A Paulist Foundation

Reflection Given January 24, 2021 by
Kelly Bodu Tarrant, Chair, Pastoral Council

Time is a funny thing. The older you get the faster it goes. But it is only through time that a series of unlikely events or encounters brings us closer to the Lord.

We heard today of Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus which involved a sharp turn. How many times have we been comfortably walking down our road when a similar sudden turn has knocked us off our feet?

Until college, my spiritual road involved lots of gentle curves, some really big hills, and a few sharp-ish curves, but overall not terrible. Kind of like cycling on 360; tough but manageable, if you have the right bike.

But when that sudden turn off sneaks up on you on the downhill; then we are like Paul. There is a clear before and after. A threshold is crossed in a life-changing encounter with Christ.

For me, this threshold was a dreary, cold day in December 2002. As an undergraduate student at University of Texas (hook ‘em), I was living at home in SW Austin with my mom and sister. I was like most college students. Attending class… occasionally…, enjoying time with friends, participating in campus organizations, volunteering, and generally feeling pretty okay with where my road was headed. I sporadically participated in UCC ministries. And sometimes attended what my friends and I called “grown up church” at St. Austin’s.

Specifically one of these friends was named Ryan. Ryan was from Amarillo and I was raised in Austin, but Ryan and I had a lot in common. We were both first generation Americans, we both loved volunteering with the APO organization at UT, and we were both cradle Catholics. Ryan would call me (this was before texting was free) and we’d go to 8 p.m. UCC Mass together or if time allowed, we’d make our way across Guadalupe to 5:30 p.m. Mass. Mostly we went to UCC though, except for Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday we felt had to be celebrated in a more “traditional church” so we attended Ash Wednesday services here at St. Austin.

December 2002 was cold and wet month. I remember the weather because I had two finals in one day and had worn my ‘not’ waterproof coat to campus. I had most definitely not checked the weather. And sure enough, in between finals the clouds moved in and I got caught in the cold rain. After the last final, after I had arrived home; I got the call informing me that my good friend Ryan had been shot and killed the night before.

In my grief and sadness, I came to campus the following day, December 18th - unbeknownst to me at the time, the birthday of Paulist founder Isaac Hecker - not knowing what I was looking for. I found myself sitting inside this very same church, and prayed and cried in the same pew that Ryan and I would sit in for mass. While sitting there, a man, a priest by the look of it, came and sat next me. It was Father Bob Scott. He was so kind and just heard my story and offered words of comfort. He met me where I was at that moment, grief and all.  Little did I know that Father Bob would be the first of many Paulist priests that would help share the road with me.

Fast forward to 2012 and my then fiancée, also named Ryan, were preparing for our wedding here at St. Austin’s. We were tasked with meeting the new, young priest who would guide us through our marriage prep and marry us. Through our open and honest conversations, Father Rene Constanza became not only the priest who married us, but also our good friend. He met both Ryan and I where we were on our individual spiritual journeys. Over the years, the Paulists have continuously met me where I’ve been, whether as a lost college student, or a struggling adult. Most recently, the Paulists have warmly welcomed our son, aptly born on December 18th. Father Rich is convinced our son is meant to be a Paulist!

So many Paulists have helped shape many of our lives. Either in small moments, or during big celebratory moments. There are countless reasons that we as parishioners make the sacrifice and drive to St. Austin’s every weekend. For me, it’s the Paulists' sense of meeting people where they are, openness and inclusion of all those that walk through those doors, sense of compassion and peacefulness, and their jokes are pretty funny.

This weekend, I am asking for your financial commitment to the Paulists that we all love and appreciate. I know that this has been a hard year for all of us and I know that finances are tough for some of us right now. But I urge you that if you can, please be generous with your contributions to the Paulists. There are multiple ways of giving to St. Austin’s. You can mail a check, give online by credit card, or Venmo. If you want your offering to go towards the Paulists, please please make sure to write that somewhere on your check, Venmo, or credit card line. And if you’re sitting in the pews today or listening online and think to yourself, “y’all I’d love to help, but I’m struggling.” I get it, I’ve been there. Please know that the gift of prayer is enough.

I started my story with how fast time seems to be moving. But I’ll end with the reminder that time is only wasted if it fails to bring us to the point where we can see that all time exists to prepare us to love and be loved by Christ. Time is only squandered if the fullness of time passes us by and we never recognize that we are loved by Him, because just like Paul all those years ago, Christ’s love is the only thing that can change us.

Amen.