The Saturday Morning Post: Requiem Eternam MMXXI

Welcome, God and All...

Once again, the calendar dutifully reminds us of that time when we should remember the hallowed - those who have been called from this world and have experienced, even if only but a moment, the face of God Almighty. It does us well to recall them. Catholics also believe that through our prayers, we can aid in their total liberation from the perils of this world so that their eternal freedom in the risen Christ is assured.

The COVID-19 worldwide pandemic continued to wreak havoc in 2021, claiming thousands upon thousands of lives. Since the beginning a year-and-a-half ago, the number of deaths is over 745,000 in the United States alone. We pray for them all, and that the hand of God may put an end to this brazen and indiscriminate killer. We pray also for those souls who never got to see the light of an earthen day; these, too, defy our ability to number but assuredly rest in the loving arms of God.

The names below, far from an exhaustive list, run across the spectrum of human life. May eternal rest be theirs. May their souls, as well as the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God rest in peace.

2020

October 31 - Sean Connery, Scottish actor (b. 1930)

October 31 - MF Doom, British-American rapper (b. 1971)

November 8 – Alex Trebek, Canadian-American game show host (b. 1940)

November 14 - Hasan Muratović, 4th Prime Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina (b. 1940)

November 18 – Umar Ghalib, 7th Prime Minister of Somalia (b. 1930)

November 22 - Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, 7th President of Mauritania (b. 1938)

November 26 - Sadiq al-Mahdi, 7th Prime Minister of Sudan (b. 1935)

November 26 - Tevita Momoedonu, 5th Prime Minister of Fiji (b. 1946)

December 7 – Chuck Yeager, American Air Force officer and test pilot (b. 1923)

December 12 - Charley Pride, American singer, musician, and guitarist (b. 1934)

December 25 – K. C. Jones, American basketball player and coach (b. 1932)

December 26 - Brodie Lee, American professional wrestler and actor (b. 1979)

December 29 – Pierre Cardin, Italian-born French fashion designer (b. 1922)

2021

January 16 – Phil Spector, American record producer and convicted murderer (b. 1939)

January 22 – Hank Aaron, American baseball player (b. 1934)

January 23 - Hal Holbrook, American actor (b. 1925)

January 23 - Larry King, American talk show host (b. 1933)

February 5 - Christopher Plummer, Canadian actor (b. 1929)

February 8 - Mary Wilson, American singer (b. 1944)

February 10 – Larry Flynt, American porn publisher (b. 1942)

February 17 – Rush Limbaugh, American radio personality (b. 1951)

March 6 – Lou Ottens, Dutch inventor of the cassette tape (b. 1926)

March 23 – George Segal, American actor (b. 1934)

March 24 – Jessica Walter, American actress (b. 1941)

March 25 - Beverly Cleary, American author (b. 1916)

April 6 – Hans Küng, Swiss Catholic priest, theologian and author (b. 1928)

April 9 - DMX, American rapper, songwriter and actor (b. 1970)

April 9 - Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh; husband of Queen Elizabeth II (b. 1921)

April 14 - Bernie Madoff, American investment advisor, financier and convicted fraudster (b. 1938)

April 28 - Michael Collins, American astronaut (b. 1930)

May 1 – Olympia Dukakis, American actress (b. 1931)

May 2 – Bobby Unser, American Hall of Fame racing driver (b. 1934)

May 3 – Lloyd Price, American singer-songwriter and businessman (b. 1933)

May 18 - Charles Grodin, American actor and comedian (b. 1935)

May 23 - Eric Carle, American children's writer and illustrator (b. 1929)

June 13 – Ned Beatty, American actor (b. 1937)

June 23 – John McAfee, English-born American computer programmer and businessman (b. 1945)

June 29 – Donald Rumsfeld, American politician and government official (b. 1932)

July 5 - Richard Donner, American film director (b. 1930)

July 23 - Steven Weinberg, American Nobel theoretical physicist (b. 1933)

July 26 - Joey Jordison, American drummer (b. 1975)

July 28 - Dusty Hill, American musician and singer-songwriter (b. 1949)

August 13 - Carolyn S. Shoemaker, American astronomer (b. 1929)

August 21 - Don Everly, American musician (b. 1937)

August 24 - Don Everly, American musician (b. 1937)

August 29 - Ed Asner, American actor (b. 1929)

September 2 – Mikis Theodorakis, Greek composer and politician (b. 1925)

September 20 – Jan Jindra, Czech rower and Olympic champion (b. 1932)

September 26 – Alan Lancaster, English musician (b. 1949)

October 18 - Colin Powell, American politician, diplomat and general (b. 1937)

October 19 – Leslie Bricusse, British composer, lyricist and playwright (b. 1931)

Until we meet again, may God be with you - and may God have mercy on us all...

+the Phoenix