WITH ONGOING FIDELITY TO PRIESTLY FRATERNITY....SEEING FATHER JERRY RYLE THIS AFTERNOON............

Following on Dr. Randy Martin's visit yesterday, I am very pleased to have received a delightful fraternal visit today from Father Jerry Ryle, Pastor Emeritus of St. Philomene's Parish, with whom I served from 2006-2009.  Home in Sacramento for three weeks of July, from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut, where he is the Priest On Campus, the past three years; I enjoyed seeing him and catching up with each other on the experiences of the past several month here and there.  The effectiveness and impact of his personal empathy for others, pastoral presence, and spirituality, as always - through the forty four years of his priestly ministry, is so very apparent and invigorating to me, for which I am even more grateful, presently.  The hour we conversed here in my MMT quarters completed; had an unexpected extension.  Shortly after Fr. Jerry departed, Joe Gibson called and invited me to go down the street to Peet's Coffee with him as he facilitates my doing regularly and behold, who did we meet their today, but Jerry !  For me those moments were a full circle sharing, as it was Jerry Ryle who introduced me to Peet's Coffee, six years ago.  The pleasure of the time I spent with Fr. Jerry and Joe today, helped break the cycle of the same'ol, same 'ol, reality of being widely, indefinitely, confined to a daily environment where I am at least a generation younger than most of the other residents.  Friendship, Fraternity, Fellowship, and Faith, are beacons of hope for me in this holding pattern; just as is the Fidelity to Priestly Fraternity, Fathers Jerry Ryle, Steve Avella, Ben DeLeon, Oliver Maher, Monsignors Ed Kavanagh, Bob Walton, and Bishop Francis Quinn, among a very faithful vanguard of brother priests, who continue to be an affirming and supportive presence in my life............Fr.  Troy