Jim Mahoney's Blog - Sacred to Etc.

39 Posts to Go - December 31D, 2018 - Some people just make you feel good!

 

As I was leaving church yesterday, one of our youth, or more precisely, a young adult, stopped me and said that she was heading back to school and that she would miss Corpus Christi and she wished me the best in retirement. As I walked away, I was smiling. What a nice person. She did not have to do that. She went out of her way and made me feel like a million bucks. Heck, she can come back anytime! Sometimes, it does not take much to make someone else feel really good!. It is a good thing for me to remember - and be sure that I don't forget it.

TODAY'S GRATITUDE - for this parishioner. God love her - and God love her family for their example to her.

 

40 Posts to Go – December 31C, 2018 – Will 2018 be Missed?

Was 2018 a good year or a bad year? Somehow, towards the end of each year, folks decide whether it was a good year or a bad year and the following year should be better. I must confess that, over the last few years, I have felt that we often had ended a bad year. My hunch is that we often make that determination based upon political leaders and, perhaps in my case, it is based upon church leaders as well. So here is my decision – drum roll!!!!! – In terms of politics, 2018 was a terrible year for reasons far too many to list. In terms of the church, 2018 was a terrible year for reasons far too many to list.  

So what can one do?  Not sure, but I know that this is a major reason why I pray – for our nation and for our church.  

TODAY’S GRATITUDE: Right now, this is a tough one. Fortunately, I do believe in Jesus – I do believe in God – I do believe in hope – and I believe in the importance of joy. For all these reasons, then I do have gratitude, but sometimes, it is not easy. Sigh.

 

41 Posts to Go - December 31B, 2018 - Christmas Sadness

Not everyone is happy or festive or joyful at Christmas. We each need to be aware of people who have suffered a loss in their family, or a death of a close friend. A holiday like Christmas, especially the first time it come around after someone died during the past year can be a wrenching time. Grief is hard. It has its own timetable. But somehow, over time, it gets a little better. If you know someone who has had a loss, especially within the past year just reach out to them - send them a note - call them - just let them know that you're thinking of them. I try to send a little note to every parishioner who lost someone in the past year. It is so important and hopefully a help in healing over a loss.

TODAY'S GRATITUDE - For people who reached out to me after I had suffered a loss. It meant so much. 

 

42 Posts to Go - December 31A, 2018 - Christmas Relief

No, this is not a picture of our 4 p.m. Mass on Christmas Eve. It just felt like it at times!

(I see, to my horror, that I have 42 posts to go to complete the commitment that I made for this particular series of blogs. The small problem is that I committed to finish this series of 100 posts by the day of my retirement liturgy on January 13, 2019. I just had too many things coming at me – and lost time when unforeseen things rose up, including the death of the former bishop. This now  presents me with a small conundrum – of trying to do something which is impossible in a very limited amount of time while still working on other responsibilities. So what will win? Common sense by doing this in a leisurely amount of time and just setting aside that January 13^th deadline – OR Just throwing caution to the winds to see if I can do this. Who will win? Common sense or Something Else? I’m voting for Something Else!   To reach this goal, I’m going to write bite-sized posts – each with a distinct thought or observation. If that works, maybe this is an approach that I will try going forward after I reach this commitment.)

As the crowd of worshipers was walking out of the church at the end of our ninth Christmas liturgy on Dec. 24-25, I was just numb. Dog-tired. Took me a few days to get past the fatigue when I could finally recall carefully what had just happened. Over 7000 people, from all sorts of circumstances, came here for 9 Masses to celebrate the birth of Jesus. I was only hassled by 1 person, which is a barometer I use at times to figure out why I’m just wiped out. These people come, often with guests from out of town – and they were genuinely filled with joy. Some walked in with sadness. Often, I knew the circumstances in their lives – a recent death, job troubles, sickness, etc. But still they came. They worshiped. They sought the presence of Jesus which was available to our world in an incredibly unique way on Christmas morning.

I was just relieved when everything went well. The music was wonderful. The flowers and decorations were exquisite. Pretty much every single person said Merry Christmas. God bless them for their faith. In the midst of being unbelievably tired, I kept on thinking – “how wonderful to have served them for 45 years. They are so good – and teach me so much.”

 

TODAY’S GRATITUDE: The above two sentences.

 

43 Posts to Go - December 8, 2018 - Time to Retire

(Lost a few days progress in the blog over the past week. Will catch up so that I end this series of 100 posts on January 13, 2019, which is also the day for my retirement liturgy as pastor! What a coincidence.)

No, the above photograph is not me. It is, however, the way that I feel on some days. This particular priest is 100 years old. Keep going, Father.

I will have a few posts on this topic. Hopefully, they will not be an exercise in narcissism. If it comes across that way, then storm the barricades and tell me not to be so self-absorbed! My intent in this blog has been to candidly share what I'm thinking, what I'm believing, and somehow convey a sense of what I've learned from the people that I have served. I recognize that, for some strange reason, I am more at easy in sharing via this blog than in speaking with others. I will leave to others the chance to figure that out. I've shared in this blog what I've learned and, to some degree, experienced. Often what I've learned and experienced comes from my interactions with so many in the parishioners and friends over the decades.

I have been thinking about retiring for a couple of years. I would have been eligible to retire with full pension when I was 68. I'm now 71. One of the most significant "gee-whiz" moments came when I was at a priest's funeral. I asked a classmate who is also our diocesan archivist whether my calculation of priests from our ordination class was accurate. He agreed with me after that funeral. There were 23 of us ordained for Paterson in 1973. There are three of us still standing in active duty. With my gradual retirement (first from the parish and second from the diocesan job), there will then be 2 left standing. The rest have either retired or gone home to God.

I have seen some priests hold on to their parishes or their assignments until they were no longer effective. I never wanted to be in that category. Certainly one thing that is unique about my retirement is the reality that i have been associated with the parish for 45 years and 28 as pastor. I'm an anomaly. The length of time that I've been here makes it really difficult to retire from here. Just about all my friends are clustered around this zip-code! People have been so good to me.

I'll continue this line of thought for a while in these posts. 

TODAY'S GRATITUDE: This is for you. I'm also sorry that some are so upset that I'm doing this. Thanks for sharing this as well. 

 

 

 

 

44 Posts to Go - December 5, 2018 - Not Bragging, but I did something right - 27 times!

I became pastor here on November 4, 1990. A year later, I invited my friend, Father Alphonse Stephenson (now a retired Brigadier General from the U.S. Air Force) to bring his Orchestra of St. Peter by the Sea to our parish for a Christmas concert. Last night was the latest concert. Alphonse has arrived with his orchestra for 27 years in early December. Every single concert was a sell-out. This is empirical proof that it has been a good idea. Parishioners are enthusiastic and just in love with the music and spirit which it gives them in the weeks before Christmas. 

As I was sitting in the church for the concert, I was reflecting, as I have been wont to do lately, on what good things I might have done, not just as pastor for 28 years, but also in the 45 years that I have been associated with the parish. Seeing the reaction of the audience, composed of parishioners and friends of parishioners, I wryly said to myself, "Jim, you did something right 27 times in a row by having Alphonse all those times." I agree with myself! Alphonse and his gifted musicians brought life and joy to the parish every single time. That is not a bad legacy. I'll take it.

TODAY'S GRATITUDE: For the ways in which great music has not been an extravagance, but rather an essential way to build up our faith and connect us with joy.

 

45 Posts To Go - December 2, 2018 - George H.W. Bush - a good, decent, and religious man

I liked the late President George H.W. Bush. He had the weirdest taste in socks, yet was widely believed to have brought great dignity to the Office of President. Not that many people were skydiving into their 90's. I did not agree with every single thing he did politically, but, heck, he may not have agreed with everything I have thought about politics. I respected his decision-making process, his care before sending our troops into war, and his skill at building international coalitions He understood history. He understood war. He was also a gentleman, not a bad quality to have in a president.

I was especially intrigued by his approach to religious faith. In his inaugural address, he spoke the following:

We meet on democracy's front porch. A good place to talk as neighbors and as friends. For this is a day when our nation is made whole, when our differences, for a moment, are suspended. And my first act as President is a prayer. I ask you to bow your heads.

Heavenly Father, we bow our heads and thank You for Your love. Accept our thanks for the peace that yields this day and the shared faith that makes its continuance likely. Make us strong to do Your work, willing to heed and hear Your will, and write on our hearts these words: "Use power to help people." For we are given power not to advance our own purposes, nor to make a great show in the world, nor a name. There is but one just use of power, and it is to serve people. Help us remember, Lord. Amen.

President George H.W. Bush was a person of faith, without pretense or apology. He was genuine. He could connect the dots in our world. He respected history. He may have been the most prepared president we ever had. I found his socks jarring, but, over time, have gotten used to them and I smile at them. May God reward this good man for the great things he did to bring out the best of values for our country and the world.

TODAY'S GRATITUDE:  For political leaders who can be role models, especially for our young people.

 

    

46 Posts to Go - December 1, 2018 - Oh, No, It's the first of December

Every time Christmas comes along, Charlie Brown is burdened with his inability to decorate his Christmas tree.  Snoopy wins awards for decorating the doghouse while Charlie Brown gazes forlornly at his poorly decorated tree. It is so easy to identify with him.

I truly did not really notice that it was the first of December until a few minutes ago. I saw the date for today and uttered a pious phrase or a less pious phrase. Tomorrow begins the first week of Advent. So things are starting to rapidly get in gear for the celebration of Christmas. My thoughts turned immediately to things that I have to get done right away for Christmas. The gifts for Christmas in a Box are due tomorrow by noon and i have not gotten them. I have also not ordered my Christmas cards which will take a few days to arrive. And a bunch of other things which came instantly to mind that are not done, not complete, and, in some cases, are not even on my radar screen, but they should be.

Advent and our preparation for Christmas is meant to be a peaceful time of preparation. Well, the quiet peace may not happen. The preparation has to happen because it is rather job-related in my line of work. In a parish, it is just not acceptable to share that, golly, we're just not ready for Christmas in the parish because things have been so busy. Not a position of strength.

So what to do? I'm going to take some deep breaths and calm myself. I'm going to use far more list-making then memory to prioritize the things that I have to do. I'm going to make sure that I have time scheduled in when I'm going to be still and try, even for a few minutes, to connect in this season. I'm going to also schedule time each day to pray for people that are really struggling. The things I've scheduled are not optional. I'm making them my priorities. And just possibly, doing this will calm me down as it gets closer to Christmas. I never recall reaching Christmas without exhaustion. I'm going to see if doing something different may give me a different ending point. What the heck, it can't hurt. Maybe it might even be of some assistance to you! Come, Come, Emmanuel - Please and do so quietly and peacefully.

TODAY'S GRATITUDE - Being willing to try a different approach in getting ready for Christmas.