One of the true joys of ordained ministry for me has always been running into people that I’ve been privileged to serve in some way. Whether it’s the family for whose loved one I celebrated a funeral, or a family whose child I have baptized, there is always a special bond when you’ve encountered Christ together with someone at a significant moment of their life. Perhaps my favorite type of encounter is running into a couple whose wedding I’ve witnessed. Despite how different all of these couples truly are, one of the most
consistent themes of these conversations is that they sometimes feel as though they’ve been married for twenty years, and other times it seems like yesterday.
 
That sums up my own experience as a priest rather succinctly. There are days where I feel like it was just last week that I was prostrate on the floor at the Cathedral, and sometimes it seems like I’ve been at this for about thirty years, when in reality this weekend marks three years since I started my first assignment as a priest. The picture at the head of this column was taken the night before I started as a parochial vicar. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel as though I look about fifteen years younger in that picture than I do now.
 
I say all this to introduce a word about my own limitations and some of the frustrations that come with not only being a pastor at such a young age, but also a pastor of multiple parishes. A few weeks after I arrived here I was having a conversation with one of the deacons who asked me what my strengths and weaknesses are, in my own estimation. I thought for a moment and said that my strength is probably my youth and energy, and it’s quite possible that my weakness is also my youth and energy. I arrived here with the intention of being all things to all people, and have recently begun to see not only my own limitations, but also the wear and tear that it is taking on me.

There have been a number of times recently when parishioners have expressed their disappointment, either to me or someone on the staff, that I was not present for some parish event. While I sincerely wish I could be at all of the important things that happen in our region, the sad reality is that I cannot. As my dad would often opine, “only the great saints of the Church have been able to achieve bilocation, and inasmuch as I am not one of them, I can only be in one place at one time.” Suffice it to say that I am not even close to as saintly as my dad was, and therefore am even less likely to bilocate. In one recent instance of this, I had to miss a social event at one of the parishes due to the fact that I was called away to be with a family who had just suffered a tremendous loss. I’m sure you understand that such circumstances will always take precedence.
 
It is not my intention to make anyone feel bad or simply lament my own weakness. Rather, I see this as a teachable opportunity. There will always be the temptation to see the worst in any situation. This is the adversary seeking to drive wedges between us. I ask that you understand the strain that priests labor under in multiple parishes and do your best to give me the benefit of the doubt. I promised when I came here that I would pour myself out for these parishes and the families therein, but I also must balance this with my own health, the pastoral needs of the flock, and also the call to foster my prayer life so that I am not merely offering myself, but am instead acting as a channel for the grace that God desires to give His people through their priests. Know that I am committed to you all and I love you all, and will continue to seek this balance, perfectly cognizant of my own weaknesses and need for growth.

Prayers always,
Fr. McC