Posted on 01/13/2011 3:00:41 AM PST by iowamark
DUBUQUE, Iowa - The youngest victim of the Tucson, Arizona shooting will be laid to rest in a casket built here in Iowa.
Monks from Dubuque’s New Melleray Abbey hand-crafted a child’s size casket especially for 9-year-old Christina Greene.
Greene was at the Safeway grocery store Saturday morning when a bullet struck and killed her.
She was there to meet United States Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
Nestled away in the woods of Dubuque County, 35 Catholic monks worked day in and day out.
Trappist Casket Manager Sam Mulgrew said, “Their life is spent pursuing God in Prayer. ”
The monks live a sequestered life and take the vows of poverty and chastity. They make money hand crafting these wooden caskets.
Early Tuesday morning, Mulgrew got an urgent request from a funeral home in Tucson, Arizona.
Mulgrew said, “Christina’s family said they would like to use a Trappist Casket so they put us in touch with the funeral director.”
Eight hours later that casket was complete and sent to Tucson.
A former customer now living in Arizona who knows the Greene family suggested a Trappist Casket.
Mulgrew said, “They like to so something as a corporal work of Mercy in a situation like this and what they can offer is a casket at no cost.”
The monks bless each casket and pray for the deceased, but this one had a lasting effect.
“The process of preparing a casket for Christina, it impacts us in a way like no other adult casket could," said Mulgrew.
1,600 miles away, these Iowa monks want the Greene family to know they are not grieving alone.
(Excerpt) Read more at kcrg.com ...
What a beautiful send off by these monks. God bless them and the lovely child to be laid to rest in the casket. I want to cry thinking about the pain of her parents, extended family and friends. I have faith in God, but a senseless loss of this kind might truly test it.
We were very pleased with a casket from
http://www.abbeycaskets.com/
God Bless these monks.
Beautiful and fitting. May God accept this child into His Kingdom and may He bless the work of these monks.
cool.
I knew about the monks making caskets but I didn’t know about the cremation urns. I hope I earn my trappist urn.
Thanks for posting this. My sweetie is a proud Hawkeye and this will lift his spirits.
Is there no end to the exploitation of this tragedy?
Correction, there is no exploitation of this tragedy, just an act of love and what my church calls a “corperal work of mercy” to bury the dead.
After visiting the New Melleray monastery some years ago, I have told my family that I want to be buried in one of their caskets.
Oh.
The dead burying the dead?
For the Greater Glory of God.
From the article:
"Early Tuesday morning, Mulgrew got an urgent request from a funeral home in Tucson, Arizona...Mulgrew said, “Christina’s family said they would like to use a Trappist Casket so they put us in touch with the funeral director.”
Fulfilling the wish of the deceased's family is 'exploitation'?
Cut down on the caffeine, bro.
Losing a child is always heartbreaking, and I have friends who lost a teen son to a stabbing murder a dozen years back. No parent wants to bury a child and when what happened to that little girl brought memories of that friend’s son’s tragic death.
The monks just are doing what Jesus did, be of suport to the grieving family.
cretin
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