The Vestment

On October 22, 1998 we lost our beloved Poppy. He was 70 years old and died quite suddenly. I will never forget the moment I found out, or the immediate hours and days that followed. It was the first huge loss of my life, and I miss him and think about him almost every day still. From his funeral, we had a vestment in his memory that was then worn almost a year later by Father Jack at our wedding. The vestment was in our possession until we settled down to give it to our family church for their use at Sunday masses and such. Ten years later, we have moved 3 times and for the first time, finally settled (well, as settled as anyone can be these days). The kids attend the church's school, and we attend mass fairly regularly. With the honor of being Danielle's confirmation sponsor comes a need for me to obtain a letter of "authenticity" so to speak of my own Catholic observance and thus a need for me to contact the Monsignor to get this letter. And with this need comes an opportunity for me to mention the vestment, long since held in our closet(s) in various houses. We went over on Saturday, got the letter and donated the vestment. It is cream colored with a Celtic cross on the front and an inscription in the collar for Poppy. And it got its first use this weekend at all four masses. We went to the noon mass on Sunday, and I was proud to see the priest wearing it. I was happy to see that it's finally getting the use it deserves, and glad that my Poppy will be remembered every time it is worn.