SHOCKED BY THE COLD
When I first moved to Somerset, Kentucky, to be the Associate Pastor of St. Mildred Church, I spent quite a bit of time with the young adults of the parish as well as their friends from other denominations.
I remember one Saturday in particular. We had been "hanging out" all afternoon, when someone decided that we should all go get ice cream cones nearby! I agreed, but told them they had to hurry because I was scheduled to hear confessions in about twenty minutes. They left to get ice cream and promised to hurry back. I waited and I waited and I waited, but they did not come back as expected so I went on into the church and took my place in he confessional.
A few minutes passed and all of a sudden a hand appeared through the curtain with a dripping ice cream cone shoved toward me! I did not know what to do with it at first! I thought about telling the non-Catholic young adult to take it away, but I didn't want to hurt her feelings, so I whispered "thank you" and took it! To this day, I don't know if there were penitents waiting in the church who witnessed this scene, but by that time I didn't care! It was my favorite flavor so I ate it as quietly as I could without slurping and smacking my lips! I knew I could explain such inappropriate things to my non-Catholic friend later, but I didn't! I thought it might be best to just "let sleeping dogs lie!" I am happy to report that no one reported me to the pastor - probably because no one actually saw it happening!
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When I was pastor of St. Peter Mission Church in Monticello, Kentucky, I lived in an apartment in the basement of the church. The only window had a built an air conditioner that could not be taken out even in the winter. The one great plus about it was that it was quiet - as quiet as a tomb! The downside of it was that you never knew what the weather was like outside! You had to open the door of the apartment and walk across an empty room and look up the steps to see what was going on weatherwise.
One morning, I got up very early, got dressed, ate breakfast and gathered up my stuff for the drive over to the next County to the other mission church, Good Shepherd Chapel. When I went to bed it was a crisp sunny day, but that morning, so some reason, I could not open the door which opened outward. I thought something was blocking so I kept pushing and pushing with all my strength. It was then I noticed that it had snowed several inches and the snow was so deep that it was blocking the door. It was only then did I realize that I could have "slept-in!" The roads were impassible and no one expected me to show up anyway.
Living in the basement apartment left you guessing about the weather all the time. People would say things like, "Man, that was some storm last night!" You would have to stand there looking clueless until you admitted that you did not know about it. Living underground, without windows to look out, I was moved to declare "Ground Hog Day" every year a holy day of obligation for the parishioners of St. Peter Church
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When I was still in the seminary, about 2-3 years away from ordination, I decided to celebrate my birthday on April 28 of that year by swimming out to the diving platform in the small lake over the hill. I knew it might be a bit cool in late April, but I made the mistake of announcing my plan a few days in advance. As it would have it, the weather turned very cold that year. On April 28 the water had frozen over with a thin layer of ice! Young adults, even seminarians, cannot afford to lose face in a school packed with other young adult males, so I knew I had to carry through on my pledge or be teased mercilessly until my next birthday.
Without batting an eye, I put on my swimming trunks with a bathrobe, walked down to the pond, took a long stick to break the ice and swam out to the platform and swam back. In front of several friends I put on my bathrobe as fast as I could and ran up the hill as the roar of cheering could be heard reverberating through the St. Meinrad hills. In hindsight, I think I should be considered the true founder of the St. Meinrad Polar Bear Club!
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