In line for my first confession and holding my mother’s hand, we came to the confessional curtain. “Go on,” my mother said. I wanted her to go with me. “By yourself,” she said. Kneeling before the confessional screen, I realized “the odor of sanctity” was really there. All was well.

Ordained a priest in May 1969 for the Diocese of Corpus Christi in Texas, I hungered for the Church “I knew” and did not know. Three years in parishes, three years on loan to the Diocese of Saltillo Coahuila in Mexico, and around the world as an Army Catholic chaplain for 30 years.

With Bishop Robert Baker’s help and Bishop William Michael Mulvey’s permission, my incardination was moved to the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama on June 17, 2020.

The Penny Catechism question no. 30 says, “The three powers of my soul are my memory, my understanding, and my will.” My memory carries all my past. “Take up your cross and follow Me.” My understanding thinks about all the past, the glory, and the cross. I weigh it all in my judgment on the scales of justice. On one side, my feelings. On the other side, my hopes. Now I pray willfully before the Eucharist: Remember Me.

What do “images” offer? Mother Angelica, driving by an auto junk yard, once gave a “live” catechism about the images of hope in that garden of junk. The beginning is beautiful. The conclusion is better unseen. With feelings and failures, I accept my cross. I want to be like Father George.