Halloween Visitors

Source: istockphoto.com

Only half a dozen masked visitors presented themselves at our 260 Young Street door this Covid Halloween.  Con Mulvihill dutifully and carefully treated them from the box of 120 Nestle’s products.  I hoped he gave away all the M&M’s, my least favourite in the pack.  It was a very quiet All-Hallows Eve, but one to be a little longer than usual.

After turning back clocks not internet attached, I settled down for a peaceful night’s rest.  At about 4 a.m. I came to slight consciousness and began to dream of Jesuits past.

Names and images paraded by me of brother Jesuits recently or long dead: Brother Hevey, Jim Toppings, Joe Gavin, George Topp, Dan Hannin, Art Cotter, John Holland, Ross Feeley, Gordon George, Brother Dan Byrne, Joe Driscoll, George Schner, Len Fischer, Eric Smith, Jack Murray, Terry Walsh, Pat Boyle, Bela Somfai, Bob Chudzik, Charlie Sitter, Brother Al Voisin, Nick Johannesma, St Claire Monaghan, John Wickham, Wilf Harris, Ron Barnes, Buzz Massie, Remi Limoges, Jim Farrell, Angus Macdougall,

Kevin Scott, Doug McCarthy, Ben Reichman, Jim Dyer, Tom Walsh, Tom Moylan, Mike Stogre, Doug Daly, Harold Bedford, Harry Bedard, Brother Westaway, Allan Peterkin, Mike O’Donnell, Bill Addley, Peter Nash, Walt Kelly, Bill Ryan, John Hodgins, John Grimes, Frank McGee, Fidelis Buck, Larry Braceland, Jim McGarry, Michael Lapierre, Jim Deshaye, Barry Connolly, Brother Jacoby, Charlie Sitter, Bill Maurice, Stan Drummond and a host more, beyond my ability to list here, seemingly hundreds.

The peaceful and curiously pleasant procession of visitors seemed absolutely unaware of me. I simply observed them with light contentment and gratitude in my heart, sometimes amazed my sometimes flimsy memory so nimbly and precisely reached back even decades to name each!

Having described this peculiar dream to my sister, Marlene,  later that day, she declared it was really like a litany of Saints on their feast day.   I like that interpretation.

Frank Obrigewitsch, SJ, is pastor of St. Ignatius parish in Winnipeg.

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9 Comments
  • Paul Desmarais S.J.
    Posted at 01:08h, 14 November Reply

    Thank you Frank for sharing these names. They truly are all saints. Bro. Jacoby was the first Brother I worked with as a postulant.

  • N Kaiser McEachnie
    Posted at 05:06h, 14 November Reply

    Beautiful way to reflect after being so fortunate to know a few from manresa
    They were hero’s to me growing u in Pickering Thankyou

  • Peter Bisson
    Posted at 08:09h, 14 November Reply

    Wow! Thank you Frank!

  • Michelle Mahoney
    Posted at 08:10h, 14 November Reply

    What a graced experience of the Feast of the Saints! Thank you for sharing! I feel grateful to have known a small handful and yet, even at that, the dream and remembrance of them brings joy to my heart.

  • Richard Grover
    Posted at 09:09h, 14 November Reply

    Since you love to sing, maybe this tune may help your All Saints reflection, Frank…….”O Lord I want to be in that number, when the saints go marching in!” Richard

  • Peter Monty
    Posted at 10:59h, 14 November Reply

    Thanks, Frank. What an excellent reminder to make present again brothers who have passed to the other side!

  • Roger Yaworski, SJ
    Posted at 12:24h, 14 November Reply

    Can’t wait to hear your next dream.

  • Eric Jensen
    Posted at 15:29h, 14 November Reply

    Thank you, OB! All hallows, indeed!
    I keep seeing Norm Dodge, Mike Hawkins, F.X. Johnson, Peter Larisey, and Mike Murray – all recently laid to rest here in Guelph!

  • Peter LeBlanc
    Posted at 07:15h, 29 January Reply

    It is 4:45 AM here in Camrose AB. I am fully awake but I might as well be dreaming as that list of names rolls by my incredulous eyes (all you former English teachers please ignore your own incredulity at my assigning such an unlikely attribute to my eyes). A litany of saints indeed. I’m sure we can all add many, many more names to the list.Don’t get me started. What a delightful discovery while surfing the Internet at such an ungodly (pace Father Ignatius) hour.

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