Father Riley's Appeal

(from Barb Kovats Tuttle)

Fr. Riley has been in Nigeria for 41 years now (since 1968). Originally, he taught Philosophy, Theology and Sacred Scripture in the Dominican Institute there (where their Brothers study for the priesthood). However, Fr. Riley retired from teaching and now his full time work is helping the poor (it's pretty much like social work). He had some health issues back in 2007, but at the age of 70-something, Fr. Riley continues to serve God in Nigeria. It should be noted that all funds contributed to Fr. Riley go directly for the poor there.

As stated in a previous appeal, "This year as always, Fr. Riley’s poor make their way to our hospital hoping for treatment of all kinds of illnesses. Babies with sickness caused basically by malnutrition and Malaria."

Here's a little-known fact about Fr. Riley.... When he was at Dominican College in Racine, he was one of the first basketball coaches! The BB team initially was called the "Shakespearean Players." (I wonder who thought that one up???) Before long though, they were renamed the "Squires" and eventually, of course, they became the "Lakers."

Below is a letter from Fr. Riley with just one of the many experiences he has had in Nigeria. There is also information on where to send a contribution if you wish to. Given all that was given to us while we were at DC, I hope people can find it in their hearts to send this good man a contribution (which is a tax-exempt donation). Thanks. If anyone has any questions, you can email me at: BARB.LES@gte.net

Barb Kovats Tuttle

DC Class of '67

(from Fr, Riley)

Dear Friends,

One day, when I was preparing to teach a class on the thirteenth chapter of St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, which begins “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels and do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal,” I looked out the window and saw a man sitting in front of our chapel. He looked like he was covered with oil from head to foot, as if he had been sleeping under a truck. I continued to read what St. Paul had to say about love, and then I decided I’d better try to show some love for this man; so I went out to see if he wanted help.

   I greeted him, but he did not respond. I took out some money and offered it to him, but he still did not respond. Then I moved my hand back and forth to my mouth to see if he wanted something to eat. He shook his head yes; so I took him to our refectory and gave him some bread, but first I poured some water on his hands and dirt rolled off.

   He put the bread in his mouth and swallowed it, but there was no sign that he took any pleasure in it.

   Another brother was passing, and it was time for me to go to class so I asked the brother to stay with him until I got ready for class. The brother said in a falsetto voice, “What am I supposed to do?”. I said “You don’t have to do anything, just sit with him.”

   I got ready and went to class. When I returned, the man was still on our compound. It looked like rain was coming so I folded my hands and put them next to my head and closed my eyes to make a sign to ask him if he wanted to sleep in one of our parlors. He shook his head yes.

   He stayed with us a few weeks but he would never agree to wash anything but his hands, and he never said anything. One of the student brothers was not happy to have him near him in the chapel or the refectory so he the brother said to me, “Fr. Riley, I don’t think this is a Dominican apostolate.”   I said that St. Martin de Porres used to do things like this and he was a Dominican.

   One day the man took the Bible from the reading stand in our refectory and showed me the first two verses of the 13th chapter of the letter to the Hebrews where it says, ”Continue to love each other like brothers, and remember always to welcome strangers, for by doing this, some people have entertained angels without knowing it” -- and I thought to myself, “if you’re an angel, you really have a good disguise.”

   One evening we prayed over him in our prayer meeting, and the next day after he had played football with the brothers, we encouraged him to take a bath. He shook his head ‘yes’; so we prepared a hot bath and one brother brought a French suit which he had outgrown (at that time our student-brothers were getting more food than they are now), and another brother brought a pair of tennis shoes for him.

   We left him in the bathroom and went to meditation. While we were meditating a handsome man came into the chapel wearing a French suit and tennis shoes. At first, I didn’t recognize him.

   One day I was walking around the compound with him and I said I was going to preach a retreat to the nuns in Akure, and he spoke his first words, “It is a good thing to preach the word of God.”

   When I asked where he was from and what tribe he belonged to, he said he was a son of the universe, and he said his name was Godson.

   When he saw the works of Shakespeare on the shelf in my room, he said he liked Shakespeare. He said he had read Romeo and Juliet, and when I asked him what it was about, he said that a boy and girl fell in love, but their families were fighting against each other.

   Godson stayed with our community for a few months and then he went back to his family, and he sent us letters from Ondo, which I presume was his home. He came back to see us a few years later, and he was fine, and he was very grateful.

If you would like to help us welcome more angels in disguise, I would be grateful if you would send a tax-exempt check made out to ‘Dominicans’ to:

Fr. Ed Riley, O.P.

c/o Fr. Robert Goedert, O.P.

1909 S. Ashland Ave.

Chicago, IL 60608

Thanks for whatever you are able to send. I pray that the Lord will continue to bless you and all your family and friends, and that he will see you through the economic crisis.

Sincerely,

Fr. Ed Riley, O.P.

Dominican Community

Ibadan, Nigeria