From Padre Paolo

Dear Friends,

I’m happy to share I’m fully recovered after a brief bout with COVID just after Ash Wednesday. This was my first time testing positive for the illness, and apart from a brief fever, the symptoms were indistinguishable from allergies. Though I was feeling back to normal, I followed CDC guidelines by remaining isolated in my room for five days before going back to work with a mask. I am grateful this happened before Holy Week and that Fr. Chuck and Fr. Bruce were able to fulfill my ministerial commitments.

As we meditated on Christ in the desert last weekend, I had an analogous experience of isolation, but luckily with no tempter offering me the kingdoms of the world. The experience of the Hebrew people journeying through the wilderness is a good metaphor for our own moments of disruption and dislocation. The desert lacks the immediacy of signage and landmarks that locate us within our cities. The desert has a way of distorting our sense of time and distance. And yet, the desert is also a rich place of prayer and intimacy when we are removed from the familiar distractions of our day-to-day life. And when we lose our bearings in the desert, it is also common to return to memories of the past when we most felt grounded.

I found myself thinking a lot about the Spring of 2013 when I had made the decision to leave my job and begin my application to the Paulist Fathers. I mailed my application on February 11, 2013, coincidentally the same morning that Pope Benedict XVI abdicated. The six months between applying and starting the novitiate on August 21, 2013 were filled with a whirlwind of emotions. I was more than content with my job and friendships, but I also felt a great sense of peace and freedom to finally pursue a possible call to priesthood. I enjoyed many farewell meals and celebrations with my colleagues and friends during that transitional time.
When I left Houston in 2013, I had never imagined I would be back here in Texas ten years later in such a vibrant parish community. I am so grateful to the many parishioners who offered to bring food during my five days in isolation, and I had more than I needed to get by. 

February was a very special and unforgettable month for my priestly ministry. I bid farewell to several extraordinary people like Louise Palousek of Westminster with last rites. At the same time, I had the joy of celebrating a beautiful wedding where the bride and groom were each formed at Paulist parishes growing up in different states. I heard many meaningful confessions in the mix of all this. Then when I had to take a step back from my busy schedule, I experienced the kindness and care of our community.

Sometimes I wonder if priests don’t talk enough about the joy of our ministries and lives. It is certainly an unconventional path, and so much takes place behind-the-scenes within one-on-one conversations. But we certainly need more priests, and it wouldn’t hurt to be a little more public about the joys of this life. I encourage you all to join me in praying for vocations, and don’t be shy about sharing the joy you find in our community with others. I hope such conversations can be pathways for the next generation of Catholics to seriously consider the possibility of a vocation to priesthood or consecrated life in service to God’s people.

God bless,

Around this time last year, we conducted our parish synod. Elizabeth Korves diligently guided over a dozen listening sessions among various groups within our parish and assembled a report that was sent to the Diocese of Austin. The diocese in turn submitted a synthesis report to our regional conglomeration of dioceses, which in turn submitted a synthesis to the USCCB for use in drafting the national synthesis. The national synthesis was then sent to Rome for the drafting of a global synthesis, which is called the “Document for the Continental Stage.” (DCS) 

Keeping track of all these synthesis documents is hard enough, but it is a reminder of the challenge of belonging to a global church. Truth be told, I did not read any of these documents until this week. Ministerially, I have more than enough to keep me busy here at St. Austin’s without setting aside time to read about the situation across the church.

That changed when Bishop Joe nominated me to be one of two priests from our diocese to participate in a clergy-only session for the Continental Phase of the Synod. As with our parish and diocesan synods, there will be continental listening sessions for the laity serving in various capacities as well. Before the bishops gather for the synod in Rome this fall, Pope Francis wanted the bishops to listen directly to feedback from the laity and clergy across their different continents.

I was pleasantly surprised by the breadth and depth of the international synthesis of the synod when I finally sat down to read the DCS. The spiritual lens for the synod comes from Isaiah 54:2, which reads “Enlarge the space of your tent, spread out your tent cloths unsparingly, lengthen your ropes and make firm your pegs.” The DCS explains that this verse offers three key metaphors for our reflection – the tent cloths that provide protection and space for conviviality, the ropes which must withstand the tensions of the world, and the pegs of our faith that anchor the edifice and hold it together.

I was also quite moved by the many issues from across the globe that the DCS cited from across the globe. Our community can easily resonate with the ongoing wounds of abuse, a longing for women to share greater co-responsibility in church decision-making, and a greater understanding of ways to walk with the LGBTQ community that were mentioned in the DCS (see paragraphs 20, 39, 61). The DCS reminds us of the allure and dangers of consumerism and a general exhaustion among volunteers. The DCS also cites pastoral challenges from across the world that have never crossed my mind. I find it courageous that the leadership team of the Synod was willing to share such a comprehensive synthesis of both the strengths and
weaknesses facing our church.

Returning to Isaiah’s call to widen our tents, the DCS situates this prophecy in the context of Israel’s return from exile. As a global church, we are on a pilgrimage of metaphorical return from exile after the pandemic’s insolation and the alienation of various scandals. But there is cause for great hope, knowing that the Holy Spirit is in our midst as we undertake the journey together as an international community. It was a great privilege to participate in the clergy’s session for the synod earlier this week, and we eagerly await the fruits of the Synod in Rome this fall. Let’s continue to pray for our bishops and walk together with our sisters and brothers from around the world.

God bless,

Dear Friends,

After staying in Austin for Christmas and New Year’s, I’ll be leaving for a 12-day trip to Central America on Monday morning, January 9. The Maryknoll Fathers sponsor an annual pilgrimage and retreat for priests and
deacons to El Salvador and Guatemala to learn about the history of religious sisters and priests who worked in pursuit of justice in the 1980s. Many were killed by the military, including four American women working in El Salvador and a priest from Oklahoma working in Guatemala. Fr. Chuck, Fr, Mike McGarry, and many other Paulists highly recommended this trip after having made it themselves. With Fr. Bruce and Fr. Mike available to help Fr. Chuck with daily Masses, the timing was perfect for me to travel for 12 days.

This will be my third trip to El Salvador. In 2008, I went with other students from the UCC during Spring Break to help build houses and learn about the history of Msgr. Oscar Romero, the bishop of San Salvador who was killed while celebrating Mass at a convent in 1980. In 2010, I spent two months volunteering at a school in El Salvador for students threatened by gangs. Gangs will often retaliate against children who refuse to join them, so this school was a secure refuge that allowed boys 13 to 18 the opportunity to safely resist. Unfortunately, I have read in the news that the situation has worsened over the past decade.

Many migrants at the southern-US border are Central Americans escaping gang violence in El Salvador or Central America, and their story is increasingly part of our own. Though I’m already familiar with the life of
Archbishop Romero, I’m curious to learn firsthand about the present situation in Central America and discern how we as a church are called to witness to human dignity and promote justice.

Please pray for me and for the other priests and deacons attending this pilgrimage, and I look forward to sharing my experiences when I return.

God bless,

Dear Friends,

I hope that you and your families could enjoy some rest and relaxation this week after the festivities of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The parish office has been quiet as most of our staff, including Fr. Chuck, took well-deserved vacations. My parents and sister joined me here in Austin while I shared the daily Masses with Fr. Mike and made hospital visits as needed.

We are very grateful for our team of volunteer ministers who helped make our beautiful Christmas liturgies possible. The most stressful part of the weekend was planning for the 4 p.m. Christmas Eve Mass. In pre-COVID years, the church would reach the fire code capacity, and an overflow Mass in the gym was necessary. Without any space for an overflow Mass while the construction project is ongoing, we decided reservations would be the best way to avoid having to turn people away at the door.

Fortunately, next year we should be able to do away with reservations and have an overflow 4 p.m. Christmas Eve Mass in our new parish ministry center right next to the church. Christmas 2023 will hopefully be a grand celebration after the disruptions of the pandemic and our construction project. It will also be a great opportunity for grown children of our parishioners to see our new ministry center when they come home for the holidays.

Pope Francis gave us a belated Christmas gift by releasing an apostolic letter on St. Francis de Sales on December 28. The letter commemorates the 400th Anniversary of his death and is entitled Everything Pertains to Love and describes the life and spirituality of St. Francis de Sales. Born in France to a noble family, Francis de Sales became the renowned bishop of Geneva during the aftermath of the Reformation. He preached a spirituality of gentleness and kindness and modeled how to seek holiness in a pluralistic society. Isaac Hecker was deeply influenced by Francis de Sales as Hecker developed his vision for the mission of the Paulist Fathers. Guided by this new letter of Pope Francis, I look forward to meditating on the spirituality of St. Francis de Sales in the weeks ahead.

Have a happy and blessed New Year,

Dear Friends,

This weekend we welcome Fr. René Constanza, CSP, back to Austin for the Sunday 11:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Masses and our special Mass for Our Lady of Guadalupe at 8 a.m. on Monday morning. Fr. René began his priestly ministry here at St. Austin’s in 2012 before moving to Grand Rapids in 2016. This summer he began a four-year term as the President of the Paulist Fathers. Since he already knows our parish so well, we are his final Paulist ministry to visit since beginning his new ministry as President.

We hope that you will consider joining us in celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Monday, December 12, with Mariachi Relámpago offering music to celebrate the feast. We'll also have our monthly communal celebration of the Anointing of the Sick. Fr. René will offer that sacrament and bless our prayer blankets for those who are sick.

Anointing of the Sick and Reconciliation are both considered Sacraments of Healing, and we will providentially offer a Communal Penance Service with the chance for individual confessions on Monday evening, December 12 at 7 p.m. It will be a wonderful opportunity to bring God’s healing light into the shadows of our life as we continue our journey towards our celebration of the Christmas season.

We are very grateful to our liturgical committee, ministry coordinators, and many volunteers who have made our liturgies possible. Liturgy comes from the Greek word meaning “work of the people,” and our liturgies have truly reflected the heartfelt faith of wonderful parishioners. We know the Christmas season can be a particularly busy and stressful time preparing for gatherings at home, and we appreciate all our parishioners who offer their valuable time to serve during this busy season.

God bless,

This weekend we celebrate the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe to mark the culmination of our liturgical year. However, this is actually the second time I will celebrate Christ the King this year.

Two weeks ago, I visited relatives in Milan where a unique form of the Catholic Mass has been celebrated for centuries. The Ambrosian Rite follows a different calendar of readings and feasts. Advent is six weeks long in the Ambrosian Rite, so the Archdiocese of Milan celebrated the Solemnity of Christ the King two weeks before the rest of the Catholic Churches following the Roman Rite. There are around two dozen other forms of celebrating the liturgy among churches around the world that are in communion with the Pope. These diverse languages, calendars, and orders of worship remind us that Christ’s reign transcends the particulars of language and culture and unites us together as one body.

While on vacation I also had the opportunity to visit a priest in Switzerland who is a good family friend of my relatives in Colombia. Don Jean-Luc – his name is French despite being a native of the Italian-speaking region of Switzerland – worked as a missionary in Barranquilla in the early 90s and later spent ten years as a pastor in Chad. Though the Catholic faith is well established in both Colombia and Chad, the Swiss Diocese of Lugano recognized the need to help alleviate the tremendous material poverty of people in these countries. With the collaboration of Catholic Swiss professionals, Don Jean-Luc and other priests helped establish schools and workshops alongside the parishes in Colombia and Chad to help others both spiritually and
materially.

This weekend we have a special second collection to support the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD). The CCHD strives to alleviate poverty by developing people’s capacities to find dignified employment to care for themselves and their families. In the Gospels, we see that Jesus not only feeds and heals but also empowers people to be protagonists in living out the Gospel. Our church continues this work of both feeding and empowering others through the work of priests like Don Jean-Luc from Switzerland and the CCHD.

On behalf of the Paulist Fathers and staff of St. Austin’s parish, we wish you and your family a very blessed Thanksgiving holiday. We will have Mass for Thanksgiving this Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. so that you can sleep in on Thursday before the demands of cooking take over.

God bless,

Thursday, September 22, brought the official start of fall. Though summer weather continues to linger, the change of the season has brought some changes to our parish as well.

Our Director of Music, Dr. Andrea Pobanz, will be leaving us for a position with our neighbors at the Cathedral of St. Mary. This will be her final weekend with us at St. Austin. In addition to her musical talents, Dr. Pobanz is passionate about health and fitness. Her new position at the Cathedral will allow her more flexibility to pursue her other projects as a Camp Gladiator fitness trainer and personal nutrition coach. She offers group workouts at several locations around Kyle, Texas, and you can find out more by searching the Camp Gladiator website or connecting with her on LinkedIn.

We are grateful to our liturgy committee for stewarding this transitional period and coordinating visiting pianists and musicians for the weeks ahead. We plan to conduct a visioning process with our liturgical ministers and the parish community before posting the position and beginning the search for a new Director of Music.

Our priests and deacons have also been revisiting our processes for baptism and marriage preparation. We resumed in-person baptism preparation courses after going virtual for the past two years, and we rewrote our webpage explaining the process to welcome families and prepare them for baptisms. You can find out more at Baptism.

I am also working with Deacon John De La Garza and a few parishioners to update our process for marriage preparation. In the past, St. Austin parishioners collaborated with the UCC to offer an engaged encounter weekend over at the UCC. We hope to bring this program back in-person sometime in the spring of 2023 using our ministry center. And we are always looking for volunteers to help us. Many hands make for light work, and we would just need couples to come for 1-2 hours at a time to present a specific talk or to serve a meal. We will continue offering the option to prepare for marriage by meeting with a sponsor couple, so we are also revisiting our materials that guide those sessions.

Jesus “makes all things new” (Rev 21:5). Guided by the Holy Spirit, we share in Christ’s mission by constantly renewing ourselves as a parish. Progress continues on the construction of our new parish campus, and we are likewise committed to renewing our ministries for this place and time in our parish’s history.

God bless,

Dear Friends,

I am happy to report that Fr. Chuck had a successful operation last Tuesday on his knee and is on the road to healing. Thank you so much for all the offers for assistance. Fr. Chuck is staying in a one-story home elsewhere since the bedrooms in our temporary rectory are on the second floor, and we don’t know when he will be ready for the stairs back home. We will reach out to those who offered to help once he moves back home and we have a better sense of his ongoing recovery. 

Apart from his surgery, it has been a very momentous week in our nation and within the Paulists. The Dobbs decision on June 24 did not prohibit abortion but left open its regulation to states in ways that were not allowed before. Morally, the church clearly teaches that we must recognize and protect the dignity of all life from womb to tomb. Yet this moral principle is not readily translated into laws and policies. Catholics can in good conscience disagree about the specifics of laws and enforcement mechanisms in service of the dignity of the unborn and their mothers. The church also acknowledges tragic situations where the life of mother may be at risk during pregnancy. The moral principle of double effect allows treatments for the sake of mother’s life, such as chemotherapy if the mother has cancer, even when treatments would unintendedly interrupt the development of her child. There are no easy decisions in such heartbreaking situations, which are often clouded in uncertainty.

The Scriptures explore God’s call for both justice and mercy, and it remains a perennial struggle to find a harmonious balance between these virtues in our laws and policies. When the priests gathered in June, Bishop Joe was very clear that he expects all parishes to recommit to serving mothers in need rather than dive immediately into the political fray. Fortunately, St. Austin’s has an exemplary Gabriel Project ministry. The years ahead promise to be filled with contentious legislative debates across the country, and I pray that Catholics can offer a clear, compassionate, and charitable voice to the public conversation.

This past week the Paulist Fathers were asked to leave our ministry serving The Ohio State University, effective July 31, after over 60 years at the Newman Center. The community in Columbus is very sad to receive this news, so please keep our priests and parishioners in your prayers. Our campus ministries were integral to our mission at a historical time when Catholics were expected to only attend Catholic colleges and the public university students were ignored. That is no longer the case with dioceses giving increasing attention and financial support to campus ministries. The Paulists are now called to discern new ways to reach those on the peripheries of the faith and in society, and our gospel reading today reminds us that “the harvest is abundant” (Lk 10:2). 

God bless, and have a very happy 4th of July,

Dear Friends,

Despite the heat here in Texas, summer is my favorite season of the year. Though I’ve had many relaxing vacations, summer has been filled with even more experiences of intense growth. The rhythms of schoolwork came naturally to me, but my summer jobs introduced me to a host of new challenges beyond writing essays and taking tests. As a summer camp counselor, I had to give constant attention to the kindergarteners in my group for hours on end. As an intern at a law firm, I had to go beyond memorizing readily available information in textbooks to collect data by contacting experts and consulting a variety of sources. In all these summer jobs, I realized success in the “real-world” depended much more on navigating teams of people with diverse personalities than school had ever required of me.
 

My formation for the priesthood was also filled with rich summer experiences that pushed me beyond the skills required for my graduate coursework. My favorite internship to this day remains my summer interning as a hospital chaplain at the UCSF Medical Center in 2018. The challenge of visiting patients in all sorts of medical situations, even at 3 a.m. when I was on-call, showed me new ways of depending on and praying to the Holy Spirit.  

My first two summers here in Austin have had their unique challenges. I arrived at St. Austin on June 22, 2020, during so much uncertainty with the pandemic, and I soon had my first experiences hearing confessions and celebrating the Mass as a priest after my ordination on July 25, 2020. Last summer, we as a parish were immersed in our big move as we vacated 65,000 square feet of offices, classrooms, and living quarters with over 100 years of accumulated furniture and mementos. That move was also my fifth time moving houses in the past six years. 

I am thrilled to have the stability of not moving rooms this summer, but I am still faced with new challenges as I am home alone for almost two weeks. Fr. Chuck and Fr. Bruce were elected as delegates to the quadrennial Paulist General Assembly in Washington, DC, so I’ll be the only priest on staff here in the Austin house during weekdays until June 18. I am happy to report that all is well thus far, and I am grateful for the volunteers who stepped up to help prepare the church for daily Masses while it’s just me. 

I invite you to consider how summer has been a season of growth for you in your life. As many of our usual activities are put on pause, we can use this time as an opportunity to explore new opportunities. This is especially true for parents as they watch their children face new experiences without the predictable routines of school and seize these moments to learn new skills. As we return to Ordinary Time, the liturgical color of green reminds us of our ongoing growth in our life of faith. We do this by embracing the talents that God has given us in new ways as we continue building God’s Kingdom in our midst. 
 

God Bless,

Dear Friends,

Last weekend I had a very special opportunity to visit Indianapolis and baptize my nephew on Mother’s Day. My sister-in-law wanted to have the baptism at her family church in Indiana, so my immediate family traveled from Texas to be there. It was a priceless moment to celebrate the baptism with both of my nephew’s grandmothers present.

On Monday I took the Amtrak from downtown Indianapolis into Chicago and stayed with the Paulists who serve at Old St. Mary’s Parish. Old St. Mary’s is paradoxically both the Paulists’ oldest and newest parish. St. Mary of the Assumption became Chicago’s first parish in 1833 when the nascent city was under the jurisdiction of the bishop of St. Louis. The location of the church building has changed five times over the course of its long history, including a move to a former Protestant Chapel after being destroyed in the Great Fire of 1871. The Paulist Fathers assumed pastoral care of the parish community, then known as Old St. Mary’s, in 1903. In 2003, the parish moved into a brand-new campus nearly a mile south of their downtown location to grow alongside the new apartments and condos going up in South Loop. Despite all the headwinds facing Catholic schools, the community was ambitious enough to start a new school since they finally had a campus with space for classrooms and a gym. Old St. Mary’s School opened its doors in 2005 and quickly reached capacity. In fact, in retrospect, many regret not building an additional floor on the school building.

Over the past two weeks I’ve been attending meetings to plan the interior finishes of St. Austin’s new ministry building, so I was particularly interested in the carpet, backsplashes, and furniture that I saw at Old St. Mary’s. It was exciting to see their contemporary facilities, and even more exciting to see the community thriving. I enjoyed meals in Chicago with my Paulist brothers Chris Lawton and Fr. Stuart Wilson-Smith, who both served in Austin as novices, and St. Austin’s own former pastor, Fr. Patrick Johnson.

Someone recently asked me how I keep track of my time away. I said that we’re generally free to travel if we have a good reason for doing so, and it is often hard to divide time away into strictly “work” or “vacation.” I love my travels as a priest because it all blends together. I was privileged to celebrate the sacraments with my family and refreshed with the time I spent with my Paulist brothers. Both experiences were quite formative in their own way, and I am always learning about life and ministry in ways that will hopefully shape my preaching for the better.

The success of Old St. Mary’s should be an inspiration for us as we prepare for the next chapter of St. Austin’s history amid the ongoing transformation of Austin’s urban core. I look forward to continuing to write this history together.

God Bless,