My cousin Monsignor Ed Miller fully embodied what a priest should be

Monsignor Ed Miller was not just my friend, or my priest, but my cousin and my daughter’s god father. He did so much for us all because he treated everyone as family. He was more than just an inspiration. He continually made us welcome in the parish, even though we couldn’t be there as often as we would have liked to be. He made such an improvement in the community, and always had the time to send a little note, or an occasional email, regardless of where I was in the world. His brother, another great man of faith, is the same way.

The reason I am emailing you is that I’m currently deployed (once again) and onboard the USS Harry S. Truman. We are out here doing the best we can for the country and he always told me to keep doing it, he didn’t have the energy to do both … so I will. I know there are a lot of people who probably flood your inbox with all sorts of things, but this is my only way to possibly let others besides my direct family (who already know him so well) maybe get to enjoy some of what all he did for this world.

I remember fondly the day he was designated Monsignor. He came in the rectory and we talked briefly, and he was joking about how he felt “all dressed up” and like putting whipped cream on a hot dog …  he absolutely LOVED being the motivation and spiritual guide for so many. It was his life’s passion. My mother always told me of how when they were kids they’d “play church” where he was the priest, and he’d hold a mass in the back yard in Baltimore. The man was more than just some average person of the cloth, he fully embodied what every one should be, even when he was a kid.

He also used to throw a little snippet about the Orioles game or the Ravens game in his sermons … not only could he keep your attention, impart a powerful message, make you laugh, but uplift your soul regardless of the topic. He always had a way to bring everything full circle and give you one infectious smile (mainly because he had the most infectious smile I’ve ever seen).

I know this probably don’t make a whole lot of sense, but hopefully that may shed some light as well. I wish the mayor could read this, maybe she’d have come to mass more often!