This coming year I will mark 35 years as a priest and 30 years as a pastor. To mark the occasion I want to begin a series of thoughts about lessons I have learned over those years about priestly ministry, particularly from the perspective of being a pastor of a parish. It is fitting that I begin this series during Vocations Awareness Week as an ongoing encouragement to anyone considering the priesthood.
Lesson Number One: I never cease to be surprised by how patient God is. Human nature is what it is. Yet, we, the baptized, are gifted with supernatural grace which enables us to rise again and again from the ashes of our mistakes. Our fallen human nature seems to tackle us from advancing in God's grace by sin, by foolishness, by "not getting it", and by one mistake after another. But God's grace can take the fallen person we are and by the process of a conversion of heart transform us into vessels of remarkable resilience in cooperating in God's plan, which always seems to adjust to our new circumstances.
One of the most extraordinary elements of being a priest, and particularly a pastor, is that of being a confessor. After so many years in a parish a pastor knows the inner life of his parishioners: what their common struggles are, what the unique person's unique struggle is, and by hearing their confessions year after year a pastor is able to see how God works with people, how patiently He regards us, how kindly He guides us to conquer our sins and find new ways to be live so as to walk in His ways.
What a joy it is for me to be a part of someone's recognizing how God is calling him or her to an increasingly closer walk with the Lord. Think of the silent celebration a pastor knows, and cannot speak about, when a sinner finally conquers, or make great progess in conquering, a long habit of sin, or a longstanding resentment! Think of what joy a pastor feels when an errant sojourner finally comes home to receive the sacraments after years and years of spiritual desolation! Think of what it's like to see the light of an "aha" come to a person who finally sees what has been robbing his or her heart of joy! Oh, how good God is! Oh, how kind God is! And oh, how very patient God is - with all of us!
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