“Letters from Canada 24 - The Talk 1” May 2016
Father Mark: (Linda picked a conference room at the Manor Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center for all of us to meet and come up with a good plan for finding Mary. Before this meeting and subsequent gatherings in this effort, I must talk privately with both Susan and Tom about our unique friendships. My closeness with Susan (Letters 14) might become awkward if she is romantically involved with Tom a close friend who will also be helping us find Mary.)
Father Mark: (Susan suggested we meet at a home of a mutual trusted friend that would afford us the needed privacy for our “talk”. Unfortunately this would violate my Bishop’s rule of no clandestine being alone with Susan. Bishop Cornelius knows in confidence my history with Susan and worries about a scandal. To me the contents of our discussion would be a bigger scandal than an accusation of an affair. I do intent to share the contents of this meeting with the Bishop.)
Father Mark: (Susan and I look forward to and enjoy each other’s company, be it during our frequent lunches or working together in helping people resolve legal or moral or personal problems. Safe to say we know and care about each other very much. The fun exception to our get-togethers is when the conversation turns to that status of our relationship. Usually it goes south from here and this time we may reach the South Pole.)
Father Mark: (We arrived at our friend’s house in the morning about an hour apart. Both of us brought groceries anticipating a long talk. In these types of discussions, Susan controls the floor and I am ok with that. Staring into my eyes, Susan did not waste any time and open with a stroll through memory lane).
Susan: When you Mark walked into that Algebra Analysis classroom, dressed in a plaid shirt and black paints, head drooping downward, you were a lost sheep that stumbled into a college math class.
Susan: Trying to sit at a classroom desk from the wrong side was a little amusing (Letters 3). But what intrigued me most were our conversations. Overlooking the shyness, it seemed like you were interacting with a girl for the very first time. Later when you told me of your vocation to the priesthood, it all made sense.
Susan: In the beginning I felt a strange responsibility to protect and guide you. Over time that turned into crush followed by genuine affection and love. After years of sharing milestones, successes and failures, joy and heartaches we again face each other at another critical crossroad, fully aware that very little will change after we leave this house. Before we leave here, I must know something you have always kept secret from me. Why have you not seriously considered leaving your post as a Catholic Priest?
Susan: I know you Father Mark are a Cafeteria Catholic (one who does not accept or agree to all Catholic teachings and policies). I got enough info here to get you fired from your job. But you know as well as I do that our love for each other will not allow us to harm or cause pain to one another. Before you answer my question about not leaving the priesthood, both of us need to be in sync about our understanding of God, love and us. I would like to go first.
Susan: My parents are Humanist. They believed that moral behavior, virtues, good character, and human dignity are bestowed in all of us by Nature without an appeal to the Supernatural. It is up to every individual to realize this within themselves and work hard to be true to all the good characteristics in our human nature. Most Humanist would also like to be referred to as Naturalist. They believe you don’t need God for purpose and meaning for human life. (Naturalist: people that believe that Nature is the source of creation and everything that is real. For them anything that is spiritual is not real).
Susan: Unfortunately in reality things don’t always work out as Humanist would like and therefore they blame the major religious traditions like Judaism, Christianity and Islam for most of the human problems and tragedies especially wars. In one Humanistic meeting that I attended, religion was referred to as a poison. But some Humanist do acknowledge that there is also a dark and savage side to our Nature that is not tied to religion. In our upcoming “University Think Tank” (letters 17) session on the meaning of Human Life should prove interesting given the number of Humanist in our group.
Susan: This was my growing up exposure to anything that dealt with religious faith. When we first met, my attitude towards faith in God was don’t know, don’t care. Finding out you’re a college divinity student with an interest in math and science I hoped would turn into a source of mild amusement for me. In the beginning I liked challenging you when you recited the company line: quotes from the Bible, Church revelations (teachings and dogmas), and Catholic catechism. At that time during our discussions, your response was a soft sell with a “this is how I understand these things right now”.
Susan: In those early years, the turning point for me was how you responded to the “Christian exclusion principle”. Even today, it is taught from the church pulpits that only those that are baptized and believed in Jesus would be in Heaven with God. That would exclude, those who lived before Jesus, born to different cultures and religious traditions, and worst yet, exclude God’s chosen people the Jews to whom God promised not to abandon. You told me at the time, that after reading the New Testament and checking with your mentors the answers you received were not at all satisfying. You told me that the God loves everyone and does not exclude anyone based on historical time, ethnic culture, or geography. This was just one example of many of you being authentic and sincere in your beliefs.
Susan: Over the years of our friendship, I saw a transformation in you from a naive and timid novice to a person of amazing faith in God, courage in dealing with most severe situations and strength of character in interacting with me and others. That transformation did not end with you but through osmosis transformed me.
Susan: I now understand the meaning of “experiencing God” that you preach so often. Everyday experiences of events and people take on a new meaning when we viewed them through the prism of God’s world and realize we belong to God and each other.
Susan: Today I am also a different person. I am cheerful, less cynical, more optimistic and someone whose friendship is sought by many who get to know me. Like you, I don’t believe in God, because I know God. God is very real and reflective in the kindness and goodness of many people and the wondrous beauty found in Nature.
Susan: Let us recall that moment when we both experienced God’s presence. Remember that cold and blistery day at a grave site for a beloved child whose Earthly life was taken by illness. Surrounded by heartbroken and grieving family and friends in a wavering voice you were reciting prayers, when a Songbird perched on a tree branch overlooking the grave, started to chirp in sync with the prayers. Everyone, including me looked first at the Songbird and then at distraught Mother, who now was smiling for God just let her know her child was with God in Heaven.
To be continued in “Letters from Canada 25 – Rough Start”
Father Mark: (Linda picked a conference room at the Manor Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center for all of us to meet and come up with a good plan for finding Mary. Before this meeting and subsequent gatherings in this effort, I must talk privately with both Susan and Tom about our unique friendships. My closeness with Susan (Letters 14) might become awkward if she is romantically involved with Tom a close friend who will also be helping us find Mary.)
Father Mark: (Susan suggested we meet at a home of a mutual trusted friend that would afford us the needed privacy for our “talk”. Unfortunately this would violate my Bishop’s rule of no clandestine being alone with Susan. Bishop Cornelius knows in confidence my history with Susan and worries about a scandal. To me the contents of our discussion would be a bigger scandal than an accusation of an affair. I do intent to share the contents of this meeting with the Bishop.)
Father Mark: (Susan and I look forward to and enjoy each other’s company, be it during our frequent lunches or working together in helping people resolve legal or moral or personal problems. Safe to say we know and care about each other very much. The fun exception to our get-togethers is when the conversation turns to that status of our relationship. Usually it goes south from here and this time we may reach the South Pole.)
Father Mark: (We arrived at our friend’s house in the morning about an hour apart. Both of us brought groceries anticipating a long talk. In these types of discussions, Susan controls the floor and I am ok with that. Staring into my eyes, Susan did not waste any time and open with a stroll through memory lane).
Susan: When you Mark walked into that Algebra Analysis classroom, dressed in a plaid shirt and black paints, head drooping downward, you were a lost sheep that stumbled into a college math class.
Susan: Trying to sit at a classroom desk from the wrong side was a little amusing (Letters 3). But what intrigued me most were our conversations. Overlooking the shyness, it seemed like you were interacting with a girl for the very first time. Later when you told me of your vocation to the priesthood, it all made sense.
Susan: In the beginning I felt a strange responsibility to protect and guide you. Over time that turned into crush followed by genuine affection and love. After years of sharing milestones, successes and failures, joy and heartaches we again face each other at another critical crossroad, fully aware that very little will change after we leave this house. Before we leave here, I must know something you have always kept secret from me. Why have you not seriously considered leaving your post as a Catholic Priest?
Susan: I know you Father Mark are a Cafeteria Catholic (one who does not accept or agree to all Catholic teachings and policies). I got enough info here to get you fired from your job. But you know as well as I do that our love for each other will not allow us to harm or cause pain to one another. Before you answer my question about not leaving the priesthood, both of us need to be in sync about our understanding of God, love and us. I would like to go first.
Susan: My parents are Humanist. They believed that moral behavior, virtues, good character, and human dignity are bestowed in all of us by Nature without an appeal to the Supernatural. It is up to every individual to realize this within themselves and work hard to be true to all the good characteristics in our human nature. Most Humanist would also like to be referred to as Naturalist. They believe you don’t need God for purpose and meaning for human life. (Naturalist: people that believe that Nature is the source of creation and everything that is real. For them anything that is spiritual is not real).
Susan: Unfortunately in reality things don’t always work out as Humanist would like and therefore they blame the major religious traditions like Judaism, Christianity and Islam for most of the human problems and tragedies especially wars. In one Humanistic meeting that I attended, religion was referred to as a poison. But some Humanist do acknowledge that there is also a dark and savage side to our Nature that is not tied to religion. In our upcoming “University Think Tank” (letters 17) session on the meaning of Human Life should prove interesting given the number of Humanist in our group.
Susan: This was my growing up exposure to anything that dealt with religious faith. When we first met, my attitude towards faith in God was don’t know, don’t care. Finding out you’re a college divinity student with an interest in math and science I hoped would turn into a source of mild amusement for me. In the beginning I liked challenging you when you recited the company line: quotes from the Bible, Church revelations (teachings and dogmas), and Catholic catechism. At that time during our discussions, your response was a soft sell with a “this is how I understand these things right now”.
Susan: In those early years, the turning point for me was how you responded to the “Christian exclusion principle”. Even today, it is taught from the church pulpits that only those that are baptized and believed in Jesus would be in Heaven with God. That would exclude, those who lived before Jesus, born to different cultures and religious traditions, and worst yet, exclude God’s chosen people the Jews to whom God promised not to abandon. You told me at the time, that after reading the New Testament and checking with your mentors the answers you received were not at all satisfying. You told me that the God loves everyone and does not exclude anyone based on historical time, ethnic culture, or geography. This was just one example of many of you being authentic and sincere in your beliefs.
Susan: Over the years of our friendship, I saw a transformation in you from a naive and timid novice to a person of amazing faith in God, courage in dealing with most severe situations and strength of character in interacting with me and others. That transformation did not end with you but through osmosis transformed me.
Susan: I now understand the meaning of “experiencing God” that you preach so often. Everyday experiences of events and people take on a new meaning when we viewed them through the prism of God’s world and realize we belong to God and each other.
Susan: Today I am also a different person. I am cheerful, less cynical, more optimistic and someone whose friendship is sought by many who get to know me. Like you, I don’t believe in God, because I know God. God is very real and reflective in the kindness and goodness of many people and the wondrous beauty found in Nature.
Susan: Let us recall that moment when we both experienced God’s presence. Remember that cold and blistery day at a grave site for a beloved child whose Earthly life was taken by illness. Surrounded by heartbroken and grieving family and friends in a wavering voice you were reciting prayers, when a Songbird perched on a tree branch overlooking the grave, started to chirp in sync with the prayers. Everyone, including me looked first at the Songbird and then at distraught Mother, who now was smiling for God just let her know her child was with God in Heaven.
To be continued in “Letters from Canada 25 – Rough Start”