" if you give even a cup of water to one of these little ones you will not lose your reward..." It is truly a great blessing for both of you Brian. I had forgotten about Fr Tony. I will put him back on the list.
Hi Brian, Praying for both Father Tony and yourself. You both show such amazing faith under terrible, terrible circumstances. Offering up Mass and Devotions in Church this morning for you both to Our Blessed Lady. From the lives of the Saints we well know that the bigger the Cross the bigger the Crown. Often reading their Crosses my jaw just drops open and I wonder, 'Whatever next?' Padre Pio used to refer his spiritual children to Jesus and Mary who ,as he rightly pointed out, knew far better than anyone else how to comfort them. If the Good God had not very big plans for the both of you he would never have granted you such huge Crosses. Though I am not sure how big a comfort this is at the moment. But the only way to the Heart of Christ is by carrying our own Crosses up the Hill of Calvary, of that there can be no doubt.
My prayers continue. May the example of the great Cardinal George Pell be an encouragement to Father Tony. Amen
From yesterday's 33 Days to Consecration... this prayer from St. Mother Theresa seems very much to apply to Fr. Tony (and all who are suffering): Suffering has to come because if you look at the cross, he has got his head bending down — he wants to kiss you — and he has both hands open wide — he wants to embrace you. He has his heart opened wide to receive you. Then when you feel miserable inside, look at the cross and you will know what is happening. Suffering, pain, sorrow, humiliation, feelings of loneliness, are nothing but the kiss of Jesus, a sign that you have come so close that he can kiss you. Do you understand, brothers, sisters, or whoever you may be? Suffering, pain, humiliation — this is the kiss of Jesus. At times you come so close to Jesus on the cross that he can kiss you. I once told this to a lady who was suffering very much. She answered, "Tell Jesus not to kiss me — to stop kissing me." That suffering has to come that came in the life of Our Lady, that came in the life of Jesus — it has to come in our life also. Only never put on a long face. Suffering is a gift from God. It is between you and Jesus alone inside. Praying for Fr Tony and you too, Brian. Peace
Fr. Tony has had a large metastatic tumor in his brain, for which he received gamma knife radiation treatment months ago. The radiation can cause edema and bleeding due to necrosis (dying of brain tissue and scar) and he had severe edema on the brain two months ago with seizures and other neurological symptoms. He was admitted at the time and opted for high dose steroid treatment in lieu of brain surgery for palliative removal of the brain tumor. It would have been palliative, not curative, as he has dozens of metastatic tumors throughout his system which failed to respond to several different types of immunotherapy and chemotherapy. The steroids did their job and he improved and went home and had several more peaceful weeks. He was readmitted this week for a sudden onset of more serious neurological symptoms and more seizures. Unfortunately he has bleeding on the brain now from the previous radiation therapy and a new second metastatic tumor in his brain. He opted to forego any further treatment, signed a DNR order and was admitted to hospice. He is fully at peace with this and has had the blessing of over a year to prepare for this. Nonetheless, please in your charity pray for him as he enters his last days. This has not been an easy cross.
I am so sorry to learn of this. I will certainly pray for him. Please let us know how he is doing. May he dwell in the House of the Lord forever.
Praying now. The holiest h ave the hardest deaths. I will keep on praying for him. If you happen to be with him Brian would you ask him to say a prayer for me, please? I am sure his prayers are very, very powerful before God.
Certainly. I just spoke with the only other friend of his from his diocese who has stood by him and fought valiantly for him along with his family and me through all of this. She said he can no longer talk, just write short phrases, is on oxygen due to difficulty breathing from the tumors in his lungs, and he’s sleeping most of the time, but is very much at peace. She doesn’t expect him to last through the weekend so I need to get on the road. It’s a three hour drive to his hospice.
Thanks. I’m a bit sleep deprived from working late all week on a big project, so I truly appreciate the prayers. I usually try to rest up prior to making drives like this. This is me and Fr. Tony last month at the rehab hospital following his last hospitalization.
Prudence is the better part of valor. I just stood up and realized how sore and tired I really am today. I’m going to try to get a good night’s sleep tonight then drive up in the morning.
