Gerard Serafin, R.I.P.

"Thou hast made us for thyself and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee." - St. Augustine.

Whenever I think of that verse, I think of Gerard Serafin's website A Catholic Page for Lovers ("An oasis of prayer and beauty in cyberspace celebrating the romance of orthodoxy") and blog, so strong and clear his emphasis on the enduring love and mercy of God and his unceasing call to every heart.

I'm deeply saddened to see him pass from this life. His unceasing hope and love for his Savior was an inspiration to many at "St. Blog's Parish." He may be gone from this world, but I believe he has found his rest -- and eternal joy -- in another.

May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Tributes around the web

• "A Lover at Rest", by Justin Katz ("Dust in the Light").
• jmiller ("Fiat"): "His failing physical heart never stifled his inner heart, so full of love and compassion for God and mankind. There's something in that we can all learn from."
• Reflections from a mutal friend Bishop Seraphim Sigrist (on Livejournal).
• Disputations "learned a lot from Gerard Bugge over the years. Not just from what he wrote, but what he chose to write about, and how he wrote about it" -- and reprints a moving post from Gerard to bit.listserv.catholic from 1995.
• Amy Welborn and her readers.
• Gen-Ex Revert: "His blog did not tilt right or left but upward!"
• Pedro Vega (Vivificat) remembers an old friend.
• "In Light, a poem by Pavel Checkov for Gerard Bugge.
• "the gentlest blogger in the parish", Alica ("Fructus Ventris").
• "Farewell, my friends, I'm bound for Canaan." David L. Alexander:
  . . . what is most telling about the man, in the depth of his heart, is the final entry on his weblog:

  "[F]or those concerned about my physical condition lately... I will be seeing my main doctor this Thursday, God willing. Let's hope for the best."

  Gerard managed to keep his appointment that day, if not the one most of us expected.

Many more comments and parting thoughts left at Gerard's final post to his blog.