Rorate Caeli

God bless your soul, Alaister: may you rest in peace!

Mr. Alaister Lim was a young parishioner and occasional altar server at the Bl. John Henry Newman Parish (exclusively dedicated to the Traditional Latin Mass), in Melbourne, Australia.

This was his departing letter to his pastor and priests, and fellow parishioners:

June 11, 2015

Dearest Reverend Fathers Tattersall, Marshall, and McDaniels; brothers and sisters of the Newman Parish in Christ,

It is with great sadness that I say goodbye to you through this letter, and not in person. My health is rapidly deteriorating, at this time, after an X-ray scan, I have only half a functioning left lung, all else defective (my lungs, not the rest of my organs!). This means I cannot travel great distances, as the trip would be way too taxing on me.

Dear Fathers, your spiritual guidance has strengthened my faith so much, I’ve said many times that I’ve learned so much more about my faith in my one and a half years there than I did in my entire life, and I mean every word of it. Thank you for all you’ve done for me, the Masses you’ve offered for me, for the honour of letting me serve your Masses, and also for your friendship. May God bless all of you abundantly for the good works that you do.


Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, my friends, even though I do not know all of you, many of you have become close friends with me, and to me, you’re my friends even if I do not know you personally.

I thank you all for your continuous prayers and support, they do more good for me than you may know! I miss all of you very much, I really miss the Parish, the Latin Mass and all the times we spent together, I will forever treasure them, and I thank you for sharing those times with me.

Lastly, I ask you to please pray for my poor sinful soul, that the Good Lord may have mercy on me. I leave you my love, gratitude, and prayers.

Yours faithfully

Alaister Lim
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