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Saturday, February 18, 2012

MY PREMINITION REVISITED; AND A NEW CLAIRVOYANT PREMONITION, NOW KEPT IN THE SECRET OF MY HEART, AND ONLY PARTIALLY REVEALED AT THE END OF THIS POST (PLAY "TWILIGHT ZONE" JINGLE IN YOUR MIND)

Picture this: I am the vocation director of the Diocese of Savannah. It's 1995 and I am in Rome visiting two of our seminarians at the North American College, fondly known at the NAC. It's my first time there.

Picture this: Monsignor Timothy Dolan is the rector of the NAC. I meet with him concerning our two seminarians there. He then invites me to dinner in his private apartment with other guests that night.

Picture this: Monsignor Dolan is a gracious and gregarious host. I can't remember what we ate that night except it was a great Italian meal in all its wonderful Italian courses of first plate, second plate, etc. Of course pasta is my favorite. But what I do remember were huge chunks and lots of it of Parmigiano Reggiano as one of the antipasti and flowing bottles of fine Italian red wine.

Picture this: At the table and sitting at his right hand as we are enjoying a memorable feast, I see a gaggle of Mother Teresa's sisters walking outside the window. I thought I was in a movie.

Picture this: As I am sitting at the rector's right hand, I have a premonition: I vividly think to myself and certainly not influenced by anything I've eaten or drunk, "This man would make a great Archbishop of New York City." Well, I ask you, am I clairvoyant or not?

Picture this: While I'm in Saint Peter's Basilica on that same visit, I run into Monsignor Edwin O'Brien (also a previous rector of the NAC) who happens to be in the nave of this wonderful edifice. Recognizing him from my work as vocation director and meetings that he attended where I was also in attendance, I go up and reintroduce myself to him and remind him of what he had told me at other times we had met that he as an army chaplain in the early 1970's had been stationed at my home town of Augusta, Georgia at its army post, Fort Gordon. I reminded him that I was an army "brat" and that my father had been stationed there and that if as an army chaplain he had gone to the commissary to buy his groceries that he more than likely met my dad who worked there as a civilian in the "civil service" after army retirement in 1965. He looked at me and said, you're Allan, right?

Picture this: While I was pastor of the Church of the Most Holy Trinity in Augusta, in the early 2000's he as the Archbishop of the Military Ordinariate would come to Fort Gordon for Confirmation at the army Catholic chapel there. He was very nice and cordial always and fun to be with at the dinner to follow. However, I never had a premonition that he would become a Cardinal or the archbishop of one of my most favorite cities, Baltimore, Maryland where I went to seminary in the 1970's.

Picture this:In 2010 Archbishop O'Brien of Baltimore was the main celebrant at my former parish's 200th anniversary, The Church of the Most Holy Trinity in Augusta, GA. He talked about the pastors stationed there who were part of the American Church's history of trusty-ism and one pastor in particular who tried to get himself named bishop--all very interesting!
Who would have thunk that I would know two priests before they became archbishops and then would be named
cardinals and receive the red biretta together on the same day; and that in 1995 I would have a premonition of one of them becoming the Cardinal-Archbishop of New York City? Congratulations to Timothy Cardinal Dolan and Edwin Cardinal O'Brien and all other new Eminences!

I WON'T TELL YOU NOW ABOUT THE PREMONITION I'VE HAD CONCERNING WHO WILL BE ELECTED THE NEXT POPE, BUT STAY TUNED!

13 comments:

Supertradmum said...

Who is the next Pope, please?

Fr. Allan J. McDonald said...

I can't, I'm sworn to conclave secrecy, but all will be revealed in due time--cue "Twilight Zone" jingle!

Anonymous said...

Your experiences with these two Cardinals are really neat! How blessed you are!
Now...
Maybe you're not going to say it, but I'd like to ;-).

It will be either Timothy Dolan or the Archbishop from Sri Lanka..

...I had that premonition two days ago.
Either choice would be absolutely perfect, albeit for a multitude of very different reasons;
and each would have very different styles of papacy that would indeed have worldwide impact... in just the right way for that moment in time.

East or West?
...God will decide which is best at that time.
We shall see! (:-D)Oh, the fun in speculating.

Meanwhile, Pope Bendict XVI is coming into his own in a marvelous way right now. He is continuing the hard ground-work and sure is making the job easier for whomever will succeed him!
Benedict Rocks! God's rottweiller is sinking his teeth in....and the world is re-taking notice. Love it!

~SqueekerLamb

Anonymous said...

Father, growing up I have heard many Catholics say that there will never be an American Pope for one reason or another. Do you think there will ever be a Pope from the United States?

Fr. Allan J. McDonald said...

My lips are sealed about the future pope!

seer here said...

Going by many of the news items that have suspiciously been popping up in recent days, like this one:
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1130643--call-it-a-conspiracy-but-vatican-leaks-show-power-struggle-in-holy-see
the next pope will be either Bertone or Sodano, and it will happen within a year.

Personally, I hope and pray Benedict remains pope for another 5 to 10 years, and my gut feeling is the next pope will be hispanic, the beginning of a long, but not exclusive, hispanic line of popes.

Templar said...

According to the Bookies (yes you can bet on these things) the current odds on favorite at 7:4 is Cardinal Arinze from Nigeria. Cardinal Turkson from Ghana is the next favorite at 2:1. Cardinal Scola from Italy is in third at 7:1. The highest ranked American is ArchBishop Burke at 20:1.

Now, these are betting lines, and are presumably handicapped by people in the know, but the Vatican being what it is I can't see these being too credible odds. If I was to wager a bet on these lines I'd be dropping a nice wager on Scola from Milan.

Gene said...

Well, I could see a Pope Billy Joe from say, Dothan, Alabama or a Pope Elvis I from Memphis. Of course, an Irish Pope might be interesting...fist fights at the Vatican and free whiskey on Fridays during Lent. I like it.

Templar said...

That article in the Star is a bit of a gossip sheet. I'd give no credence to either Bertone or Sodano either having a shot at the Papacy. The Curia knows that what is needed is someone to correct the Internal problems of the Church first before it can turn it's full attention outside. Carrier diplomats are hardly the kind of cardinals who need to be elevated.

Anonymous said...

Cardinal Burke would be GREAT ! He would continue Pope Benedicts work of saving the Church from the disaster of the last 40 years. Have you seen Cardinal Burke wearing his galero? A great man indeed

Anonymous said...

Hispanic pope? That's a scary thought. They're one of the few more corrupt than the Italians.

Of those listed here it seems Scola is the strongest in theology that is also a competent administrator.

rcg

Bill said...

Cardinal Burke would be a great Pope, but I see no reason for speculating as yet. Pope Benedict appears to be in good health, vigorous, and firm in his position. He is good for the Church, despite my impatience for him to push harder. The failing, I am sure, is mine, not his.

Anonymous said...

Our current Holy Father has another good ten years ahead of him, barring any unusual circumstances.
Therefore we cannot speculate based on only current events, but what the world will be like at that time.
Many worthy candidates are possible, and there is a desire among some for the next pope to be Italian again...but time will tell.

I for one claim no clairvoyant abilities, just insight into personalities and their effects. but what do I know?

~SL