Dear Editor,

As you are aware, Fr R H Lesser passed away on March 24, 2015, in Udaipur.

Honouring Fr. Lesser’s wish, I am sending you his poems, which he asked me to get published after his death.

Attaching also a ‘groupfie’ that I took with him using my laptop in 2009,when he was at St. Francis hospital, Ajmer.

sincerely,
Sister Mariola Sequeira

(To be published after I die)

BEFORE THE OPERATION
(This poem was received by me by post on 08.09.2004)

You know, dear Lord, I love you,
You set my heart on fire;
Though I am weak and useless
You are my one desire.

You are always near me,
Now nearer still I step;
For though they all are good and kind
Perhaps the knife may slip.

If that should happen, Lord, and if
My life should now unreel,
My one regret would be the pain
Those who love me feel.

For, Lord, you helped me help so many
From your great and generous store;
I beg and pray that when I go
We help them even more.

(The 5th verse was telephonically communicated to me on 17.09.2004)

If I have hurt by word or deed,
I beg pardon here and now
If any may have wounded me,
I freely forgive and love them too

The books I wrote, the prayers I prayed,
The gifts I sometimes gave –
I pray that these will never end
When I am in the grave.

R.H. Lesser

Fr. R.H. Lesser, on leaving, thanks all his friends and those to whom he spoke or preached and those for whom he wrote. He assures them all that he prays for each of them individually and sends his love to each, and asks them to pray for him.
Till we meet again!

When evening falls and daylight dies
And I arrive in paradise,
I’ll meet the Lord for whom I live
My every fault he will forgive.
And each of you who linger here
I beg you do not shed a tear
For I still think and love and care
And take your troubles with me there,
Nothing lost is nothing gained.
And though our parting will have pained
This will enrich our future greeting,
The love of God which he pours on
To every daughter and each son,
Through every action, word and breath
Keeps us together in life and death.

Fr. R.H. Lesser