Most people believe that the Catholic Bible differs from the Protestant Bible because it is just a “Protestant against Catholic thing.” Not so my friends. You might be quite surprised to learn that the Septuagint was in place and recognized long before the birth of Jesus Christ.

What is the Septuagint? The word Septuagint comes from the number 70 – this is the number of people that were involved in translating the scriptures into Greek. 6 members from each of the 12 tribes of Israel give us the number 72. This translation was completed no later than 180 BC. In case you missed it…that is Before Christ. It is also referred to as the Alexandria Canon (Canon meaning “measuring rod” – like a piece of sugar cane) It is important to note that it was written in Greek, just as was the books that we now call the New Testament. Many people mistakenly believe that Jesus spoke Hebrew. He didn’t. He spoke a language called Aramaic. Although Hebrew and Aramaic are very similar, they are not the same language. In addition, the majority of the Jews during the time of Christ spoke Greek, not Hebrew, just as the writers of the New Testament did. It is this version of the Scripture that would have been used by Jesus and the Apostles, as well as, the other Jews in the area.

The Council of Jamnia occurred in 90 AD. It was at this council that the final canon for the Jews was established. This is still the same Scripture that they use today. It must be noted that Jews in Ethiopia still do not use the version of Scripture that was determined at the Council of Jamnia. The Council spoke only for a group of Jews residing in Palestine. The books determined in the Palestinian Canon at the Council of Jamnia were chosen partly because they had documents in Hebrew to support the documents written in Greek. Anything that did not have a Hebrew language counterpart was essentially discarded.

The Septuagint is comprised of 46 books. The Palestinian Canon is comprised of 39 books. Thus you find the Catholic Old Testament and the Protestant Old Testament. As you can see – this argument existed LONG before the Protestant formation and split of 1517.

In 1947 the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls yielded documents that include every book in the Septuagint, written in Hebrew, with the exception of the book of Esther. Therefore the reason that the Council of Jamnia excluded the 7 books no longer exists.

In 90 AD, Christianity was beginning to spread around the known world. Is it possible that the Jewish leaders wanted to establish a set of Scripture that was different from the Christians? After all, the same people that rejected Jesus Christ as the Messiah, were the same people that created a different Canon of Scripture. It had been less than 60 years since the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. John the Apostle still lived and the New Testament canon would not be considered mostly complete for another 110 years.

It wasn’t until Martin Luther’s German translation that he chose to use the Palestine translation instead of the Septuagint, which was in use by Christians all over the world. It should be noted that Luther also wanted to remove the books of James and Revelation from the New Testament. Could that have something to do with the verse in James that says, “Faith without Works is dead?”

We have to stop making this a Protestant – Catholic issue and realize that the issue began centuries before the Church split. This was an issue between Christians and Jews. For me…I’m sticking with Jesus and Peter and the other Apostles. I am sticking with the Septuagint.

Blessings, Joan

Things have been very busy around here – but I am eager to get back to my blog!

As I mentioned earlier – my Dad has very little to say about me becoming a Catholic.  When he does say something I usually chew on it for a while and try to find answers to his question.

One of his first comments to me was:  “The curtain to the Holy of Holies was torn in two when Jesus died.”

In the Protestant faith I was taught that this was very significant.  That the tearing of the curtain meant that we no longer needed a “priest” to take our sins to God, that Jesus was now our High Priest.

To be specific, Matthew 27: 51 – 53: 

 ⁵¹At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. ⁵²The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. ⁵³They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

For this to really make sense, we have to go back a few thousand years to the books of Exodus, Numbers, Deutoronomy and Leviticus.  Exodus 25, 26 and 27 give very explicit directions for building the Tabernacle.  Directions including measurements, fabrics, building materials, candlesticks, garments…and what spices to bring for making anointing oil and incense.

In Exodus 25 it also says, “I will dwell among them.”  This is God speaking by the way.

There are other things kept in the Most Holy Place.  It is not just the Ark of the Covenant.  Do you know that they kept a bowl of manna and Aaron’s staff (the one that bloomed) in there? 

If you continue reading through all of the passages about the Tabernacle, you will also find reference to “Holy Water” and the confession of sin and the payment of restitution.  Who were these sins confessed to?  The Priest!  The restitution was made to God…through the Priest!

Stop for a moment and think about what the purpose of the Most Holy Place was.  This was the very place that God dwelled.  God dwelt throughout the sanctuary and the tabernacle.  But it was the tabernacle, the Most Holy Place, that God dealt directly with the sins of the people.  The purpose of the most Holy Place was for the Priest to enter the blood sacrifice for the people. 

Why do people believe that the tearing of the curtain means we no longer need our priests?  Why does that one action mean that we no longer have to be accountable to anyone but ourselves and God? 

What if…what if the tearing of the curtain to the Most Holy Place only means that we no longer need to shed the blood of animals because Jesus Christ had become the FINAL blood sacrifice?  Doesn’t that make more sense?  It does to me. 

Sins were not confessed in the Holy of Holies…that is where the Priest offered the blood sacrifice.  So the activities in the Holy Place have to equate to exactly what Jesus Christ was putting an end to.  It was an end to shedding blood.  It was not an end to liturgical worship as the Jewish people knew it. 

Incense, anointing oil, relics (Aaron’s staff), confession of sin, beautiful churches, the Tabernacle and a sacrifice without blood…..

Sounds like Catholic to me?  What do you think?

Blessings,

Joan

Have you ever known someone that can’t stand anything but unhappiness?  I deal with a person everyday that just hates the fact that I share OXYGEN with them.  It is a hard, hard thing to live with. 

My goal the last couple of weeks has been to be an Ephesians 4 kind of person.  To try very, very hard not to “vent” when this person is cruel to me.  It is way too easy to vent to certain co-workers, because they see what is happening and have no problems mentioning it.

I have to remind myself that “there but for the Grace of God would be me.”  I am lucky, no matter what I have been through and lived through, I know the real presence of Jesus Christ in my life.  I know that He loves me.

My philosphy in life is pretty simple.  Let’s just all play nice in the sandbox.  Let’s share our toys.  Let’s not throw sand at one another.  However, there are times that being an Ephesians 4 person is really difficult!

This person doesn’t know Christ.  They have been dealt a rough hand in life.  Lots of us have been dealt rough hands in life!  I need to practice freely giving the forgiveness that I have been given by God – in His son Jesus.

It would be a lot easier if I didn’t have a mouth full of thrown sand!

Blessings,

Joan

However, this weekend my Dad asked me a question.  That is a rare thing because my Dad is very laid back and rarely questions these things out loud.  He attended a Catholic funeral this weekend and so he had a couple of questions.  His primary question was this…”If Jesus rose from the dead, then why display him on the cross?”  Or…to put it another way, Why do we use a crucifix?

Absolutely, Yes, Positively, No Questions…Jesus Christ rose from the dead.  This is what the Catholic Church teaches.  This is what I believe.  No, Jesus is not still on the cross…he is seated at the right hand of God the Father. 

So why display him on the cross?

 The crucifix reminds us of what it cost Jesus to purchase our freedom.  You do know..that is exactly what he did.  He paid our debt to God in His own blood.  Death on the cross was not an easy thing.  Jesus was divine…but he was also human…he felt every cut of the whip, every kick, every punch, every spike and every thorn.  He felt every single emotion that we would have felt…fear, frustration, humiliation.  He also felt love…boundless love for you and me…love that saw you a million hours in the future and knew that you would need Him.

We were slaves…bound to sin.  We were lame and ill…bound to death.  We were criminals…bound to a penalty of death.

We are Barabas…guilty of our sin and sentenced to death – but reprieved – because Christ died in our place.  We are the thief on the cross – whose own sin brought suffering and death - but in confession of his sins –  will see Paradise.  We are even Peter, His beloved friend..that denied Him three times.  We betrayed Christ, yet we were forgiven, because of Christ’s love.  We are Thomas…who doubts, but finds faith in Christ’s wounds.

Finally, we are to be the Bride of Christ.  His beloved that He will gather to Himself.  He has paid our “bride’s price” and we belong to Him.  We are made pure and perfect in His sight…because of His blood.

No, Jesus is not on that Cross – but on that Cross is where Jesus changed the whole course of human history.  It is where He became our Passover Lamb.  To see the Crucifix is to remember what the grace and mercy of God costs and that God loved us so much..that He was willing to place His own Son on that Cross in my place.  Yes….my place.  I should be the one on that cross, but I can’t be there, because the debt has already been paid for my salvation.  To see the Crucifix is to remind me that all of my pain, my sin, my sickness was taken to that cross and nailed there…so that I can walk away whole because of the suffering of my Savior, Jesus Christ.

Mercy, Grace and Forgiveness do not come cheap…but I thank God that they have come.  That is what I see when I see the crucifix…that someone actually loves me that much.

Blessings,

Joan

Well, I find it funny that yesterday’s post was about God’s Mercy.  This morning, on our way to work, my husband hit a deer.  We left for work at 0556 and called 911 at 0606. 

How does one see God’s mercy in a broken car, a missed day of work and deer fur stuck in the headlight assembly? 

We are both okay…I have some sore spots where the seatbelt grabbed me.  The deer died quickly – although my heart broke to see her suffer.  The insurance company covers the damage except for the $250.00 deductable…which grace would have that we have the money to pay.

Thanks be to God for his Mercy and Grace.  Thanks be to God for extra money in the account.  Thanks be to God for our lives and health – which he is his great Mercy protected.  Thanks be to God for the insurance company.

Finally, Thanks be to God that he took that little deer’s life quickly.  Luke 12:6… Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies ? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.

On the silly Mercy side…the weather is beautiful and I am stuck at home in the warm sunshine…awwww shucks!

How great is our God!

Blessings,

Joan

I hope that you are all continuing to have a blessed Easter season.  I wanted to continue today on the special things that I love about being Catholic.  Excuse the grammar nightmare in the heading…but it is the best way I know to talk about God’s Grace.

Before becoming a Catholic I was occasionally dismayed at the way that my faith discussed God’s grace.  Sometimes it felt to me like it was “cheap grace.”  Sin was a private matter between God and I and so long as I said I was sorry…there was no real accountability for sin…as long as I didn’t get caught.  It sometimes seemed like the loving God of the New Testament had wiped away the “demanding” God of the Old Testament.  God’s nature does not change so why was the accountability of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob thrown out and the “hey, just tell me your sorry” God of Peter, Paul and the Apostles ushered in? 

The truth is…the God of Abraham and the God of Peter are exactly the same God.  God has boundless love for us…so much love that He suffered His own Son to die for us.  God sent His child to be our Passover. 

God’s love is Great!  Greater than any love we have ever known or will ever know.  Greater than a mother loves a child, a father loves a child, a husband loves a wife.  Still, in the Old Testament, we see a God that can be angry when we fail to obey Him.  Even in the smallest of details of disobedience He could strike a person down.  Take 2 Samuel Chapter 6.  David is moving the Ark of the Covenant and one of the oxen stumble, Uzzah places his hand on the Ark to steady it…and he is instantly struck dead.  “The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverant act.”  Ouch…harsh and scary!  How many times have we failed in our reverence before God?

Romans 9:16 tells us, “It does not depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.”  Have we lost the fear of our God?  Do we not realize that we live only because He wills it?  Do we not realize that we work, eat, sleep, wake and walk only because He wills it?  Sometimes I think that we view God as a buddy who just dropped in while passing through on the interstate.  We hang out for a while, drink a couple of sodas, and wave bye-bye.  Sure, we are people of “free will” but even that “free will” is at the Mercy of our God.

Our God is the ruler of the whole universe!  Everything we are is dependent on His Mercy.  Thanks be to God…because His Mercy Endures Forever.  Let us not forget when we kneel before the alter that we kneel before our God.  Let us not forget that God is in His Tabernacle and that the bread and wine is the Body and Blood of His son, Jesus Christ.  That is not to be taken lightly.  We must be steadfast in keeping God’s Commandments…just as he is steadfast in keeping his Covenant…and we must pray for His Mercy and Grace in all things for ourselves and those who are around us. 

Being part of the Catholic faith  means to be a part of a body of believers who are here to give Glory and Honor to the Lord our God – not just at Mass on Sunday, but with the true knowledge that we have received the greatest gift ever given.  The Mercy of God – the ruler of the universe – not because we are “special” but because we are HIS.

God’s grace is not cheap…if you ever question that…just look upon Christ’s broken and battered body on that Cross and ask yourself…could I willingly allow that to happen to my own child to save the whole world?

Blessings,

Joan

Most of us know the story of Doubting Thomas and  the next time Jesus comes to the disciples,  Thomas is with them.  Jesus tells Thomas that those who have not seen and yet believe are blessed.  Still, Jesus allows Thomas to put his fingers in His palms and his hand in His sides, giving Thomas what he needs to really believe.

What it must have been like to have seen Jesus in the days following the resurrection.  The disciples had all witnessed his horrid death, the death of a “cursed” man.  Then to see on that Sunday morning that the stone had been rolled away and the tomb was empty.  What confusion must have existed that morning!  Had He risen?  Was His body stolen? 

How often do we doubt the existence of the Risen Christ in our own lives?  I think that there have been times in my own life when I have doubted moment by moment.  Other times, when I have looked on the face of a precious loved one taken from this life, and begged God for a miracle that would never come.  Knowing full well that with just a word their soul could return and they could walk from the casket just as Lazarus walked from the tomb.  Just like Mary and Martha I have wondered why Jesus has seemed to tary and often felt like He arrived too late to change things.

Romans 8:28 tells us that all things work for good for those who love God.  Sometimes that is a hard verse to understand.  How can those “tragedies” in our lives work for our good?  When we don’t see the miracle that we so long to see, how is that good?  When justice or mercy are absent from those around us…how is that good?

I believe that everything that happens in this life is meant not for today – but for the eternal.  Learning to live in joy in spite of our circumstances is part of what God wants us to learn.  To know, deep within ourselves, that we are not alone and that Jesus did live…die…was buried and was resurrected.  That the humilitation and pain and torture that he suffered was for our good – those are the things that God wants us to learn.  God will bring each of us to the eternal and either we learn to fall upon the rock…or the rock will fall upon us.  Not to hurt us or make us miserable but to show us that there is great love, mercy, joy, peace and grace at the foot of the cross. 

Jesus is never too late.  He is never away from us.  No, we can’t put our hands in His sides or our fingers in His palms.  I can promise you that God has a plan and even if we knew why the bad things happen, it wouldn’t make them hurt any less.  What we can do is to look closely around us and see His presence in everything.  If we seek…we will find Him there.  The things that hurt us in this life are just temporary and the promise of our own Eternal Life with Jesus can give us peace.  When He wipes away every tear and eases every pain. 

Do not doubt the Lord your God.  Take hold of joy.  For He is Risen.

Blessings,

Joan

As I began to look into the lives of the Saints it became immediately clear who my choice would be.

Sometimes, we encounter things in our lives that cause us to feel alone. We know that Jesus is with us but somewhere between His Divinity and His Humanity we forget the He did truly become one of us. He knows our fears and our hurts and He has suffered them himself. I believe that God sent us an additional special gift to help us to learn how to live and that gift is the Saints.

History is such an important part of who we are as a people – in fact – it is truly part of what makes us special, unique creations of God. Animals don’t know the history of their parents, all they know is the now. History was so important to God that he gave us the Bible, not only to tell us where we are going, but to show us where we have been. In Exodus 3:15, God tells Moses…”I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” The lives of those who have come before us matter to God and they should matter to us.

If you have read the “sister blog” to this page, called Enemy in the Wire, then you know that life for me isn’t always sunshine and roses. My career in the military, which I held very precious, was taken from me. I was both physically and sexually abused. In this place of loneliness a person can really use a big sister who understands!

St. Joan of Arc was just a teenager when compelled by her “supernatural” visions to lead an army in France to place King Charles back on the throne of France. Eventually, she was taken prisoner and tortured. She was accused of Heresy and of Monstrous Dress because she dressed like a man…like a soldier. She was denied Mass and all spiritual privileges. When she agreed to wear a “dress” as was befitting a woman she was sexually assaulted by her guards and nearly raped. After a sham of a trial where she was denied counsel she was sentenced to death. On the 30th of May in 1431, Joan was burned at the stake. She asked those in attendance to pray for her and she forgave them the death that they were about to give her. A kind English soldier made a cross for her out of two sticks and a he gives it to her to hold as the flames consume her. The executioner wasn’t even able to slit her throat at the end…because the flames were too high. After all was done, John Tressart, the secretary to the King of England said, “We are all lost, for it was a good and holy person that was burned.”

 Joan of Arc is quoted as saying: “Children say that people are hung sometimes for speaking the truth.” How well I know this! Sometimes we suffer more for the truth than we would ever suffer for taking that easy way out.  St. Joan is my Big Sister in Jesus Christ.  She is my patron Saint and I try so hard to use her life as an example.  Even in the very end she forgave the people that would burn her to death.  Even in the end, in the horrible pain of fire, she cried out to Jesus and I know he was in those flames with her.  I have no doubt, because when the “flames” are licking at my feet I know that Jesus is with me.

My friends of other faiths would accuse me of worshipping her.  I do not but I do love her.  I love my Grandmother and she has been dead for over 20 years…but I still love her. 

Hebrews 12:21 says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

Each of us have a “race” that we must run.  I think that the running is made easier just knowing that the “cloud of witnesses” is cheering us on at the sideline – pointing the way to the Grace and Mercy that is in God.  When we weaken and tire, they pray for us, until we cross that finish line and join them in the communion of the Saints. 

Sweet Saint Joan, please pray for me.

Blessings,

Joan

More about my journey to the Catholic faith today!

Years ago I attended a Non-Denominational Bible Church in Tennessee.  We were very centered in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, as well as, the traditions of Judiasm.  We must never forget that Jesus Christ was a Jew and He would have kept the Law of the Old Covenant.  For him to fail to do so, would have made him ineligible as the Passover Lamb.

It was the first time that I had closely learned what those 1ST Century Christians believed and how they worshipped.  They would have continued to keep many of their Jewish traditions.  After all, Jesus Christ was the completion of the Old Covenant, he was not creating a “brand new” religion.  As our “Passover Lamb” He would have completed the Old Covenant that he had with Abraham and Moses, becoming a final sacrifice for all people’s sins.

As a result, I learned the Passover Seder in depth and how Jesus fulfilled that Seder with his own blood and through each and every action He took that day.  We read in Exodus 12:14 that this is a lasting ordinance.  A feast that will be celebrated for Eternity. 

I had a desire to worship as Peter and Paul and the disciples did two thousand years ago.  To find that pure faith and to continue those practices that the people of the Jewish Faith had at the time of Christ and in His sacrifice of completion.  In other words…I had a desire to be Catholic!

Of course, I didn’t realize that was Catholic…not yet, anyway.  Imagine how stupid I felt when I realized that the traditions in worship that I was seeking were right under my nose!?  They were right there in the Sacraments!

For non-Catholics who might be reading this blog, a Sacrament is a visible sign of Jesus’ love for us.  Each sacrament has it’s origin in scripture and many of them in Jewish practices.  Take for instance, the requirement of the children of God to be circumcised.  This was the “mark” placed on a male child that he belonged to God.  He didn’t chose it…his parents made that choice.  However, no uncircumcised male could partake in the Passover.  It was that important.

In the New Covenant, Jesus tells Nicodemus in John chapter 3 that you must be “born again” of water and of fire.  We baptize our children, just a Jesus instructed us to do, as a “mark” upon that child that he or she belongs to God.  Baptism is the first sacrament.

Jesus, before his crucifixtion, instituted another sacrament, the sacrament of Eucharist.  As Catholics we believe that we are actually consuming the real body and blood of Jesus Christ.  We are not “crucifying him” again nor is he being “sacrificed again.”  John chapter 6 gives us a very interesting perspective on this, Jesus says…”Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink the blood you have no life in you.”  Many people hearing this were disgusted and walked away.  Jesus didn’t call out to them…”Ahhh come on, guys!  I’m kidding…it’s not real, just Ritz crackers and Merlot.”  No, he let them go.  In order to be that Passover Lamb the flesh and blood had to be real, just as the Jews ate the real flesh of the Passover lamb.  Interesting mention…that just as an uncircumcised male could not eat the Passover - those not in communion with the Catholic faith cannot partake of the Eucharist.  It is not to be snobby – it is scripture.  1st Corinthians 11:27 tells us that if you eat and drink unworthy you are sinning against the body and blood of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  That is not a sin I would be willing to commit!!  I will say, that when you truly believe and trust the miracle in your heart of transubstantiation…that Eucharist is precious!  I am in awe of the bread that becomes the true body of my Savior, Jesus Christ!  It fills those empty places in you that only God can fill.

The last sacrament that I will discuss today is the one that people most fear…the sacrament of reconcilliation and penance…also known as Confession.  Most people seem to misunderstand this act – they seem to think that you can commit any sin and be forgiven.  “Hey, Father…I am beating my wife and cheating on her…forgive me so I can go back and do it some more.”  It doesn’t work that way!  You have to truly feel repentance.  In Matthew 16:19 Jesus tells Peter that he is giving him the keys to the kingdom – and whatever he binds will be bound in heaven and whatever he loses will be losed in heaven.  Think about it…this is a direct reference to the forgiveness of sin.  Why would Jesus give this to only one man…why did he not say – all of my people?  Because, he was setting up Apostolic Succession.  Jesus forgives our sins – but do you know how great it feels to have a long talk with your Priest – who won’t talk about you later – and then have him grant you forgiveness?  It is a wonderful feeling!  You leave light and free with a deep love of God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  It isn’t scary it is wonderful!

I think I will close here for today.  Please remember…I am not a Theologian and these are simply things that I have learned on my own journey.  Please feel free to send questions and comments.  Part of the purpose of this blog is to further my own studies and help others who may have questions.  A final thought before I leave for today….

The sacraments are hugs from God.  They are a “gift” from God - not a “punishment” from God.  They are made to help me come closer to God because that is what He really wants of us – the opportunity to show me how much He loves me.   I thank God for those special “hugs” that I find in the practice of His sacraments.  After all, who doesn’t want a hug from their Heavenly Father?!

Blessings!

Joan

I think that this would be a great place to tell the story of one of the greatest men that I have ever known.  I referred to him in my previous post as Father H.  He was the Priest in our small town parish back in the 70′s.  As kids we used to sit around his coffee table in the rectory playing with a box full of military medals.  Little did we know, one of the medals was the Distinguished Service Cross, this award is second only to the Medal of Honor. 

I have worked to piece together Father H’s early life.  I know where he grew up and he used to tell us stories of swimming across the Mississippi River.  As a young Priest, he was the first Chaplin to cross the ocean on his way to WWII.  It was during those war years that I have found a wealth of anecdotal evidence about his actions exceding his sermons.

Father H spoke a lot of different languages and was with his front-line unit when they landed in Africa.  He crossed Africa with his unit and moved into Italy.  According to members of his unit, Father H., had a peculiar ability to walk through enemy fire to get to the wounded.  At first I thought this was just a story…but according to the books I have read…he REALLY got up and walked through “no man’s land” to reach the wounded.  In fact, in some of the stories, he actually took the place of the medics.

It was in one of these battles in Italy that Father H. was on a typical “walk through hell” to save men that he made several trips into serious danger.  On his final trip he was going back after a German soldier that lay dying in a mine field.  Father stepped on a mine himself.  He damaged both of his legs, one of them being traumatically amputated, and he himself lay dying.  He refused aid…because of the mines.  He ordered the men to bring in mine sweepers before they tried to reach him, he tied his own tourniquets and said his peace with God.  He closed his eyes and waited.

Father H. spent 500 combat days before being evacuated.  He lived and went on to working in the hospital as a Chaplin as he himself waited to heal.  According to reports, they couldn’t keep him in bed, he was up ministering God’s love as soon as possible.

You would think that the Father H. that I knew would be an angry, bitter, war damaged old man…but he wasn’t.  I’m sure that he suffered his own private hell, but you would not know it.  You would also never know that he was a true blue HERO.

The Father H. that I knew was the closest thing to Jesus Christ that I have ever met.  Sure, I had a little Hero Worship as a child, but now as an adult I can see why I loved him so very much.  He had “GOD” all in him, through him, around him and he spread that love every step he took.  He was surrounded by children, every moment of every day, and I can only imagine how crazy we must have made him.

One strong memory that I have is of a terrible fever that I was running.  I was very ill and I really, really wanted Father H.  I remember crying for him to the extent that my mother finally called him in the middle of the night.  Within minutes he was right by my bed, praying for me, talking to me.  I can’t tell you how long he stayed…but he came to be with me.  How special that makes me feel…to know that he loved me enough to get up in the middle of the night and walk down the street (complete with his collar) and come to be with me.

What more does Jesus do for us.  Jesus loved us so much that he chose to die a humilitating and horrible death on the cross.  Jesus was divine, they couldn’t just kill him, he had to give his life.  He loved ME so much that he died.  He cares about me so much to be with ME in the long and scary nights when I can’t sleep.  Just to sit beside me.  It is easy to say “I would die for Jesus” but can we say…I will live for Jesus.  Somehow, Father H. found that secret, he lived John 15:13 in his actions…not just his words.

I wrote to the Archdiocese some years ago for more information about Father H.  In addition to several documents they sent me something that I will treasure forever.  Apparently, they still had one of his ordination cards…and they sent it to me.  I keep it close by, contained in glass, to remember not just the man…but his example.

Someone said to me that I had was “probably Catholic my whole life.”  I think he was right, especially when I was taught the love of Jesus Christ at the knee of such a kind and humble servant.

Blessings,

Joan