An Icon of Gold

I do not know how many times I have read Virgil Gheorghiu's book “De la vingt cinquième heure à l'heure éternelle”, translated into Arabic by Father Halim Abdullah. But I do know that the book, which Gheorghiu wrote entirely about his father, the priest, "the iconic priest", appeared after my own ordination as a priest. Simply put, the book repeatedly convinces you, each time you reread it, that as a priest, you are occupying a position that is not truly yours. From its title, from the hour that is outside time until eternity, it separates you, with pleasing skillfulness, from those who are from above, from the age to come. Virgil's father, his father "twice over, in body and spirit", resembles himself, or resembles our Lord Jesus, the Eternal Priest: with his seriousness; with his poverty; with his awareness that he is everybody’s father; with his constant readiness to serve... and "with his ascension to heaven". Great books always reach you late! Although Gheorghiu is encouraging the priests by saying that any priest is "on par with all priests", his father, as he portrayed him, remains a unique icon, an icon of gold.