Russell loved his family, and everyone he greeted. And he was truly thankful for the good things that happened in his life. In gratitude, he generously gave back to others in a spirit of peace and love. He was a gentle giant, kind and loving in every respect � it simply flowed out of him like a living spring. He was a pure gift to others and gave so open-heartedly. He had that ability to listen to other people and to identify with them. He lived doing God�s will for indeed, he knew that their pain was his pain. I composed yet another song for a family who had just lost their father and I am offering it to you the family in hopes that it may be of some consolation at this special time in your lives. The Song�s Origin - Fill Now Our Hearts (I Cried Through the Night) - Each person responds differently to death and bereavement. This song symbolizes the experience of grief and has a transcendent quality which foster hope in a life of body and spirit that is beyond the grave, thereby, confronting the meaning of life and death. Fill Now Our Hearts Music and Lyrics by Dr. Wilfred Gallant Composed and Copyrighted � March 17, 1986 (St. Patrick''s Day) Dedicated to: The Dennis Family I cried through the night and who would release me? I prayed through my tears and God you did hear me. Fill now our hearts. May we give thanks, to you who loves us. Al-le-e-lu, Al-le-e-lu, Al-le-e-lu-ia. Our poor hearts are cast and well near down trodden. We turn now to you, you open the heavens! Now we rejoice. God calls to us, hope of reunion. Al-le-e-lu, Al-le-e-lu, Al-le-e-lu-ia. Since music was so much the heart and soul of Russell, I would like to share another song which I composed as a result of my experience with a very special person, Aunt Josie as she was fondly called. We actually had this song on Power Point (with pictures of my dad) and we played it at the funeral home during the visitation for my father who had passed away at the ripe age of one hundred years. The Song�s Origin - When the Captain Calls Me Home - This song was composed when I was present for Aunt Josie who was in her last stage of the dying process. She recounted a story of where she heard a knock at the outside door at about 3 o�clock in the morning. She asked her husband, Fred if he would go see who was there. When Fred got to the door, all he saw was the white image of a sailor with a haloed captain�s hat. Fred�s father was a captain in the Canadian navy. They both later found out that Fred�s father had passed away in the middle of the night, at precisely 3 o�clock in the morning. Since Aunt Josie was not afraid to die and being mindful of the image of the captain, this song identifies some of the thoughts she shared with me about his death, how she would eagerly await to be reunited with her loved ones and that she would pray unceasingly that God would safely guide her relatives and friends until they would all meet again.) Scripture tells us: �Seek and ye shall find, knock and the door shall be opened.� I suspect that Russell in his own way sought out God or the doors of the universe and frequently knocked on the door. And finally, God answered his prayer and now, has welcomed him home. This �welcoming in� process can be shown in the words to the song: �When the Captain Calls Me Home�. When the Captain Calls Me Home Music and Lyrics by: Dr. Wilfred A. Gallant Composed and Copyrighted � March 10, 1998 Refrain The master has called me home. I�ve been through rain and storm. My ship sails away at the break of day for now I am going home. My life has been drawn at the end of the road; my journey has come to a close. Weep not for me for I�m at rest for the captain has called me home. (Refrain) I�ll wait for the day when we all will be joined; we�ll be joined in a land full of bliss. But [�til that day, I�ll wait and pray when the captain calls you home. (Refrain) I live in your hearts be sure this is so, my good wishes I send you this day: �To have the strength to live your lives, �till the captain calls you home.� (Last Refrain) Last Refrain The master has called me home. I�ve been through rain and storm. My ship sails away at the break of day at last I am going home. We have to continue doing the good things that Russell did. Russell reached out to others, provided love and compassion, and offered a friendly smile and a sense of reassurance on his way. Today, we must imitate him and his good deeds in our own lives. In this way, his spirit will not be forgotten and his memory will live on in our hearts. You can continue to live his memory by doing the good things that he did and in this way, you will always feel him close to you. Yes, you can all carry Russell�s memory by being more loving, more compassionate and more understanding with each other and with those whom you meet on your journey. The promise of our faith is �that we will meet again� and this is what gives us hopeful anticipation and the courage to live our lives in the precious gift of love � to love as God loves. In closing, undoubtedly, you are asking who is this man and how did come to know Russell. I first met him in what I believe was the Tunnel Barbeque which was located at that time across from Wal-Mart on Dougall where he was playing. About 20 years ago he enrolled in my forth year addiction course at the University of Winsor that was titled The Use of Music-Based Intervention in Social Work Practice�. He was such a jewel and so empathic will all the students who were much younger than him. But he gave them his unconditional attention and support. He just loved how we shared our music. The one that remarkably stands out in my mind was the song �Perhaps Love�. I believe this was the very song that the students, including Russell got such a charge out of. John Denver � Perhaps Love Lyrics Perhaps love is like a resting place A shelter from the storm It exists to give you comfort It is there to keep you warm And in those times of trouble When you are most alone The memory of love will bring you home Perhaps love is like a window Perhaps an open door It invites you to come closer It wants to show you more And even if you lose yourself And don''t know what to do The memory of love will see you through Oh, love to some is like a cloud To some as strong as steel For some a way of living For some a way to feel And some say love is holding on And some say letting go And some say love is everything And some say they don''t know Perhaps love is like the ocean Full of conflict, full of pain Like a fire when it''s cold outside Or thunder when it rains If I should live forever And all my dreams come true My memories of love will be of you He was a very rich source of presence for me when he came into my life and my happiest memory that I will forever cherish is the fact that I had the good fortune to rub shoulders with an ever so �humble gentle giant�. Peace and Blessing, Wilfred Gallant Dr. Wilfred Gallant Associate Professor Emeritus School of Social Work University of Windsor 925 Lena Ave. Windsor, ON N9C 3K1 e-mail gallant@uwindsor.ca 519-971-9489