“When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me.’”
- Erma Bombeck
I was recently speaking with a friend who attended the farewell reception for a priest, Fr. Bob Miller, who was leaving a parish after 10 years. My friend mentioned that Fr. Bob was well loved, respected and appreciated and the people will miss him greatly. Since my friend knew Fr. Bob well, I asked him what the secrets of his success were. He gave these reasons:
1) For the first three weeks of his arrival at the parish, Fr. Bob praised his predecessor, Fr. Tom Marpus, to the high heavens who had served the parish for 34 years. Fr. Tom had left over $1 million in the bank for repairs, updating, staffing, projects and programming. It was a financially sound and stable parish that he inherited.
2) When the diocese permitted 4 pm Masses for Saturday evening vigils, Fr. Bob jumped on that and made his parish the first to offer it in the area. Every one flocked there for the early bird special.
3) Fr. Bob had sufficient capacity in the church parking lot for all the cars and everyone felt safe as the lot surrounded the church.
4) Fr. Bob took on an additional parish down the street, doubling his work load and duties, yet finding double the blessings and graces.
5) Fr. Bob was always young at heart and kept himself involved in the plays at Seton LaSalle, helping the students, and making sure they stayed involved in activities which developed character.
As Fr. Bob makes his transition to his new parish at Saints Peter and Paul in Beaver County, he will find it much different than his churches in Brookline. Established in 1830, Saints Peter and Paul was among the first six parishes founded in the Diocese of Pittsburgh. This parish is in a professional area with a quaint town, Beaver Medical Center, Geneva College, a jail, cemetery, and, it’s a dry town. This parish had been writing letters to Bishop Zubik for several weeks as they were demanding and expecting the arrival of a new pastor. Recently, at the 51st Serra Club Dinner at St. Frances Cabrini in Center Township, I had the opportunity to speak to Fr. Bob and he was delighted to accept this new challenge in his life.
I recently heard the Archbishop of Atlanta, Wilton Gregory, state that he spends more time in sleepless nights and prayer over the assignment of a priest than anything else in his responsibility as a bishop. It’s not just a matter of filling slots and billets randomly and haphazardly. A bishop must look at the needs of the people, the talents and limitations of the priest, the dynamics of the community in which he will be serving and the challenges that lie ahead, whether declining and decaying areas, a status quo community or a community on the rise of development. Every bishop wants a good fit for the people, the pastor and the community itself. Every parish assignment, like every person, has its plusses and minuses. And no one priest has all the gifts or can be everything: administrator, preacher, fund-raiser, counselor, organizer, inspirational leader, brick and mortar person, scholar or teacher.
Every time a parish is open, due to a retirement of a priest or the ending of a six-year term, the personnel director sends out a profile of the parish with such stats as: number of families, parishioners, baptisms, marriages, funerals, Mass times, staff size, organizations, finances and all the particular outreaches that the parish offers. There are currently 210 parishes in our diocese of Pittsburgh. There are 492 total priests in our diocese— 380 diocesan priests (77.2%), 112 religious priests (22.8%), 243 active priests (49.4%), 99 retired priests (20.1%), 150 other, including—medical, study, military, diocesan positions, teaching institutions and religious institutions (30.5%). Of the 243 priests in active ministry, 43 have multiple parish assignments (37 priests have 2 parishes and 6 have 3 parishes).
Msgr. Steven J. Rossetti, in his latest book, Why Priests are Happy: A Study of the Psychological and Spiritual Health of Priests, notes that one healthy, happy and holy priest can positively influence a large number of people. So too an unhealthy, unhappy and unholy priest negatively influences a large number of people. It is critical in order to have care of others that one have the self-care of diet, exercise, spiritual reading, friendships, prayer and spiritual direction. I have found with St. Paul that one must be adaptable, flexible, versatile in the changing times in which we live to be the constancy of Christ’s presence despite in our world today.
With my silver anniversary on the horizon in 2013, I often think of the words of my Godmother Aunt Jo, who says, “Yard by yard; things are hard. But inch by inch, it’s a cinch.” A life-time commitment of serving others in the priesthood can be intense, grinding, challenging and deeply rewarding. But like anything in life, nothing is perfect, and not even the priesthood. But it is a gift.
In today’s Gospel of the talents, Jesus entrusts us with various talents and He wants us to take risks and to invest our talents for the growth of others. Not everyone has the same gifts, skill sets and abilities, but everyone has gifts, graces and blessings to confer on others. Never underestimate the gifts God has blessed you with. In every vocation, whether, married, single, priesthood or consecrated life, we are called to help one another grow in holiness, love and wholeness. In every one of us, there is an amazing capacity to contribute to the well-being of others, whether family, parish, work-place, community, nation or even world. The evangelist Billy Graham turned 93 on November 7. He wrote his 30th book, Nearing Home, and expressed his desire to preach one last sermon. I’m reminded of his words especially as Thanksgiving draws near and as we think of our talents: “God has given us two hands: one to receive with and the other to give with.” Let us be humble in receiving and generous in giving.
