The title of my post is just about how I am feeling on this cloudy quiet Sunday afternoon. First some context. I'm home alone this weekend, in fact since Wednesday. My wife and daughter traveled to North Carolina for the baby shower for my first grandchild, my grandson. While they are gone, I'm still adjusting to life without my old, long-tern employer and getting used to my new digs and FNBC Bank. And while they are gone, the weather has been rainy and dreary and cloudy. The visits of my dear friends Aimee and Keith have helped keep me happy and busy as well as my church family, of which I truly have two. More on that later. While Wednesday through Friday were more routine, my friends and church activities have kept me on the move this weekend.
It is the church events of this weekend that have been eye opening and have left me feeling that things come full circle. Over at Most Holy Trinity Parish, where I currently serve as Deacon, we were blessed with a visiting missionary to talk to us about the needs in his part of the world. We have all experienced this; the visiting missionary Priest. Our special guest for the weekend was a Bishop, the Bishop of a seacoast diocese in India. Bishop Gali Bali has been the Bishop of Guntur, India since 1984. That's 28 years as a Bishop in the same diocese. I posted yesterday about his talk and the very real need for help to rebuild homes and lives of the poor in Guntur. Today the good Bishop also spoke about the need to help support seminarians. Listen to this: he has to turn away seminarians because of lack of funds. For me I thought, oh the irony. Here we are praying for vocations and he has vocations coming forward that he can't accomodate. Here is where my eyes flew wide open and I relaized even within the Church we have come full circle. Bishop Bali shared with us that he currently has 12 Priests, that's 12 from Guntur India, on loan to the United States of America to help with our shortage of Priests. I'm thinking; WHAT! I know we have our struggles with vocations to the Priesthood(although recent trends have been VERY encouraging) but here is a relatively poor diocese, on the other side of this planet, sending 12 Priests to take care of us. Its beautiful; but it is eye opening. I hope we will see great support for these missionary dioceses and for an increase of vocations both here and around the world.
By the way, having an opportunity today as a Deacon to assist a Bishop, particularly one who has traveled so far to be with us, was quite an honor. On a day when we hear about the very first Bishops, the Apostles, in the Gospel, to be able to assist a Bishop was a real treat.
Just a few miles north from Most Holy Trinity Parish there were big things happening in Abita Springs at my home parish of St. Jane de Chantal. A few weeks ago the long time pastor was transferred back to the southshore of New Orleans and St. Jane received their new pastor, Fr. Kenny Allen. Today, while I was assisting the Bishop, the good people of St. Jane's were installing their new pastor, Fr. Allen, with the help of my pastor, Fr. Rodney Bourg, who serves as the Dean of our particular deanery in this Archdiocese. On my way home, I noticed the reception was in full swing so I popped in to congratulate Fr. Allen and to visit with all my dear old friends and neighbors from the parish. It was a great visit. It was also very odd for me, coming back for such a visit, and to not see Fr. Robert there as I was privileged to have served with him for quite some time. Again, in ministry, things come full circle. Another twist to this full circle Sunday; tonight at 6 p.m. I am assisting newly installed Fr. Kenny Allen in my capacity as a Deacon; and I am preaching. It's been a long time since I have stood in that ambo to preach and know it will be a home sweet home kind of moment.
And tonight I will be visited by my friends as I spend one more night away from the Mrs. although both she and my daughter will be much closer to home after their important visit with my son, daughter-in-law and grandson soon to arrive!
Eyes wide open on this full circle Sunday
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