10-07-2008, 07:00 AM
An excerpt ...
As if three generations of Donnellys hadn’t already rendered everything possible for the will of making it so, how could returning to the rock of faith be anything but just as her mother so believed. “What better can a body do than cast all evil into the hands of the Lord of Saints and Sweet Virgin of the Holy Church? Surely, if the Church shall not prevail, then nothing shall stand!†Punctuating that was a knock on the door.
He was tall, mid-fortyish, lean and distinguished with dark wavy hair receding only slightly to silvery strands scattered elegantly along his temples. Such dashing features hardly suited to his priestly garb, it was no secret that, had Flo Donnelly’s friend and spiritual advisor, Father Lliam O'Malley, ever considered recanting his vows, Gracie should have married him instead. But this visit was for a much different reason.
Even the Vedder was quiet as they sat on her mother’s porch overlooking the swollen river. There, they silently sipped from cups of strongly steeped Eire Hibernia tea while water rushed high, fed by the spring runoff from the mountainous region of Chilliwack Lake.
“Now as for Father O'Malley’s presence, Gracie,†her mother declared. “It was for the sake of our Claire’s future—and you know my sentiments that all children—â€
“Yes Mother,†exclaimed Gracie with a great sigh, “All children of believers will be turned to evil if not by maturity they have partaken of the sacraments of the Church.â€
There was an expectant pause as both turned to the priest. His eyes lowered. He took a deep breath and with a soft Irish voice said, “It might be fair to say, Mrs. Donnelly, that having never raised a child of my own, I am unfamiliar with that peculiar belief—â€
“Well, Father O'Malley,†exclaimed Grandma Flo. “Having the same roots as you yourself and with no disrespect to you, I was raised by an ole wan and nineteen siblings, and so did I have seven more, and without exception, those confirmed amounted to something.â€
“But Claire was confirmed—†blurted Gracie.
“Baptized, my dear Gracie—by Father Clancy during Father O'Malley’s first year in the parish. Perhaps memory escapes you—and so soon after Russ died, God rest his soul—Claire was baptized not weeks after. And so it was old Father Clancy, bless his heart, who kept admonishing us to have our Claire confirmed.â€
“So what good was her baptism?†asked Gracie.
“Why—to protect her from the everlasting fires of hell, dear!†Her eyes shifted between Gracie and the priest. “And as Father Clancy said, if Claire was not confirmed by the age of majority, she would be denied the eternal bliss of heaven itself—â€
“If I might not be too brash in saying,†piped in Father O'Malley. “There is more to heavenly bliss than the threat of eternal blisters, especially since the decision remains with your daughter, Mrs. Falkner, with whom I’m certain there’s no imminent danger—â€
“Oh but there is, Father!†exclaimed the elder Donnelly. “She’s already been a victim of the devil’s work!â€
“And my husband will opposed her confirmation,†said Gracie.
“He absolutely hates all religion,†added Grandma Flo. “Almost as much as his mother-in-law—â€
As if three generations of Donnellys hadn’t already rendered everything possible for the will of making it so, how could returning to the rock of faith be anything but just as her mother so believed. “What better can a body do than cast all evil into the hands of the Lord of Saints and Sweet Virgin of the Holy Church? Surely, if the Church shall not prevail, then nothing shall stand!†Punctuating that was a knock on the door.
He was tall, mid-fortyish, lean and distinguished with dark wavy hair receding only slightly to silvery strands scattered elegantly along his temples. Such dashing features hardly suited to his priestly garb, it was no secret that, had Flo Donnelly’s friend and spiritual advisor, Father Lliam O'Malley, ever considered recanting his vows, Gracie should have married him instead. But this visit was for a much different reason.
Even the Vedder was quiet as they sat on her mother’s porch overlooking the swollen river. There, they silently sipped from cups of strongly steeped Eire Hibernia tea while water rushed high, fed by the spring runoff from the mountainous region of Chilliwack Lake.
“Now as for Father O'Malley’s presence, Gracie,†her mother declared. “It was for the sake of our Claire’s future—and you know my sentiments that all children—â€
“Yes Mother,†exclaimed Gracie with a great sigh, “All children of believers will be turned to evil if not by maturity they have partaken of the sacraments of the Church.â€
There was an expectant pause as both turned to the priest. His eyes lowered. He took a deep breath and with a soft Irish voice said, “It might be fair to say, Mrs. Donnelly, that having never raised a child of my own, I am unfamiliar with that peculiar belief—â€
“Well, Father O'Malley,†exclaimed Grandma Flo. “Having the same roots as you yourself and with no disrespect to you, I was raised by an ole wan and nineteen siblings, and so did I have seven more, and without exception, those confirmed amounted to something.â€
“But Claire was confirmed—†blurted Gracie.
“Baptized, my dear Gracie—by Father Clancy during Father O'Malley’s first year in the parish. Perhaps memory escapes you—and so soon after Russ died, God rest his soul—Claire was baptized not weeks after. And so it was old Father Clancy, bless his heart, who kept admonishing us to have our Claire confirmed.â€
“So what good was her baptism?†asked Gracie.
“Why—to protect her from the everlasting fires of hell, dear!†Her eyes shifted between Gracie and the priest. “And as Father Clancy said, if Claire was not confirmed by the age of majority, she would be denied the eternal bliss of heaven itself—â€
“If I might not be too brash in saying,†piped in Father O'Malley. “There is more to heavenly bliss than the threat of eternal blisters, especially since the decision remains with your daughter, Mrs. Falkner, with whom I’m certain there’s no imminent danger—â€
“Oh but there is, Father!†exclaimed the elder Donnelly. “She’s already been a victim of the devil’s work!â€
“And my husband will opposed her confirmation,†said Gracie.
“He absolutely hates all religion,†added Grandma Flo. “Almost as much as his mother-in-law—â€