A good man is gone  His name was John and he has quietly died but not unnoticed. I did not know him well. I only sat with him a few times when he came to visit his sister who is my sister-in-law. He was born in Taiwan and even as a young boy he showed great promise, earning a spot at one the the most prestigious schools in that country. He studied hard and proved his mettle before going to college to earn a bachelor’s degree and then attending Syracuse University where he got a master’s degree in Chemical Engineering. 

John was certainly a very capable man but in his heart a love of God overtook any desires he may have had to become wealthy. He spent most of his lifetime dedicated to a spiritual life of compassion and sharing. He gave away much of any money that he earned and spent his energy being of service to his fellow human beings. He was a prayerful man who found joy in his personal journey with God. 

Eventually John went to live near his younger brother in San Francisco where he became a Catholic and a daily reader of the Bible. He spread the good news of the gospel through example, never by pushing people to be religious. There was an aura about him that spoke of his devotion to the messages of Jesus. 

Once John moved to San Francisco I only saw him one more time about ten years ago. He was quite humble and spiritual. His life was guided by the commandment to love. There was something special about just sitting with him and knowing if his many good deeds.

 While I was recuperating from my knee surgery I learned that John had died. His sister called me with the news and it was apparent that her heart was broken. He was younger than she is and his death came at a time when she was battling her own illnesses. I understood her devotion to her younger brother and the pain that she was feeling in losing him. We humans tend to believe that things should happen in an orderly way. We hope that we will leave this earth in the same sequence by which we came so that we do not have to bear the sorrow of losing a younger sibling or friend or child. Somehow such things feel wrong in the grand scheme of things and yet we see it happening again and again. 

I have little doubt that John is united with God. He was a truly good man who inspired everyone who knew him. I pray that any suffering that he might have endured on this earth is now gone as he finds new life in eternity. I hope that his brother and sisters will feel the sympathy that we have for them. May his memory be a blessing to all who knew him and may we learn from him how to walk peacefully through life from his example.