The Angelic Occurrence

by Henry K. Ripplinger

  “But here is the thing Matti, we don’t have to see what is going on inside others for us to be accepting and kind because most times we never will! We must choose to take full responsibility for our behaviour and how we feel. We choose to accept others unconditionally and respond to them as we would like to be responded to, regardless. That is the only way others will change. That is the only way we can find peace and joy within our own lives.

  “When I saw that child misbehave, rather than get judgmental ,had I simply gone over and done what the kindly cashier did, I would have remained at peace and brought love into the situation and be an example like the cashier was.

  “You see, Matti, Miss Jenny has learned to see things as they really are. She does not look at the specific act and get stuck there. She sees it, but goes through it to accept and love the person behind the act. Like I said, she does not allow her mind to be judgmental and get all entangled in the situation, but rather she leads from the heart. She remains calm and centred both from within and without. And that is the key, Matti, she always chooses acceptance, peace and love; she gives without expecting anything in return. It is her example and dignified behaviour that will help Mr. Hamilton one day to see himself as he truly is inside. One day he will see the golden mirror of love Miss Jenny reflected to him. I have said it before Matti, one day he will fall to his knees and be thankful.”

  Matti shook her head and softly muttered, “My, my…” She marvelled at the wisdom Thomas displayed. He encouraged her to want to be a more accepting person, too.

  “You know Matti, Miss Jenny just accepts things and makes the best of it. What is the point to get upset over things you can’t change? I will never forget a real good example of this. One day this past summer before Miss Jenny left the estate the sun was out and Miss Jenny seemed to dance down the path raising her hands in joy chasing the butterflies. The sun seemed to ooze out of her cheerful face.

  “A day later it was raining and once again I saw Miss Jenny dancing down the path, praising the heavens for the freshness of the rain. Her face was glistening as if the sun were out, same as the day before. She just accepts what is, plain and simple. She didn’t need to know or understand what warm front or cold front was causing the weather to change and why it was the way it is, she just took it as it came and enjoyed it or made the best of it.”

  “I understand now what you be meaning, brother Thomas. Knowing why a person be the way he or she is may help in our acceptance of them, but if we wait for that, things never may get better and we just continue to be miserable in our relationships. I see, it is best to be like Miss Jenny and love people the way they are. That be a far better way to help them than criticizing them. And as you be saying over and over, ‘the blind cannot lead the blind, or else they be both falling in the ditch!

  “I can see it, brother, but oh, my dear sweet Jesus, gonna have to help me. I needs such an overhaul in my thinking!”

  Thomas laughed. “We all do, Matti. Love, acceptance, leading by example, taking full responsibility for our lives and happiness is the secret to Miss Jenny’s peace and ours as well.”

  “And I know where she got the strength and wisdom from to be that way. Everyday she be here she be communicating with the good Lord in that garden of hers. She just glowed every time she came back into the house.”

  “Can’t argue with you on that, Matti. I’ve seen it all the time, too when she was out in the garden. Some days it was harder to tell which gave off more light and brightness; the sun or Miss Jenny!”

  “It’s all true, brother, she be an amazing woman. If we could choose to live like her, the happier the world would be and we would be planting the seeds in those we meet and touch, each day to pass it on.”

  “Relationships dominate our lives for the most part, Matti. How we get along with others determines to a large degree our happiness and wellbeing from day-to-day as we journey through life. The sooner we see that love is the real power to living, the sooner we will have inner peace and great relationships. And I must add, as you just said about Jenny’s ability to live this way, first and foremost we have to develop a relationship with Jesus and He will give us the grace and strength to follow His example of how to love others.”

  “Amen, brother!”

  “You know, Matti I used to worry about all the starving people in the world and that I couldn’t do enough to help them or about all the wars and persecution that is going on as well. Matti, it came to me one day that all this fretting and worrying, no matter how hard I did it, it wasn’t going to change things or do one bit of good, except give me an ulcer.

  “No, Matti, I do and give what I can and then turn it over to the Lord in prayer. And then I go about my business of being the best I can be. For I know, Matti, as I touch one person and then another and they do so in turn, eventually it will sweep across the planet and in time there will be world peace, there will be enough food for all.

  “What the world needs now more than ever, is love sweet love.”

  “Amen, I have to say again! Oh Thomas you fill my insides with such good feelings that I go in this minute and polish Mr. Hamilton’s furniture with such love and care, why they be turning in my mind as being the same as Miss Jenny’s antique furniture. Why I feel the chill in the air inside warming up already, brother Thomas. I ‘spect I won’t be needing to wear my overcoat after all!”

  Chapter Twenty

  Hey, Hank ol’ buddy, how ya doin? How’s the weather in cold Saskatchewan?”

  “Eddy! Geez, never would have thought that would be you phoning. Figured for sure you would be sailing the seven seas with that new yacht of yours. Great to hear from you. Yeah, the winter was cold but seems like spring is coming early this year. So how has life been treating you?”

  “Never better, ol’ buddy. Just called to let you know I got hitched last night. Coreena and me tied the knot!”

  “That’s great, Eddy! Congratulations! I was kinda expecting this. From past conversations with you it sounded like you liked more than her cooking!”

  “Yeah, I hired a preacher to come on board the yacht and we sailed out into the middle of the Caribbean and proposed right then and there. I told her we would never go back to land unless she married me. She finally agreed, but said she wants a church wedding. So who better to do the job than the Padre?”

  “You mean Father Engelmann!?”

  “Who else, Hank? Thought me and the Missus would fly to Regina towards the end of July or first week of August and get hitched again. I think we should be able to make the arrangements by then. No big wedding, just Mom. Dad’s gone and so just a few relatives and friends of mine. Coreena wants her sister from Ottawa to come, too.”

  “Geez, Eddy, that’s great! It just so happens that I am meeting with the Archbishop next month to talk about plans for a 25th anniversary for Father Engelmann in the priesthood. We are scheduling it for the last Sunday in July, about the same time as you want to come home. Say, listen Eddy! It would be great if we combined your wedding with the anniversary. Father could marry you and Coreena at the 9 o’clock Mass and then we could have the surprise Mass for him at the 12 o’clock one. There’s a reception in the hall after where we could all get together at the same time.”

  “Hey man, you must be reading my mind or something! That’s the exact weekend me and the wife had in mind. I already phoned a few people asking if that weekend would work. Isn’t that a coincidence or…is it? The Padre always did try to get me back into the church. That would make a great anniversary present for him to have converted, ‘Eddy the sinner!’”

  Henry laughed, “Yeah, Eddy, his greatest triumph!”

  “Yeah, and maybe the next day we could have dinner at your café.”

  “Sounds great, Eddy! I’m really excited to meet your wife.”

  “She’s a good two feet taller than me. Have to say I enjoy the view, if you get my drift. She’s a grea
t gal, has a heart of gold, knows how to cook, how to sail and makes me feel like a tall man.”

  Henry chuckled once more, “That’s wonderful Eddy. I can’t wait to meet her. And you say her sister is coming, too?”

  “Yeah, she can get a few days off and apparently the two girls haven’t seen each other in years. I’ve never seen Coreena happier than to talk to Matilda and tell her of the news that we got married. But they seemed to be even happier when Coreena told her we would be sending her a ticket to come to the church wedding in Regina.”

  “That’s great, Eddy. Say, didn’t you tell me a long time ago that she worked on an estate for a man named Hamilton?”

  “Yeah, apparently he’s a real mean bugger. Damn hard to work for.”

  “Geez, I wonder if it’s the same Hamilton I once talked to a long, long time ago…?”

  “What’s that, Hank?”

  “Oh nothing, Eddy. It couldn’t possibly be the same guy. So, tell me man, how are you enjoying your retirement? You’re the only one I know who has retired before his 40th birthday!”

  “Never better. I’m tanned almost as dark as Coreena. I’m thankful for every day and enjoy life to the fullest, ol’ buddy. Take it from me, sell the business, come to Jamaica and learn to smell the roses. You work way too hard, Hank. Time goes fast.

  “From morning to night, I enjoy my life. And I’m surprised on how little I really need. Most people work and work and never use up what they have amassed and before they know it, they are old and gone and never really appreciated what they had strived for, for all those years and years. The good life is right under their noses and they can’t see it…or choose not to see it.”

  “Geez, Eddy, you’re becoming a philosopher in your young age.”

  “You don’t need to be a brain surgeon to know how to enjoy life. Most things that give me a kick are free. The beauty of the ocean, the flowers, the star studded night sky while I’m slowly drifting on the boat, good friends, the daily sunset and sunrise, walking hand in hand with my wife on the beach, a simple flavourful meal, a siesta in the afternoon, sailing my boat whenever I can and a restful sleep. And you know Hank, this would make the Padre a happy camper, I’m beginning to see the Boss upstairs’ hand in it all, you know what I’m sayin’?”

  “I know exactly what you’re saying, Eddy, and it makes a lot of sense. I think I better take a retreat and reassess where I’m heading.”

  “And I’d do it sooner than later. And, by the way, did Pete ever phone you?”

  “Pete? … Oh, your friend Pete…the guy that took Jenny to…”

  “Yeah, that Pete. I don’t want to stir things up, but I talked to him a few times since that pool game we had at the Royal and he was still hung up on his dreams and wanting to make things better with the blonde chick. I told him you didn’t know how to get a hold of her either. I gave him your phone number and told him to talk to you directly, but I guess he must have chickened out.”

  “No, he never called and I must say, Jenny has been on my mind a lot lately, too. And I do remember us talking about Pete and what happened that night at the Royal and…I have to agree with Pete… I still think that Jenny just might have gotten pregnant that night…”

  There was a silence between the two men and finally Eddy spoke, “Maybe there is something to all this. Anyway, I have invited Pete, Bud and John to come to the wedding. I hope that’s alright with you?”

  “Yeah, it is Eddy. I’ve made friends with both Bud and John as you know. It’s amazing how Bud bought my old house in Whitmore Park and that he is an artist, as well. The only one I haven’t met face to face since that night is Pete. It may be interesting to meet him. Just maybe we can make some sense of all this.”

  “He’s a good guy, Hank. I think I told you he turned into a preacher, as well. He’s got a good heart. Well, okay ol’ buddy, the wife’s waiting outside for me. The sea is calm today with just a little warm breeze to fill the sails. Wish you could be here to enjoy a bottle of Jamaican beer on the high seas. See ya, Hank.”

  “Yeah, see you Eddy and give my best to the Missus!”

  “Pete,…Peter wake up …wake up!” Angie shook her husband’s shoulder in the darkness. She rolled over and flicked on the night lamp and turned back to her husband who was finally breaking free of the nightmare that had plagued him for years. Perspiration beaded on his forehead. He rolled over to face his loving wife.

  “I’m sorry, honey, for waking you. The nightmares seem to be getting worse. I know there’s a reason for it and I wish God would let me know what it is.”

  “Perhaps when we go to Regina for Eddy’s wedding you can talk to the man that was with the girl that night. Henry or Hank…wasn’t that the name that Eddy gave you?”

  “Yes, but Eddy told me that when he asked Hank for the girl’s phone number he said he didn’t have it. And by the way, Eddy told me the name of the girl was Jenny. Anyway, Eddy thought that Hank might have known the number, but didn’t want to give it to me to protect her.”

  “Perhaps he will be more willing to talk to you in person. You have to take a chance, Peter. Somehow I feel it’s meant for you and him to meet. Maybe, the same thing will happen between you and Hank that happened between him and Eddy. Eddy is still amazed how they became such good friends over the years when initially they disliked each other. And for Eddy to even end up being Hank’s best man at his wedding is the workings of the Lord. I firmly believe that God has a plan, I just feel it, Peter.”

  “I know you’re right, Angie, and I am blessed that you are so understanding of all this. At least I am able to talk it out and not have to hide it from you.”

  Angie put her hand on her husband’s shoulder once more and gently rubbed it, her eyes filled with compassion, understanding and forgiveness. How many nights had she heard her beloved moaning and crying over that eventful night when he and his friends took that girl to the park and raped her. Peter was so sure that the girl had conceived his child that fateful moment, but was never able to find out for sure.

  “Is your dream still the same, Peter?”

  Peter nodded, “Yes, Jenny gives birth to a blonde little girl… and lately I have seen the girl’s eyes and they’re blue. And there’s another thing…when I talked to Eddy awhile back after he spoke with Hank about getting Jenny’s contact information, Hank had asked Eddy if the child’s name is revealed in the dreams I have. I am sure Jenny mouths the name, Camilla, but I’m not certain. And just when Jenny does call the girl by name… I wake up.”

  “Did Hank tell Eddy the name he thinks it might be…?”

  Peter turned and gazed long and hard into his wives eyes, “Hank asked Eddy to ask me if the little girls name is Camilla.”

  “Could it be possible that the connection is so strong to this event that even the name of the baby is coming to the fore?”

  Angie rolled over and flicked off the light, but sleep didn’t come. She was more concerned over the prognosis Peter received from the family doctor six months ago. A tumour had developed beside his kidney and the lab results showed that it was malignant.

  Her heart went out to her husband. He was such a kindly man, such a wonderful pastor and everyone loved him. And yet, somewhere out there was a woman who may have very well given birth to Peter’s child, as his reoccurring dreams hinted at.

  Angie rolled over and placed her hand on Peter’s shoulder once more, ever so tenderly and prayed:

  Oh dear Lord, my husband’s heart cries out for forgiveness. Daily he prays that he finds this Jenny to correct the wrong he has committed. Please help him, Jesus.

  It was so hard on the both of us today when the doctor told us that his cancer has returned and is spreading. The only way to stop this disease is for Peter to find Jenny and receive her forgiveness. His guilt has plagued him for far too long. He is so hard on himself, Lord. I feel the self destructive force he has created withi
n himself to…to punish himself.

  Please let him live long enough to reconcile his past. It is the only way he will ever find peace, or die in peace…or if it is in Your will, Oh Lord, his only chance to be cured.

  Oh Lord, please help him before it is too late for him and for Jenny.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  As Henry sat in the receptionist area waiting to meet with the Archbishop, his mind reeled back to the Sunday evening when Mr. Engelmann told him and his parents that he was going into the seminary to become a priest. What a perfect choice the Lord had led him to. For months after Anna’s death, Mr. Engelmann struggled with the decision to sell the grocery store. It had been his life. It was what he and Anna had done ever since they had come to Canada from the old country.

  What Henry and most people in the neighbourhood realized however, was that selling groceries was not the Engelmann’s main purpose. Their primary mission and goal was in serving their fellow man. They were truly examples of living out the principles and values of the Bible.

  Mr. Engelmann’s decision to become a priest was not only a perfect decision, but a natural transition into a new career which would more aptly identify what Mr. Engelmann was already doing. He had been a shepherd to his neighbourhood and as a priest he had become a shepherd to a larger flock…the parishioners of a church.

  When Mr. Engelmann was assigned to St. Mary’s Church after he was ordained, he and Father Connelly made a perfect pair. Henry chuckled as he recalled how they had both performed he and Julean’s wedding ceremony almost in perfect unison. Father Connelly’s Irish accent had gone high against Mr. Engelmann’s lower Austrian one. The combination was melodic and spellbinding.

  When Father Connelly died, Father Engelmann had at first seemed so lost, but he soon reached out to the people in a way they had never seen before. It was almost as if Father Connelly’s spirit had united with Father Engelmann’s. He became tireless and for years after, ran the entire church himself. His homilies became more and more powerful. He was totally and completely spirit filled. His face always exhibited a smile, so kindly, that it was holy. The people flocked around him as if he were the Pope.