From Fr. Chuck

This past weekend we had a wonderful example of the spirit of St. Austin Parish and School in the farewell event for Fr. Rich Andre. Fr. Rich has added so much to our community over the last six years, and so it was very fitting and proper that we had such a great celebration of gratitude. Many thanks to Martha Schroeder, Sharon Lehtonen, the Knights of Columbus, Frank Garcia, Michael Flahive, Sheryl Van Hoose, Chris Duran, and so many others who made the farewell event such a fitting tribute to Fr. Rich, and a positive send-off for him to his new assignment. 

Unfortunately, given the dearth of Paulists, and our aging population, there is no replacement for Fr. Rich on our parish staff. This means Fr. Paolo, the parish staff, and myself will be somewhat busier over the next year, trying to pick up the slack. We will not be able to carry on all the things that Fr. Rich has done, but we will do our best to make sure all the essentials get covered. Your patience is appreciated.

In other Paulist assignment news Fr. René Constanza, who was on the staff here prior to Fr. Rich coming, will be installed as the new President of the Paulist Fathers on June 7th in Washington, DC at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. That will commence his four-year term. We are grateful to Fr. René’s willingness to serve in this important and difficult position, and certainly need to keep him in our prayers. A number of parishioners, as well as Fr. Rich Andre (Fr. René’s ordination classmate), and I will be there to help inaugurate his term as President. Our own Deacon Billy Atkins will be the deacon at the installation Mass. 

This event is being held in Washington, DC because that is where the representatives of the Paulists are gathering for our General Assembly. We hold an Assembly every four years to set the course for our Paulist Community. I will be going as one of the delegates to the Assembly, since I have been re-elected to the Paulist General Council. That body consists of nine members and meets four times a year to conduct Paulist business such as assigning pastors and superiors, review finances, and administer the Paulist community. I have already been on this General Council for the last eight years.

Finally, I want to share with you that even though my time as pastor at St. Austin Parish is coming to the end of my 12-year term, I have received an extraordinary extension for two more years, especially to see through our major development project. So I will (God willing) be here through June 2024. By then the development project will be complete.

Please continue to pray for the Paulists, especially for vocations. 

God bless, 

Happy Mother’s Day. Blessings and Congratulations to all Moms, Grandmoms, Godmothers and mother figures. May you be exceedingly blessed in your very important vocation! 

Mothers (and Fathers) have always had a difficult task, but today the demands and expectations for what a parent should be are so high, and so all-encompassing, as to seem almost impossible to fulfill. Since they are human, no mother is perfect. Every mother has, somewhere along the line, in spite of all the love that is in her heart, been too tired, too distracted, too confused, too ill-equipped, too inexperienced, too uneducated, to be the perfect Mother at all times. And some mothers have been downright controlling, vindictive or even abusive. Not every woman is fit to be a mother. And those in their charge have suffered.

On this Mother’s Day, perhaps the best gift you can give your mother is really a gift to yourself: the gift of forgiveness. By letting go of bitterness, hurts, bruised and damaged feelings, resentments and losses, you not only forgive your Mother but also free yourself. This is a gift much greater than any amount of flowers, candy, or sentimental cards. It is a gift you can give not only to the living, but also to Mothers and Grandmothers who have died. Forgiveness is a wonderful gift to give on Mother’s Day, or any day of the year. 

We have not only a physical and biological mother, but also a spiritual mother. That mother is the Church, or in the traditional phrase, “Holy Mother the Church”. As anyone who has read a newspaper or listened to TV or radio in the last several years well knows, the Church has been far from a perfect mother. Sin is an aspect - an all too prominent part - of the church on earth. It has been from the beginning (read the letters of St. Paul), and so it will be till the Lord comes again. The clergy sexual abuse, the financial malfeasance, and other scandals should not be unexpected, even though they are disheartening and discouraging. A wise old priest and former president of the Paulist Fathers once told me that when you see the church doing stupid and inhuman things it “is like seeing your mother drunk.” It is embarrassing. 

What are we to do? No more than we can change the fact that we are our mother’s child can we change the fact of our spiritual bond to the church. Giving in to feelings of hurt, bitterness, resentment, anger, and desires for revenge, will hurt ourselves as much as anyone else. Working through to forgiveness frees us to grow as spiritually mature people. The Church needs reform. The Church needs to listen. We need to work for the protection of children and all people. We need Bishops who are shepherds, not careerists. Fortunately, Pope Francis gets it and is appointing men who are true shepherds and not church functionaries.

And we also have our part to play. We also need, like adult children of alcoholics, to not collude in lies, but to take responsibility for our own actions, and especially to open our hearts and souls to forgiveness. Being responsible, adult, loving children of the Church is the best gift we can give our “Holy Mother the Church”.  

God bless! 

I was very privileged to join a trip sponsored by the Catholic Extension to visit four mission parishes in New Mexico and Arizona April 19 – 22. We visited Catholic parishes on Navajo and Zuni reservation lands. The trip was funded by a grant from the Lilly Foundation. There were five other priests, two lay persons (including our own Mitzi Eastman), three staff members from Catholic Extension, and myself. It was a wonderful and educational trip.

Among the many impressions from that trip were the following: Distance. We spent hours each day in the van traveling hundreds of miles. The distances are immense. A 40-minute drive to church is considered close. The priests we met are all covering several missions, and it is the women religious, Sisters, who operate the local mission. We had a terrible dust storm one day, gorgeous scenery near Monument Valley, and a visceral experience of space. The huge distances, and far-flung nature of the communities, makes all ministry more difficult and time-consuming.

Truly dedicated priests, nuns and parishioners. The numbers of people involved in the missions is small, often only a handful. But they do tremendous work helping provide for both the physical and spiritual needs of their parishioners and neighbors. All the missions we visited have food banks. 

The Native American approach to time, and to membership, and to life in general, is not our western approach. At each mission we visited, a group of members of the mission met with us and shared with us their stories. It was very beautiful and very moving, but it was not our western approach of precision and efficiency. Sometimes it was difficult for me as I waited for them to get to the point. But like the large distances, it takes time and patience to tell the story. The stories were interesting and moving, but not quick.  The concept of time is very different from what I am used to. Schedules are more-or-less meaningless. 

Identity is somewhat fluid and somewhat confused. We saw lots of American flags and lots of signs of patriotism. The Native Americans are proud of being part of the U.S., and very proud of the contribution of the Navajo native code-talkers in WWII. But at the same time, they are insistent that the reservations are separate sovereign states. They need to be able to “shape-shift” from a western 9 to 5 way of thinking in order to hold a job in the modern economy, and also hold on to a very different mind-set that experiences time and distance very differently, and values relationships over things. I think this cultural schizophrenia leads to the high rate of alcoholism and drug use. 

Of the people who met with us, all but one were Seniors. Younger people may have been at work, but it sounded like many younger people are not involved in church. Too many are fighting demons of drugs and alcohol and other problems. 

The Catholic Extension is doing great work in helping to support the heroic and holy missionaries, both men and women, who serve in these far-flung missions in our own country. It was for me a blessed experience to hear and witness a small taste of the reality of their mission work. I am glad I went.