Boom, boom, diddum, daddum, waddum, CHOO!
Kasia June 23rd, 2008
Actually, emphasis on the BOOMs…
Either the City of St. Clair Shores has scheduled its Independence Day fireworks for tonight, or else the big downtown fireworks are carrying magnificently up here to Lake St. Clair. Either one is possible, and I’m not particularly concerned which it is.
All I know is that the cats think we’re under siege. Which is actually sort of cute, but I feel sorry for the poor guys - I can’t exactly explain it to them! Miko in particular is quite discombobulated. Poor kitty.
So since sleep is probably a lost cause right now, I’ll take a few minutes to tell anyone who cares (Matt) about our associate pastor’s farewell Mass and reception yesterday.
We had a pastoral transition last summer, and this summer it was our associate pastor’s turn to move on. We’ve been assigned one of the new ordinandi, who will be starting July 1; Father D, however, will be taking a new assignment.
For those of you who don’t know him, Father D is one of those guys you can’t seem to help but love. He’s a sweet, gentle, boyish man with a moderately thick Slavic accent. I still get an inappropriate chuckle when I hear him distributing the Eucharist:
“The BAH-dy of Christ.”
“The BLOOOOOOD of Christ.”
It’s very cute. I love accents.
Anyway, he’d been away for a while, and came back to have a farewell to and from the parish. I have to admit, I choked up a bit hearing him celebrate Mass. One of the most endearing things about him is his awestruck wonder at the Sacred Mysteries; and hearing him yesterday drove that home again. I love hearing him be amazed by God. And I got a little teary when I realized that it was very possible that I’d never hear him sing that husky, slightly off-key “Let us proclaim the mystery of faith” again.
The Mass was lovely (even apart from the woman next to me holding my shoulder during the Lord’s Prayer). Father B concelebrated. Father XYZ got up to do the homily and said, “While I was away, I had plenty of time to write a VERY LONG homily for you…” to many chuckles from the pews. (Father D is not known for his homiletic brevity.)
But then he went on to say that he had torn it up, and that he just wanted to say some things to us. And as anyone who knows Fr. D would suspect, it wasn’t short! But it was one of those rare moments when hardly anyone seemed to notice how much time was elapsing. I know I didn’t.
He told us how much he loved us. He told us how much our parish meant to him. He told us how much love our parish had shown to him and to others.
And he told us not to be afraid.
It was one of those odd things, that his final Mass happened to be on this particular Sunday in this particular year. Because the readings were, I think, uncannily appropriate. Jeremiah 20:10, for one thing. And Matthew 10:28. (My apologies to those of you who aren’t familiar with our parish; I’m being intentionally circumspect, both to protect some individuals’ privacy and to avoid sinning by detraction against anyone.)
Never be afraid.
The parish gave him two farewell gifts: a large framed picture of Christ knocking at a door (”Behold, I stand at the door and knock”) and a stole with the very distinctive parish installation cross embroidered onto it, so that every time he wore the stole to celebrate Mass he could remember that he was in our prayers, that he was loved by us, and that he was always welcome back. And Fr. B read a blessing that had been composed especially for the occasion by our former pastoral associate, who had to return to the mother house because of health issues.
All in all: a lovely Mass.
And Matt, under the circumstances I wouldn’t worry too much about whether you fulfilled your Sunday obligation…I’m pretty sure being in the narthex counts. God understands cranky children. 
Disciple vs. Pharisee, eh? It’s what is in your heart, not how well you keep the law. You *wanted* to be in the church at Mass, not that you used you kids as an excuse to duck out….
Completely different things.
Yes, Fr. D’s farewell was a good Mass. I missed him, and I hope to hear soon where he will be assigned.
As an addendum, as I stayed a bit later than you, and talked to him some more, we were hypothesizing with him where he might get sent to next. He goes, “I hope…it is not Alaska! But then, eh, maybe God wants me to bring the goodness of Christ Jesus to the Eskimos!”
I say, “Hopefully not, say, Kansas or Iowa or something!” He replies, “Ah, well, there are people there, too! Maybe I can gather them and do some good even there.”
But, he says, “I belong (or did he say ‘I am property of,’? not quite sure which, now) to the Archdiocese of Detroit. I will be assigned somewhere within the diocese.”
God Bless you, Father D, wherever the Lord has it that you will best serve Him!
Clam, you know how much I love Fr. D, and I’m going to miss him terribly (even though I’ve only been to about 3 Masses that he’s celebrated). I hope he’s assigned to a parish that’s within driving distance, as I’d love to see him again.
Once, I recall some less-than-kind folks sitting nearby who grumbled and moaned when they found out he’d be celebrating the Mass, complaining about his long homilies. I chuckled inside, thinking that they’d never have the patience to sit through a sermon delivered by an evangelical pastor!
Kasia, Sunday’s mass was just amazing. I got pretty choked up quite a few times actually. Even though I wasn’t really close with him as our pastor, I’m really going to miss him. I love the accent too! His homilies (though they were long) were very good. I chuckled at the beginning of his homily on Sunday though. He’s a very inspiring person…he will be missed!
Actually, I’m getting a little teary right now just reading this!
It would be lovely if Father D were sent to my brother’s parish. Next week is HIS pastor’s final Mass (at 78 years old and with health problems, he finally is retiring). After so many years of splendid homilies and daily Masses, his parish is praying for another fine priest.
Miss Jean, which parish does your brother belong to?
Father D is a sweet and gentle soul, and any parish would be lucky to have him. I doubt, however, that he is going to be given a pastorate right now…