May 28, 2017

Feast of the Ascension of the Lord A Acts 1: 1-11; Ephesians 1: 17-23; Matthew 28: 16-20 Last weekend I celebrated the 50th Anniversary of Priesthood. God has certainly showered His graces upon me over and over, moment by moment. I am grateful. I was invited to celebrate mass at the three parishes in Virginia I have ministered to since 2003: St Mary Star of the Sea at Ft. Monroe, St Olaf’s in Williamsburg and Our Lady Queen of Peace Community at Langley AFB. It was a time to remember God’s blessings and my faith journey. I share these humble thoughts with you today. Thank you so much for coming here today. Fifty years is a long time and so many of you have been an important part of my journey. I pray for you and thank you. I always wanted to be a priest. In 5th and 6th grade I started to practice saying mass on mom’s bridge table with my Latin/English missal.…I had no idea what I was saying, but it was a good beginning for my journey. We began using English in the Liturgy on July 1, 1967 in the Diocese of Syracuse, New York, After High School I went to St. Bernard’s College/Seminary in Rochester, NY. It was interesting, to say the least. In those days the nickname associated with this school was ‘The Rock,' not after St. Peter, but the prison in California. Each year on Tuesday afternoon, the seminarians would teach in different parishes’ Religious Ed programs. My first year I was assigned a parish teaching 42 sophomore girls. The following year I was assigned to an inner city parish that had just gone through a summer of race rioting. It was a challenge and laid the seed for my interest in teaching. In my diaconate year, Bishop Fulton Sheen was named bishop of Rochester. I was honored to serve with him for a month at Sacred Heart Cathedral and to talk with him. Once he told me, “Enjoy the priesthood and be happy in everything that you do”. God’s grace has helped me live this each day. Seventeen of us were ordained on May 20, 1967, at Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Syracuse, NY We were excited, anxious and quite scared. Three days later the Bishop gave us our first assignments. He told me ‘for the summer’ .. And I was worried, why only ‘for the summer’ did I do something wrong…did I have to go back to school…our minds work so fast…Then the bishop continued, for the summer you will go to St Ann’s parish in Manlius and then in the fall you will be on the faculty of Oswego Catholic High School. This was the beginning of my twenty-three years in Catholic Education. People would ask, ‘Was it hard teaching teenagers.’ I said some days yes, but most days no. I learned early from them that they needed to be needed, respected and loved…doing homework was a different task. I left teaching in 1990 at the age of 48 to go into parish work. For the next twelve years I served at three different parishes, enjoying every aspect of parish work, especially visiting the sick and hospitals. One incident moved me deeply and developed my spirituality: just before leaving for a new assignment a 92 year old widower said, “Father I want to thank you, you are the first priest to tell me that God loves me” He was so close to God, it was an affirmation, a humbling statement and hurtful too. I promised the Lord I would continue sharing this. We need to be reminded that God loves us just the way we are right now. During my parish work years I started giving retreats while continuing giving spiritual direction. It is a blessing to help people in their journey to the Lord. In 2002, the Lord led me to Virginia…many of my family had moved here and I received permission to come. I was incardinated into the Richmond Diocese in 2003. I love Virginia. I am grateful for my parents love, coupled with the support from my three sisters, my brother and their spouses. Please notice on the front base of my chalice is my mom’s engagement ring and on the underneath are the names of my sisters, brother and their spouses. Eight of them have passed on to the Lord and are working to get all of us there. I thank my 16 nieces and nephews, their spouses (four of them are with the Lord) and my 26 grand and great grand nieces and nephews, I love them all. I have enjoyed all eleven assignments in the Diocese of Syracuse, NY and Richmond VA, from the high school classroom and administration to parish work and now as the Senior Sacramental Priest at Langley/Ft. Eustis. I’ve enjoyed each and every day being a priest. The center of my life has always been the celebration of Mass and the Eucharist. It fills me and fulfills me. A close priest friend talked at my 25th anniversary about The Priest’s Hands. I’ve meditated on this often. My hands have celebrated the Eucharist and distributed the Lord’s body and blood; they’ve given the blessing at Reconciliation reminding that ALL sins are forgiven; they’ve baptized all sizes and ages; the most at one time was thirteen… I’ve anointed many especially those in their last days. I’ve blessed marriages from teenagers to an 84 & 86 year old that insisted saying they would accept children willingly from God. I’ve had the privilege of celebrating funeral liturgies, each one has been very moving. Because of your encouragement, I’ve brought many into the Church. These encounters are precious and humbling. The words, Lord I am not worthy resonate with me. It’s not about worthiness but knowing God loves me and each person right now totally. The point is that each of us is blessed with Healing hands…people tell us ‘You’ve touched me….helped me when I was down and out…you loved me when I needed it most’……healing hands, words, actions. A great priest and teacher in the Richmond diocese, Msgr Chet Michael said over and over: Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude and more gratitude. I am grateful to God and you. I could never have done this without you. Priesthood is a wonderful life but it’s lonely and difficult. As priests,  We need you…learn from you and grow through you. Thank you and God bless. This mass today is offered for each of you…