In 1991 I bought a new car, a brand new car, all by myself. I was driving a 1986 VW Golf, but Gael needed a car to drive, so I decided to give him mine and buy a new one. For some reason I wanted a car with a diesel engine and it had to be a VW, so I found a Jetta in Augusta, Maine and we went to get it. I loved it.
We had a neighbor who was a retired priest and he and his elderly housekeeper and their cats were great neighbors. They also had a barn that Gael used occasionally. Father Spears was a farm boy from Enosburg and he loved to garden. He had about 100 acres which he kept up well. Gael used to like to visit with Fr. Spears and Alice and spent many happy hours “visiting”.
One day Gael was there and asked Fr. Spears if he blessed cars. Yes, he did. So, a date was picked for me (us) to take my new car there, to be blessed. It was one of those warm, sunny spring days, a Saturday. I got up early, gave the Jetta a good wash, and at the appropriate time, we drove a mile down the road to Fr. Spears’ house. He was quite elderly and had trouble going up and down his porch steps, so we drove the car over the lawn and got as close to the porch as we could.
Alice had picked a bouquet of wild flowers and placed it on the hood of my sparkling car. Fr. Spears came out onto the porch with his prayer book and some holy water, and proceeded to bless the Jetta. He handed Gael the small bottle of holy water and Gael sprinkled it on my new car. Alice, then, invited us into their kitchen and got out a small bottle of brandy which they kept for medicinal purposes. We then toasted the Jetta. But what was most meaningful to me, was the small statue of St. Christopher that Fr. Spears gave to me. It was in the car that he drove for many years, a huge white four door sedan, that navigated our road well, winter and summer. I proudly put it in the glove box of the Jetta and we went home.
I drove the car for years until Gael needed a replacement for the 1986 Golf that he had been driving. I passed the Jetta on to Gael and got a replacement car for me…another VW Golf. For anyone who has been at our house in recent years, you probably passed the black Jetta that was parked next to the military truck in the barn yard. Gael couldn’t let it go. Well, this fall, after looking around the yard at all the stuff??, I decided that it was time to call a salvage yard and have them take the Jetta away. The day the truck was due to come, I went down to the Jetta to say goodbye. I removed the floor mats (you can always use them in some car) and I removed the St. Christopher statue that Fr. Spears gave me so many years ago.
It now sits in my everyday car, another VW Golf, where I see it every time I go anywhere. Thank you Father Spears. God Bless You.
Father Spears’ St. Christopher from Judy
Saint Christopher’s most famous legend tells that he carried a child, who was unknown to him, across a river before the child revealed himself as Christ. Therefore, he is the patron saint of travelers, and small images of him are often worn around the neck, on a bracelet, carried in a pocket, or placed in vehicles by Christians.
