Wonderfully, Fearfully Made: Letters on Living with Hope, Teaching Understanding, and Ministering with Love, from a Gay Catholic

This book, or rather series of letters is truly remarkable. It demonstrates the courage and love that this man showed to others through his life and ministry. It was such an uplifting experience reading this book, and believe that I have found, through its pages, a friend and inspiration to all.

Many people meet Christ in the Gospel narrative of the Samaritan woman by the well. This well-rehearsed analogy about water depicts Christ offering living water, which he extends to anyone who asks. The narrative comes to mind years after first reading Father Bob's transcripts prior to publication. I have returned to the book often over the past 16 years to drink the living water of Christ. Father Bob (Robert Arpin) accompanies the reader to Christ, the giver of living water, through letters he wrote to an anonyomous friend. He dated the letters during the years between 1987 and 1991. The disease that eventually took his life had become Father Bob's "gift," "thief," "surprise," "secret," "companion," and "message"--all identities he ascribed to AIDS. Certainly his lens of diseases associated with HIV infection, such as Kaposi's sarcoma, was dated. But to trip over dated material would miss the living water, which carries no date. One wonders if the Samaritan woman missed the living water when she first encountered Christ, and only later quenched her spiritual thirst in the living water. While the canon of Christian scripture does not say, Christian tradition suggests that a great saint of the early Church quenched her thirst that day. Indeed, Father Bob was like the Samaritan woman in many ways, as are all of us both inside the Church and out. For example, they had experienced being outcasts both by way of having been who they were, and what they had done. She was unclean by birth, and so was Father Bob. Her family of origin came from the "bad" side of town (Samaria); Father Bob was born a homosexual. All of us have experienced having been cast out of Eden. His story is ours, as difficult it may seem at first glance. Father Bob leads us on a common path returning home. I remember this book often and now, again, during Lent 2009. There are few nostalgic vistas in Bob's memory, as recorded, or mine. For time collapses within these pages. One small example is Bob's report that 30 April was the date he learned of his diagnosis with AIDS, and it was the anniversary of his beloved grandmother's repose in the Lord. The synchronous dates helped deliver his mission and ministry despite a myriad of uncertain events and equally uncertain feelings. Perhaps, one might say, the myriad of uncertain events and equally uncertain feelings disclosed Father Bob's mission and ministry. He considered it this way in letters that bear recollection and humanity.

This short book of compiled letters reads well. Full of personal and profound information regarding Fr. Arpin's life and formal dual recognition of his integrating HIV/AIDS status and sexuality into his personal, professional, and prayerful life. Some of the information the good Father writes about is clearly dated, but that also adds to the charm and character of this book. Truly inspirational and a perfect gift for any Catholic living with HIV/AIDS.

I bought that book because I had the opportunity to know the writer in one of his phases when he was a student at a Quebec Seminary in the 60's. I must say that he never disappointed me in the past nor was I disappointed in reading his book. He is a man of courage and humility, and his story is moving. He knows how to deal with tragedy, torn between duty and his nature his is threading a fine path between his faith and his truth. Is he less of a priest for having admitted he was gay? For me he is more of a man and a greater priest because he is telling the truth. I admire his courage, pray for a lessening of his sufferings, and wonder if we change that much when life and its adventures come to change us. The young collegian I knew was inhabitated for the same passion for truth. He never betrayed his callings. God bless him wherever he is. This book is a great humane strong book, it inspires me, great luck was on my way when I bought it.

I had bought this book about six months ago, and it had sat on my shelf until about three days ago I pulled it down and began to read it. It couldnt of came at a more needed time in my life. But anyways, this book is really moving. It teaches us to take a wider more open-minded look at the people around us. I've heard the saying ''taking one day at a time", but Father Robert Arpin really shows us what it means. ...such a wonderful book.