BRENTWOOD, N.H. (AP) – Grieving parishioners at an Exeter church were reminded Sunday to make every moment with their loved ones count.

Five-year-old Kaleigh and 4-year-old Shane Lambert of Brentwood and their parents were members of Saint Michael’s Parish, where parishioners are struggling with news that the young siblings were killed by their aunt in a murder-suicide. The parish includes many young families with children the same age as Kaleigh and Shane.

The Rev. Marc Drouin says that in today’s sermon, he will echo the words of the children’s father, who spoke at their funeral last week. Drouin said too often, people leave a funeral vowing to spend more time with family and friends, only to return to old routines after a few days.

People need to realize how precious life is today, he said.

“We can lose anybody at any moment,” he said.

The children died Jan. 11 when investigators say their aunt, Marcelle Thibault, carried them across Interstate 495 in Lowell, Mass. Her family said she suffered a brief mental illness in the last year, but they believed she had recovered.

Drouin said he knows many parents have asked how this could happen.

“The question is, ‘Where is God? Why would God allow something like this?”‘ he said. He said parents should explain to their children that sometimes people make decisions that hurt others and that “God didn’t cause it.”

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Information from: New Hampshire Union Leader, http://www.unionleader.com

AP-ES-01-20-08 1400EST