The Ordination Mass seemed to be a dream to Christine. Uncle Jay, Tom, Marcus and Sam sat in the small pews, looking like giants in a nursery. Christine did not realize how small the dimensions of the chapel were until the men came in earlier. This place would only hold maybe twenty people, but the large room could hold a hundred.
Father James turned to the group and all the men went up to the Communion rail to kiss his hands. He blessed each one individually as well. Christine felt prouder than ever. She could hardly contain her newfound joy when looking at Father James.
The small group ate a small dinner with Bishop Seamus in the large room and then dispersed. Uncle Jay knew that Bishop Seamus' heart could not take the stress of being in hiding. Jay wanted to bring the Bishop back to the Big House, but he was overruled by all the others. Bishop Seamus asked them to come back in the evening. Christine promised another hot meal. Bishop Seamus had given Father James permission never to wear blacks unless he knew he was facing death. "Then, do what you want to do, Father." Bishop Seamus said he needed some rest, and they all left. Father James followed up in the rear, ever watchful. Christine could trust her soldier-priest.
At the Big House, Uncle Jay decided to listen to the news. The main stations came out of Omaha. He wanted any news, today. He heard what he wanted to hear. All the Catholic churches and some Protestant ones in Omaha were now closed. All the priests and dissenting ministers had either disappeared or been put into jail. The Bishop of the diocese was missing. The governor of the state of Nebraska had signed a bill authorizing the use of firing squads for the death penalty. The University of Nebraska football team has won another game.
The newscaster exclaimed that this was a day of freedom for all who had suffered under the prejudices of the Catholic Church, called one of the most evil institutions of the 21st century and now becoming extinct in the Land of the Free. Uncle Jay turned off the switch.
He wondered how long they could stay here having the Mass and the sacraments. Fancy going to Confession to your nephew, he chuckled.
At about seven in the evening, as it was already dark, Tom escorted Christine to the cave with the hot food. As they walked, a huge buzzard with a four foot wing-span flew past them. Not a good omen, thought Tom.
They were cautious and did not speak in the fields or woods or the copse. Finally, down in large room, they sought out the Bishop. Indeed, they found him on the floor of the dark chapel. The good, old priest was dead. Christine gratefully thanked God that the Bishop died in the chapel from natural causes, his old worn-out heart taking him from the earth, and not a firing squad. Tom picked up the small body and carefully, after Christine finished locking up everything in the cave, took the Bishop back to the Big House. There, in the dark, Father James anointed him, just in case, and before dawn, Marcus had buried the body in a secret corner of the far woods, as far away from the cavern as possible. That night, the first snow covered the farm and the place of burial. No one would notice the newly turned ground now. The inhabitants of the Big House said a rosary together. Father James announced that he would hear confessions later in the morning, before work began. He would work alongside the men. Then, they trailed off to their beds.
Christine ate the hot meal herself, and with Addie at her heels, went back to the cottage for the night. She wondered if there were any bishops left in the three state area. She wondered if there would ever be any ordinations in the area for years to come. Such were the thoughts of the descendant of a remnant, recusant Lady, thoughts which most likely echoed back to similar thoughts in 1581.
