Hello Everyone!

"Father, why do you wear a wedding ring?" is a question frequently asked of me. My customary reply is actually to show the ring to the person inquiring. It is a band of gold with two mountains sculpted onto the face, an embedded ruby resembling a blood-red full moon rising between the crests - and a single diamond streaking as a star across the evening sky like this:

This ring and the image it bears - is an important psychological and spiritual symbol for me. I wear it because I feel really and truly "wed" to God and called by Him to serve His children in the Church. I have learned over time that God's love pervades all things, is expressed through the infinite language of the unfolding universe and walks the earth with human feet in Jesus and through those who follow Him. Being a priest is an inner necessity for me, so deeply touched am I by the God who loves me (and us) so very much.

From the time I was a child and old enough to read the lives of the saints, I have dreamed about the wedding of heaven and earth and wondered if the mystical experience of "union" with God was possible for an ordinary, imperfect human being such as myself. I dream big, beautiful dreams - and I've lived to see some of them become true. Like the ring I wear on my finger and the reality it signifies.

May you be blessed by Our Lord's joy and touched by His love and peace.

With love and prayers,

Father Jerry Kaywell