How is Colleen?

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So many of you have written to ask. She (and I) thank you for prayers, for your offerings and for your concern. I have been blessed to witness your generosity as we collect money to help the family during this trial.

Colleen is a daughter of the King of kings. She is a faith-filled woman who clings to hope and lives a life of charity. There are no words to describe the pain and I won't even try to convey to you the intensity of our conversations. What I can tell you is that she is married to a man of God who loves her dearly; she is surrounded by a beautiful extended family; she is being helped practically and held spiritually by an amazing community of believers. The nights are very long and when the day dawns, she is consoled by that merry band of brothers. So, that's how she is. She is a soldier, persevering in faith, with love.

The Mass of the Angels will be celebrated tomorrow at 2:00 (Louisiana Time) at St. Theresa of the Child Jesus in Abbeville. Baby Bryce will be buried on Saturday, next to Colleen's father in New Orleans. I won't be in Abbeville tomorrow. I, like you, will be holding the Mitchell family in prayer from afar. In the past 48 hours, I've been struck again and again by the reality that the internet community is a worldwide cloud of witnesses to faith. Wherever you are, please hold Colleen and her family in prayer tomorrow and in the days and weeks to come.

Bryce Mitchell Memorial Fund

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Being in an online community, we feel like we have friends right next door. But when tragedy strikes, it becomes painfully obvious that we are not right next door. We cannot pop in with a casserole and a hug. We cannot take the kids and give a grieving mother time and space. All we can do is pray.

In order do something tangible and practical, Katherine and I have set up a memorial fund to defray the costs of a funeral and to lighten their worldly burden in the days to come so that they can set their hearts upon mourning and healing.