Bulletins

June 22, 2014

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This weekend we say goodbye to our Fathers Thompson and Cozzi. It will not be easy.

The Roman custom when one passed a priest who is on his way to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, is to say "Memento", which means in Latin "May I be remembered". The priest responds "Mementis" to assure the other that "you will be remembered". You will remain in his heart as he worships God. You will be joined to Christ as he intercedes for you.

When a priest who loves his parish gets transferred it sort of feels like his heart is getting ripped out. It is an awful experience. Once he arrives in his new assignment he is met with disorientation. The phone does not ring like it used to. His belongings are in boxes. His vehicle is filled with stuff it does not usually have within. He wakes up wondering where he is. Everything smells different.

But His Lord is the same in the tabernacle. The prayers of the Holy Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours provide the only rhythm of familiarity. Although the isolation might turn into loneliness, it hopefully is more likely that it will turn into solitude wherein he not only has more time for prayer but the greater need for consolation can come from his time spent in prayer.

He may choose to reconnect with some of his previous parishioners. But he benefits from being free to fully immerse himself into his next apostolate. In the meantime the prayers of the Church, both at the altar and in the Breviary, bind him with all the Faithful, especially those who likewise join themselves to the holy words that pass through his priestly heart.

This might be a good time to become that much more dedicated to attending daily Mass and even to take up all or some of the daily prayers of the Liturgy of the Hours. A very helpful guide is iBreviary, which can be used as a Smartphone App, available for Apple, Android and Blackberry devices. Also it can be used online at http://www.ibreviary.org/en/tools/ibreviary-web.html. Either way it is free of charge.

And then you can not only ask your priest to remember you but you also can tell him that you will be with him at the altar, which is where a priest's heart always will be found.

God bless you.

Fr. Christopher J. Pollard