The fly in the wine was not the only surprise guest attending the Father Daughter Mass experienced.  Fr. Tom Ludwig, a visiting priest from St. Monicas, helped with the Friday service and spoke in Bonnie Haghirian’s second hour Catholic Traditions class.

Haghirian has known Fr. Tom for around 25 years since he used to be the associate pastor at her parish, St. Joseph. She had him speak to her class so they would be prepared for attending mass at St. Monicas later in the month.  She was happy to see her class participate with Fr. Tom.

Haghirian said, “They were interested in his role as an air guard chaplain and his ministry to people of all faith traditions.”

In class, Fr. Tom spoke about the different customs of his St. Monicas parish. He described a typical Sunday mass at his church and the energetic greetings that people give to each other when they share the sign of peace.

Fr. Tom’s services go far beyond his parish. He talked with the class about being a deployable military chaplain.  He joined the air force after becoming a priest and had been deployed to Qatar and Germany in the past. He went through the same training as the military with the exception of dealing with weapons.  Fr. Tom described for students his mass services while he was on air force bases.

“When people come through the church doors, all rank stays at the door,” Fr. Tom said. “In God’s eyes we’re all the same.”