last saturday night, mom and dad hosted a big dinner to celebrate father raftis, sj. it was so much fun - a mix of significant people in his life, particularly during his time at bellarmine over the last few years since he was ordained to the priesthood. he recently moved from bellarmine up to seattle u, where he will be teaching in the communications department this fall.
it was an honor to be included among those invited...as father has had such an impact on our family over the last year. (it only makes sense that he would be part of our wedding as well - which he will be concelebrating with abbot neal. yea!!)
and i love that there is a priest who is a snap happy as i am. this is one of my all-time favorite images of his. i love it.
anyway, my mom asked everyone that was present to describe father in a word or two...and the results speak to the man of god that he is. they are listed below, in no particular order, but spoken from each of the people below...
goofy - genuine - generous - faithful - politically incorrect - good shepherd - joyful - safe harbor - intelligent - biblical - holy - homilist - humble - integrity - cerebral ("always the smartest guy in the room") - gentle - sincere - Christlike - friendly - smiling - brother - encourager - inspiring - heroic
as my dad, a world-famous sinner, said, "thank you, father, for forgiving our sins." :)
thank you, father raftis, for your impact in each of our lives. for stepping in and being a guide and an answer to prayer. you are a treasure to all of us.
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