A letter from Heaven

Taaz Ali died on August 14. His funeral was on August 22. Taaz and his wife Anne Marie had been a team couple in Marriage Encounter and on occasion they teamed up with then Fr Robert Rivas (now Archbishop Emeritus Robert Rivas OP) in presenting the Marriage Encounter Weekend. Archbishop Rivas concelebrated the Funeral Mass with Frs Christopher Lumsden, John Theodore CSSp and Anton Dick CSSp. His homily took the form of a love letter from Heaven to Anne Marie.

Dear Anne Marie,

Do you remember the day we shared very intimately with a number of couples at a Marriage Encounter Weekend on our bond of matrimony and the power of love in enriching and strengthening our marriage relationship? At that stage, our love had matured, and we could treasure the joy of each other’s company and share our blessings of married love with others. You were my unique gift from God and, throughout our years of marriage, I never stopped falling in love with you. What a gift and a blessing you have been to me.

I remember how we looked at each other that day and all we wanted was for that love to last forever. I can’t remember how many times I have told you, “I love you” in our years of marriage, but each time I said the magic word the hinges would fall off your door as you let me into your life with even greater affection and love.

You were mine and I was yours and we were committed to exchange the gift of self faithfully and in total trust all the days of our lives in the sacred covenant of life and love in the Sacrament of Marriage.

There was nothing I wouldn’t do for you to let you know I loved you. You were the joy of my life, and you nourished me with your beauty, your holiness, and your sincerity. For all our years, we have never lost the romance in our marriage. Building a great relationship in trust, fidelity and love has sustained us in good times as well as in times when we were tried and tested. We quickly learnt after our honeymoon that a wedding is for a day, but a marriage is for a lifetime.

We learnt that we could not take each other for granted or presume anything in our relationship. We learnt to be open with each other and to communicate on everything.

There were to be no hidden agendas or places for escaping when we couldn’t face ourselves or each other. We have realised over the years that the best marriage requires hard work. The more that is put into enriching couple-relationship, the more fruitful and strong will be the marriage.

So, recognising our strengths and weaknesses, our own fragilities, and our dreams, we grew in a deeper bond of love for each other. After hurts and healing, joys, and pains, we learnt that love really changes everything. My darling, I can never ever stop thanking you for your love. In all of God’s creation, you were the one for me.

In sharing our dream for our marriage, we laughed and danced, prioritised, sacrificed, wrote each other love letters and never lost sight of God in our marriage. We kept the romance alive through small gestures and daily thoughtfulness.

You were my gem, and I was your spark. You were my numero uno and I was your numero uno. God had brought us together and given us a happy family and this was the fruit and joy of our marriage. God does not make junk! In God’s eyes, we are for each other God’s great work of art made to last forever. All that we have is a gift from God and I want us to be always grateful.

Did I tell you recently that I loved you? I remember how sad and pensive you looked one day when we decided to share intimately on the thought of losing each other through suffering and death. I am glad we risked sharing on that difficult subject.

I remember the first time we shared with others our feelings on the impact that death would have on us when death came. I held  your hand not wanting to let go. Then as you spoke tears ran down your cheek and you rested your head on my shoulder and for a moment neither of us could speak; so great was our emotion and the thought that we could possibly lose each other.

That day we knew that our love was stronger than death. Thank God we took the risk, shared at a deep level, and expressed our fears. It prepared us for letting go and for understanding that death is not the end. God’s greater plan is for us to be happy with God forever.

When I did not wake up the other day, I didn’t panic because I knew you were ready to let me go. That was the moment when our unconditional love for each other would be put to the test. It was the moment for giving back to God the gift we had received from God.

You may not have heard the last words I spoke that night, but I said them loud and clear, and the angels are my witnesses — “Ann Marie,” I said, “I will love you forever.”

I was so happy to see you smile in your sleep that I knew all would be well and all manner of things would be well! Then I closed my eyes with love secure and said to Jesus, “Yes, it is time. I am ready to go!”

Anne Marie, let the children and grandchildren know what love is — unconditional, sacrificial, generous, and tender love… I have had my foretaste of eternal love in the Eucharist and now I am sharing in the banquet of eternal life and everlasting love.

Jesus words were true: “Whoever eats this bread will live forever.”  Love, love changes everything! Thank you for loving me.

I am in God’s hands now, secure and at peace. I am alive and God smiled when God saw me. I am happy and will be happy forever. You have nothing to fear. I will love you forever.

Your beloved,

Taaz