Maryknoll or bust

As New York scraped away the ice of the weekend, I boarded a train up the Hudson River Valley.  There is a great freedom from traffic that helped me relax and enjoy the ride past Yankee Stadium and Harlem, to the town of Ossining.  Maryknoll is a Society established by the American Church to do missionary work.  I knew of it as a child when a young man from Madelia joined and soon was off to Africa.  His name was Fr. Ramon McCabe.  When I became a priest it was my dream to go and visit him.  Actually I visited three times, each was a great blessing.  Last May Fr. Ray had a stroke and died.  He was buried at Maryknoll, NY.  Since I was near this past weekend it seemed easy to go to his grave.  His fellow Maryknollers welcomed me and toured me through the campus and eventually to his grave.  I loved Fr. Ray's missionary spirit to serve most of his life in Tanzania.  So I prayed God's mercy for Fr. Ramon McCabe and the same for me who has a way to go yet here on earth.  I have a feeling that he is watching over me as I go.