By Jeremy Varon, May 12, 2016
The funeral Dan wanted with his community is behind us. But as Steve Kelly, S.J., himself a frequent disrupter of “good order,” said in his sermon, “Death has no dominion.” Dan lives on in us. Jeremy’s moving article, including the quote from Dan’s niece, Frida Berrigan, brings to mind the words of Annie Dillard, “There is only us; there never has been any other.”
Frida completed the multi-part eulogy by pointing pointedly to the power of community, pointing to the gathering before her as a good example. (Get the point?) As I watched via live-stream, I was reminded of a banner hanging prominently on the wall of a Catholic Worker house: “The first duty of discipleship is to support one another.”
So now, Dillard’s dictum dictates what we do; it comes into full force. All that is left is us and our love for Dan and the things he loved. “It’s enough,” said Frida.
Let it be so.
The Death Stops Here: The Death and Resurrection of Daniel Berrigan