Goodbye, Friend

I’m going to take a brake from my new discovery….Goodreads and make another mention of  the Rev. “Call me Paul” Redmond. who died  on October 19, 2014.

Jim Kittinger, a friend from just outside Emmitsburg (another one of those undertaker/EMT types) mailed me a clipped-out  article from the Frederick News Post about Fr. Paul.  Jim’s funeral home handled Fr. Paul’s  funeral and if you read the brief article, it  explains a few of my comments.

After reading the article, I went to my library and looked for one of the books that Fr. Paul recomended and the first one I found was The Holy Longing: The Search for a Christian Spiritualty by Ronald Rolheiser.  

Whenever I purchase a book, the first thing I do is sign my name on the inside cover, along with the date and the reason I wanted the book. This is always done with a fountain pen, which is what I normally write with.

This book, holds a quote that I refer to from time to time and it is “so Fr. Paul”

The Church is always God hung between two thieves. Thus, no one should be surprised or shocked at how badly the church has betrayed the gospel and how much it continues to do so today. It has never done very well. Conversely, however, nobody should deny the good the church has done either. It has carried grace, produced saints, morally challeneged the planet, and made, however imperfectly, a house for God to dwell in on this earth….The Holy Longing, p128.

I neatly folded the newspaper article and placed it between pages 128-129 to be found again at some point in the future.

A reminder of days gone by;  days I will always cherish and enjoy going back to visit.

Speaking of visits, it will only be a few short weeks until a trip through Emmitsburg and a visit to Mary’s Mountain.

I’ll be sure to stop by and visit the grave of a great priest.