9/11 2001 - 2008

REMEMBERING THOSE WHO DIED ON THIS DAY AND THOSE WHO RISKED THIER LIVES TO SAVE OTHERS.

SOUTHERN EXPOSURE

In an article that is about ten years old now, the Atlantic Quarterly stated that in the future the Catholic Church was going outstrip the Christian denominations in influence and growth in the coming decades. This was due largely to the growing influence of the global south where the majority of Catholics now live. As governments become more and more unstable in much of this region and being that the other denominations simply do not have the cohesiveness, the voice, and therefore do not have the power to unite and speak on behalf of the people, it will be the Catholic Church that will rise to the forefront on the world Christian (and possibly political) scene.

If this prediction is true, Northern Americans and Europeans will have quite a bit of adjusting to do. As influence in the Church moves to the global south we may see a Church that is far bolder in her orthodoxy and traditions with a political swing to a more liberal bent, a hallmark in the practice of the faith there. This is of course a very broad brush stroke as we are talking about many countries and many people.

This notion will be reiterated in a new book , “Megatrends in Catholicism; Ten Forces Turning the Church Upside Down” published by Doubleday, by John Allen, senior Vatican correspondent for CNN, due out soon. Mr. Allen spoke at the Akron First Friday Club this past Friday. His book identifies ten mega trends that will effect the future of the Catholic Church. These are not trends that he hopes or predicts will have an effect, rather, he is saying that these major movements are in place today and they will have a major impact on Catholic life. What exactly that effect will look like ten or twenty years from now is somewhat open to debate but that they will have an effect is not.

Nothing would make me happier than to be able to let you know what the ten trends are but because of where we were seated in the hall it was impossible to see the video screen which listed them and he only spoke of three of them so both you and I will have to eagerly wait for the book to come out. But this shift to the global was at the top. Some of the consequences of this shift may surprise us. Though in Europe and the Northern America it may seem that the Church is becoming leaner, world wide the growth in the Church is exploding, outstripping percentage wise the growth in the world population. Seminaries in the African cotenant are filled past capacity and the biggest problem bishops have is finding ways to train all of their candidates. But do not expect that we will become mission territory for them as the priest shortage there is far worse than it is here. The number of people joining the Church is growing so rapidly that they cannot keep up with the demand for trained priests.

You can understand then why influence in the Church is slipping southerly. As much as we might like to think of our Church as perhaps European (Poland only claims 36% of people reporting that religion is important to them, Italy 27%, and France, eldest daughter of the Church 11%) or strongly influenced by the United States (59%), south of the equator there are percentage marks of 80% (Guatemala), 92% (Nigeria) and 95% (Indonesia). Important trends among this part of the Church include a stronger emphasis on those practices that make Catholicism stand out and be noticed giving a strong public witness and that faith will be a personal choice, not a cultural accident. Somehow this will eventually influence how we practice Catholicism on Main Street U.S.A.

What is Mr. Allen advice for us? It is to develop the idea of a global Catholicism. The Universal Church is now to have a global flavor and we need to develop a taste for it.

HAVE YOU EVER NOTICED THAT YOU DO NOT SAY, "AMEN" TO THE HOMILY?

There was once a priest that I somewhat idolized and when I made mention of the man to another priest along with the naive comment that he seemed well liked by everybody, he rolled his eyes and said in his driest, most droll tone, “Everybody has his detractors.” Alas and alack he was right.

The reverse of that saying I suppose would be that, “There is a priest for everybody.” There are men who work for you and those who do not. It must be difficult to be in a parish where you love the priest and then he is replaced by a new “father” that perhaps you do not get on with quite as well. This would be not so severe as but along the same lines of a child having a “new daddy” he does not like as much but is told he must now love and respect. What are you going to do?

I was having a heart to heart with another priest the other day and we admitted our desire to liked by all those to whom we are sent to minister though we know of the impossibility and the pointlessness of that wish. We have been on the other side of the equation too. So though I feel most welcome and appreciated in my new assignment I have no illusion that the feeling is universal and when the honeymoon period is over I shall probably be made most aware of it.

This came to mind Monday last when I had the opportunity out of necessity to attend the Mass on the feast of the Birth of Mary incognito at a parish that shall remain anonymous to protect the innocent. The homily for this weekday Feast was longer than I preach on the weekend. This would not be so bad save that it was also strikingly insipid. The homily went along these lines:

“Today is the Feast of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is a very old feast celebrated in the Church. We have been celebrating for about 1500 years. And so as you can see it is very ancient since we have been celebrating it for so long. It is a lesser celebrated feast day. The reason that this ancient celebration is a lesser celebrated feast day is because it is not in the Bible. But we know Mary existed because she is in the Bible. And if she existed she must have been born. And if she was born she must have been conceived. And therefore he can celebrate this ancient Feast of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary.” Etcetera ad naseum

At this point the ancient urge of “fight or flight” kicked in as it does when I am not properly centered. I had about a minute of struggling to stay in the pew which I know many Catholics also struggle with week after week, maybe some in my own congregation. For you I pass on this bit of wisdom that has saved me in situation just like this one.

As a seminarian I went to go hear a Lenten talk at one of our parishes. The speaker was the Rev. Frank Hoffman. To tell the truth I do not even remember the contents of his talk. The most important thing he said for me that day was contained in his first sentences. He said that if we should find him boring we were lucky because we had the next hour to be in the presence of Jesus (he indicated the tabernacle) to pray to and contemplate. Funny how little comments like that can have such a profound effect on your life.

For those of you who are so unfortunate as to not have either a homilist that you like or the presence of the tabernacle in the sanctuary to focus your thoughts, here is one more tidbit. The Rev. J Glenn Murray once said this, “Even if the homily is as dry as sand on toast in the desert, God still works.” And it is true (though not an excuse.) Evidence of this is that I have thought some about the homily that I heard on Monday last and had Mary on my mind because of it. (Boredom is in the receiver not the giver.)

God finds a way often in spite of us when we are open to it.

TUESDAY QUOTE OF THE WEEK LXXXI

FINDING TRUTH WHEREVER IT MAY BE FOUND: "Refusal to love constitutes the essence of sin. To be denied love is the final tragedy." Gabriel Daly

QUOTE II - "You don't suck people into church by teaching them bad liturgy." Barb Haden, former music teacher at St. Mary Seminary

IN OTHER NEWS:

Don't you think you deserve a visit to Catholic Carnival 188 today?

The Diocese of Cleveland Enewsletter ran this article by Bishop Lennon to clarify when human life begins: "On Sunday, August 24, Speaker Nancy Pelosi of the House of Representatives was interviewed on a national news program. During the course of the conversation the host asked Speaker Pelosi "When does life begin?" In response she said "We don't know". Further, referring to herself as a Catholic, she indicated that this issue has been an issue of controversy in the Church, implying it still is such." Read more here. (I am not making a political statement just in case you were wondering.)

For some reason beyond my ken I was not able to view Saint Sebastian's website but all of a sudden I can. I have been remiss in posting it so I do so now.

My Mother never minded getting lost on trips. She knew that if you were patient and observant you discovered the neatest things while being lost. Every once in a while I get lost searching for something on the Internet (which as we know can sometimes be dangerous) but other times you discover neat sites like this one: the Wholly Catholic blog.

Catholic Online has a great Catholic Site Directory. Check it out here.

So one last errant finding. I was looking for an image of Bishop Lennon and this image came up as Bishop Lennon Art. Somehow I don't think there is any real connection.

MONDAY DIARY - CHAPTER 22

Yes,

So a phone call followed by a letter came asking me to come downtown to the chancery to be interviewed for a possible pastorate. As one does for such things you put on your most professional duds (yes, there is a wide range of clerics from very relaxed to exceedingly formal) and took the trek downtown Cleveland. My intent was to be painstakingly on time. I parked my car in the cathedral parking deck, walked down East 9th street to the chancery building, gave identification to the ever vigilant building guard, and per instruction took the elevator up to the second floor and took a seat in the waiting room (you can sit here in the waiting room or wait here in the sitting room), took out a book until somebody would be out to fetch me.

The personnel board, as far as experience has shown, has never been horribly off schedule but this day it seemed so. Ten minutes went by, fifteen, twenty . . . It would have been nice, I thought, if they would send somebody out to say, “Sorry, we are running late. We’ll be with you in a few minutes,” if for no other reason than to let me know that that they knew that I was here. But I pressed on reading my book. Then there was this nagging feeling to re-read the summons to the meeting. I was two hours early! With a laugh and a cringe I slunk from the place and headed to a good coffee shop to enjoy a java, a cookie, and the end of the book.

As it turned out the board was deadly on schedule after all. Credit must be given to them. There is no way that they could do what they need to do without the meeting having the possibility of being incredibly intimidating but they did admirably. In essence there are about seven priests sitting around a long table (at which you sit at the end) and they (kindly) fire off question at you. The contents of the meeting would be inappropriate to print but this was enough to give you a taste of the process. The meetings end with a prayer, a handshake and an escort from the building, a request not to discuss the contents of the meeting and the promise that at some point in the future you will hear something.

Something.

Sometime.

Oh the agony of it all!

To be continued . . .

FRIDAY FAIR - PLANTING GOOD IDEAS

Let’s finish this little romp in the garden. Even I am getting tired of this little verdant romp. I think that I am ready for fall and snow.

It is said that the anemone sprung up around the base of the Cross. Originally white it gained its red color from the drops of blood from Christ. Mary sometimes holds it in scenes of the Crucifixion.

The bramble was thought to be Moses’ burning bush and so also symbolizes the purity of the Blessed Virgin Mary whose heart burns with love but who is not consumed by lust.

I love carnations and think they get a bum rap as not being quite as sincere an expression of love as roses. But it is! Particularly a pink rose is used for newlyweds.

Ophelia: “There’s fennel for you, and columbine.” I don’t know why I put that quote in there other than I was pleased with myself in remembering that the recently gone mad Ophelia in Hamlet mentioned this plant that somewhat resembles a dove and so represents the Holy Spirit.

As it did with the Greeks the laurel in the spiritual life goes to the victors. Often martyrs are pictured with laurel leaves around the crown of their heads. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27) Like the evergreen it never fades in color and so I also a symbol of eternal life.

The pomegranate is very interesting. At my last parish it was positioned over the top of the main crucifix. Like so much Christian symbolism we took this pagan symbolism and baptized it. The pomegranate was associated with Proserpina, the goddess who returned in the spring and brought life to the world. Now it is associated with the Resurrection and the new life of Christ. It can also represent the Church as inside the pod of the pomegranate contains many seeds.

Enough with plants for now. I’ll try to dig something else up next week.

AND HE IS WILLING TO CHANGE HIS NAME TO GEARINGSKI

There was actually supposed to be another post today that did not quite work out yet so I though I would share with you a little of what I did yesterday. One of my best priest friends, Fr. Barry Gearing, was enjoying his second day as administrator of Saint Adelbert in Berea, Ohio. So I went t pay him a call. This a great Romanesque building just off the campus of Baldwin Wallace College. Here is an exterior shot of the building.

The place has been virtually untouched. Over the side altars there used to be white crosses outlined in gold but when they put air conditioning in they blew over and so they took them down.

I used to work at BW and would play this great little tracker action organ for the pastor, Fr. Keller, in the mornings. One day he called me up on intercom and asked me to come to the sacristy after Mass. He wanted to inquire if I ever thought about the priesthood and I said, "Yes, but I want to pay off my student loans first." "Nonsense!" he fired back and immediately set out plans to get me to my interview at Saint Mary Seminary which was then on Ansel Road.Above is the small but serviceable sacristy in which Fr. Keller proposed the idea of the priesthood. Below is their relatively new adoration chapel using the altar from the convent that was torn down. The statue in the middle is St. Padre Pio.

Ahhhh! The beautiful Victorian rectory (not that these things matter - and yet they do) made from true Berea sandstone. Over the top window you will see carved in stone two flags, one is Polish, the other I forget - perhaps American, topped off with the papal tierra. Below, Fr. B with is leg in an immobilizer due to a particularly bad golfing accident (?!) frets over moving while still on crutches. Poor guy!

God bless you Fr. Gearing. I hope you will be as happy there as I am on this end of the diocese!

THIS YEAR INVITE OTHERS TO VISIT YOU IN STATE

I was on a walk around St. Sebastian the other night with a person who often guest blogs here (and will again be doing so soon) and we were talking about faith and the Church. She posed the question as to why certain topics are not preached about in general very often. We came up with the list of possible reasons why. They were all reasonable and defendable. One of the reasons was that it is assumed that people who show up at Mass know about many of the topics already. “No we don’t!” she protested and promised to guest blog on that topic some day soon.

But after we were done laying out the topics she said something that shook me up quite a bit. We were discussing about how some topics need to be brought up with tact and understanding lest you alienate the very people you wish to bring to truth when she asked, “Do you think that everybody who comes to Mass and receives Holy Communion is in a state of grace?” I had to admit that I had a sneaky suspicion that the state of grace was not a universal state. “If you could see the state of the souls of the people to whom you were given the responsibility preach, do you think you would preach with greater conviction than you do?”

I stopped dead in my tracks. I could not move from that spot in the conversation or down the side walk. If, like a doctor, what was ailing the Body of Christ could be physically seen, how differently might the message be? For that matter, if you could see that about anybody you ran into, if you could see their hurts and the sins that are clung to in the misguided effort to make the hurt go away, how much more eagerly might any of us speak out, proclaim healing to the nations? Or to your Mom? Or to your son? Or to your best friend or coworker? That we are mostly blind to the state of another’s soul does not mean that problems are not there but that we can choose to believe that they are not there.

In a way we can see it. How many people do you know who are simply not happy? They engage in repeated activities that promise great relief and rewards and in the end are left sad and dry? I have a lot of respect for the person mentioned above for she risks in order to bring others into a state of meaning, of hope, and of grace. From listening to her there are generally two steps that work in what is essentially evangelization. The first is that you listen and let the other know that you care about them. The second is when the opportunity seems right you say, “Well here’s is what works for me.” Though this method she has adopted many spiritual children and expanded the message of the Cross and Resurrection.

What does not work is this: I remember once being on the bus as a kid with my Mother and a man was steadily moving down the aisle seat by seat and proselytizing by saying, “Are you saved? Do you know you are going to hell?” Needless to say nobody wanted to listen to him and he made no converts.

Priests cannot evangelize well. There is a lot that comes with the collar and it can be a overpowering to one who is nervous about the faith already. Further priests are not in your home, your work place, your school, or gathering place. He can’t be. But you are there. You can bring the message. If you saw a bleeding arm you would have the compassion to assist the person in distress. The soul is more important than the arm. If you could see the state you would probably rush to help them also. But you can come to see the effects of not striving for grace by coming to know and love those around you. Then when there seems to be an opening in the wall, there is the chance to say, “Do you know what works for me?”

TUESDAY QUOTE OF THE WEEK LXXX

FINDING TRUTH WHEREVER IT MAY BE FOUND - “If you continue in my word, you will know the truth and the truth shall make you odd.” Flannery O'Conner

QUOTE II - ". . .[I]ndifference is near a kin to dishonesty . . ." from Mary Elizabeth Houston's, "Lady Audley's Secret"

IN OTHER NEWS:

Jay say, "Hey! Nay say no way today to Catholic Carnival 187."

So, I was sitting in my office when I heard a noise from my childhood. I knew what that dull roar, which was so different than anything else, was. I tore out of there to see a perfect view of the blimp floating past the bell tower of Saint Sebastian. It would have made a perfect picture had I my camera with me but alas and alak I did not. I shot back into the house, found the thing, but even at lightning speed, by the time I was back out the blimp had gone quite a distance. But here is a picture none-the-less. When I came to Saint Sebastian the bishop said, "Just don't end up on the front page of the Beacon Journal" or some such thing. I did however end up several sections in. Here is a link of you care to see. Thanks to St. Paul Today for helping me find it.

The Diocese of Cleveland Enewsletter says that this is the last week to see the Vatican Splendors exhibit here! If you have not been there yet - GO!

B. wrote in to say her daughter who is a relatively new member of the Sisters of Life in New York have a blog about their experience at World Youth Day in Australia.

I. E. forwarded this message, "Have you ever heard of the World Meeting of Families? It's a world youth day for families of sorts. John Paul II initiated them in during the Year of the Family in 1994 and they have been held every three years since then. The last one was in Valencia in '06 and Benedict scheduled the next one to be held in Mexico City in January of 2009. The whole thing doesn't seem to be getting a whole lot of publicity (naturally) so I'm trying to do my part in promoting it. The official web site is http://www.wmf2009.com/ please check it out and consider going."

Today's first quote was brought to my attention by Father Damian Ference who was the celebrant here at Saint Sebastian for the 4:30 Mass. I find him to be a brilliant homilist and hope he will return here often. (The Masses are piped in to the rectory and I had the pleasure of hearing his latest proclamation at the dining room table.) After Mass we had the opportunity to dine together and then decided to take dessert up into the bell tower and watch the sun set. As great as my camera is it did not do justice to the colorful sky nor could I get Father and the sunset in the same picture so here is one of each.

ADAM'S ALE WILL BE CLOSED FOR LABOR DAY

HAPPY LABOR DAY

I will grant you that this episode of Making Fiends in not for Labor Day (and it's in Bulgarian) but rockets are involved and so it seems to suffice. "More AHHHH"

Here is an interesting little site provided by the U.S. Government about Labor Day.

Hope you have a great day. See you tomorrow.

(Saint Sebastianites - N.B. - Mass is at 9:00 AM)

SYMBOLIC FRIDAY - THE WOODS ARE JUST TREES, THE TREES ARE JUST WOOD

There are just a few things that need to be cleaned up in the garden section of Symbolic Friday before we move on. Today we spend some time in woods finishing up trees that have not yet been mentioned over the past two years.

Trees can be a symbol of life or death. For example there is the tree in the middle of the Garden of Eden and then there is Tree, or Cross, upon which our Savior was hung. The state of the tree can give off meaning. “You can tell a tree by its fruit” as the Scriptures allude.

In his class on Theology of the Body, Christopher West says something along the lines of, “In a fallen world, fig leaves are a necessity.” That is, though we were originally made to be “naked without shame,” sin entered the world and with it shame. In Genesis we read that Adam and Eve, after sinning, realized that they were naked and covered themselves with fig leaves. Thus the fig is often used in much the same way as the apple as a sign of the fall.

The fir tree is a sign of the elect in heaven for as even the cut branch will not wither, neither do those who die ceased to exist but enjoy God’s presence eternally. It can also represent people who excel in the virtue of patience.

The oak is heavily used in symbolism. It is a steady, solid, hardwood tree and its strong limbs provide shade, security, and comfort. Ancient cultures worshipped this wonderful tree. We, however, appreciate it and use it as a symbol of strength, virtue, and endurance in faith even during persecution.

Occasionally you will see a painting of the Blessed Virgin holding an orange. The orange tree is a symbol of purity, chastity, and generosity, all certainly virtues of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Orange blossoms also suggest purity and so is also used on wedding days for the bride.

Finally we have the grand cedar which is a symbol of Christ Himself. It is a tree of stateliness, beauty, and majesty. The Scriptures refer to this “Tree of Lebanon”. Christians see Christ referred to as the Messiah in the Song of Solomon, “his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars (5:15) and in Ezekiel, “I will also take the highest branch of the high cedar . . . and will plant it upon a high mountain and eminent. (15:22)”

I think we are out of the woods now.

SECRETS OF THE WALLS REVEALED!

If you want some insight into how the church has changed, look at the rectory and how it has evolved as a structure. It is particularly interesting to look at old rectories from large (or once large) parishes. Typically it looked like this: There would be a large, well appointed suite. This of course would be occupied by the pastor in the day of the giants. There would also be a number of smaller, less grand suites and in some cases rooms more reminiscent of cells that would house parochial vicars. There would be other more typical rooms such as a “common room” where the priests might gather to recreate, a formal living room and dining room where more than likely the father pastor presided. And somewhere there may have been yet another suite where the person who took care of the house either lived or found refuge during a break.

Most interestingly the smallest amount of space was reserved for offices. If you were lucky there may have been three offices. One office, the most grand of them, would be the pastor’s. A second would belong to the lone secretary. If the parochial vicars were lucky they shared the last office if available. At least such was the case with many of the parishes in these parts.

Quite honestly not much more was needed. School was free. There were not a lot of employees. There was not quite as much transparency demanded. Finances were pretty straight forward. The pastor handled it. Quite often he counted the money and paid out the bills as needed. There was no need for a business manager and bookkeeper. One of the vicars or nuns was the equivalent of the youth director and did not need an office. And since school was free there was not a big call for PSR leaders (and hence DREs and such.) Technology was low (just TRY to find a plug in an old rectory!) If you were lucky there was a meeting room. But it worked. The walls of these grand old buildings tell great stories.

The needs of the modern parish have changed dramatically. With what is expected of parochial vicars these days, that they have their own office is quite necessary. There are many times more than one secretary owing to the increased workload on them, a business manager, a bookkeeper, a DRE, a youth director, and now with the advent of the permanent diaconate there is often needed a space for them. And these are just the basics. Many larger parishes have more personnel than these who also need space.

Retrofitting the modern need into an old rectory can sometimes be a challenge but I am glad so many pastors have met the challenge in preserving these sometimes grand buildings. Sometimes the results are better than others. My first assignment was not a great success in this department (though it was a great assignment that wouldn’t trade for the world!) The basement was all offices. The first floor had living space on one side of the hall (living room, dining room, kitchen) while the other side of the hall was offices that were occupied until 9PM. Upstairs remained the private rooms of the priests. This simply meant that there was no privacy unless you stayed in your room until late at night. Are you dressed for bed and remembered you left something downstairs or wanted a drink of water? That meant getting dressed. That’s when I fell in love with the cassock.

One of the greatest priests I know was my pastor then. There was only one time in seven years when Fr. Hilkert and I came to an impasse. He was going to have the guest suites upstairs turned into offices. Could imagine living in a place where on any given day just about anybody of any age or gender could be standing just outside your bedroom door? Fortunately he had a change of heart in the matter.

Oh, I suppose things could be worse. Many people do live like that and worse. The rectory in which I live now is of the old school. It is a fantastic structure and we make do. The old live-in suites are offices as are some of the old priest suites, storage rooms, and even the old living room has been transformed into an office though I hope to reclaim at least part of this last room. I wouldn’t trade this rectory for anything though. It is beautiful and full of history and stories. A few weekends ago a number of priests came to visit and as they sat around the dining room table and the room itself spurred tales of by gone days. There is a little door in the wall (that was covered when I arrived) that separated the dining room from the kitchen and priests and cook never crossed to the other side. Dinners were passed through the little butler’s door and one of the vicars would carry the plates to the table. Maybe some day I’ll chronicle some of the more interesting stories.

Sometimes walls do speak. We just need to learn how to listen.

HONEST TEACH - AOL ATE MY HOMEWORK

Greetings!

Thank you for your birthday greetings (it was a good day!) and for your advice to dump AOL. Actually I do need to do so. I already have two other wire addresses but I am not sure how to do this and not mess up the blog (and I am woefully behind on updating it already.) As the song goes, "Soon and very soon . . ."

Sorry, but today is going to just be a catch up of what did not make it yesterday so I can cull the heard of Emails. So here we go!

IN OTHER NEWS:

Jay says, "Don't miss Catholic Carnival 186!"

The Diocese of Cleveland Enewsletter reports, "WASHINGTON - The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) invites U.S. Catholics to pray before the November election a novena for life, justice and peace called Novena for Faithful Citizenship. It is a podcast and available for download."

L.M. sent this game in to help you waste some time. WARNING: Addiction level MODERATE. Oh yes! This game is Evile!

L.M. also sent this in. If there were ever an argument for a married priesthood this would be it. There would have been a goodly woman with this man who would have hit him up side the head and said, "What are you thinking?"

This site was accidentaly discovered while making a search for Symbolic Friday (a name that still doesn't quite sit right.) I've not had the chance to thoroughly review it but what I have seen of Church Year is great.

TUESDAY QUOTE OF THE WEEK LXXIX

FINDING TRUTH WHEREVER IT MAY BE FOUND: "Do people who can really talk to each other without reprisals have the best marriages? Where has kindness, forgiveness gone in the world?" From Patricia Highsmith's, "Ripely Underground"

QUOTE II - "Optime positum est beneficium ubi meminit qui accipit." "It's best to do favors for people with long memories." From Rose William's, "Latin Quotes"

IN OTHER NEWS:

I am having troubles getting my AOL mail but hope to rectify that soon. But for now if you are expecting a reply you may have to wait a little. All the other posts that I would normally post today are stuck there at the moment. I fear what may be waiting for me when I get that service back! Sorry there is no more to the post today!

God bless!

MONDAY DIARY - CHAPTER 21

There’s a good chance that you have been through the process of getting a new pastor. You have been invited, in most dioceses, to have some input into the type of priest that you want. But let’s be honest, there are only so many priests out there these days and so the gulf between what is wanted and what is available can be pretty wide.

Interestingly enough it works the other way also. Priests look to the parishes to which they would like to be assigned. In the way, what people ask of a new priest (would they be happy of Jesus Himself were to become their pastor?) priest have their own similar views of what they want in a parish. It may vary slightly from priest to priest, they hope that there is a school or really hope that there is not one, they may hope that it is a beautiful old church or a sleek modern one, but they all hope that there will be no debt, plenty of money in the bank, few troubles, lots of hope for the future, solid buildings, lots of help, in a safe neighborhood, with a great choir and plenty of happy, well balanced, helpful folk. (Would they be happy if they were granted the great St. Peter’s itself?)

The process of being assigned as pastor is probably as mysterious a process to you as it is to the priest going through it. It is different to some extent from diocese to diocese. In fact, some places men barely ordained are suddenly thrust into pastorates – sometimes of even two or three places. We are fortunate in this diocese that a man still has about ten years or so of learning the ropes before being saddled with that responsibility. That time may even grow a bit as we contemplate the closing of some 40 parishes in the near future. As sad as that prospect may be, it will be beneficial in at least this: Allowing young priests more time to learn the ins an outs of priesthood before being sent on their own to take care of couple thousand families or so.

For me, the process began with a letter in the mail. It was from the Clergy Personnel Board and it informed every priest of the diocese that there were two men who were about to retire from their pastorates after many years of faithful service. Generally the letter lists the barest essentials about the parish such as when it was founded, of what the staff consists, what the demographics are, the financial situation and such things as that. Priests are then invited to submit a letter of application stating that he would like to be considered for the position.

That letter goes to the Clergy Personnel Board who make reply that the letter has been received. Eventually a phone call comes asking the priest to come before the board to, in effect, interview for the position. Now this is were many priests (myself included) make a mistake. From this point forward, for very good reasons which may be explored later, the process becomes rather hush, hush. But how can you refrain from your friends and family, “Hey! I got a phone call from the Clergy Personnel Board asking me to come down for an interview”? If the process continues all of a sudden you must stop talking about it. Rather suspiciously no?

To be continued.