The next four letters are particularly brief. The January 21st letter and the letter to his dad reference the reality and anxiety of being at such a distance from home, especially when there illness. His father’s serious illness of the lungs which would culminate eventually in the building on the farm a new non drafty house with central heating. The novice begins to get practice in giving ‘sermons’ and learns more theology.
IGNATIUS COLLEGE
GUELPH, ONTARIO
January 21, 1963
Dear Mum and Dad:
…. How is dad? I hope by now he is in perfect health. He was especially remembered in my prayers when I found out he was ill. It must have been terribly hard on you and Rosemary and Matt to do all the chores. I remember how hard work it was especially when it was so cold. I have never really suffered from cold here in the east. Even our ten mile walks to …teach catechism. The only parts that get cold are those not covered, for instance, the face. I thanked Vivian for her gift last week on the way to class [scarf] for it kept my face from the freezing wind. But I have never gotten cold feet as was the commonest thing at home….
We began a course in first aid last Thursday. It is the same kind as you passed at Davin a couple of years back. The first class was quite interesting for we learned how to put on arm slings to aid a broken bone. It is a pleasant switch for one gets tired of just studying languages, not that languages are distasteful to me but I have a greater facility in learning more practical, or I should say, more concrete subjects. This course will be quite easy for me for most of it will be just recalling of what I learned in public school. I can imagine some of our future recreation periods with everyone in stitches and bandages.
Speaking of bandages and stitches recalls to my mind our hockey games. They are not that rough and tumble but accidents will happen. Just yesterday one of my brothers had to get five stitches on his eye-brow. (I just heard today that one of the fathers in Toronto, (he was just ordained last year) received a wound that needed ten.) I had a very minor wound last week from a flying hockey stick, (someone was hanging on the other end though). The result was a very tiny scratch no larger than a big pimple. Brother Infirmarian insisted that I wear a band-aid. You can imagine all the attention one little band-aid on the chin can cause! If you can’t, just wear one and see….
Hello to all the family and please remember me in your prayers.
Love,
Frank
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IGNATIUS COLLEGE
GUELPH, ONTARIO
February 2, 1963
Dear dad;
I was tempted to begin this letter by asking ‘how are you?’. Marlene wrote me a letter the other day and said you were in hospital having your lungs checked. The reason for this letter is to wish you a speedy recover and to let you now that you are especially remembered in my prayers and those of the brothers here at Guelph….
May God bless you and keep you in His grace.
Please remember me in your prayers.
Your loving son,
Frank
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IGNATIUS COLLEGE
GUELPH, ONTARIO
February 9, 1963
Dear mum and dad;
…. I hope by now dad is feeling much better and that soon all will be back to normal. These first few weeks in the new year certainly must have been hard ones for all of you.
That brings to mind my sermon last Sunday. I took for my subject the necessity and means of prayer, and as you can see it fitted well with the fourth Sunday after the Epiphany (or I should say the gospel of that Sunday). My main point was how we could fulfill our duty of praying for all members of Christ’s Mystical Body, the Church, by making our dailymorning offering. I emphasized the fact that by living this prayer we can “make the kitchen range, the work bench, the desk an altar. That the golfgame, the evening with friends or the family can be a prayer. That even the ten or eight hours of sleep at night could be a prayer.”
So much for the matter though. There were no criticisms on that but there were some on the delivery. As you can imagine I was as nervous as a cat, and I did not hide it well enough. The main criticism was that as I talked I swayed. (This was presented in a joking manner. The critic said he was getting seasick. This was a pun because my subject was on the calming of the waves.)
….We have been getting recorded talks by various outstanding liturgists every Tuesday night. Father Master [Len Fischer] has been giving us excellent conferences on the Mass itself and the different parts. Besides this, our classes in scripture from Fathers Mackenzie and Stanley have deepened our knowledge considerably and even our Latin classes for the past week have been on the Mass. So you see what I mean when I say we are being bombarded and none of us mind it one bit. I forgot to mention another item. On Mondays we have a theology class and in it we are also concentrating on the Mystical Body of Christ…..
Please take care of yourselves. Also please remember me in your prayers.
Love,
Frank
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IGNATIUS COLLEGE
GUELPH, ONTARIO
February 28, 1963
Dear mum, dad and all;
This is the first year I have really appreciated St. Valentine’s Day. Your valentine arrived on the fourteenth and caught me entirely by surprise….
We had at the beginning of this week, ‘vacationes minores’ or in English ‘little holidays’. Just before Lent begins we always have a bit of a breather, and I can tell you it is a welcome one to most. Our holidays consist of extra recreation and music during some of the extra recreation. It probably doesn’t sound like much but it really is to us…
On Sunday I began a new trial. Two of us go with one of the Fathers to the Ontario Reformatory and Training School to set up the altar and do other jobs for him while he hears confessions before mass. It is really interesting and quite an experience to talk with the inmates….
I almost ‘flipped’ this morning when I was informed by Brother Schner, the admonitor, that Father Master had chosen me to give a sermon on the nineteenth of March. It would not be so bad just to give a sermon but this one will be at the main meal before the whole communityand probably a number of visitors. When I had given the other practice one just a few weeks ago I thought well it’s good to get that over with, but now I’m beginning all over again and as yet I haven’t had any lights as to what I will stress. Oh yes, the sermon is to be on St. Joseph. Perhaps you could say a little prayer to him asking him to inspire me…. (I was just thinking maybe I should just read one of my letters instead on St. Joseph’s day)….
Please say hello to all the family and please remember me in your prayers.
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Source for photos: Frank Obrigewitsch, SJ
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