Nunc dimittis
My university lost a fine teacher yesterday.
A lifetime spent teaching Latin and other Classics is one that won’t have much meaning to the youth in our schools today, but only a generation ago, the study of Latin still carried a value. The study of Latin at university was rare, but still recognized as worth something in intellectual terms.
Fr. James Robert Kelly was a priest, a teacher and a man who commanded respect without ever using a commanding manner. I remember going to his office more than thirty years ago to see if a course in Latin was something I should add to an eclectic schedule. He heard me out; that I’d completed five years in the Ontario school system in Latin, and advised that the course being offered was probably not going to add much to my baggage, but that if I ever wanted to do more advanced study to drop back. Not exactly a sales pitch for declining enrollment, but one that was truthful.
I had a great summer job, for many years, that included arranging for clergy to be present on a number of consecutive Sundays. (No, that wasn’t the whole job). When I approached Fr. Jim, he would always agree to be the man on the altar (sacrificial lamb?) if he was available. If his schedule was otherwise taken, he’d say so. No beating around the bush. Not exactly a sales pitch for declining attendance, but one that was truthful.
He was the only person I know that bought a farm house in a beautiful seaside location so that other people could use it. Must have been a lesson from the “Saints in Training” course that Catholic Latin people followed, back in the middle of the last century.
Fr. Jim, you were one of the good guys.
