A Letter from the Archbishop

Pull up a chair, grab a cup of coffee, it's story time....

A few years ago, Maggie's godfather, Fr. Dave, let me know that a new Archbishop had been named in Ireland by Pope Benedict.  He was a "good one" and his name was Eamon Martin.  My mind was blown!  He shared the same name as my little meatball!  

Current Archbishop Eamon Martin

I told my Eamon that there was a great Archbishop in Ireland with his name, and he was super excited.   You see, Eamon wants to be a priest, and it's not just something he mentioned once when he was younger, it's something he talks about all the time.  Daily conversations include "When I'm a priest, can I still live near you?" "I'm lucky, because I want to be a priest, and priests don't have to kiss girls." and "Can I be a priest and a chef at the same time?"  Yup, yup and yup!  Now, I know he's still only eight years old, and we shall see if God does indeed call him to priesthood, but he does have this inexplicable joy and holiness about him and I wouldn't be surprised if it happened.  But no pressure!!  Our kids will only be happy if they follow God's calling, not their parent's hopes and dreams!

Future Archbishop Eamon Martin?

So when I mentioned Archbishop Eamon Martin to my Eamon, he immediately said that he wanted to be a Bishop so there would be TWO bishops with the same name...one in Ireland and one in America.  From time to time, he would mention his idol and we would share in his happiness at the coolness of it all.

Twins!

A few weeks ago, my mom asked me what Eamon would like for his First Communion, and the thought popped in my head (Holy Spirit) to tell her about Archbishop Eamon Martin.  We wondered if perhaps we could get him to write a little email to Eamon for his special day.  My mom researched and found out how to email the Archbishop and told him about his accidental namesake in America who wanted to be a priest.  She also discovered that Archbishop Martin's parents were from the same county in Ireland that my Dad was from!  It's a small world, after all.

Archbishop Eamon Martin with his mom, who had 12 children!

So she waited to hear back, but no email response.  She prayed to Our Lady, saying it was in her hands if she wanted to make anything happen (Archbishop Martin was ordained on Our Lady's birthday).  But Eamon's First Communion day came and went, and we never heard back, and we certainly didn't tell him that his Gammy had reached out to his idol because we didn't want him to be disappointed.

But then...

...then...

...yesterday, my mom received a letter in the mail from Archbishop Eamon Martin!!!  He had sent a letter to Eamon saying that he would be praying for him on his First Holy Communion day and sent him a prayer card that he had signed.  

Eamon was thrilled!!  He hasn't stopped talking about it since!  I think I'll frame the letter and prayer card just in case his childhood dream comes true and he becomes Archbishop Eamon Martin II  :)