Hi gang. This is your long lost pastor. I have only been out a week, but to me it seems like forever. First, because of the way information can turn into rumor pretty darn quick, I wanted to address what happened to me in “Fr. J.J.’s Jottings” so you can hear it from the horse’s mouth (yes, I intentionally typed the word mouth). No, this had nothing to do with hair plugs and I resent that you would assume that. Let’s start with the fact that I am healthy, happy, and holy. Well, maybe I need to clarify a little. I can state that I am healthy and happy.
On my day off, Wednesday, October 28th, I was to have some outpatient surgery to remove a growth that they quickly discovered was NOT cancerous. I went in at 7a.m. and was home by 7:30 p.m. I naively thought that I would be back in the office by Thursday afternoon, with nobody being the wiser. Unfortunately, I was dealing with some pretty extreme pain (which I offered up for you for having to put up with Fr. Mark – FYI, this caused the pain to get worse). Why the pain? I had a pretty common thing: a hematoma, which simply meant that I was bleeding; it would not stop, and it kept swelling. Long story short, I went into emergency on Thursday night, terms like “the size of a cantaloupe” were used and by Friday I was back under the knife. After the second surgery, everything seems to be on the mend. They released me last Tuesday and I am back in my little bed nice and toasty in the rectory. In fact, maybe a little too toasty. I’ll make sure they turn down the thermostat – even though I’m under the weather, I am still pastor and am always trying to save money where we can . . . but I digress.
My mom and dad have graciously moved into the rectory to make sure I stay put and on the mend. I hope you get to know my parents, John and Kathleen, during their stay. They are a great couple and my dad is a real character. By the way, ignore anything he says. But, I can always use the excuse that he took some of my pain killers by mistake if he lets the normal stuff roll off his tongue!?
I apologize for any important meetings or events that I have had to miss during my convalescence. Thank you, staff, for scrambling and adjusting. Thank you, Fr. Mark, for doing extra liturgies. Thank you, Ma and Dad, for being so caring. And thank you all for all your prayers. Keep ‘em coming, they will work. They say three weeks, but I think I’ll be up and around long before then. Don’t worry – we are in good hands – HIS.
God bless,
Fr. J.J.
