“Never abandon an old friend; you will never find a new one who can take his place. Friendship is like wine; it gets better as it grows older.” -Sirach 9:10
Coming Back Home
Wow! Aha! Eureka! What a celebration! On Sunday, July 15, 2013, at 4:00 pm, at Our Lady of Fatima Church in Hopewell Twp., I was the Celebrant of a Mass, with Bishop David A. Zubik serving as Presider, in honor of my 25th Anniversary of Ordination to the Priesthood. Our Lady of Fatima was my first priestly assignment and will always serve as “home plate.” It was nice to touch home again. Also in attendance was the Region III Episcopal Vicar, Fr. Samuel J. Esposito, as well as my classmates, also Jubilarians (Fr. Bud Murhammer, Fr. Howard Campbell, Fr. David Bonnar), along with Deacon Anthony J. Giordano, who proclaimed the Gospel and served at Table. Proclaiming the Word was my first niece, Emily Marie Wager, (in her 2nd year of college at Clemson University in South Carolina), my brother, Dr. Daniel B. Jones (a Dermatologist in Greensboro, NC), and my sister, Dr. Karen A.Wager (Asst. Dean at the Medical University of Charleston, SC.)
The Little Sisters of the Poor, in thanksgiving for the 8 years that Mom resided at the Little Sisters of the Poor Home, two sisters, Sr. Margaret Mary Jerousek, lsp, and Sr. Mary Ellen Losekamp, lsp brought the gifts forward at the Offertory time. The Cantors were Angela Evans and Tom Franzak, (composer and songwriter), who sang my favorite songs, “Come and Follow Me” as a prelude song and “Live On In My Love,” as a Communion song. The Adult and Teen Choirs were present to provide uplifting music, as well, under the direction of Ginny Ambrose, Director of Music, who also did the program booklets. Nicholas Barthen, Band Director at Moon Area High School played trumpet for the Mass. The Altar Servers were Natalie Ciccone, John Grimm, Christina Sabol, Nicol Truzzi, John Wojtechko and Matthew Wojtechko. Longtime friend and mentor, Fr. Victor Rocha offered the homily.
Every July, the Jones family gathered for a family reunion to celebrate Mom’s birthday, which is July 23. Her 90th birthday would have coincided with this 25th anniversary celebration, however, God called her home on January 11, 2013. She would have been filled with such great joy, to know that the circle of love has expanded to include the many guests (over 500 in attendance at Mass), who attended. I recall the many times that Mom would come from Greentree to Hopewell Twp., to attend the Masses I offered and in every successive assignment given to me by the bishop, until her declining health no longer allowed her. I told those in attendance, that on the weekend that we had sweltering temperatures in the 90’s, that my family came to fill the many rooms of the “St. Joseph Inn.” In mid-afternoon on Saturday, there was a power outage as a transformer was down in the area. With no power, that meant there would be no air-conditioning, no TV, no computer, no refrigeration, no lights. One would immediately think, “Oh no! What are we going to do?” Fear and anxiety arises. So the family went outside to the St. Joseph parking lot to play ball, hang out and share stories. The next door neighbor came over and said, “Father, did your power go out in your house?” I told her, “Yes, it did.” She commented that she was glad that we were in the same condition. I thought, “Oh yes! We are indeed in the human condition. There are ‘power outages’ in all our lives.” Jesus is the Light of the World and the power of those who believe. As a Christian, we are called to bring the grace of our faith to bear light on others’ paths. Time and time again, Jesus tells us the importance of being ‘neighbor’ to one another, which abolishes all boundaries, all divisions and all stereotypes.
On Wednesday, July 10, 2013, the day of the torrential down pours, and road closures in our area, I attended the funeral Mass for the Most Reverend Anthony G. Bosco, third Bishop of the Diocese of Greensburg at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral in Greensburg, PA. The Principal Celebrant was the Metropolitan Archbishop of Philadelphia, Most Reverend Charles J. Chaput, OFM Cap. There were a total of 10 bishops in attendance, with about 80 priests concelebrating. There were 3 bishops from Pittsburgh in attendance, Bishop David A. Zubik, Bishop William J. Waltersheid, Bishop William J. Winter. The homilist was Msgr. Roger Statnick, who served as the right hand man of Bishop Bosco’s for many years. Bishop Bosco was born on the North Side of Pittsburgh and served as bishop for the Diocese of Greensburg, June 7, 1987 through January 2, 2004.
The one image that stuck in my mind from that funeral was when Msgr. Statnick noted, that at Bishop Bosco’s installation (June 7, 1987), he remarked, “I am a small man and this is a small diocese, it’s just small enough that I can put my arms around it.” The people of Latrobe, Monessen, Uniontown, Murraysville, Fairchance, Tarentum, New Kensington, Irwin, Connellsville comprise this small diocese, relatively small compared to the 306 diocese’s that make up the Church of the United States of America.
The Lord entrusts to each of us a small portion, to tend and cultivate, in which to honor Him, whether a diocese, a parish, a family, a school or institution, So, too, Mom was small, but her love was large. Bishop Bosco died watching a Pirate’s game, and they won that night. Now, he shares in the victory of the Risen Christ, and now, he touches “home plate!”
With the All-Star Game at City Field in New York, on Tuesday, July 16, I think of the illustrious 26 year baseball career of the flame-throwing Nolan Ryan. He would inevitably pop out of the dugout and scan the crowds behind home plate to look for his wife, Ruth. Once he would locate her face, he would grin at her, and snap his head up with a quick nod, as if to say, “There you are! I’m glad you’re here.” That simple gesture will never be recorded in the record books or the career summaries, or the Hall of Fame, but that’s what made him a champion.
My Mom was my biggest fan. And as I would scan the congregation at Masses, looking for her face, today, I now see Mom’s eyes gazing back at me through all of you! Thank you for sharing in this. All of you honored the Jones family by being present with us on this day. Your presence, friendship and prayers inspire my faith, in seeking to serve the Lord, with a joyful heart.
