#memory eternal

Remembrance Day today.

O God of spirits and of all flesh, who hath trampled down the Devil and given life to Thy world; do Thou, the same Lord, give rest to the souls of Thy departed servants in a place of brightness, a place of refreshment, a place of repose, where all sickness, sighing and sorrow hath fled away. Pardonest Thou every transgression they hath committed, whether by word or deed or thought, for Thou art a good God and lovest mankind. For there is no-one who liveth yet sinneth not; Thou only art without sin, Thy righteousness is to all eternity, and Thy Word is truth.

Hi Daniel, You sent this a long time ago, when you had questions about what a priest said to you during a retreat. I never answered because I wasn’t sure if it was more of a comment or a question, but I would say now that prayer during vocational discernment is partially pragmatic (seeing if one has the practical means for carrying through on formation and becoming a priest), but also has an element of “inspiration.” Prayer, during vocations discernment (IMO) is to also help us see if we are in love enough (inspired enough), with the Lord and the Church, to give seminary a try. Anyway, I think of you from time to time and pray that you are doing well. You wrote once that your sister was pregnant and getting married. Did she have her baby? Is she alright these days. God bless you very much! Fr. Angel

Father, I heard that God took you away recently, so I logged in, and it grieved me to see this message in my box. It looks to be six years unanswered now. I am moved that you would think of me and give consideration to all my little trifles. Even though you will not read my response on this Earth, I wish to answer you all the same.

I'm doing well right now. My heart was never large enough to give serious consideration to the priesthood, but you never thought that was a big problem in your previous answers. I married my girlfriend from college, who I spent several years fawning over, several years dating, then several years engaged. We've been married for three years now, and though we have not yet been blessed with children, I couldn't imagine life without her (and I can hardly remember my life before!)

After college, I went on to grad school for my MFA and taught at a high school those same two years before being let go due to downsizing in the English department. It was a temporary certificate to teach, so I never went back to it. It stressed me out terribly, besides. I wasn't able to find work teaching at college so I worked at a printshop, and now, I'm at an assistive tech company answering the telephone. It's not as interesting as teaching was, but it pays the bills. The same year I was fired, I was married, and also disowned by my own family--a long story I won't get into here. I'm looking forward to my hundredfold.

I've been pursuing publication with my thesis from my MFA, a collection of short fiction. Nothing has taken yet save for one of my stories, which has been delayed for a year now. I still submit to magazines at least once a month to keep up the pace. I've been submitting seriously for a year and only one piece has received a personal note on the rejection. That's supposed to be a good sign! Still, the lack of success kills my motivation to write any further. It's hard to perform without an audience.

My wife is a realistic artist, and she also submits to shows and contests. Maybe it's the subject matter or just the area we live in, but she's having similar trouble getting recognition. Right now, she's working on getting her master's at the Florence Academy. We hope that the new skills push her over the to and that this program helps her get the connections she needs.

My sister, whom you advised to pursue convalidation, did end up receiving convalidation. She re-entered the Church along with her husband and their three little girls when they were all baptized some years ago. It was a big hassle, but they pulled through. The priest my brother-in-law was doing RCIA with ended up passing away, and because of military, they had to move parishes--basically losing all their progress. It wasn't until he was out of the military that they were finally able to get it done. I know my sister was put off by her priest previously and saw no way forward. Through your advice and encouragement, she was able to become right with God again. We owe much to you, Father.

Now, she's had her fourth baby--a little boy named Abram. She lives on a farm with her husband where they have chickens, cows, a couple dogs, and a donkey. Right now, she is pursuing training to be a sonogram technician so that she can support the pro-life community where she lives. She's very much an inspiration to me--humble, loving, and strong.

I regret that I haven't been on Tumblr lately, particularly to respond to you here and see your wit at work. Life became busy, and I switched to other sites to evangelize, Facebook and Reddit mainly, though I'm mostly just on Facebook now. I hope you continue to think about me from time to time and pray for my little troubles in Paradise, too.

Pax tecum,

Just heard the news that Mike Ilitch passed and I’m pretty devastated. He did so much for the city, obviously, but also was the sole reason my (our, I suppose) church was brought back to life. Him and Marian have done so much for so many people that the public will never know, and I’m eternally grateful to the both of them for that.