Fr Tim has noted on his blog the sad news of the death, at the age of 75, of David Foster, a tireless champion and teacher of the Faith. I feel I should pay tribute to him here. I counted him as a friend and when we met I was never aware of the age gap between us. He was young at heart and wore his learning lightly; despite having quite firm views about the Church and the world, he never rammed them down your throat and loved to expand his knowledge. He had a great love for Chesterton and Belloc (sharing their appreciation of good old English pubs) and passionately followed cricket and Burnley FC (he had offered to take me to a match, which I regret not taking up).
I first met David in 1992, when I attended the 'International Summer School for Catholic Youth' that he founded. This was (and is) held each July and comprised a series of lessons and talks on a wide range of subjects, everything from Thomistic theology to music, from literature to Greek, all taught from the perspective of a 'Catholic world view.' When I first went along at the age of 16 I wondered whether I would really enjoy it but I returned the subsequent two years and made many friends. David's vision was a key influence in rekindling my interest in the Church - as a result my faith was strengthened and, with it, my sense of a priestly vocation. There were about 30 or 40 students 'in my day' and out of these two became secular priests and one a Dominican nun in Australia. I owe David a lot and feel very privileged to have been asked to be the chief celebrant at his funeral on 13 January (Brentwood Cathedral, 1pm).
Your friend will be in my prayers, Father Nicholas. What a wonderful testament to your friendship as well that you will be the celebrant for his funeral mass. God bless!
ReplyDeleteCould you take a little time to look at our blog. This news deserves to be broadcast. Maybe you could put up a post about it. The original website is in French. A link to it is on this post:
ReplyDeletehttp://tradvocations.blogspot.com/2009/01/little-sisters-of-good-shepherd.html