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Fr. Edmund OCSO


markdohle

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Fr. Edmund OCSO
A wise man’s words that have taken root

I was talking to a good friend (Claire) this morning.  As the conversation continued I started to reminisce about one of the monks I took care of when I was infirmmarian here.  He was a priest and Edmund was his name; a very unusual man by any ones estimation.  Many years ago, in the mid 70’s, the man who is now our abbot used to say he looked liked Gandalf from J.R.R. Tolkien’s book “The Hobbit”.  Maybe, he did have a wizardly look about him, but he was about 5’4” inches tall, if that.  Gandalf seemed to me in my imagination to be 6’5”, so I did not agree.  Yet there was something magical about this little, wise, man.

Edmund was a true man of prayer, as well as an artist in a Zen like manner.  He could take a rock, a leaf and a stick and then arrange them in such a way that it was striking….well at least for me.  He also had a dry sense of humor.  In the early 70’s he was the MC for our yearly celebration for those who were having their 25th, 50th or higher anniversaries.  His humor was dry, but he had us all laughing loudly and for extended periods, as he continued to share thoughts and memories of those we were honoring.

He spent his last years in our infirmary.  He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and along with some spinal issues he had to be kept in our medical wing.  One of his great loves was the song “summertime” by Billy Holiday.  He would beam and cry all at once when he heard this sung over and over again.  It must have brought back some poignant memories for him.  He also loved to play the violin when younger.  I have no doubt he frequented Jazz bars.

Though he was little, he could eat for three big men.  One day he rolled up in his wheelchair and complained that he did not receive any lunch and he was starving.  He had lunch just 30 minutes earlier, a big one I might add.  I could not convince him otherwise.  So I asked Philip, another monk in our infirmary, to please let Edmund know that he just ate.  So Philip looked at Edmund and then looked at me and said, no, they had no lunch as of yet.  So I had to make them another lunch.  Not sure if it was a joke or not.   Things like that made my job easier, humor is such a godsend.

Edmund also was very wise and his dementia did not lessen that.  One day I was joking with him and ask him this question: 

 “Edmund, you seem to be hanging on, you are in no rush to die are you?”  

He looked up at me and responded with a very simple answer, much like one of his arrangement with a stone, leaf and stick.   He said:

“Mark, we are here for such a short time, we need to hang on as long as possible”.

That simple statement has stayed with me for the last 10 years, I can’t forget it.  I guess it was something I needed to hear at that time.  Edmund loved his life before he became ill, and he continued to love it after, even when things got rough for him.  He did have his bad days, but his good ones far outnumbered them.  When he died, it was like a ripe piece of fruit gently falling from a tree.  His was a life well lived and he was greatly loved and I still miss him.

I have a lot of inner darkness, demons, that grace, my faith and love of God have kept at bay.  That day, the seed that Edmund dropped into my heart, continues to grow and spread…..for as I age, I know ever more deeply how precious each moment is, even the bad ones……”for we are all each here for a short time”. 

 

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