Remembering Father Kelly

In Memory of
Rev. Michael Craig Kelly
born December 15, 1955
ordained May 20, 1995
died December 31, 2008

My son was a caring and devoted Christian who would have found a way to thank each individual for their expressions of grief.

It is therefore painful to me to fall short when it comes to thanking his fellow priests, recent and past parishioners, friends, and yes, President Bush, all who recognized his giving nature.

The hundreds and hundreds of letters, notes of condolences, mass cards, contributions to Wounded Warriors, flowers, and personal stories about his saint-like attributes are cherished by our family.

It is this magnitude of correspondence coupled with incomplete return addresses, and my inability to focus that makes this general announcement of our most sincere thanks necessary to all who loved Father Kelly.

- John F.J.Kelly

Chattering finch and water-fly
Are not merrier than I;
Here among the flowers I lie
Laughing everlastingly.
No: I may not tell the best;
Surely, friends, I might have guessed
Death was but the good King's jest,
It was hid so carefully.

- THE SKELETON
G.K. Chesterton, 1900

Fr. Kelly's final words to us. Written December 29, 2008

Live in the "Now"

"Can any of you by worrying add a moment to your life-span?"
Matthew 6: 27

"Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself."
Matthew 6: 24

With the New Year upon us, the air is full of predictions, prognostications and various other attempts to foretell the future that are based anything from horoscopes to tea leaves (as for horoscopes, check Dt 17: 1-7 carefully, lest you find yourself between a rock and...well...a bunch of other rocks). "In-and-out" lists will dominate the "Style" sections of various papers, and many will be scrambling to be the first to foretell the newest fashions or trends. Forgotten within this rush to pre-judgment are the words of the Lord to Moses about prophets that may actually get it right:

"If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer who promises you a sign or wonder, urging you to follow other gods, whom you have not known, and to serve them: even though the sign or wonder he has foretold has come to pass, pay no attention to the words of that prophet or dreamer; for the Lord, your God, is testing you to learn whether you really love him with all your heart and with all your soul."
Deuteronomy 13: 2-4

Finally, just to keep you from dusting off the Karbala ball or greasing a palm in order to get your palm read, remember the words of St. Paul as he quotes from the Book of Wisdom:
"For 'who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to counsel him?'"
Corinthians 2: 16

The facts are these - nothing is happening that God has not already seen from all eternity. Also, He has seen all of our parts in His plan from all eternity.

What Our Lord desires of us is not a spirit of despair or a spirit of mindless presumption, but a spirit of prayerful trust. Since most of our present concerns are tied, directly or indirectly to money, pull out that penny again and see the most important words that we can read for the coming year:
IN GOD WE TRUST

Thank You, Father Kelly!