Ritual and ceremony... We said goodbye to our friend yesterday. We held each other, we cried, we talked and sang, we told stories and shared memories and thoughts, and I hope that the healing has begun for everyone. I know I'm ready to get back to my life. I'm still raw from the emotional onslaught, and my heart hurts for all of us, especially his family, but you can't deny the pull to live, and so many people closest to our dear friend urged us to live well in memory of him. So I'll do my best.

But I'm still going to cry sometimes when we gather to celebrate together, and I realize again that he's gone.

I'm not in any way a Catholic, and by his own words, our friend did not identify as such, but I am a choir singer, and have always found the Catholic Requiem comforting, so I'm going to say goodbye that way:

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Absolve Domine animas omnium fidelium defunctorum ab omno vinculo delictorum et gratia tua illis succurente mereantur evadere iudicium ultionis, et lucis æterne beatitudine perfrui.