The Monsignor

If you want to meet Monsignor Michael McParland you will find him in the Falkland Islands where he lives six months of the year. The rest of the time he is visiting the other parts of his parish which altogether covers one sixth of the surface of the earth! But for the islands of St.Helena, Tristan da Cunha and St.George, the rest of it comprises mostly uninhabited rock. And fish! He arrived today at the Salesian Institute after a seven day voyage on an Antarctic service ship. He was still swaying gently over lunch.

The Monsignor comes from Middlesbrough, two hours or so from Skyreholme, but its Cape Town where we meet. When a long way from home every encounter can be something of a miracle. I say “can be”. A miracle unseen is like a gift unopened. Of course we dream of the “giver of the gift” waiting for it to be unwrapped. Any parent knows the joy of the spectacle. From the moment of conception, to the time of picking it out, to the moment of frantic tearing away of the carefully prepared package – the goal, the instant of completion, is all about the child’s happy face. I look forward to unwrapping the miracle with this unique man, the Monsignor from the South Atlantic.

We met up with a man and his wife I first met at the end of 2002 in Pretoria in the aftermath of one of those awful coach crashes I have attended in South Africa. Ron was a chaplain at the hospital. He invited me to his church for a service and to his home for Sunday lunch. It was special to have time with him and Melanie as they celebrate a wedding anniversary in Cape Town. Their Baptist community was the first to fully integrate the races in a truly rainbow church. They have kept it up.

On a final blognote, Margaret Batley arrives here on Friday. Like the Monsignor, there will be gifts to unwrap in the many miraculous encounters that await her.