Homily - 30 August 2009

The Twenty-second Sunday of the Year
The Day of Prayer for the Election of a Bishop
Farewell Address to St. Anthony of Padua Parish

Dear brothers and sisters,

If the course of my life – in its many joys and sorrows and successes and failures – has taught me anything, it has taught me this: the Lord will never abandon his people.

It is this confidence in the Lord’s loving care for his faithful ones that has helped me to abandon myself to the Lord’s will time and again throughout the heartaches and pleasures of life.

It is this same confidence in his grace and mercy that enabled me to abandon myself to his will on the day I was ordained to the priesthood of Jesus Christ. It is this same confidence in his providential care that has made me able to abandon myself again to his will as I prepare to receive the office and duties of a pastor this coming September 15th.

The abandonment of ourselves to the will of God must often be done again and again. Once is rarely enough; rather, a daily – and even hourly – abandonment of our will to his must be made if we are to grow in holiness so that we might know lasting joy and peace.

We may not always understand the Lord’s ways, but we do not need to understand his ways all of the time, because of the confidence we have in him. We know that his ways always lead to our good. If we but trust him, his plans always lead us to himself and to our growth in faith, hope and love.

My dear friends, when I was ordained to the priesthood, the Lord anointed me – as he does all his priests – through the hands of then-Bishop Lucas, “to bring glad tidings to the poor,” to those whose hearts yearn for the truth, for the love of God (Isaiah 61:1). He sent me first here to you; now he sends me to announce these same tidings to another flock.

I have told you before that that these past four years among you have been filled with many joys and blessings. I cannot adequately express my affection for you or my heartfelt gratitude for all you have done for me.

I have grown these past four years in ways I would never have imagined or thought possible. My faith has deepened as I witnessed your faith and known your love. Thank you for being patient with me and for the many ways you have supported and encouraged me in my ministry to you. May the Lord reward you for your kindness!

To those whom I have offended, for whom I did not offer adequate pastoral care, I beg your forgiveness and prayers. I am sorry for my personal failures and flaws, and I ask you not to hold them against the Lord or his Church. I seek to be his humble instrument and sometimes my sin and pride get in the way of his grace. Please, forgive me and pray for me that by his grace the Lord will correct my flaws to use me more and more for his glory.

Looking back over these years, I can only sigh a prayer of humble thanksgiving to God for having placed me here among you. This parish will always hold a special place in my heart.

I am indebted to Monsignor Enlow. He has been, for many years now, a trusted advisor, a wise and learned mentor, a brother in Christ and a friend. I will miss his counsel and his faithful sidekick, Molly, who lay under my desk as I penned these words.

To the parish staff and the various councils, I must also express a word of gratitude. I have learned much from them about the day-to-day affairs of a parish and they have tolerated my ignorance and forgetfulness on more than one occasion, always with much support and encouragement.

But to the youth of the parish I am especially indebted, and to them I wish to address a few words.

From the outset of my arrival you have welcomed me not only as a priest, a spiritual father, but also as a brother and a friend. My ministry among you has borne much fruit because of your openness and your willingness to be challenged by me and to challenge me both in my attempts to explain the faith to you and to grow in my own life of prayer. For this, and for your friendship, I am deeply grateful. I ask you to welcome Father Joseph, who will soon come to take my place, as you welcomed me.

My dear young friends, with your zest for life, with your idealism and enthusiasm, the field of your souls is ripe! The Lord wants to use you, to use your energy, your excitement, and your overflowing love, to bring his Gospel to all people. What is more, the Lord Jesus thirsts for your love even as you thirst for his!

Always acknowledge this thirst, this yearning for something more, this desire for meaning and contentment in life. You will only find it fulfilled in the love of God! Do not look to the things of this world that promise to satisfy but never do! Look instead to the figure of Crucified Love who calls out to you, “Remain in my love” (John 15:9)!

The commandments of the Lord are not given you to stifle your freedom or to keep you from the things that make you happy, but so that his “joy may be in you and your joy may be complete” (John 15:11). In Christ alone - and in his plan for your life - will you find that which will satisfy the deepest desires of your heart. Do not be afraid to abandon yourselves to him! He has never disappointed or abandoned me, and he will never disappoint or abandon you! If you abandon yourself to him he will give you all that you seek! Trust in him, and draw close to him as to a dear friend.

Dear brothers and sisters, the great playwright and poet William Shakespeare once wrote, “parting is such sweet sorrow.”[1] The sorrow of parting is sweet because it calls to mind the love that has been shared in the meeting. Such a sweet sorrow cannot but remind us of the many blessings the Lord has given us, filling us with gratitude even as we prepare to part ways.

I hope that all I have done here among you – the classes I have taught, my time with the athletic teams, dinners here and there and everything else – has always led you here, to the altar of God. It is here the Lord will satisfy the desires of our hearts. As we are nourished with his Body and Blood he calls us his friends and unites us all together in him. In this way, whatever the physical distance between us, we are always very near to one another at the altar of God.

I do not wish to say “Good bye” to you because it seems too final. Rather, with a heart welling up with gratitude, in the words of Bilbo Baggins, I bid you a very fond farewell, trusting the Lord will bring our paths to cross again.

Until that day, my friends, I beg you to pray that the Lord’s “hand may be always with [me], and that [his] arm will make [me] strong” (Psalm 89:21). Pray that the Lord equip me “for the work of ministry, for building up the Body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12). But above all, pray that I will be a good, holy and zealous pastor of the Lord’s flock that will soon be entrusted to you.

Until we meet again, “may the Lord be with you always and, wherever you are, may he be with you always.”[2] Amen!

[1] William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, Scene 2.
[2] Saint Clare of Assisi, Blessing 13.