Party of Five

The Last One ...

Welcome, faithful Catholic Week readers and new friends!

In case you missed it, this is a reprint of our last column for the Catholic Week:

Caroline: Our first archdiocesan event was a disaster. It was our first Natural Family Planning series, and Father Wall had graciously invited us to St. Ignatius to get things going. Excited but nervous, we had used NFP for years but had never actually taught it. We had completed a rigorous instructor certification process only two weeks prior. So we practiced and practiced and prayed even more. Back then, the classes relied on Kodak slide projectors. We dusted one off from the attic of Catholic Social Services and were all set. Ten minutes into the 2-hour class, however, the projector bulb blew. My dear husband, always convinced that something terrible will happen, had anticipated this very thing and had another bulb at the ready. It was dead too. We tried frantically to find pictures in the bulky student manual of what we were describing. The poor couples! We consoled ourselves by saying that class #2 would be better. Dear Sr. Frances, our first boss, insisted we buy a new projector with extra bulbs; our next meeting we were brimming with confidence. Twenty minutes after THAT class began, there was an explosion outside and we lost all power. A truck had crashed into a transformer nearby. By the grace of God we taught the couples at least something, and miracle of miracles, two of our most faithful supporters and volunteers, Tommy and Bridget Hannahan, emerged from that class. We’re blessed to now call them friends.

If we could leave you with one final thought, it would be this: God’s plans for us are so much greater than our own. We never dreamed we’d be in this line of work. We were perfectly happy teaching in Dallas. (I certainly never imagined that my Cornhusker Tom, born and raised in the Big 12, would willingly move to SEC territory!) But the Holy Spirit worked on us subtly. First, through dealing with students from different backgrounds, we saw the crucial role of the family. We volunteered in our parish as sponsor couples, meeting with the engaged, trying to promote strong marriages and happy families. We became convinced that the Church’s teaching on sexuality was a hidden gem. Sadly, many of our peers knew nothing about the Theology of the Body. We were teachers by profession; NFP helped us postpone pregnancy for 5 years while Tom finished his PhD coursework; by golly, we should get certified to teach this stuff! A little later, when visiting my parents in Mobile, Father Paul Zoghby (then Director of Catholic Charities) mentioned off-handedly that what he really needed was a couple to promote Catholic family life and teach NFP. Our hearts leapt – we knew the Lord had been preparing us to do that very thing. A few months later, there we were in the NFP class at Ignatius. Take it from us: we never need to be afraid of what God calls us to do. His will, not our own schemes and plans, brings true fulfillment.

Tom: Over the years we’ve tried to raise our children in the faith as best as we can and to share what we have learned with you. We’re still learning! When Larry Wahl invited us to write this column, our only child, Christopher, was just seven months old. Now, as we say farewell, Christopher is about to begin his freshman year at McGill-Toolen. We’ve added four more children on earth - and one in Heaven - and we are about to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. We are so grateful for the opportunity we’ve had, and we look forward to continuing to serve the Church locally for many years to come. I will be teaching theology full-time at McGill, while both of us will coordinate Adult Education and Family Ministry at St. Ignatius. Caroline will be getting back to her roots in the classroom, teaching 7th grade religion. We leave the Family Life Office in good hands: I have worked with Dan Johnson for the past five years at McGill, and I can think of no one better to coordinate Family Life ministries.

But we aren’t quite done yet! Please consider joining us for our final Family Life Office event, the annual married couples’ retreat at the Visitation Monastery, August 3 and 4. E-mail tommcdonald1@bellsouth.net for more information.

Both of us: We’ve been blessed with amazing volunteers, too many to list, but THANK YOU. We’re forever grateful to Father Zoghby and Sr. Frances for bringing us here. We’re deeply indebted to our fellow CCL teachers, Vicki and Brian Petters and Mark and Anne Christensen, who have taught NFP “up north” tirelessly and heroically – you’ve been our role models. Thanks to Beth and Woodie Perkins, who caught the vision for our Mother & Daughter/Father & Son programs and have faithfully served from the beginning. To our Creighton teachers, Leslie Buckley, Felricia Brown, and Kristin Blanchard: keep fighting the good fight! To the MSRP volunteer couples, you’re changing lives! And finally to our Family Life Office staff – our children – who have become quite proficient at Xeroxing, folding, stapling … we love you; thanks for helping us make it all work.

You can continue to follow the McDonald Mayhem through our column in the National Catholic Register or through our new blog at www.mcdpartyof5.blogspot.com.