A Week in the Life

I have worked through my first week of living and being present at St. Anne’s Parish in Brentwood. I thought it might be interesting to describe what I have learned in just this first week of parish life.

It is hard to maintain a consistent daily rhythm. In the seminary, our schedules are pretty structured (Prayer at certain times, classes at others, meals, etc.). I am learning that the same may not be possible in the everyday routine of parish life. Sure some things I can control (waking up at a certain time, etc.) but there are many others I cannot. In my first week, I don’t think my “plan for the day” worked out once. Maybe it’s a phone call in Outreach that requires some more attention than anticipated, working with other Pastoral Team members on a Friday night prayer service or trying to learn the “ins and outs” of the parish’s Ministry of Consolation. Before you know it the day is almost over and no two days are the same. That can be hard – and something I’m working to adjust to while I’m here.

Second, my experiences this week have taken me to a number of different areas of parish life. I have worked with members of the Parish Finance staff and volunteers in organizing parish collections and banking. I learned some new things about how basic parish finances work. I have had the chance to work with the volunteers in Parish Outreach (this will be a separate posting later) and serve a few Outreach clients. This week, I also have the opportunity to work with the parish’s Ministry of Consolation. This ministry helps families who have lost a loved one to plan and celebrate the funeral mass.

My time in the parish has also given me the opportunity to participate in the parish’s prayer life. I attend Mass each day in the parish (usually at 12) and that helps to establish some consistency in my day – and what better moment to build a day around. Members of St. Anne’s pray the Rosary daily, have daily Masses in a number of languages (yes I attend the Spanish Mass on Thursday nights) and celebrate Eucharistic Adoration on Thursday afternoons. In the area of prayer, I had the chance to work with members of the Pastoral Team on a special prayer service on Friday night. They even asked me to lead a part of it, which was quite humbling. The prayer service – concluding the Year for Priests – honored the three parish priests at St. Anne’s, included many different parishioners from different segments of parish life and was well attended by the parish community.

Much of my experience this week ahs included meeting and learning from individual parishioners. This is perhaps the highlight that brings it all together. Whether it be meeting someone in the parish office, greeting people after Mass, helping set up for an event or working behind the scenes at something – I have met wonderful, wonderful people. They have not only told me about the history of St. Anne’s and their role in the parish but have shown me what it is to be women and men of faith.

May I develop even half the faith and good will as the people of St. Anne's in the years to come!

Greetings from the "Mother Church of Beautiful Brentwood"!

Greetings from St. Anne’s Parish in Brentwood – the “Mother Church of Beautiful Brentwood”. As I wrote in the last post, this is part of my summer pastoral assignment – an opportunity to experience a diverse, dynamic and active parish community. There is no doubt this parish community is all of those things! I arrived here on Saturday after three weeks at the Southeast Pastoral Institute and the welcome extended to me has been more than I could ever have expected.

The hope of pastoral assignments for seminarians is that our experiences will “push” us a bit and challenge us to undertake and work through various parts of the priestly life. St. Anne’s, for these reasons and others, is a good fit for me. Here are some (but not all) the reasons why….

Living in a Rectory. This is the first time in my life I am living in a Rectory. It is different living than the seminary. There are three priests who live and work at St. Anne’s – Fr. Frank Nelson, the pastor, Fr. Gonzalo and Fr. Eden. They have each been welcoming and wonderful in their own ways. I have a room and a place to work (where I’m typing from right now). The priests of this rectory gather for dinner together most nights and encounter each other in various ways throughout the day. The kitchen table, I’m learning, is a key spot!

A Diverse Parish. St. Anne’s is different than other communities I have been part of. There is a rich and large diversity present here that is part of the entire community. Masses are celebrated in English, Spanish and French Creole. (Yes – I spoke in Spanish when I introduced myself at the Spanish masses – !O Dios Mio!) Not only are liturgies and ministries in different languages but great efforts are made to make sure these three communities come together for prayer, recreation and service of those in need in the community.

Being the Seminarian. It is different living and working as a seminarian as opposed to having a “specific” job or role. In many ways, the same is probably said for parish priests. It is hard to focus solely on one specific parish ministry when there is so much happening. So I hope to be involved in lots of things and it looks like that will happen, for sure! On my first day I learned a lot about the community and was able to learn about some financial aspects of parish life – very important learning for a seminarian. I can see already where each day will bring new and surprising challenges!

So I am back in New York and hopefully building off of my experiences from the last year and the last three weeks!

Have a great week!

Escuela de verano (Summer School)

Greetings from Miami, Florida. This week is my last week of study at the Southeast Pastoral Institute in Miami. I am here studying, living and breathing Spanish in the hopes that I may one day be able to minister and serve in those communities on Long Island. It has been a wonderful, yet challenging two weeks on a number of levels.

First, learning a new language at any point is not easy. I knew that coming here and I was right. Honestly, Spanish appears to be an easier language to comprehend. It’s much less confusing than English. Yet trying to learn something new after 34 years of a whole different language is a bit overwhelming. (It is humbling and that in and of itself is a good lesson learned.) We have great teachers and things are moving a long. I am certainly in better shape than when I started on May 30th but still have a lot of work to do! I will leave here with a good learning experience and a significant amount of materials to follow up with as well!

Second, it has been good to gain a better understanding of the work of Hispanic ministry in the Church. This is one of the largest minority populations in America and it is growing. The Church has done a lot to serve and minister to this community but there is much more to do. I think of Spanish speaking people in New York where I live and how hard it must be to get a command of a new language and culture. Today, for example, I went to a Spanish Mass at St. Timothy’s Church. It was not easy to follow along – I wonder how challenging it must be for the Spanish speaking in our communities who are trying their best to “follow along” at Mass, school, work, etc. I’m finding it hard and it’s only school. For others, it is a life need. I think, too, of the men I live with at the Seminary – particularly those who come from other countries – who have to learn English to even participate in school and life in the Church here.

Third, this has been a sort of retreat experience, too. SEPI is overseen by the Piarist Fathers. Three priests and one seminarian (who stayed here through his vacation to work at SEPI) have been with us throughout the week.. They are good, humble and holy men (and they speak almost always in Spanish). So speaking in Spanish at meals is a must. Good challenge. Additionally, we pray the Liturgy of the Hours with them (in Spanish) and Mass is celebrated every day here at 12 Noon. Their welcome, patience, perspective and vision have helped to make this not only a time of education but of reflection as well.

We have four days left and while it has been a wonderful experience here it will be good to go home. For the summer, seminarians work with their advisors to develop good and balanced formational experiences. This has certainly been the case for me. The weeks here have taught me a lot and I begin living and working at St. Anne’s Parish in Brentwood next weekend. Things are moving along!

A Woman of the Resurrection

Greetings from the Southeast Pastoral Institute in Miami. I originally intended this week’s posting to be about my work in attempting to learn Spanish. That will have to wait until next week.

Upon leaving New York, I learned some very sad news. Mrs. Theresa McBride, a former teacher, moderator, mentor and, most importantly, friend passed away after a long battle with Parkinson’s Disease and complications associated with that disease. This past year has been a challenging one for Mrs. McBride as she has undergone a number of hospitalizations, faced living life differently and the death of her son. I hope and pray (and know) she’s at peace.

I have had much time, this week, to pray, reflect and think about the influence this “woman of the resurrection” has on me

I first met Mrs. McBride when I was a sophomore at St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School. Mrs. McBride had just become the moderator of The Prophet, the school newspaper, and I the overeager, hyper sophomore who lived for the school newspaper. From that point on, our relationship grew from a teacher-student to a mentor-mentee to friends. She is part of the reason I desired to become a teacher and committed to ministry in the life in the Church.

I have many great stories of our many years working and sharing life together. A few stand out and please indulge me as I share three of the stories below. During one of my first years as the Campus Minister, I asked Mrs. McBride to talk at a special Stations of the Cross prayer service before the entire school community. The reflection was about the challenges of pain and destruction in family and touched on a number of personal issues. She was so nervous but so wonderful. She witnessed to the entire community – who previously only saw her in the role of “teacher” - that with faith, hope and the support of family and friends any obstacle can be overcome. She never spoke to me about her fear but I knew it was tough. Yet, there was no need to complain. She needed to be there for the community, to show them the way.

This past June, Mrs. McBride came back on my last “official” day at St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School. It was not an easy task for her to get to SJB but she insisted on being there. There was no reason to complain. She just needed to be there. She made me sit down (not always easy to do) and she reminded what a good decision I had made no matter how hard it might be and wondered what “took you so long. I’ve been waiting for this for years.” She was anointed that day at our Closing Mass. Again, she witnessed not only to me but to the community of her tremendous faith in the midst of an illness.

I could not attend her funeral on Thursday because of my studies here, but friends tell me the celebrant preached about the women of the resurrection. All four Gospels reveal the often quiet but vital role the women played in the resurrection story. What a great image. They didn’t complain or even say much in the midst of their pain and struggle. There was no need to complain. They needed to be there so others could see.

Since June, we communicated mostly via e-mail with some visits, including one she made to the Seminary in November. Mrs. McBride had developed other health symptoms that made simple things more difficult yet she insisted on being present. There was no need to complain. Just needed to be there. (There, she also gave me great advice about the Holy Land and some money for lunch in Jersualem! :))

I’ve written before that vocation does not happen with out the loving support and example of those around us. And I’ve written before about witnesses who continue to inspire me in this life. Mrs. McBride is certainly one of those poeple.

I last communicated with Mrs. McBride via e-mail. She had just read this blog and warned me about staying up too late to post things. She acknowledged the increasing burden of sickness but did not let it get her down. Her e-mail concluded, “I really want more than anything to see you ordained. That is one of my remaining goals.”

It may not work out the way any of us perhaps planned and I'm unsure it ever does. Yet, there’s no need to complain. Like any good person of the resurrection, she’ll be there helping others, including me, to see.