Abstract
We are gathered in St. Patrick’s Manor, Father Ernest’s home for the past five years and eight months. It is a place where Fr. Ernest’s friends and relatives gladly gave and Ernest gladly received. Visits from his friends and relatives meant the world to Fr. Ernest: the conversation, the love, the food, the beer, the wine, and the hard liquor. (Ed Lev used to tease Fr. Ernest about the last, saying "Ernest, you only appreciate my visits because of the booze I bring.") A number of people have told me that Fr. Ernest struggled to stay alive in the last few weeks so that he might be with everyone last Sunday, October 20, 2002, for the celebration of the festschrift published in his honor. Fr. Ernest’s friends gladly gathered to be with him and to enjoy one another’s company.
