All of us received the sad news of the depart of our brother and pastor, Fr. Timothy Horan. Fr. Tim was an extraordinary man who always gave us wonderful teachings and example of his extraordinary love that he had for God and His holy Church. We had the opportunity to express our gratitude for everything that he did for us during his priestly ministry as our Pastor and friend. Moreover, we honored him with a wonderful funeral Mass presided by our Bishop Salvatore R. Matano and preached by Fr. Daniel McMullin. At the end of this funeral Mass, I expressed my gratitude to all present, and invited to remember him with a great smile. Let us remember all the wonderful teachings from Fr. Tim.
I would like to share one of the most important memories that I have of Fr. Tim.
I was assigned to Holy Trinity Church as a seminarian in 2011. It was my second year of the seminary, after having studied English at St. Bernard School of Theology & Ministry. I joined St. Mary’s Seminary & University in Baltimore, MD, to continue my English studies and to begin studying theology.studying theology is not easy… studying theology in English (for me as a Spanish speaker) was hard. I had to study more and more. Double work for me, I believe.
I had some difficulties in my studies at the beginning of my seminary formation. I came to Holy Trinity during one of my breaks to celebrate Holy Week. I was thinking seriously of leaving the semi- nary and going back to Colombia. I thought that the priestly life was not for me. I talked to Fr. Tim about it. He said to me something that I will never forget. He said, “George, you are now in purgatory, but you will be soon in the Kingdom of Heaven.” Those words were meaningful for me because they helped me to think again about my situation at the seminary and my priestly formation. I can say, without a doubt, that I am a priest because of Fr. Tim. He was a very important person in my priestly formation.
I believe all of you have wonderful memories of Fr. Tim, and how he touched your hearts. Also, I know how difficult it is for all of us because Fr. Tim is not with us anymore. However, we also have the hope that Fr. Tim is with Jesus, enjoying His presence in the company of all the angels and saints. Fr. Tim is living what he told us about many times during his homilies and conversations. Fr. Tim is hap- py right now because he is alive with the Lord in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Let us continue to pray for the soul of Fr. Tim so that God takes him to His Holy place in heaven.
Fr. Tim, we love you. We will never forget you. Please, continue to pray for us from heaven.
God bless you and the Blessed Virgin Mary be with you always!
Fr. George
