September 15, 2020 – “May the angels sleep on your
pillow.”
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Left to right: Dr. Bruce, me, Father Gabriel
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Father
Gabriel Meehan used to say that to me when I left his company after arranging
flowers for the church on Saturday mornings, or when we talked by phone.
Father
Gabriel passed away on September 6, 2020.
He was a spiritual priest and a delightful man.
I
was honored with his presence at my table on many special holidays. He was a great
conversationalist as well as a dear friend.
Just
being in his presence, made you more spiritual; he was the most “holy” man I
had ever met. He alone, deepened my faith twelve fold.
When
I moved here in 1985, I began going to the small church across from Grindstaff’s
on the main street of Forest City. At
that time, we would bust out the seams of the church on holy days. A few years after his retirement, the Immaculate
Conception Church dedicated a new church, 500 seats, the same year my Dad died,
2010. The small church we had then, we now call the Chapel.
For
many years, I would cut flowers from my garden, or use the flowers other
gardeners had delivered to the kitchen of the church and make arrangements for
the altar. Father Gabriel loved fresh
flowers and he let me “do my thing.” Many times, on my arrival, he’d call out
of the front door of the rectory and ask, “Coffee?” “Yes Father!”
Moments
later, we would drink coffee and chat while I arranged flowers. I have fond memories of those magical
stewardship moments.
I
got a chance to ask all the questions I wanted to ask when I was in high school
catechism and was afraid to ask. We covered daily life, spiritual life, and what
was happening in the world. I felt so
comfortable with him. He had a sort of
twinkling eye, leprechaun effect on you.
He took me as I was, flaws an all, and I appreciated that.
The
first Fall, I had scant flowers in my garden so Father Gabriel helped me trim
the blazing maples around the rectory with his trusty jack knife, and I
arranged them in huge vases.
The
next morning during Mass, an occasional bright maple leaf would plink down to
the then blue carpet of the sanctuary.
The dropping of the fall leaves, one by one slowly as the temperature
came up in the church during the hour or so long Mass caught everyone’s attention
and Doctor Skudlarick mentioned after Mass how many he had counted. It became a tradition, in the Fall once a
year, Father Gabriel and I would do the blazing maple leaves.
In a
future blog, I will tell you the first time I invited Father Gabriel to my
house one Fourth of July, when we were living in the big house. I made him his
favorite, cucumbers in cream and served a whole poached salmon. He brought along a friend, Doctor Bruce,
pictured to the left of me in the photo above.
And,
a little bit of history – Father Gabriel gifted the magnificent Stations of the
Cross that are between our beautiful stained glass windows in our 500 seat
stone church. We have Stations of the
Cross every Friday night in Lent. The
public is welcome to attend.
God Rest your soul, Father Gabriel
Joseph Meehan
July 19, 1931 - September 6,
2020
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