99 YEARS AGO SOMETHING HAPPENED

EFR Dion and friend, Art Thibault

I don't think I ever introduced you to my father.  It is he on the left.  I don't know when this picture was taken.  I am absolutely sure that it was not on his birthday.  He was not born in picnic season.   This looks like one of those lazy Sunday afternoon pictures, sitting around in the back yard having a sip of  what appears to be milk.  This would therefore have to be somewhere in the early 50's when I think the glass milk bottle had about crashed and the square carton had become just about the norm.  At first we had a hard time getting used to the fact that there was no cream on top of the milk.  We soon got over that and got on with out lives.
I got to thinking about writing something concerning EFR Dion because it is nearing what would be his 99th birthday and it is also coincidental with preparations that Belle and I are seriously occupied with at this time.  We are preparing a Lenten retreat based on the psalms.  The first parish engaged has a three day event with one 90 minute session in the morning and one 90 minute session in the evening.  The retreat will end with a night time ceremony of confessions.  We know what psalms we are going to use as the spiritual foundation for the retreat.  We also have decided that we would use EFR's favorite psalm for the last major meditation of the retreat, to wit, Psalm 51 (50, in some Bibles).  It is [or was] generally known as the "Miserere."  Not a day went by that EFR did not pray this psalm.  He said that he used it as his basis for his relationship with God because he so deeply respected people who were great sinners and great saints.  So it was that his two favorite Biblical Characters were David and Paul.  He gave me the name "Paul" because he admired the intellectual power of Paul as well as his spiritual convictions.  I know all this because I asked him.  He was a firm believer that the name that he gave his offspring was a religious rite and one with real life consequences.  I know that because I asked him that too.  Why did I ask him all this stuff?  Because my surrogate father, Joseph Thibault, [Paternal Grand Father] urged me to do it.  He would tell me, "Your father knows all that stuff."  I don't know if he knew it, up in his coconut, but he sure knew it in his heart.  So, I am going to cut this short and leave you with two things:
A repeat request for prayers for the success of our retreat effort,
3/12, 13 & 14, and a beautiful YouTube.com rendition of psalm 51 sung in English.  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1l84A2HGdvY&feature=related