Dear Parishioners,
I write this letter to you on the feast of St. John Vianney, the patron saint of
priests. I pray I may have a portion of
the love and zeal he had for the salvation of souls. I also pray, through his intercession, there
be a renewed practice of the Sacrament of
Penance and Reconciliation (confession) in our parish and throughout the
Catholic Church. Incidentally, they tell
us he spent eleven hours in the confessional in winter months and sixteen hours
there when the weather was warmer. Oh, that this would be the case today!
Having been in the parish for less than a month, you can only
imagine what must be going through my mind.
While administration is not new to me—this is now my fifth
parish as pastor, in addition to having been a principal and president of a Catholic
high school—each parish has its unique challenges and particular
character. Moreover, entering a new
situation during a "pandemic" adds to the number of circumstances to
which one needs to adjust.
In my former parish (Holy Angels in Woodbury) we had eight weekend Masses in three locations
served by four priests. Fortunately, I
was not aware of anyone getting ill or dying because of the manner in which we
celebrated Mass, distributed Holy Communion or conducted ourselves in and
around the churches / worship center.
Those whom I was aware of dying with the virus were often situated in long-term care
facilities or assisted living centers. (We
had at least six such places in my former parish.) Often they were quite elderly and had
underlying conditions. I pray for the
repose of their souls.
Why I bring this up is because of what appears to me to be a
type of paralyzing fear of this
coronavirus I have sometimes seen exhibited.
If you are not aware, I have an eighty-six-year-old mother whom I try to
go and visit weekly. I usually spend an
overnight with her in her condo to keep her company. I am privileged to offer Mass in her presence
and give her Holy Communion. I would never
want to infect her (or anyone else) or accelerate her demise. Ever. I am well aware of the recommended protocols,
which have varied in importance,
effectiveness, etc. on more than one occasion.
Yet, I also remember we are dealing with a virus—invisible to the naked eye, without a current vaccine or
guaranteed cure, and which may be around
for quite some time. While I try to do
what is reasonable, I also will not let fear paralyze me.
At this parish there are more than enough safety precautions
in place, probably more so than my last parish.
I have joked that you can probably do surgery in the building, it is so
sanitized. However, when a person
leaves this artificially created safe
space, he or she still has to face the rest of the world with all of its
complexities. The virus is still out
there somewhere.
But so is God. God is still in control. He knows everything about everything. He knows about this and other corona-viruses. That is why I trust Him completely and I
concern myself with the spiritual
health and well-being of my parishioners first and foremost. I am not disregarding the other aspects of a
person's life, but I take Jesus' words seriously:
And do not be afraid of those who
kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can
destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. (Mt. 10:28)
Please don't
think I am heartless or insensitive. I am not. Rather, I consider myself somewhat of a realist . .
. and I place my faith in
Almighty God.
Jesus, I trust in You!
Fr. Ed Namiotka
Pastor
St. John Vianney
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