Glory to God For All Things

Memory Eternal – David Waite

Among our community of commenters, a regular was David Waite. He was a member of my parish here in East Tennessee, a member of the choir, and a retired lawyer. I think of him as one of the “great souls” whom I have known. He was an advocate and friend of the poor, who were never “beneath” him, but always his equals.

We had some wonderful conversations over the years. For the whole time that I have known him, he was quietly battling cancer, a battle that he always knew he would eventually lose. I think it gave him an inner awareness of the fragility of life and our dependence upon God at all times. I will miss him.

In your kindness, remember the servant of God, David. May his memory be eternal!

About Fr. Stephen Freeman

Fr. Stephen is a retired Archpriest of the Orthodox Church in America. 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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23 responses to “Memory Eternal – David Waite”

  1. Byron Avatar
    Byron

    May his memory be eternal. God hold him close and forgive him all his sins.

  2. Dean Avatar
    Dean

    “Blessed is he who remembers the poor!” Psalm 41/42:1.
    May David’s memory be eternal.

  3. John Avatar
    John

    Memory eternal!

  4. Fr. Stephen Avatar
    Fr. Stephen

    David’s last comment on the blog was back in May of this year. It is quite apropos to the news of his repose. I repost it here:

    As someone with terminal cancer, this post resonated with me.

    “Apparently, I am already dead.” Indeed. But, oddly, that does not bother me. I rather like it. There is a wonderful freedom in this. I get to choose what I am going to bother with, what I am going to pay attention to. So much of what seemed so important is no longer important at all, so I just ignore it.

    They say that a brother came to Abba Macarius the Egyptian and asked what he could do to be saved. The old
    man said, “Go to the cemetery and abuse the dead.” So the brother went to the cemetery, abused the dead, and threw stones at them. When he returned the old man asked the brother how the dead reacted. They brother said, “They did nothing,” so the old man told the brother to return and praise the dead. He did so. When he returned the old man asked him again how the dead reacted. “They did not react,” said the brother. “Be like the dead,” said the old man. “Care not for either the scorn or praise of men and you can be saved”

    It is good to be dead.

    “The Cross is the destruction of the ego.” Amen. It is also the throne of Christ. I want to climb up on it and be with him so we can be dead to the world together.

    “For whoever desires to save his life (τὴν ψυχὴν = soul) will lose it, but whoever loses his life (τὴν ψυχὴν=soul) for My sake will save it. (Luke 9:24)”

    I do not know what my resurrected life will be, but faith is trust, so again I say, amen.

  5. Dcn. Peter Avatar
    Dcn. Peter

    May his names be inscribed and sealed in the Book of Life and his memory be eternal.

  6. Donna Greenhut Avatar
    Donna Greenhut

    Memory eternal! Thank you for letting us know about this God-loving soul. I will have him remembered among the reposed at St. Paisius Monastery in AZ where I am going this weekend.

  7. Mark Spurlock Avatar
    Mark Spurlock

    What disappears in death? The experience of the ugliness of this world, of evil, of the fluidity of time. What remains is the beauty that gladdens and in the same moment saddens the heart. Peace. The peace of the Sabbath which opens the fullness and the perfection of Creation. God’s peace. Not of death, but of life in its fullness, in its eternal possession.

    Father Alexander Schmemann

  8. George Avatar
    George

    May his memory be eternal.

  9. Andrew Avatar
    Andrew

    May his memory be eternal!

  10. Rick and Linda Cowan Avatar
    Rick and Linda Cowan

    May his memory be eternal.

  11. Janine Avatar
    Janine

    May his memory be eternal. In the Armenian tradition, it’s said, “May God illumine his soul”

  12. Allen Long Avatar
    Allen Long

    Memory Eternal!

  13. Dana Ames Avatar
    Dana Ames

    May the Lord grant David rest in a place of light, and make his memory to be eternal.

    Dana

  14. Agata Avatar
    Agata

    May God grant David rich and glorious entrance into His Heavenly Kingdom!
    Memory Eternal.

  15. Margaret Avatar
    Margaret

    May David’s memory be eternal! Thanks so much for sharing David’s post from this past May 2023, Fr. Stephen. I know I have read the story concerning “be like the dead” before, but knowing someone with such trust in Our Lord, the Lover of Mankind — that this man would repeat the story as a comfort and encouragement to himself and to us all, Glory to God for All Things.

  16. Lisa K. Avatar
    Lisa K.

    May David’s memory be eternal. May David rests in God’s loving mercy until we all meet in paradise!

  17. Claudia Bouras Avatar
    Claudia Bouras

    Memory Eternal.

  18. Matthew Avatar
    Matthew

    One thing I have appreciated since being introduced to Orthodoxy is its insistence on recognizing that Jesus Christ totally and completely defeats death. I kind of knew this as a Protestant evangelical, but the issues surrounding sin (as understood by evangelicals) always took center stage in that world.

    I did not know David at all, but I believe David´s earthly death will in no way have the last word. Praise be to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

  19. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    Matthew, you are correct. Our Lord, His Mother, the Angels and Saints as well as the local communities who love God.
    “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death and upon those in the tombs bestowing life.”

    When my late wife reposed it was the middle of Lent. When we celebrated His Resurrection on Pascha, I knew (through our Lord’s Grace) my late wife was risen too. Not physically, but fully with our Lord nonetheless.

    I have never proclaimed more joyously that Christ is Risen!

  20. Dee of St Herman Avatar
    Dee of St Herman

    Matthew,
    Beautifully said. Jesus trampled down death by death.

    May David’s memory be eternal!

    Father,
    Was David also known on this blog as “Inner Stillness” or some similar name? At the time, I had associated this pseudonym with Hesychasm and prayer life.

  21. Dee of St Herman Avatar
    Dee of St Herman

    Michael,
    Indeed, “And upon those in the tombs bestowing life!”

    This would be the ‘tombs’ of all of us, those of us who are reposed and those of us who are not.

  22. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    Dee, absolutely.

  23. Matthew Avatar
    Matthew

    @Dee and Michael: Thank you. 🙂

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