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I apologize if the expression "this guy" caused offense.  I didn't intend for it to cause any offense, but was just a brief form of a circuмlocution meaning "the man being referred to in the post" (abbreviated to "this guy").  I use the term "guy" all the time in that sense, without intending any pejorative connotation.

It's precisely because I can and was imagining the distress it would cause to my own family if I were to suddenly pass away that I asked the question of life insurance, and it's with that thought in mind that I asked the question, and it's for that reason that I carry so much life insurance ... and not because I enjoy paying the bill every month.

In any case, I offer you my deepest condolences and prayers for the repose of your late husband's soul.

God bless you,
Laszlo

Yes, the word "guy" probably comes from the Hebrew word for cattle, "goy". But 99.9% of the time it's not used by Americans with that exact meaning. Language changes over time. I would say that in our era, "guy" is a synonym for "man", "person", "gentleman", "dude" or something similar -- pretty neutral actually.

"Nice" used to mean ignorant. That word has literally changed meaning over the centuries to mean something completely different.

That is why our Theology, Liturgy, and important prayers must be in a dead (and hence, unchanging) language like Latin.

Just the other day I referred to Bishop Pirvarunas as a genuinely "nice guy" and meant that as a compliment.  It's just become part of my vocabularly, and perhaps I should rethink using the term.

Dear Mrs Wilson-

We were so sorry to hear about your husband!  Any man who could raise nine children according to the Faith was a good one, and I’m sure you are in a bit of a state of shock right now.  But I can’t help thinking about the providential fact of Fr. Sretenovic having been there to give the last rites in time. That, coupled with the “coincidental” reason your family was there in the first place (ie., the funeral of your mother-in-law, I think it was?) almost hits me as a signal grace that God intended to give you -a family of the Faith- a consolation, knowing your faith would allow you to perceive it, that your husband likely died in the state of grace, and therefore your separation is temporary, and your family  -so long as it too perseveres in grace- will be reunited with him again, happy together in the presence of God forever.

That is a consoling and encouraging thought (and your post suggests that you are already perceiving events in this light)!

Wishing you and your family all the best as you trudge through this difficult time.

-Sean Johnson