Alas, the time has come

Upon return from the illustrious island of Oahu, tidings of the utmost sadness have reached my eyes. But first, a quick history.

When my parents were still living, I was a member of St. Dominic parish in Quincy with my great aunt. When my parents died, I joined St. John the Baptist parish with my aunt's family. This parish very quickly became my home and is no small part of why I love Quincy so very dearly. I am, if my count is correct, the eighteenth priest to come from St. John the Baptist parish since its founding in 1880.

In 1999, St. John the Baptist parish was merged with St. Rose of Lima parish (two blocks down) and became All Saints parish. In 2006, All Saints parish was merged with St. Boniface parish and Immaculate Conception parish and became Blessed Sacrament parish. This last merger still makes very little sense to me whatsover, and these misgivings I have made known.

In reading the bulletin from my home parish of Blessed Sacrament in Quincy, a deep pain struck my heart when I saw the following:

All Churches are built for a very special purpose, which is to gather as the people of God and celebrate the sacraments of our faith. When that need no longer exists, the purpose of the Church ceases to be present. These are sad moments, but also joyful moments. Sad, because we miss the familiar surroundings. Joyful, because these sacred spaces have nourished our faith for many generations. Bishop Lucas will be joining us for these special liturgies [i.e., the final Mass to be celebrated in this church]. We will gather at St. John the Baptist Church on Tuesday, June 26th...

I will withhold today my own disagreements with the theoligical view expressed in the above and simply beg your prayers for me and for the parish that instilled within me a deep love of Christ Jesus and of the Church. These are difficult times, indeed.

I will now have to change my funeral plans to have the Mass of Christian Burial for me celebrated in the splendid chapel of Quincy University (pictures here).

I have blogged elsewhere about this here and here. Pictures of my first Solemn Mass of Thanksgiving in this church are here.