“There is a cruelty that lurks in the human heart: to speak ill of the dead. They lie silent, their mouths shut by the grave, unable to repent, unable to defend themselves. And yet our tongue, restless and unbridled, digs into the soil to unearth their sins. Scripture cuts us off: ‘Do not speak ill of one who has died, for we are all to be numbered among the dead’ (Sirach 8:7). To spit on a corpse is to spit on your own grave.”
-Father Charbel Abernethy, “Do Not Speak Ill of the Dead.”
Gladsome Lights 
Amen
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Thanks for reminding me of that. So easy to cross over into speaking ill when the person no longer with us, whose faults you focus on, has some connection with an article under discussion or the like.
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Below today’s post there was mention of a post from May 2009 titled Death and Love and Prayer which I read again and was blessed and comforted.
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I’m so glad you mentioned that, GM. I needed that very piece that I’d written to send to a family member whose father just died.
I also like to read those posts that are “related” to the current one, and am often surprised and blessed 😉
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Actually I disagree with this sentiment. It seems to be to be hypocritical to attribute positive aspects to a person’s character or deeds just because they happen to have died. I like to be fair minded to both the living and the dead.
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