father bill

Monsignor William J. Maroon passed away last Friday.

"Father Bill", as he preferred to be called, was the priest at our wedding. he holds an incredibly special place in my heart. Fr. Bill may have been the first person who demonstrated for me the true meaning of forgiveness and acceptance, with no strings attached.

the events leading up to mine and leo's wedding were devastating. i won't go into much detail here, simply because many of you are familiar with the story. the short version is this: my former church pastor and many members of his congregation were extraordinarily vocal in their dissatisfaction of me marrying a catholic. in fact, the pastor withdrew from presiding in our service because he "refused to be held accountable on judgement day for taking part in an event he knew the Lord did not approve of". other things were said. truly horrible things, such has my husband was doomed to hell for his faith. *sigh*

after receiving these comments via phone from my pastor, i immediately called Fr. Bill. he was the essence of grace. he simply told me that he loved me, that he loved leo, and that my pastor had to do what he felt was right. he also reassured me that he would preside over our wedding, even though i was not catholic.

ironically, it was the catholic church for years that had insisted on its members marrying within the faith. my protestant background was not an issue for Fr. Bill. oh my goodness, i loved that man. he and the rest of his parish were beyond gracious in their acceptance and warmth and welcoming of me. i had NEVER felt so at home in a church before. truly.

now, here i am years later with a new church family, that i am proud to say reminds me of St. Mary's. my (pre-wedding) experiences taught me invaluable lessons on what it means to be merciful and open and gracious to all who walk through the doors of river valley. how we truly are brothers and sisters. in our wedding ceremony, father constantly referred to us as his beloved brothers and sisters. "i love you, my brothers and sisters...", and then he would plant big wet sloppy kisses on our cheeks (a part of his distinctive lebanese heritage). as i was walking out the doors of rvcc yesterday, steve was actually quoting part of father's homily from our wedding..."it is because God loved us first, that we are able to love Him and each other."

a blog had been maintained over the past several weeks on father's behalf, in order to keep the literal thousands of people who loved him updated on his condition. the site is down now, but the last post relayed this message from father: (when told that his cancer was terminal, he said) "i believe in the resurrection. i have preached the resurrection my entire life. i am not afraid."

god is good. once in a while we capture glimpses of his bountiful grace. i am weeping as i sit here, thinking about father bill and his abundant love for all of God's children. i miss him. i really do. but mostly, oh Lord, i praise you for the experience of allowing him to be a part of my life. surely, the angels are rejoicing. i know, father bill, that you are in heaven, and that our God has greeted you joyously, wrapped His arms around you, and said, "Well done, my good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things: enter into the joy of your lord."