Pat Marcotte had worked for 19 years at a parish with which I am connected. She was the smile at the front desk. I am an office priest. That is, I do my work in a parish office, not at home. So I came to the office every day, going in and out past the front desk. Often, it was Pat who I would see when I first walked in the door. She was my still point smile of recognition. If I was in some whiny, preoccupied with self mood, it would be improved in seeing Pat. She knew me. We had ongoing conversations from a previous day, or earlier in the day entry into the office. That is, Pat knew something of my story. The office was not just a place of work. It was a bit of "coming home."
Maybe it was that way for a lot of people who came by there with some frequency. As for the newcomer, Pat was always open to the new. It was why she was such a searcher in her own Faith. She was open to growth, and yet would let live traditions and somewhat stale theology that really did not speak to her. She was an inquiring mind, but a hospitable one.
In her sudden death, she will be missed. I have been missing her for quite some time, ever since she stopped being my still point in the office.
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