Lil Wayne pulls from this rich tradition of Black death celebration while dismissing the social conditions that forged it.

Pre-grief is not the absence of hope. Somehow, we can mourn what is passing away even while we work to preserve it.

I am still fascinated and humbled at the way people know what to do in the face of loss.

The car flipped over 10 times. Maybe 15. I woke up to steel smashing against cement, over and over, over and over. Glass shattered and flew in my face and hair.

At a time when trust in traditional authorities like the church and its clergy is strikingly low, young adults and others are employing new ways to support each other when bad news or tragedy arrives.

As a priest, ignoring my own emotions and how they may interact with the joys and pains of another is not an option.