Bernard
Entry posted by markdohle
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Bernard
There are people that have come into my life, who I feel are great teachers. Some teach by words, others by in the simple direct way in which they live their life. I would suppose Fr. Bernard is one of those people. He is 25 years older than me, yet in his childlike faith filled understanding of the world, in many ways, in the best ways; he is much younger than me.
He treats each person with respect. Be it an important businessman, or women, or politician, to the waiter, or waitress, who waits on him at a restaurant, each is treated with dignity and respect. He is always kind, and shows a gentle humor in how he relates to everyone. He is wise, understands life, and literally rolls with the punches. He has many friends from all levels of society, which of course is no surprise. Best of all, he loves ice cream.
When out with him, we always pay our respects at the “Brusters’ shrine for some ice cream, probably one of his favorite things in the world, for me it is a little lower on the ladder. Of course there are many things that Bernard loves, people, animals, movies, good music, did I say ice cream? He is very intelligent, an historian, a canon lawyer; one who is not boring, which is probably a rare thing indeed…..I don’t know any other canon lawyers. He can actually make canon law interesting; at least he did the few times I spoke to him about it.
He made me aware of certain gifts that I have, that without him I would never have discovered. He trusts me and shows respect, something I value highly, and I am sure he has done that for many people in his long eventful life. He has also made me aware that I have certain faults that could neutralize my gifts, and when working for him, he has had to reign me in more than once, and I learned, though I still struggle with my many weakness and faults. Each gift has its underside, or compulsion, and for the gift to blossom the underside has to be understood, dealt with, directed. If not the gifts can lead to chaos. He did not teach me in those words, but what he instructed me in has led me to the above conclusions.
So at 85, he still loves life, enjoys just about everything, loves to travel, and is loved by many. People like him, help people like me, who are rapidly aging, to not be afraid of old age, for the soul is young, and there is no need to lose contact with that. Childlike simplicity is a good companion for wisdom and maturity. It is like clear spring water keeping everything fresh and green…….Bernard is green, alive, vibrant and a very good priest.
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