During my 15 years of married life, I have been very fortunate to have had a number of good pastors. I have been a member of three different parishes in three different dioceses during that time, and have had a total of five pastors in fifteen years. All have been men who faithfully strive to serve the Lord and their parish.

My first pastor, however, does have a special place in my heart. Fr. Ed Bayer was the pastor at Holy Family in Randallstown, Maryland during the mid-1990′s when my wife moved there right after our wedding. Fr. Bayer was a no-nonsense, old-school priest who was devoted to serving the Church. Yet I don’t want someone to get the idea that he was a crusty curmudgeon; on the contrary, he was a loving pastor who would do anything for his people. His specialty was moral theology, and he used his vast knowledge in this area in a loving, pastoral fashion – never compromising the Truth yet always extending mercy to those who fell short of the Christian ideal.

On a personal note, Fr. Bayer was a wonderful confessor, and he also introduced me to a Catholic-Orthodox ecumenical group that was then forming in the Baltimore area, and this group was a major factor in my own deepening knowledge and appreciation of the beauty of Eastern Christianity.

After I moved away from the Baltimore area, I heard that Fr. Bayer, at the age when most people retire, had volunteered to go to New Guinea and teach seminarians there. He lived there for about a decade, faithfully forming new priests to bring Christ’s sacraments to those in need. When I heard he was going to the other side of the world at a time when most people are only thinking of a well-deserved rest after long decades of work, I was not surprised. Fr. Bayer did not ever think of himself, but instead put service to Christ and his Church above all else.

Fr. Ed Bayer passed away last Thursday. ^[1] Well done, good and faithful servant.

If you have a moment, please say a prayer today for the repose of Fr. Bayer’s soul.