Mary Swenson, In Memoriam

April 8, 2005

I planted flowers today, lining the sidewalk with deep blue pansies and refilling the empty flowerpot on the porch with a mix of two-tone yellow and purple pansies.

I know very well that it is too early to plant flowers in Minnesota – even pansies – but I really needed to plant today, to throw a blue and yellow defiance in the teeth of death, to claim that spring is here and life is growing.

Eight days ago, my friend Mary Swenson died. She had fought a years-long battle with cancer, leaving us a gallant, faithful, often even joyous example of the way to fight and the way to finally die. One year older than me, Mary also grew up as the oldest daughter in a Catholic family. She found in the Church an inspiration to dedicate her life to social justice. Despite her differences with the institutional Church (and they were many and deep), her life was celebrated in a funeral mass in the parish where she was baptized and made her first communion and was confirmed.

Mary was a founder of the Resource Center of the Americas, where I met her more than 20 years ago. She never left the Resource Center, and all of us mourned her death during this past week.

The Pope died this week, too. And Terry Schiavo. And campesinos and soldiers in Colombia. And Iraqis and Afghans and U.S. soldiers.

Just over 25 years ago, on March 24, 1980, Archbishop Oscar Romero was assassinated in El Salvador. Last Saturday more than 100 of us gathered to honor and remember his life and death. At that gathering, and three days later at Mary’s funeral, we renewed our commitment to work for justice and peace.

Just over 13 years ago, Grandpa Macy died in California. Tonight we will go to services and say the Kaddish prayer, remembering him.

But words are not enough. So today I cleared away dead leaves and old grass from around the tender tulip stems and put together the frame for a raised bed for vegetables and planted pansies. Spring is coming. Spring will always come.