Glory to God For All Things

A Hiatus for Grief

vladimirskaya (1)I have been working on an article this week but with little satisfaction. On Tuesday afternoon, my newborn granddaughter, Anna Kathryn Freeman, fell asleep in the Lord after a four-day struggle in the hospital here in Knoxville. It has been a very difficult week. Our family is gathering for the funeral and to support one another. I would greatly appreciate your prayers for us all and for the repose of the holy innocent, Anna Kathryn. May her memory be eternal – her soul shall dwell with the blessed.

I will return to writing when things settle down.

About Fr. Stephen Freeman

Fr. Stephen is a retired Archpriest of the Orthodox Church in America, Pastor Emeritus of St. Anne Orthodox Church in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He is also author of Everywhere Present: Christianity in a One-Storey Universe, and Face to Face: Knowing God Beyond Our Shame, as well as the Glory to God podcast series on Ancient Faith Radio.

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73 responses to “A Hiatus for Grief”

  1. MichaelPatrick Avatar
    MichaelPatrick

    May her memory be eternal and may God’s Holy Spirit and the Holy Mother of God comfort all who love her so dearly.

  2. Dean Arnold Avatar
    Dean Arnold

    I am so sorry, Fr. Stephen. Much love and many prayers for you.

  3. Nader Avatar
    Nader

    Gof comfort you and your family, Father.

  4. Jennifer Avatar
    Jennifer

    Oh how heartbreaking! I am so so sorry Father. May her sweet precious soul rest in peace. Prayers for you and your family.

  5. Elizabeth Avatar
    Elizabeth

    I am so so sorry Fr. Stephen. May God be near you at this time and comfort all of you. May Anna Kathryn memory be eternal! I will light a candle for her here.

  6. Maurice Avatar
    Maurice

    Memory Eternal. Father Bless. We pray for you, your family and Anna Kathryn.

  7. Fr. Thomas Avatar
    Fr. Thomas

    All that is good and perfect for Anna Kathryn, you, your family, and friends be yours from God’s throne of grace, mercy, and love.

  8. mary benton Avatar
    mary benton

    May God sing to your hearts… my prayers are with you.

  9. JP Avatar
    JP

    Rest eternal grant unto her, O Lord; and let light perpetual shine upon her. May she rest in peace.

  10. Tony Avatar
    Tony

    So sorry to hear Father Stephen. May the Lord grant comfort, hope and strength to you and your family. Anna Kathryn is at peace and with the angels.

  11. Jennifer Avatar
    Jennifer

    I am so sorry, Father Stephen. My thoughts and prayers will be with your family. I know from friends who have lost a child that Anna Kathryn will always hold a special place in your hearts.

  12. Theodossia Avatar
    Theodossia

    Memory eternal… May the Lord comfort your hearts!!!

  13. Joyce Eikenberg Avatar
    Joyce Eikenberg

    Dear fr. Stephen

    My prayers and love are with you. Your insight through Glory to God has helped and given me strength over the years since I’ve become Orthodox.

    My heart goes out to you and your family.

    With love in Christ,

    Joyce

  14. David Avatar
    David

    Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy. We too had a 4-day old little boy, William Grayson, repose yrs ago. Our hearts are heavy and our prayers are for you all. God’s grace is sufficient. Lord have mercy.

  15. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    “…a place of brightness, a place of verdure, a place of repose where all sickness, sorrow and sighing have fled away…”

    May the Lord be with all of you and bring you through your grief.

  16. GretchenJoanna Avatar
    GretchenJoanna

    I am so sorry…Lord, have mercy!

  17. evangelos Avatar
    evangelos

    May her memory be eternal.

  18. Panayiota Avatar
    Panayiota

    May her memory be eternal.
    Anna will be praying that God give strength to her family.

  19. David Waite Avatar
    David Waite

    You are all in my prayers.

  20. jrj1701 Avatar
    jrj1701

    I am praying for you and your family during this time of sorrow.

  21. Randi Avatar
    Randi

    fr

    Was so sad to read this news…May our Lord and His mother comfort you and your family, and may the little one rest with the angels.

  22. Warren Aldrich Avatar
    Warren Aldrich

    Oh dear. My heart goes out to you and the family. May God give you peace and love.
    As your writings have given me God’s blessings.
    Warren

  23. Kyra Lewis Avatar
    Kyra Lewis

    May Anna Kathryn’s memory be eternal and may her soul dwell with the saints.

  24. Anna Avatar
    Anna

    May her memory be eternal!

  25. Allen Long Avatar
    Allen Long

    Memory Eternal. Prayers for you and your family.

  26. Dino Avatar
    Dino

    May God have mercy. May our Lord grant you all His grace.
    Is it not true that Christ, being risen from the dead, has brought His servant Anna Kathryn from death unto life, and from earth unto heaven. It is!
    Oh may Christ the Resurrection, the Life, and the Repose of His servant Anna Kathryn, grant her a rich entrance into His Kingdom and divine consolation to those who have not yet entered that life of blessedness.
    Ah, the blameless on their way! Alleluia. Whose longing to go and be with Christ has been fulfilled. Shine! Shine! O New Jerusalem! The glory of the Lord has shone upon you.

  27. newenglandsun Avatar
    newenglandsun

    For the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God; Wisdom 3:1 and if of the righteous, then those children’s souls also; for neither are they wicked (Homily 28 on Matthew, St. John Chrysostom)

  28. Herb Avatar
    Herb

    Eternal memory and blessed repose for Anna Kathryn.

  29. Devin Avatar
    Devin

    Memory Eternal! Deepest condolences to you and your family. Lord have mercy!

  30. Fr Paul Emmick Avatar
    Fr Paul Emmick

    You and your family have our sympathy and prayers during this difficult time. May she rest in the warmth of His merciful arms and console those who grieve her loss.

  31. Margaret Avatar
    Margaret

    Praying with your family

  32. Constance Avatar
    Constance

    May Her Memory Be Eternal.

    I am so sorry for the grief you and your family are experiencing, Father.
    I wish I had words to take away your pain. I wish I had words.

    My love and prayers to you and your family during this difficult time of faith and hope.

    Constance

  33. Karen Avatar
    Karen

    O Lord who watches over children in the present life and in the world to come because of their simplicity and innocence of mind, abundantly satisfying them with a place in Abraham’s bosom, bringing them to live in radiantly shining places where the spirits of the righteous dwell: receive in peace the soul of your little servant Anna Kathryn, for you yourself have said, “Let the little children come to Me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Amen.

    May the grace and comfort of the Holy Spirit be yours at this time of unspeakable loss!

  34. Robert Sanfilippo Avatar
    Robert Sanfilippo

    Memory Eternal!

  35. Anna n Avatar
    Anna n

    Memory eternal Anna! It must be a very tender grief for you as Anna’s grandparents, having yourselves had a little one fall asleep in The Lord and now having to watch your children bear that grief.

  36. Steve Avatar
    Steve

    Memory eternal!

    (I offer silent reflection and this thought: Met. Kallistos Ware once described prayer as the act of “looking at God while He looks at you.” I paraphrase, but this is precisely what Anna Kathryn and all the blessed are now doing. Brought to fullness in the person of Christ. May the eternally begotten, in His mercy, grant this grace to all who ask for it).

  37. Pr. Ian Wolfe Avatar
    Pr. Ian Wolfe

    Rest eternal grant to her, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon her. Amen.

  38. Efraim Shultz Avatar
    Efraim Shultz

    With the Saints give rest oh Christ to the soul of the servant, where there is neither sickness nor sorrow nor sighing but life everlasting.

  39. Gillian Trewinnard Avatar
    Gillian Trewinnard

    Love and prayers for your comfort.

  40. Roman Avatar
    Roman

    Your family is in my prayers. My newborn nephew has been in and out of the hospital for four months now.

  41. Christina Avatar
    Christina

    I’m so sorry to hear this. May her memory be eternal!

  42. Dana Ames Avatar
    Dana Ames

    Oh Father, I am so sorry to hear this. Prayers and condolences for all of you. Our Lord has received Anna into his loving arms and will hold her until the fullness of the Resurrection. And the Theotokos will wrap her arms around your daughter. Memory eternal.

    Dana

  43. Leigh Mosley Avatar
    Leigh Mosley

    Very deeply saddened to hear of your loss. Surely nothing could be more painful than losing a child. I will pray for all of you.

  44. OldToad Avatar
    OldToad

    I am very sorry, Father. Our family’s prayers are with your family.

  45. Kuruvilla Varghese Avatar
    Kuruvilla Varghese

    Dear Fr. Stephen,

    May Lord Almighty receive Anna in heavenly abode. May God comfort you all.

  46. Father Bryan Eyman Avatar
    Father Bryan Eyman

    May her memory be eternal! Praying for you and your family.

  47. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    Memory eternal!

  48. Dean Avatar
    Dean

    Father Stephen
    May you and family know the healing balm of the Holy Spirit at this hour of deep loss. As Christ bade the little ones to come unto Him to be enveloped in His arms, that is surely where little Anna is now nestled. Memory eternal.

  49. Ken Kannady Avatar
    Ken Kannady

    Father Stephen : I pray the Lord will send you all the Comforter and His Peace.

  50. Stamati Avatar
    Stamati

    May the comfort, strength and light that has come from the LORD, through your blog, now be returned to you and your family in a double portion!
    May her memory be eternal.
    Kyrie eleison.

  51. Laura Avatar
    Laura

    So, so sorry.

    Psalm 34:18 “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

  52. TimOfTheNorth Avatar
    TimOfTheNorth

    May the God of peace comfort you and all your family in your sadness.

  53. G Weigle Avatar
    G Weigle

    Memory eternal! You all are in my prayers.

  54. Justin Avatar
    Justin

    May her memory be eternal.

  55. Mimi Avatar
    Mimi

    Oh, Father, I am so very sorry to hear. We have mutual Facebook friends, and she has been on my prayer list since I heard of her repose, but I had not connected her with your family.
    My deepest sympathies. May her Memory be Eternal.

  56. Dima Avatar
    Dima

    May her memory be eternal!

  57. Lenora Bearer Avatar
    Lenora Bearer

    I’m so sorry to hear of your loss. May Anna’s memory be eternal, and may God comfort your heart.

  58. Patty Joanna Avatar
    Patty Joanna

    May her memory be eternal, and may God bring comfort to all your family. I am sorry for your loss…it’s hard to fathom the sorrow sometimes.

  59. Dimitry Avatar
    Dimitry

    Fr. Stephen,

    Your words helped guide my wife to Orthdodoxy. You helped us both understand God better and begin to decipher the depths of our faith. May God guide you and your family in this time of struggle.

    Memory Eternal.

    Ps I have always found this hymn very comforting. Hope it helps you as well.

  60. Lena Avatar
    Lena

    Praying for you and all your family dear Father, especially for little Anna’s parents. There are few things in life as cruel as losings a child. May all healing grace of the Lord fills souls of your daughter-in-law and your son!
    Memory ethernal to handmaiden of God Anna!

  61. Karin Avatar
    Karin

    As you and your loved ones go through this valley of grief and sorrow, may you know and experience the comfort of God’s Holy Spirit and be surrounded by His love shown to you through His Word and His people. My heartfelt sympathy in your loss!

  62. kay Avatar
    kay

    May her memory be eternal! You’re all in our prayers.

  63. OldToad Avatar
    OldToad

    Roman–I am praying for your nephew and for all your family.

  64. davidp Avatar
    davidp

    Regardless of age, the memory of a death of a loved one will always be with the family. Especially those who died young because it will always be what they would be doing in the future. The memory comes back again and again even decades later. The above hymn posted by Dimitry is for the living. Let us all take our rest in Him…Heb 4:9-11. (there is deep meaning of the Greek word “rest” in these verses. Blessings to the families.

  65. Fr. Dominic McManus, OP Avatar
    Fr. Dominic McManus, OP

    Memory eternal. The Latins who read your blog are praying for her as well. Requiem aeternam.

  66. Sophia Avatar
    Sophia

    I am so very sorry, Fr. Stephen. I pray for her, for her parents, for you and your wife, and all of your family. May God and His angels and saints look after you all in this time of grief.

  67. Dallas Wolf Avatar
    Dallas Wolf

    Your Pentecostal brothers also grieve with you and pray.

  68. Dymphna Avatar
    Dymphna

    I am so sorry Fr Stephen. You and your loved ones are in my heart and prayers. May the memory of your beloved Anna Kathryn be eternal. And, with time, may you find peace that she dwells among the blessed.

  69. Ralph Williams Avatar
    Ralph Williams

    We also lost our first-born grandson. We were heartbroken, as I am sure you are now. Our prayers are with you and your family as you grieve. May the Lord comfort you!

  70. Valja Avatar
    Valja

    What heartbreaking news. Thomas and I extend our deepest sympathies to you and your family. We will keep all of you in our prayers. May God extend his comfort to you just as you have brought comfort to so many of us through your writings.

    We will light a candle for little Anna here in Thessaloniki.

  71. Thomas Avatar
    Thomas

    Father, you have been in my prayers already, I am so sorry. I will pray for you and your family and the repose of little Anna. God bless

  72. Seth Farley Avatar
    Seth Farley

    Fr. Stephen,

    I am praying that God grant you and your family His comfort and strength during this difficult time.

  73. Scott and Anne Peatross Avatar
    Scott and Anne Peatross

    Fr. Stephen and Mat. Beth,

    With the soul of the righteous departed, give rest to the soul Anna Kathryn where there is no sickness, sorrow, or sighing, but life everlasting.
    Our love to you and to your family.

    May her memory be eternal!

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