The Souls of the Just...
"The souls of the just are in the hand of God; and no torment shall touch them."
Wisdom 3:1
Wisdom 3:1
Yesterday was All Souls' Day. Frances Pope and I decided to go on a little pilgrimage down to The Church of the Visitation in Middlesex County to visit the grave of our friend, Fr. John Boddie who died in May of this year. Neither one of us had been able to attend his funeral so we had not been able to properly mourn for him.
Several months ago, at a Diocesan Haiti meeting, I met a woman who attends John's church and was one of his closest friends, Eileen O'Brien. She and I spoke a long time about John, about his life, death and funeral. I discovered how much his parishioners loved him and how much he loved them in return.
Eileen emailed me about the cemetery Mass that Fr. John celebrated every year on All Souls' Day; and said that the new pastor, Fr. Robert, would continue the tradition. I was invited to attend.
Frances and I arrived in enough time to look around the church and meet some other parishioners before driving down the little road leading to the cemetery. The Mass is celebrated in the Visitation parish cemetery at the base of a large cross. After the Mass, Fr. Robert walked around to all the graves and blessed them. When we returned to the church, all enjoyed a lunch of soup and sandwiches.
Fr. John's grave is located in a special section called The Garden of Peace. He is the only one buried there. At the present time, his grave is marked only with a temporary marker. When his gravestone is ready, it will be a large black granite stone with his photograph and dates on it. Eileen show us a picture of the gravestone and it will be beautiful.
Eileen took good care of us while we were there. She gave us a tour of the church and showed us the quilt you see below, as well as a book that was published containing parishioners' favorite memories of Fr. John's ministry with them.
Fr. John was famous for wearing all sorts of t-shirts with Christian and other inscriptions on them. After his death, the women of the parish took those t-shirts and made a wonderful quilt out of them. The quilt hangs in one of the parish offices.
I am very glad Frances and I decided to attend this special Mass. It was heartwarming to see how much his parishioners loved Fr. John and how they are keeping his memory alive. They are fortunate to have received a sympathetic priest, Fr. Robert, as their new pastor. He and the rest of the parishioners we met were delighted that we had taken the time to attend their Mass; and we were grateful to them for the hospitality they showed us.
The Garden of Peace. John is buried there to the right in the photo below. You can see his temporary marker. The granite Garden of Peace Marker is at the bottom entrance of the grave site. There are granite benches in the garden for people to sit and meditate.
Several months ago, at a Diocesan Haiti meeting, I met a woman who attends John's church and was one of his closest friends, Eileen O'Brien. She and I spoke a long time about John, about his life, death and funeral. I discovered how much his parishioners loved him and how much he loved them in return.
Eileen emailed me about the cemetery Mass that Fr. John celebrated every year on All Souls' Day; and said that the new pastor, Fr. Robert, would continue the tradition. I was invited to attend.
Frances and I arrived in enough time to look around the church and meet some other parishioners before driving down the little road leading to the cemetery. The Mass is celebrated in the Visitation parish cemetery at the base of a large cross. After the Mass, Fr. Robert walked around to all the graves and blessed them. When we returned to the church, all enjoyed a lunch of soup and sandwiches.
Fr. John's grave is located in a special section called The Garden of Peace. He is the only one buried there. At the present time, his grave is marked only with a temporary marker. When his gravestone is ready, it will be a large black granite stone with his photograph and dates on it. Eileen show us a picture of the gravestone and it will be beautiful.
Eileen took good care of us while we were there. She gave us a tour of the church and showed us the quilt you see below, as well as a book that was published containing parishioners' favorite memories of Fr. John's ministry with them.
Fr. John was famous for wearing all sorts of t-shirts with Christian and other inscriptions on them. After his death, the women of the parish took those t-shirts and made a wonderful quilt out of them. The quilt hangs in one of the parish offices.
I am very glad Frances and I decided to attend this special Mass. It was heartwarming to see how much his parishioners loved Fr. John and how they are keeping his memory alive. They are fortunate to have received a sympathetic priest, Fr. Robert, as their new pastor. He and the rest of the parishioners we met were delighted that we had taken the time to attend their Mass; and we were grateful to them for the hospitality they showed us.
The Garden of Peace. John is buried there to the right in the photo below. You can see his temporary marker. The granite Garden of Peace Marker is at the bottom entrance of the grave site. There are granite benches in the garden for people to sit and meditate.
THE GARDEN OF PEACE
Labels: in memory of Fr. John Boddie
posted by mary ann @ Tuesday, November 03, 2009
1 comments
1 Comments:
This article is very warm and touched my heart. Fr. John will always be very special to me. Thanks for sharing.
Kim Ford
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