As he walked through the quiet street on his way to the post office, Mrs. Amadou’s words rang in his ears. “You were meant to serve God as the apostle Paul did. Marriage wasn’t for him and it isn’t for you.” She said that to him after she rightly concluded that he was in love with her grand-daughter, Ede.
Sadness etched his features. If life had turned out differently, Ede and he would be married.
He reached the post office and after dropping Ede’s birthday card through the slot, he went inside the Pharmacy. “Hello, Mrs. O’Grady.”
“Hello, Father Desjardins.”
100 Words
This post is for the Friday’s Fictioneers hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. You can find this week’s prompt here. To read other stories or to participate, click here.
Notes to Women 
Nice twist
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Thanks, Neil 🙂
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Ooh a good twisty tail. Nicely done!
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Thanks, Mason 🙂
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Aha! I see a theme that is holding hour interest… it certainly is a strong theme, and very well laid out here. I really felt what was going on in his mind…very well done…
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Remember the man whom the controlling mother wanted her daughter to marry? Well, he and this priest are in both love with the same young woman, Ede. I’m happy you felt what was going on in his mind. Thanks, Ain 🙂
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If he had a true calling to the priesthood he wouldn’t still be sending cards to Ede. He should have stuck to her and forgone celibacy.
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Other priests have forgone celibacy for love. And this whole idea of priests not marrying and having families isn’t biblical. It’s unfortunate for him that he didn’t realize that he could serve God, not as a priest which would make it possible for him to marry the woman he loved.
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Dear Adele,
Perhaps if priests were allowed to marry and have families there would be fewer clerical sexual abuse incidents. I have to feel for him. Nicely done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Dear Rochelle,
You’re right. And as I mentioned to Elizabeth, priests not being allowed to marry is not of God at all. There are examples of priests and High Priests in the Bible who were married and had families. I’m happy that his story brought a heartfelt response. Thanks 🙂
Shalom,
Adele
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There are moments in our lives we carry the past wondering; if only. This is one of those stories.
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A fine twist, life even for priests can be very challenging, perhaps they will meet in a future life
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The sad thing is that no where in the Bible does it say that priests can’t marry. Perhaps, they will meet again but if and when they do, she will probably be married.
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It’s easy. First call Ede. Then call the Episcopalian Bishop. Ala Fr. Cutie.
For the record, western Catholic Priests may be married, they just can’t get married (vow of celibacy). Neither may Deacons, most of whom are married when they are ordained.
Marriage never stopped other sexual predictors, clergy or not. It’s not a problem that is caused by lack of heterosexual relations.
Still a great story. 🙂
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Unfortunately for him, it seems like Ede has moved on. There is another man interested in her and unlike, the priest, he hasn’t taken a vow of celibacy.
Thanks for your comment, Bill, and for clarifying a few things. And I’m happy that you still thought that it was a great story 🙂
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That was… weird. Good weird. Great story! Happy Thanksgiving!
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I’m happy you liked my good weird story, Bear 🙂 Thanks. We celebrated our Thanksgiving in October. I hope you had a happy one too 🙂
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Oh, You’re from Canada. I forgot. We did celebrate harvest last week September/first week October.
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Yes, I am 🙂 and no worries. I used to live in New York before moving to Canada and enjoyed many Thanksgiving holidays there with my family. It must have been really nice to celebrate harvest in September/October.
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Being Native American, I don’t celebrate Thanksgiving. We celebrate the fall bread feast .
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Bear, I understand why as Native American you don’t celebrate Thanksgiving. I just read that for many Native people, Thanksgiving represents the dark shadow of genocide and the resilience of Native people, rather than peace and shared prosperity between Native Americans and Pilgrims. And in an article was the story of Native Americans mourning on Thanksgiving Day at Plymouth Rock. An extremely sad and disturbing history and the dark side of Thanksgiving.
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Yes, it was… and still is. It is our national day for mourning. Sad that they don’t teach both sides of history. But as the saying goes, the winners of war write the story of the war… however wrong it may be.
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Yes, it is sad that they don’t teach both sides of history. Well, they may try to downplay or ignore some history but ultimately, the truth always comes out. I’m grateful that I know about this side of Thanksgiving and would one day like to write a post about it.
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You outline a difficult situation very neatly, Adele. I agree that celibacy isn’t biblical, but obedience certainly is. If God has called Father Desjardins to celibacy then, tough though it will be, in the long term he will receive even greater fulfilment, don’t you think?
You dramatise the dilemma very effectively.
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Thanks, Penny. Yes, celibacy isn’t biblical but Jesus did say, “there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it.” Like Paul, Father Desjardins will dedicate his life to serving God as a single and celibate man. Ede’s grandmother, Mrs. Amadou, a very wise woman, also told him that, “Your happiness will come from serving God and ministering to others.” Serving God will ultimately bring him greater fulfilment. I’m happy my dramatization of his dilemma was effective 🙂
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How very sad. Not everyone chooses the right path, or has it chosen for them.
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Yes, it’s very sad. Perhaps if he had met Ede before becoming a priest, his life would be different but I believe that he was answering his call in life. Ede and he weren’t meant to be together.
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