Friday, September 4, 2020
Tom Walsh was a friend, and a truly wise and loving spiritual leader. His motivation was not to avoid controversy, but to build faith, with joy, especially children, even as Christ did.
Several moments illustrated this. On one occasion, a child asked if there were dogs in heaven. He replied that, if heaven was a place of joy, there were surely dogs. In this life, they were examples of unconditional love.
On another occasion, while Father Tom was giving a particularly interesting homily, he was in a key moment of transition, and everyone was spellbound. All of a sudden, a baby cried out, interrupting the thought. Now, the parish had a room in the parish hall, where parents with babies could hear Mass, and some people turned with consternation toward the young family. Father Tom stopped speaking, and he turned toward the crying infant, as the mother, appeared embarrassed. His face lit up, as he smiled and said, "That is a more beautiful sermon than I could ever give." He nodded at the mother, and everyone applauded.
One of the most amazing examples occurred one Holy Thursday, where, in most parishes, twelve men were pre-selected to have their feet washed. Father Tom had not designated, so when the moment came, he brought out the water and towel, then stepped to the front of the altar steps, to address us.
"As you know, we usually pick 12 men for the washing of feet. I have heard, unfortunately, that with all the faithful women in the church, there is a feeling that they are not included, that they are not given regard, for all they do. It is not up to me to decide who is worthy and who is not. So I did not pick. This time, I will ask you all to sit prayerfully, and if the Holy Spirit moves you, hear Him, and come up." Then, he sat in his chair to wait. After only a moment, the first to come up were a woman and her teenaged daughter. I saw a few people look shocked, but many, including me, were amazed and overjoyed, for who can argue with the wisdom of trusting the Holy Spirit to solve our crises?
This was Father Tom: not staunchly traditional, not politically correct, but moved by humble, Christ-like love. I never forgot him, and I will cherish our talks, our hikes, and his humble example of serving the Lord.
