(Thursday, December 29, 2016)
I am with a large crowd of worshippers, moving in long lines to enter a simple, but beautiful, cathedral. The cathedral has a medieval air and a traditional structure: tall gothic ceiling, stained glass windows, wooden pews, stone floors. My progression of fellow devotees is at the back of the cathedral, near the baptismal font and not the altar. A gentle, holy priest stands in the midst of the great throng, helping us all find our way. Some of us are able to fly, like angels. The priest signals to us, reminding us of our gift of flight. I am one of those who levitate into place.
Day notes:
The priest in this dream reminds me of Father Keeffe, who was our priest after the 1965 tornadoes, when mass had to be held at the high school gymnasium. My first communion ceremony took place there. He was the founding pastor of St. William’s church, the progressive Catholic church we attended as children. He felt like a very holy man to me, as none of the priests that followed him ever did.
Today I looked Father Keeffe up on the web and found that he passed away in 2015 at the age of 93. I was surprised to see that he had once been the priest at St. Mary’s of the Lake, next to Wayzata East Middle School, less than two miles from my house. He is buried in Windsted, just a little bit west of here. Twenty-five years ago my friend Jana and I were biking along the Luce Line, which is a block from where I live now (then I lived in Elk River). Tornado sirens went off so we veered off the trail and took shelter in a restaurant in Long Lake. As we sat drinking coffee, I told her the story of the Fridley tornadoes and about how our church services had to be performed at the high school gym. As we chatted, I picked up a local newspaper (probably the Lakeshore Weekly News) and found a story about Father Keeffe! I often unnerved Jana in that way. She did not handle magical / mystical / synchronous events well.
Monday, January 2: We passed by St. Mary’s on the Lake parish on our way to the ER on Thursday. Yesterday Chris said, “The actor who played Father Mulcahy on M*A*S*H* died.”
Lovely dream. I had a Father Lapatka in my life. He gave me an absolution after Connor died (our still born son). He helped me heal tremendously. He asked me why I did not want Connor to be born. Today I am on Day 9 of Susanne Van Doorne’s class. It is all about the wise man. She asked who in my life played that role and the wise men in my dreams. So, it is interesting that you have this wise man dream.