A Special Monsignor

Today's Mass in a neighboring community was a little bitter sweet.
A priest who had served in my community years ago and has since been named a Monsignor officiated.
He is retired, but still serves the neighboring community by celebrating Mass when the current pastor has other duties.
Msgr was very special to myself and my friends.  We would gather in the rectory and share food and fellowship with him while he taught us about Christ and the Church. We were all so young..in our twenties while  he was probably in his 50s.
He was an immigrant from England who happened to find himself in a small Wyoming community. He had grown disillusioned with his life in an order..I don't recall which one...and had asked to be sent out as a Missionary. So he was sent to Wyoming.
My friends and I had always been somewhat amused that Wyoming was considered missionary duty. We didn't think it was like a third world country.
Yet many people who do not appreciate wide open spaces do so consider it.  We have since come to appreciate the many priests from throughout the world who come to our sparsely populated state and serve our communities.

Remembering all the good times was very sweet. Seeing how frail he has become was the bitter part.

Msgr is now bent with age and cannot stand throughout the Mass.  A special table that serves as an altar was set up in front of the regular altar where he could sit and celebrate Mass.
Extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist helped distribute communion to the faithful.
While his body was frail, his voice was still strong and distinctly British. His enunciation and pronunciation have always been, and still are, very precise and deliberate.
He has always taken such care while performing the consecration of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ.
He spoke the words of consecration with such deep passion and honor that it gave me "Jesus bumps."

How very blessed we are to have such fine men caring for our souls.

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of priests.
I took a photo of this very fool cloud formation on the way home.
Thank you, Lord, for such sights.