‘Who am I going to talk to now??
I didn’t know how to answer my wife, so I just hugged her when she asked me this question after I told her that Father Bernard J. Mullen passed away Nov. 28. He was 72 (See Page 4).
Father Bernie, as he was known to many, was the associate pastor at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Lake Orion from 1994-2003.
He married Connie and I on Jan. 27, 2001. Actually, he married us twice that day ? once at the church and again at Devil’s Ridge.
He helped baptize my daughter, Larissa.
More importantly, Father Bernie was always there for my wife when she needed to talk. Even after he moved to St. Anne in Ortonville, Connie would call to bend his ear.
He listened without judging you. He called a spade a spade. He offered comfort, consolation and kindness with no strings attached.
There was no need to stand on ceremony for him. If you needed to cry, swear or be angry at God, it was all okay because he understood ? he’d been there himself.
Father’s Bernie’s perspective and advice were always grounded in the real world ? that place where we all make mistakes and nobody’s perfect. What I liked about him the most was he was a regular guy. Sure, he was a Man of God, but he never got confused as to which one he was in that title.
I think it was his 24-year leave of absence from the priesthood that made him such an effective member of the clergy. His living and working as an average Joe gave him a unique perspective that went beyond church walls.
He knew what it was like to leave and come home again, something which made it easier for lapsed Catholics to relate to him.
I’m not Catholic, but even I went to Father Bernie for help every now and then.
A few years back, when Connie was facing a potentially life-threatening illness, I stopped by St. Joseph and asked Father Bernie to please pray for her.
After a good cry and a hug from him, I felt better, I felt like everything was going to be all right ? and it was.
Father Bernie was always willing to take time to do the little things that mean so much to people. One year, I bought Connie a St. Christopher medal for her birthday. I stopped by St. Joseph to have it blessed.
Even though he was quite busy at the time, he didn’t mind taking a few moments to bless the medal, ask how I was and ask how my family was. His blessing was more of a gift than the medal itself.
My wife and I are both sorry we didn’t get to say goodbye to Father Bernie and thank him for all the good he did in our lives, for all the small miracles he worked.
God couldn’t have asked for a better field representative.