‘Giver of care’

Edmund heard the crisp curse words from the man complaining of his rheumatism.

“How much longer will I be in this job?” he complained to himself. It’s been nearly four months and the agency where he applied for a possible job abroad had not yet responded.

“Edmund! Edmund!” the patient grumbled out. “Where are my *@$$!!% slippers?”

“Coming…” He tried to control his temper.

“What? I can’t hear you. Speak louder!”

Not only was the man old and grumpy, but he was also close to being as deaf as a stone. “I’m coming,” Edmund repeated a little louder.

He entered the room and looked for the slippers. He crouched down to check if they were under the bed. They were and mortifyingly scattered at the very far end. It meant he would have to crawl under the dusty place.

“Be patient, Father,” I will just have to crawl again to get them. “Blackie must have played with them again.”

“That stupid dog!” the priest said. “If I were not sick, I would have kicked some sense into him.”

“Why did you get him in the first place?” Edmund asked from under the bed.

“What did you say?” the priest blurted out.

“Nothing, just talking to myself.” He excused himself to avoid another argument with the priest.

By the time he was out, his white care-giving outfit was decorated with dust. He brushed the slippers and gently fitted them on the old priest’s gnarled feet.

“Thank you so much, Edmund.” The priest tapped him on the shoulder. “I’m really sorry for being such a burden and scandal to you.”

“Oh, it’s really nothing, Father.” Edmund stood up and started cleaning his uniform.

“Anything from the agency yet?” Father Ben asked.

“Funny you should ask me that now, Father.”

“Why so?”

“I was getting a bit discouraged. They said they would reply in two months, and three months have already passed…,”

“My son, I’m sure that they will call soon. In the meantime, let’s keep it in our prayers. In the meantime, I guess God must have a reason for you to have to care for this old grumpy priest,” Father Ben joked.

“How can you say that, Father?” Edmund was quite irritated at the priest’s comment. He was not at all, especially at this moment, in a mood for jokes.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…,” Fr. Ben rectified.

“No, it’s all right.” Edmund tried hiding his feelings. But he wondered how the old priest who could even hardly see, somehow knew how he felt.

“No, my son,” the priest emphasized, “I apologize for hurting your feelings.

“How do you know how I feel, Father Ben?”

“I guess my years as a priest give me a deeper discernment of people and situations.” Fr. Ben managed a smile. “Many years trying hard to be ‘Christ.’ Sometimes I guess there has to be some grace that changes stubborn goats like us a bit.”

“But what made you decide to become a priest?”

“Oh, Edmund, can you please hand me today’s papers, please…” The priest was obviously evading the question. Edmund stood up to get the newspapers.

* * *

“So you became a priest to support your mother and family?”

“Haven’t I told you that story already a month ago?” Fr. Ben snapped.

“Nope, I guess you’re just forgetting what you’ve said or not said, Father,” Edmund said.

“My father who worked overseas left us without saying goodbye. Mother took it really hard but didn’t show to us how much she suffered. All of us, the seven siblings, either had to look for odd jobs or stop schooling. Being the eldest, I still wanted to continue to study and support our family. Back then, in the province, it meant entering seminary and becoming a priest. Priesthood was for me a career!”

“So it wasn’t really a vocation then?” Edmund clarified quite concerned.

“I guess not…” The priest shook his head and sighed deeply.

“But you’re still a priest.”

“Yes, because of what Mother revealed to me before she died.”

“What did she say?”

“She confessed that all along, despite her sufferings, she prayed to God for my father’s conversion.”

“Wow! She really had a big heart!” Edmund said.

“Yes, and a bigger one because she said she offered me to God. She said, ‘Please convert my husband, and I offer you my son as your own to be your priest.’”

“What did you say after hearing this?”

“I didn’t know how to react. And she said, ‘Son, you’re a priest because God wanted it so. He accepted my offering and because I had prayed to God ever since for your vocation.’”

“So from that day onwards…,” Edmund reflected.

“Yes, I saw God’s true fatherly and loving hand,” the priest confessed.

* * *

“Edmund, your six months with me are almost over,” Father Ben said.

“Yes, Father,” Edmund acknowledged.

“Any news from the agency?” the priest asked. “You sound very happy!”

“Yes, I’m very happy, Father. First because the bad news is, I dropped my application for the U.S.”

“Wha…” The priest was surprised. “But…”

“And the good news is, thanks to your prayers, Father, I was accepted in the seminary.”