Many years ago I worked for a priest named Father John Anthony Hardon, S.J.  He was a Jesuit priest, a writer and a theologian.  Among his friends was Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

Although he passed away in December 2000, my memories of working for him still feel like yesterday.  I used to make him peanut butter cookies—which he always seemed to enjoy. This evening I decided to make the cookies to celebrate today.

Today, June 18^th is his birthday and the anniversary to his priesthood.

While planning the photo shoot for the cookies I knew I wanted a special plate – but I wasn’t willing to spend any money.  Fortunately I found this plate in my cabinet – it’s the perfect choice…

Whenever we’d eat together we would negotiate our meals.  The negotiations went something like this:

Denise:   “Finish off the green beans, Fr. Hardon.”
Fr. Hardon:  “Only if you have more mashed potatoes.”
<slight pause>
Denise:  “Ok.”

Or:

Fr. Hardon:  “Have another cookie, Denise.”
Denise:  “Only if you do, Father.”
Fr. Hardon:  “Alright.”

Or:

Fr. Hardon:  “Let’s split the last cookie.  You take the bigger half, of course.”

I’d split the cookie and we’d examine it carefully.  Both of us would try to push the bigger half on the other person.

These are just a few of my memories…

Camera:  Big Bertha (Canon EOS 5D Mark II)
Lens:  100 mm
Date:  June 18, 2014

Notes:  RIP:  June 18, 1914 – December 30, 2000