The North Star Catholic / Retirement inspires a tale of two statues

As of November 17, I’ll officially be a priest in occasional ministry, having reached the retirement age of 70 the day before. I’d like to offer this reflection on my experience as a priest.

When we cleaned my dad’s house after he died, we found all sorts of mementos my parents had saved from our childhood. Among them was a statue I was given at my First Communion, which, I thought back then, was dumb. I was seven and was hoping for baseball cards or money — at least something valuable — and I really could not relate to the boy depicted on it.

I can be honest and sincere, but I’ve never been good at being proper or pious, and putting me in white clothes is simply a recipe for disaster. The statue of the Sacred Heart I received at Confirmation was a bigger disaster: I put it on my dresser and two days later, when the drawer was stuck, I shook it and knocked the statue on the floor, breaking Jesus’ head off. Two days after becoming a “soldier of Christ,” I decapitated the Commander-in-Chief! Over the years, it got pretty beaten up, but I’m glad my parents saved it because it is an apt symbol for my relationship with God.

We all know the poem “Footprints in the Sand,” whose speaker reflects on life and how, despite God’s promises, she sees only one set of footprints in the sand during her hardest moments, to which God answers that those were his when he carried her. In my case, there’s lots of long lines in the sand as Jesus dragged me kicking and screaming and fighting back. Over the years I’ve given Jesus a heck of a beating. He never gave up.

I’m grateful for the people who never gave up on me, and those who challenged me to more and better. Sometimes it was by directly challenging me, most times by being people who raised the bar of what I saw as possible and gave me something to aspire to do or become. Every week I’m charged to proclaim a gospel which I’ve partially digested. I preach God’s forgiveness to people I’ve found to be more forgiving than I, and, in doing so, I find myself challenged to forgive and heal. I preach God’s generosity to people more generous than I and find myself called to deeper generosity and care for those with less.

Every parish has it’s “Jobs,” people who have had numerous tragedies and injustice in their lives, but who show faith and resilience and joy rising above pain, which have enabled me to find God and grace in my life’s struggles. It’s an honor and a privilege to try to serve people who serve God, family, and community better than me, and who challenge me to be my best and believe, trust and give more.