With grateful hearts, we were able to look back on 40 years of priesthood during a modest yet solemn service. People from all backgrounds came, believers and non-believers. It turned into a celebration where an unseen presence touched many hearts and brought people together over the buffet that followed. Two school officials had attended. The following day, I met one of them at his school. Amidst the hustle and bustle of the school day, we stood together in one of the corridors for just under a minute. Our eyes met. “Thank you for being there yesterday,” I said to him once more. “It meant a great deal to me!” A few moments of inner silence followed, and then I heard him say: “Yesterday was a truly moving and significant day for me. Very, very meaningful. I experienced the Church as Christ exemplified it: open to the world – merciful – caring – honest – attentive.” Then we went our separate ways.
