On February 18th, The night before the election of the 14th Bishop of Idaho, my wife and I decided to relax and have dinner together in a restaurant in Springfield, MO. We had never been there before. It was a cajun restaurant. We ordered our food and it just came in, when I got the phone call that said my daughter was being taken to the Emergency Room at Mercy Hospital in Springfield, MO.
I dropped everything and in a panic rushed to the hospital. I found her and I breathed. I forgot all about the election the following day in Idaho. I was with my daughter until 4 am the next day, February 19th, 2022. There was nothing more important to me that day than my baby.
It was absolutely necessary for me to focus on God, focus on those whom I loved, and focus on what matters in life. In those moments nothing seemed more important that my baby!
I tried to sleep but couldn’t. I was resigned fully to whatever the outcome of the election that was to take place in Idaho on February 19th, 2022. I decided that I will not attend the proceedings online. Instead, I spent my time in silence, meditation, and prayer.
My wife was sitting right across from me knitting something and watching the lifestream of the electing convention in Idaho. I sat on the couch, listening to music, and praying for God’s will to manifest. I prayed for Fr. Tom and Fr. Ken, two others on the slate, and two fine and great priests. I felt great peace within feeling I won’t win the election. Maybe it was a way of preparing myself for the loss!
A few months before the election, while down with COVID, I recorded the celebration of the Holy Eucharist and published it on Spotify. That’s how I kept myself focused on my spiritual life. With all the music and prayers, it was about an hour long. You can listen to it here. If you have a Spotify premium subscription, this recording is even more powerful, because Spotify let me insert some beautiful music to the flow of this celebration. The playlist is called, “Ora et Amor” Pray and Love podcast from me.
As I was listening to this celebration of the Holy Eucharist, I closed my eyes and immersed myself in it. i was at peace until after the consecration words of the Holy Eucharist when without a shadow of a doubt, I felt that Bishop Brian Thom will call me a minute after I finish the Holy Eucharist. While it was simply an intuition then, that’s exactly what happened.
The phone rang. My phone was face down, but I knew it was Bishop Brian. I hesitated to pick it up, not because I didn’t want to serve, but was overwhelmed with the possibility of being called. My wife yelled and said, “Jos, pick up the phone.” I said, “No. It’s Bishop Brian.” She asked, “how do you know.” I told her, “I know it.” Then I turned the phone towards me and saw the caller ID, “Bishop Brian Thom.”
I picked up the phone. Bishop Brian told me, “Jos, we, the Diocese of Idaho, have elected you as our next bishop. Do you accept it?”
As I was overwhelmed by emotions of fear, joy, and disbelief, I told him, “give me a minute, please. I need to light a candle to Blessed Mother,” to whom I turn at every moment when I am overwhelmed by what I don’t understand! He responded, “Sure, yes, please.”
After lighting a candle at my home altar I said, “Yes.”
Before I met you all on Zoom, I was already a total basket case filled with emotions of gratitude, humility, fear, disbelief, and a host of others.
I said “Yes” intentionally, prayerfully, and with deep humility. I am glad I did say yes. Thank you for trusting me. Thank you for calling me to serve you and be among you.
In these pages here, I plan to share with you my experience, prayers, and the details of ministry to help you journey with me. Please be patient and be kind. In the end what we do is “simply walk each other home.”
Love and blessings
Your Brother In Christ
