Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • May 12, 2023 8 After reading my column, “Golden Jubilee Thoughts,” Dr. Pat emailed me to congratulate and to pass on some thoughts. Dr. Pat, her husband, Dr. Thomas, and large Catholic family moved to Hattiesburg several years ago where Dr. Thomas was to practice medi- cine until his untimely death some years later. Pat pursued a doctorate degree in psychology. Now, widowed, and her children moved on to their own careers, Pat had time to do some musing and cre- ate her own blog. Her email read, “Love, love loved your GPC column Golden Jubilee thoughts…The column is so beautifully writ- ten and while so deeply personal, yet universal. I can only think of you as a widower now. Your active ministry with your Bride, the Church, has become perhaps less visible, less demanding in service but never less valuable, never less rel- evant. God called. You answered. Your Bride was/is unfaith- ful but like Hosea you have persisted. Thank you. Thank you so very, very much. You blessed us at St. Thomas, Hattiesburg, and I believe you continue to bless us through your prayers at the altar now. Thank you so much.” I have been called many things as a priest. Being called a “widower” in my retirement is an interesting observation. But I like it. It is true. There is no longer a regular parish or regular parishioners. There are no longer opportunities to see the same faces weekend after weekend, and, to be able to say to someone that you missed at church; “We missed you last weekend.,” There are no longer opportunities to watch children grow up, graduate and marry within a few short years. Instead, there are opportunities to still celebrate weekends with different but unattached communities to allow more per- manent priests to take a vacation; while, at the same time, being able to get in one’s car and come home without wor- rying about mundane things like the collection or locking the church. Being able to say “yes” or “no” to a possible invitation or commitment is freeing and responsible. No need to worry about hospital calls or midnight calls or unanswerable scam calls. After all, being a widower priest isn’t bad. A priest friend that I grew up with and went to the same schools and both ended up in Mississippi -- he is in the Jack- son diocese and yours truly in Biloxi; just retired. Talking to his brother and sister-in-law, they expressed a concern for his retirement now that he will return to Jackson, not to look forward to meeting his parishioners again after his vacation, but to return there as a retired priest with no parish and no parishioners. I had tried, during the past few summers, to share with him some insights and wisdom I had gleaned from my own experience. Yet, he has to embrace the joys and sorrows of widowhood as well and realize it isn’t all bad. He will discover that much of his conversations will be couched in the past tense, rather in a more active present tense. There will be a period of mourning, or letting go of the predictable or comfortable for the unchartered. On occasion, we may meet a couple who have been mar- ried a long time that they become so tuned into each other that they can express each other’s unspoken thoughts or finish each other’s sentences. When one part of the relationship dies, sometimes, the loss can be so painful that the living person wishes to die too and be reconnected with their soul friend in heaven. Like all widowhood experiences, there is a time for letting go, as the Book of Ecclesiastes reminds us. The stable wa- ters of time, triumphs and testifying have moved on and new bridges must be crossed over unknown, but grace-filled wa- ters and opportunities. He, too, will make that journey, armed with wisdom received, insights gained over the years and the assuring hand of the Creator to guide him into his new found love -- Widowhood. I just emailed Dr. Pat to tell her that I really appreciate my new title -- Widower. It isn’t bad! It is good! In fact, I love it! I am no longer a retired priest, I am a Widower priest Father Michael Tracey is retired and lives in Ireland. He can be contacted by email at mtracey1@bellsouth.net . His website is www.michaeltracey.net Being a widower priest isn’t bad! Across the Pond Father Tracey This year, Mother’s Day falls on Sunday, May 14, just one day after the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima. Together, these two days make up a special weekend in this month already dedicated to our Blessed Mother. It is fitting that our celebrations of motherhood and Mary coincide be- cause she is the guardian of mothers in this world. Mary is the model for motherhood in both joy and sorrow, and she shows the way of mercy at all times. The story of Mary standing at the foot of the cross reso- nates with mothers in their deepest moments of suffering. When Jesus said to Mary, “Woman, behold, your son!” He was entrusting her to the care of John. He followed that by saying to John, “Behold, your mother!” So, He was en- trusting John to her care as well, and by extension, He was entrusting us all to Mary’s care. The numerous and well-documented Marian appari- tions that have occurred over the years confirmMary’s role as mother to us all and her profound connection to God. Credible Marian apparitions have occurred in many cul- tures at important moments in history, and the apparitions at Fatima remain among the most astounding. Mary’s final apparition at Fatima made international news, and it was reported that somewhere between 30,000 and 100,000 people made pilgrimages to the Cova da Iria, a field where Lucia dos Santos and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto pastured their families’ sheep. There, the pilgrims witnessed Mary’s prom- ised sign as the sun broke through dark rain clouds and defied the laws of physics, dancing in the sky and, at one point, appearing to fall to earth before finally returning to its normal posi- tion, leaving the ground the people were standing on and their previously wet clothes completely dry. In her appearances to Lucia, Francesco, and Jacinta, Mary asked for prayers, reparations, and devotion to her Immaculate Heart, and she made statements about war and peace that proved prophetic throughout the 20th century. At every turn, her intervention at Fatima was marked by a profound care for humanity and the hope that we would follow Christ and discover the Mercy of God. Mary’s role as the mother of Jesus is the lens through which to understand why she is such a powerful interces- sor for us. Consider the story of the Wedding at Cana, when Jesus turned water into wine at His mother’s request. Midway through the gathering, she said to Him, “They have no wine,” and Jesus answered, “O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” At this point, Mary turned to the servants and said, “Do whatever He tells you.” What amazing confidence Mary had that Jesus would do as she asked even after He expressed displeasure at the request. This is the type of confidence we should have in asking for Mary’s intercession because she will always bring our needs to the foot of the cross where all good things have been made possible in Christ. In His actions at the Wedding at Cana, Jesus demon- strates the tremendous loyalty and respect we all owe to our mothers, who walk in the footsteps of Mary in the countless selfless acts they perform on our behalf. We should turn to the intercession of Mary to ask Christ to bless us with the same devotion to our mothers that He showed to His, so we can honor them this Mother’s Day and throughout our lives. Fr. Ed Dougherty, M.M., serves on The Christo- phers’Board of Directors. For a free copy of the Chris- topher News Note, GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP, write: The Christophers, 5 Hanover Square, New York, NY 10004; or e-mail: mail@christophers.org . In the footsteps of Mary Light One Candle Fr. Dougherty Pray for an increase of vocations to the priesthood, to the diaconate, and to the religious life, especially in the Diocese of Biloxi.