Jack Ruff, rest in peace

Jack Ruff, father of Fr. Anthony Ruff, OSB, died this morning. His obituary can be seen here. We offer our sincere condolences to Fr. Anthony and his family during this time of sadness and loss. We join them in their sorrow and also in the sure and joyful hope of resurrection.

When confronted with the mystery of death we are brought face to face with the truth about life:

We live here for a few days and must move on. In this life we are no more than temporary boarders; only in heaven will we dwell in our own home. A sign that we are only visitors here is that someday we will hear the voice of the Lord commanding us: “Move On!” No one will tell us to “move on” once we are in our eternal home in heaven. Just now we can be nothing but wanderers. As the psalmist declares: “I am but a wayfarer before you, / a pilgrim like all my fathers” (Psalm 39:13).

 As long as we live on earth our lodgings will not be permanent. Only when we get to that great land beyond death will the Lord give us dwelling places that abide. This is what he promised when he said: “There are many permanent abodes in my Father’s house” (John 14:2).

—from “Life in the Inn for Travelers,” Reflections on a Dying Life, Donald X. Burt, OSA, Liturgical Press, 2004

As we continue our earthly pilgrimage, let us hold one another up, in faith and in friendship!

Sincerely,

Rita Ferrone, on behalf of the editorial committee

Chris Ángel

Kim Belcher

Hans Christoffersen

Rita Ferrone

Rita Ferrone

Rita Ferrone is an award-winning writer and frequent speaker on issues of liturgy and church renewal in the Roman Catholic tradition. She is currently a contributing writer and columnist for Commonweal magazine and an independent scholar. The author of several books about liturgy, she is most widely known for her commentary on Sacrosanctum Concilium (Liturgy: Sacrosanctum Concilium, Paulist Press). Her most recent book, Pastoral Guide to Pope Francis's Desiderio Desideravi, was published by Liturgical Press.

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Comments

32 responses to “Jack Ruff, rest in peace”

  1. Jordan Zarembo

    Da virtutis meritum,
    da salutis exitum,
    da perenne gaudium.

    Fr. Ruff, I pray that your father experiences the joy never-ending.

    Reply
  2. Linda Reid

    My sincere condolences for the loss of your father. I have been there and it leaves a hole in your being which is difficult to fill and doesn’t go away. You and your family are in my prayers. May perpetual light shine upon him.

    Reply
  3. Jack Feehily

    May the angels lead him into paradise….

    Reply
  4. crystal watson

    Sorry, Fr. Ruff. Prayers for you and your family.

    Reply
  5. Cherie Sprosty

    Dear Fr. Ruff, my sincere sympathy and prayers are with you. I hope that good memories of your dad will surface often and give you comfort. May he rest in peace.

    Reply
  6. M. Jackson Osborn

    It has been said that there is nothing to compare to losing a father. Experience has caused me to agree.
    My condolences, Fr Ruff, and the prayers of the Ordinariate of St Peter will be offered for you, your family, and your father. May he rest in peace, and may light perpetual shine upon him.

    You know, as a former Anglican, I was told many time how that this and that persons came into the church because we pray for the departed. This was deeply meaningfull to them. Ditto, the Catholic Church.

    On the other hand, I knew a Lutheran who had told his church and friends to pray for his soul when he died, but they didn’t – Lutherans don’t do this! (Except for the very few who do!)

    Reply
  7. Pádraig McCarthy

    Nothing can fill the gap
    when we are away from those we love,
    and it would be wrong to try to find anything.
    We must simply hold out and win through …
    leaving the gap unfilled preserves the bond between us.
    It is nonsense to say “God fills the gap”:
    he does not fill it, but keeps it empty
    so that our communion with one another may be kept alive
    even at the cost of pain.
    The dearer and richer our memories,
    the more difficult the separation.
    But gratitude converts the pangs of memory into a tranquil joy.
    Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

    Reply
  8. Jonathan Day

    May he rest in peace. Memory eternal.

    Reply
  9. Janet Darcy

    Fr. Anthony, my prayers to you and your family at this difficult time. May Jack rest in peace and may the consolation of a merciful Lord be felt by those who miss him.

    Reply
  10. Gerard Flynn

    In Paradisum deducant eum angeli. In terra pax hominibus.

    Reply
  11. Claire Mathieu

    My condolences. His obituary reads like a beautiful life.

    Reply
  12. John Swencki

    Anthony, will remember you, your Dad and family at Mass. Your Dad must have been very proud of his son.

    Reply
  13. Allen Corrigan

    Fr. Anthony, your Dear Father will be in my prayers. afc

    Reply
  14. Philip Sandstrom

    Fr. Anthony I will remember you and your family at the next Mass I will celebrate. My great sympathy!

    Reply
  15. Chris McDonnell

    Strung Stones

    Words are shaped smooth round
    beads, handled each day, gentle
    strung stones, passed between

    finger and thumb till darkened wood,
    worn by touch, cross grained, is reached
    and the return journey begins.

    May he rest in peace

    Reply
  16. Brigid Rauch

    I will pray for you, your father and the rest of your family. Be kind to yourself these days.

    Reply
  17. James Barrett

    Fr. Anthony, so sorry for the loss of your father. You, your family, and your father are included in my prayers.

    Reply
  18. Fran Rossi Szpylczyn

    Prayers for the rest and peace eternal for Mr. Ruff and for Fr. Anthony and all others who knew and loved his father, I pray for consolation and peace.

    Reply
  19. Lynn Thomas

    So sorry for your loss, Fr. Anthony. Your dad and family will be in my prayers.

    Reply
  20. Benedict Merkelbach, OP

    May your father be welcomed into the peace of the Risen Christ, and may the comfort and consolation of the Holy Spirit descend upon you and your family in abundance.

    Reply
  21. Margaret O'Connor

    Dear Fr Anthony, I’m sorry for your loss, it will be heaven’s gain though.

    Reply
  22. Julie Heath Elliott

    Fr. Anthony,

    My own mother died just before Christmas, and so I have some clear sense of the difficult path of mourning upon which you are just embarking (though “path” doesn’t seem quite the right word, because that implies some solid ground, and at least for me, it has seemed more like a river journey, subject to rushing waves of grief at times, and then being washed into calmer, peaceful side pools of rest and loving memory) …

    I have found the “sure and certain hope of the resurrection” such a comfort, and I trust in your deep faith to hold you and your family fast even when the grief is very difficult. Please know that you are surrounded by the prayers of this extended e-family your good work has created, as surely as you are all surrounded by the love of more intimate family and friends.

    We chose this prayer by Blessed Henry Newman for my mother’s funeral card, and it seems fitting too for your father’s well-lived life which brought blessings to so many:

    May God support us all the day long
    till the shades lengthen
    and the evening comes
    and the busy world is hushed
    and the fever of life is over
    and our work is done.
    Then in mercy may God give us
    a safe lodging
    and a holy rest
    and peace at the last.
    Amen.

    May God indeed support you and your family in this time of grief, as you entrust your father to the holy rest he so richly deserves. May much loving consolation comfort you and bring you peace.

    Reply
  23. Steve Coffey, OSB

    Anthony, deepest sympathy, condolences and prayer for you and your family.

    Reply
  24. John Kohanski

    Eternal Memory!

    Reply
  25. Mary Coogan

    “You strengthen me more and more; you enfold and comfort me.
    Therefore I will praise you upon the lyre for your faithfulness, O my God;
    I will sing to you with the harp, O Holy One of Israel” (Ps. 71). With sympathy for your loss.

    Reply
  26. Sean Parker

    Fr. Anthony, you have my sympathy. May your father be welcomed into God’s hands.

    Reply
  27. Donna Eschenauer

    Thank you Rita for this beautiful reflection.

    Fr. Anthony, you and you family are in my thoughts and prayers during this time of loss.

    Reply
  28. Mitch Powers

    Father I am deeply sorry for your loss. He sounds like a fine man and I am sure was loved by many. A prayer for his soul and its entry into the heavenly Kingdom.

    Reply
  29. Karl Liam Saur

    O God of spirits and of all flesh, Who has trampled down Death and overthrown the Devil, and given life unto Your world, give eternal rest to the soul of Your departed servant, in a place of brightness, in a place of verdure, in a place of repose, from whence all pain, sorrow, and sighing, have fled away.

    Reply
  30. Michael Podrebarac

    May his memory be eternal. May God console those who lovingly mourn his passing.

    Reply
  31. Peter Haydon

    Father
    I remember being told by an aged friend how proud he was that his only son was a priest, a monk of Ampleforth.
    God bless you
    Peter

    Reply
  32. Mary Burke

    Sincere sympathy, Father Anthony. Surrexit Dominus vere.

    Reply

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