In the early eighties I attended a contents of the house auction, near Primrose, Ontario. One of the owners of this beautiful house and property had recently died from AIDS. His partner was stunned more than anything else. He decided not to keep the house and gardens he and his partner had made so beautiful and welcoming over the years. Too many wonderful memories which he could not face with the pain he was in. As well as the real fear that he would be the next to die. The auction was understood as a command performance by their gay friends. We showed up. Not because we needed anything but in essence to quickly and as effortlessly as possible empty the house to make it ready for sale. When I entered the house that day, the surviving partner handed me a big cardboard box, with my name written on it in red crayon. It contained mugs, a huge frying pan that had often made scrambled eggs for Sunday brunches among friends as well as many other items he wanted me to have. I had the same mugs at home. Bought in San Francisco. Very gay … un peu de trop. I still use the mugs. Their fruit bowl today sits on the kitchen counter.
When I first heard about Michael J O’Loughlin’s Hidden Mercy AIDS, Catholics, and the Untold Stories of Compassion in the Face of Fear I was filled with anxious anticipation. Would this be a book that uncritically praised the work of the Catholic church in the United States, with the many lives of people affected by AIDS as a supporting backdrop?
I pre-ordered the book. When it arrived, finished it in two days.
The book is a wonderful read. A must read. It gives both a historical account of the AIDS crisis, and conveys with deep sentiment what people went through. Although the focus of the book is American and Catholic history, it invites the reader to make connections to their own community. 
For us, that community is Our Lady of Lourdes in Toronto. It was there, in the late eighties, in this Jesuit parish that the response to the AIDS crisis was similar to that of the heroes of Hidden Mercy. Our Lady of Lourdes Parish at the time of the AIDS crisis permitted funerals of people who had died from AIDS. This was unusual at the time. Bert Foliot SJ, and others walked with our community. Physically present, at a time when many people physically shunned us. This response to the AIDS crisis started the HIV healing service, which met on the fourth Saturday of every month. From this, with the loving support of Robert Doran SJ, William Addley SJ, Gilles Mongeau SJ, Doug McCarthy SJ, Peter Larisey SJ, came our current iteration, AIM (All Inclusive Ministries). The importance of support by physical presence is greatly appreciated , especially now, during another crisis, the current Covid pandemic.
At AIM 4th Saturday Mass, we, our gay brothers and sisters, friends, and families continue to gather in gratitude, and in joy. At present accompanied by the physical presence of our current pastor, William Mbugua SJ, even on a freezing January night.
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