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jacki
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| Joined: | Sun Oct 7th, 2007 |
| Location: | Essex, England, United Kingdom |
| Posts: | 72 |
| First Name: | jacki | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | baptised in the church of england (I am a brit) ... |
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Posted: Wed Jul 16th, 2008 07:04 pm |
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Went to Mass this morning as its the anniversary of my Dads death. Was surprised to hear his name mentioned as I hadn't requested this. Spoke to Father John after, he was not the parish priest when my Dad died just sai my Dads name was ' in the book for today' .
He phoned half hour ago and said and I will qoute exactly here " seems Father Pat did one of his specials for your Dad, I have him as received intot the church on July 16th" Spoke to hubby he recalls more of the awful day than me and reminded me tht Father Pat ( who recieved me into the church, married us and baptised and gave first communion to our daughter) had asked if he could visit my Dad after we told him he had died on 16 July. We also asked him to speak at the funeral mainly because my Dad really liked him and after Lou was baptised he ended up looking after the church garden. I found out at the funeral that they also had a drink and a chat once a week and Father Pat considered him a friend.
It would appear that Father Pat accepted my Dad into the church after he died whilst that makes me really happy I'm a bit surprised that I have no recollection of being told (although I was a mess for a while so maybe I was) and also that it is possible - or did Father Pat "do one of his specials" here? ie break the rules?
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CajunRick
Network Helper
| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Houma, Louisiana USA |
| Posts: | 5310 |
| First Name: | Rick (& Kermie) | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Lifetime Catholic, Latin Rite |
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Posted: Wed Jul 16th, 2008 07:19 pm |
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jacki wrote: We also asked him to speak at the funeral mainly because my Dad really liked him and after Lou was baptised he ended up looking after the church garden. I found out at the funeral that they also had a drink and a chat once a week and Father Pat considered him a friend.
It would appear that Father Pat accepted my Dad into the church after he died whilst that makes me really happy I'm a bit surprised that I have no recollection of being told (although I was a mess for a while so maybe I was) and also that it is possible - or did Father Pat "do one of his specials" here? ie break the rules?
First of all, it is not possible to be "accepted into the Church" after death. Church membership for adults requires a positive action in that the person becoming Catholic must express the faith of the Church (for infants, their parents do it for them). If your father had already died, he could not have made that assertion.
However, your implication here is that your dad and your priest became friends and had many conversations together. Perhaps your father had expressed faith in the Church and a wish to join, and the priest simply recorded it on that date since it was something already in progress. As a hospice chaplain I did have patients who told me they wanted to die Catholic, but in every case I was able to arrange the acceptance before they took their last breath. The very first posting in our Conversion Stories forum is the story of one such lady and the miraculous (albeit temporary) healing she received through her conversion and reception of the Eucharist.
I prefer to give our priests the benefit of the doubt, so I would not assume that he broke the rules, but perhaps he had promised your father that he would record him as a member of the Church upon his death, honoring your father's wish. Besides, there is no reason the Church cannot pray for someone who is not Catholic.
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Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
Rick Luquette
Luquette Lane
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EMarshallBuckles
Member
| Joined: | Mon Nov 19th, 2007 |
| Location: | Rockville (Near Richmond), Virginia USA |
| Posts: | 616 |
| First Name: | Marshall | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Christian Church,Episcopal Church,Baptist denomination,learning about RCC |
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Posted: Thu Jul 17th, 2008 02:48 am |
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Jacki, I am sorry to learn that you are remembering your father's passing on this day. In 1996, on this day, I was mourning the passing of my father, Ernest Gray Buckles of Bristol, Tennessee, USA. He had died a Christian, praise the Lord, so I look forward to seeing him in heaven. I look forward to seeing your father in heaven someday too! May God bless you, may God grant us and our familes His peace! 
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jacki
Member
| Joined: | Sun Oct 7th, 2007 |
| Location: | Essex, England, United Kingdom |
| Posts: | 72 |
| First Name: | jacki | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | baptised in the church of england (I am a brit) ... |
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Posted: Thu Jul 17th, 2008 07:55 pm |
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I have spoken to Father Pat today. He tells me that my Dad had expressed an interest in joining the church and was as he called it 'pre RCIA' I understand my Dad didnt fancy sitting in groups and Father Pat was trying to get him to warm to the idea.
Father Pat said he had entered his day as entry to the Church as he was certain that my Dad had 'all but completed the process'
Fixed typos to make reading easier.Last edited on Fri Jul 18th, 2008 03:59 am by
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CajunRick
Network Helper
| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Houma, Louisiana USA |
| Posts: | 5310 |
| First Name: | Rick (& Kermie) | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Lifetime Catholic, Latin Rite |
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Posted: Fri Jul 18th, 2008 03:38 am |
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Doesn't sound like he broke any rules to me. He simply honored your father's stated wish.
____________________
Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
Rick Luquette
Luquette Lane
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