Today in a funeral homily I mentioned the death of David Bowie. Death always wakes us up to a greater reality.

Earlier today Cardinal Gianfranco Ravisi, the Vatican’s President of the Pontifical Council for Culture paid tribute to David Bowie by Tweeting the opening lines of Bowie’s 1969 hit Space Oddity: “Ground Control to Major Tom Commencing countdown, engines on, Check ignition and may God’s love be with you.”

And I was moved this morning as I was reminded of David Bowie himself taking a moment to kneel in prayer himself during the 2007 Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert.

As we watch this brief clip, let’s pray that David himself may know the abundant and eternal love of God, commending him to God kind keeping, as he leads us in prayer.