Book 9: Death Comes for the ArchbishopAfter Father Vaillant dies, Father Latour knows that his time is drawing near also. His life’s work is complete, along with his beloved cathedral. The finished cathedral seems to reflect the Bishop himself. He touts, “How it was of the South, that church, how it sounded the note of the South!” His architect goes on to explain, “Setting is accident. Either a building is part of a place, or it is not. Once that kinship is there, time will only make it stronger.” So it was with the Bishop. He didn’t choose where he would serve his mission, but the kinship was there and the bond grew strong enough that even returning to his homeland of France left him homesick for New Mexico.
When Bernard, one of his Seminarians, assures the sick Latour that one does not die of a cold, the Bishop answers with a smile, “I shall not die of a cold, my son. I shall die of having lived.” I want to one day be able to say the same! The inspiring Latour and Vaillant could both claim that they had truly lived – lived a life of service and sacrifice for their God.
Um, OK, so I had to go back on the blog and fix all the places I had misspelled "Vaillant" for "Valliant." I was surprised to find that I hadn't misspelled it every single time... because I pretty much don't know when I switched over from seeing the name spelled Vaillant to just pronouncing it Valliant (I was hearing the word "valiant" in my head). Kelly's husband suggested that Cather intended the near play on words... and I'm going to run with that idea because otherwise I am dyslexic or just plain can't read. Did anyone else have that problem?
ReplyDeleteLike Kelly, I loved LaTour's sentiment that he will have died from having lived. It made me think about my own life... and how the book made me want to live better, do more of God's work. Of course, LaTour didn't have a toddler... so it's an unfair comparison. Maybe I need to give myself more credit and see more of God's work in motherhood. But I don't know... I still have a long way to go. Even still, the book inspired me.