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| Priest's Corner- Appreciation Happy Birthday Fr. Bob McDonald, S.M. Ralph & Dotty Cornette Happy 85th Birthday Fr. Bob McDonald, S.M.We are pleased at the outpouring of love-notes for Fr. Bob McDonald as he celebrates his 85th birthday November 29. Thank you to all who contributed. We have been blessed to know Fr. Bob for 25 years, having served
with him in various leadership roles for many of those years. He
has inspired us by his unconditional love, commitment and spirituality.
We learned from him how to listen to and affirm, not only each other,
but our children, other couples, co-workers and priests, as well.
We pray for a happy birthday and many more wonderful years. Fr. Bob talks about his dream of being a missionary. We believe
that is exactly what he is. He is open and adventurous. He delights
in the works of the Lord. Fr. Bob brings out the best in those around
him. We love how he lights up when he sees us or talks to us on
the phone. We have been blessed with the experience of being in
an Ecclesial relationship with him. Fr. Bob’s friendship has
been a great gift to us and to our family. May God Bless Fr. Bob
on his birthday and all the days of his life. Dear Fr. Bob, Your most endearing quality has always been your
undying dedication to WWME. We remember with such great fondness
the warm hugs and the sincerity with which you always shared yourself
with us. Thanks for being our friend for all these years! Dear Father Bob, HAPPY BIRTHDAY and Congratulations on your 85th!
Your most endearing quality is your unconditional love for married
couples and their Sacrament. Your praise and high expectations constantly
challenge us to be more for each other and those around us. Another
quality is your generosity—generosity of time and the giving
of yourself to others—particularly the Marriage Encounter
Community. Is there anyone who has logged more miles, given more
Weekends, loved more couples, than our Father Bob? Impossible. Your
love of God and Church are reflected in the gentle, caring ways
you interact with all you meet. We cherish the many times you’ve
called from the highway—on your way to or from a Weekend—just
to say, “I love you.” You have been a blessing to us
and a delight to know. Dear Father Bob, can’t believe you will be turning 85. We
pray we have your energy when we reach that age. You have been such
a gift to our Church and have touched the lives of hundreds maybe
even thousands. You certainly have touched our lives. Marriage Encounter
has been blessed with the special way you love our couples. Your
energy infects others and we all need it. Your dedication to the
movement through the years has brought much respect and honor not
only for you but the whole Church. Even though we never presented
a Weekend with you we have felt your love and sensitivity. We wish
you much joy on your birthday and many more happy trails ahead.
Father Bob McDonald is a true inspiration to us all. His devotion,
his passion for couples and their Sacrament of Marriage is totally
awesome and noteworthy. It is very hard to find priests who have
dedicated their lives, as Father Bob has to help us married couples.
His love and support for us, we are sure is very special in God’s
eyes and in ours. We have truly been blessed to know Father Bob
McDonald. Happy Birthday Man of God. Thank you for all you have
done and do for the Sacrament of Marriage!!! Fran and I met Fr. Bob in 1982 at a sweep and he has been a constant
in our lives ever since. When we see him, we marvel together that
our 23 year-old daughter was an infant in arms at that first meeting.
He asks, “How’s the baby?” After knowing Bob for
many years, in the mid-1990’s we presented a Vermont Weekend
with him in Rutland, Vermont. We learned about his gentleness and
sensitivity. He carried a portable typewriter and was revising his
talks on Friday afternoon. Talk about current talks! From 1990 until
2005, Fr. Bob has presented numerous Weekends in Vermont. He has
been a rock to us and we always knew that if we needed a priest,
he would always come running. That makes him dedicated. We will
really be blessed if we can be as active and alive at 85 as Bob
is. God bless you, Father Bob. Fr. Bob means so much to us both as a couple and as presenting
team in NH. We have done many Weekends with him and his love for
the couples and the World Wide Marriage Encounter movement never
ceases to impress and inspire us. We see the sparkle in his eyes
as he presents his talks and we witness how each couple is drawn
to him when he pauses and looks each of them in the eye to make
sure they don’t miss his point. We love the laughter and joy
that bubbles up and spills from him when he is with couples on the
Weekend. It is incredible to think that he has been doing this for
25 years and it is proof positive that one person truly can change
the world. We love you Fr. Bob. Fr. Bob has so many endearing qualities. The one that comes to
mind first is his compassion. So many times over the years that
Chris & I were blessed to have known Fr. Bob, he has shown his
love and concern for us. I can’t count the times on all my
fingers and toes. He is always non-judgmental when listening to
our concerns. His Christ-like quality of compassion for all is so
evident. Thank you Fr. Bob for being such a special part of my life. Dear Bob, Congratulations and Happy Birthday! As soon as I heard
that you were celebrating your Birthday I thought of the many times
you made me feel so welcome when you would greet me. I also treasure
your ability to reach couples on Weekends and otherwise. I know
of no one who is more dedicated to our movement. I am keeping you
in prayer. I hope you are well. I am still giving Weekends but various
illnesses are keeping me from doing much more. I am with you in
Spirit on your Birthday. Dear Fr. Bob, It’s hard to believe the Energizer Bunny is
85 years old! You have touched so many people over the years and
have taught us so much. Your love of life, your humility, your honesty
about who you are – all qualities that Jesus had on earth.
We remember how you used to carry your sleeping bag in your car
trunk (you probably still do), in case you got too sleepy from one
of your many trips. You would even sleep on the grass on the side
of the turnpike. You always wanted to be part of any Marriage Encounter
meeting, baby’s Baptism, family or friend’s birthday,
a couple’s anniversary etc. Being a part of anyone’s
life is a life-giving event to you. We still talk about you to our
ME Community in Tennessee and to our RCIA class. You are a wonderful
example of what a priest should be. You are human, lovable and humble.
You take a personal interest in your people. You encourage couples
to live passionately. Just last night, when we were helping to host
a ME Weekend in Nashville, as usual we joined in a circle with the
team to pray before the Weekend started. Then we all did the “Yeah,
God!” cheer and we thought of you. You always gave the best
“Yeah, God” cheer! Dear Fr. Bob, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! You have been a positive presence
in our life for 25 years. We were blessed to have you say Mass at
our home in Wells on our 30th surprise anniversary celebration.
We have enjoyed your gifts on a few bus rides to National or Regional
Meetings, and your Christmas visits to our Circle in Kennebunk.
You share so much of your love and spirit. We gain strength and
renewed focus on our ME commitment to each other when we read your
letters in the Encounter Spirit. Fr. Bob McDonald has always been a joy to be with. I’ve
been with Fr. Bob at conventions, section meetings, National Priests’
Experiences and enrichments over the years. He always has kind words
of encouragement for me, along with a great smile. When it comes
to giving Weekends, he is willing to travel almost anywhere to make
sure a Weekend is a “go.” I wish I had the stamina he’s
had for everything Marriage Encounter. Happy Birthday, and may you
return to the trail as soon as possible. There are more roads to
travel. Father Bob is a gift from God. We believe he chose the right vocation
when he heard the call. We met him in February 1988 on our original
Worldwide Marriage Encounter Weekend in Winslow, Maine. Like many
of you reading this, on the Friday night of the Weekend we had no
idea what was to come. What we did know was that this wonderful
genuine priest would be with us all weekend. On Saturday morning
at Mass he celebrated with such sincerity and joy. We knew that
being a priest was what he wanted and being with us was where he
wanted to be by his honesty with us all. During Mass he asked for
all of us to please forgive our Church for any wrongs that had been
committed in her name. At that moment we saw his compassion and
were grateful for this prayer. Our relationship with him has continued.
At a meeting in Maine one time I, Kathy, was sharing and began by
saying “for this Unit.” I, Bill, could not believe Kathy
had called us a unit and gave her a strange look. Father Bob laughed
right out loud and from then on has called us The Unit. We love
that he lovingly teases us with this as we know his abhorrence for
labels. We have been blessed to present Weekends with him in Maine
and North Carolina and hug him at the conventions. We try to keep
our dialogue daily and sharp as we never know when a note or call
will come from Father Bob with the challenging question “How’s
your dialogue?” We are honored to have the opportunity on
this birthday to share our thoughts with many. Father Bob was our
first Worldwide Marriage Encounter priest and he set the bar very
high. His love for all of us goes on and on and is like a warm snuggley
Hudson Bay wool blanket on a cold winter’s night. God is great
in you Father Bob. We love you and Happy Birthday. Father Mac has been instrumental to us in our everyday lives by
the example that he sets. He is genuine, truthful and sincere in
the message that he shares from his heart. God truly gave Marriage
Encounter the best when he blessed us with Father Mac. Thank you
Lord! Happy Birthday Father Mac. Happy Birthday Fr. Bob! How blessed the earth was 85 years ago
when you were born. Since we have known you, and many years before,
countless couples have been blessed by your faith, joy and passion
for Marriage Encounter, including ourselves. You have touched many
lives with your humor, honesty and desire for the Sacrament of Marriage
and its value to the growth of the Church. When we are able to be
with you or receive your emails we are lifted up and filled with
joy. You are a lighthouse that draws us near and guides us with
your light. We love you and wish you the happiest of days. Fr. Bob McDonald, S.M. is one of the only priests who sends regular
articles to eMatrimony. For this alone we commend him. But, we have
also had the opportunity to serve in WWME with Fr. Bob and we are
personally aware of his enthusiasm and commitment to his Sacrament
and particularly to Worldwide Marriage Encounter. Fr. Bob has more
passion and conviction than many men half his age. His willingness
to serve others whole-heartedly is a call to all of us to live our
lives with more purpose and direction. Happy Birthday Fr. Bob. We
wish Fr. John McCluskey was with us now to extend our best wishes
to you. We have faith that Fr. McCluskey is celebrating with you
from heaven. We have known Fr. Bob since our first Marriage Encounter Weekend
in November of 1993. Fr. Bob has been inspiring to us. He has a
joy for life and a love for God which he transmits to everyone around
him. He has an unconditional love for all married couples. He is
tireless in his commitment to Marriage Encounter. Whenever we meet
Fr. Bob he always comments on how he sees the fire of our love burning
brightly which inspires us to continue to work on our relationship
as a couple. We marvel at all the time and energy Fr. Bob has given
to Marriage Encounter all over the country (the Energizer bunny)
presenting Weekends and attending conventions, enriching the lives
of countless couples and priests. We are thankful that he has been
part of our married life all these years. Happy birthday, Fr. Bob.
We love you. Fr. Bob is so child-friendly and has made such an impact on our
children when they have met him. He makes priesthood seem human
and doable for young adults. We find him funny, kind, loving and
huggable. Fr. Bob’s energy and enthusiasm about Marriage Encounter
inspires us. We are encouraged to invite others to experience a
M.E. weekend. In addition, we have truly benefited from his descriptions
of his catalyst behaviors in examining the dynamics of our relationship.
We continue to grow because of knowing Fr. Bob. Happy Birthday!
To describe Fr. Bob as dynamic is an understatement. Is there
a word more explosive to express the personality of this fun loving
extension of God’s love in our life? Fr. Bob has been an integral
part of our marriage for many years. His dedication to married couples
is beyond any expectations. Fr. Bob listens to married couples,
is in tune to their relationship, and is always ready to advise.
This outgoing individual seeks to learn about couple’s uniqueness
in order to capitalize on their endearing qualities. His friendship
has deepened our love and strengthened our marriage. He is genuinely
concerned with peace in the world and helping needy individuals.
Father’s passion for the outdoors and nature is second to
none. We have been truly blessed with his presence in our lives.
We love you Fr. Mac (as Van Burenites so affectionately know you). We have many fond memories of Fr. Bob that will be forever in
our hearts—one of which involves a big red lobster hat at
a National Convention! Some of his wonderful qualities are determination,
a child-like sense of fun, faithfulness, joyful, loyal, spontaneity,
effervescence, and insight. Fr. Bob’s reverence for the Sacrament
of Matrimony helps us believe more strongly in our value as a married
couple—he encourages “couple power”! His passion
is contagious and efficacious and we feel more passionate in his
presence! Thank you, dear Fr. Bob, for being God’s willing
servant for our Catholic Church and for our Worldwide Marriage Encounter
movement. Happy 85th Birthday! Click here for a printable version (PDF, 34KB)
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