Priest Reassignments: honor the movement of love

Dedicated to Father Dan. 

My favorite quote, "Let it go, man." I'm about to, Father, but first:

The summer time is one we often look forward to with anticipation. Trips to the beach, abroad, bbq's with friends. But this year, something is different, we have new restrictions and to top it all off it is the time for priest reassignments! It is a shuffle of sorts: the young priests get moved to a parish where they can have more responsibility, the older priests often retire, and some of the ones in between young and not so young get shuffled as well. You find  yourself looking at the selection of priests in your archdiocese and picking your top picks like the football draft. Wouldn't Father Angelic be great to get as our next priest? 

If any of you are like me, and have just had your beloved parish priest reassigned, you might have shed a tear or two or eaten an extra oreo or two... 

Feeling like a toddler who has lost it's pacifier in the middle of the road.

Priests that are committed to the people of the parish lay down their life for their flock, like a shepherd. They are crazy and refreshingly normal all at once. They loose sleep for their parishioners, listen to hours of confession in awful weather outdoors during COVID restrictions, spend hours in prayer for their children, kneel before the blessed sacrament asking for mercy for their flock. They bury miscarried babies, thus acknowledging the child that died as a human that you loved very much and not just term it a "miscarriage." 

They walk with people struggling with chronic pain and deadly illnesses and often walk with them to the door of eternity. They sacrifice time, energy and sometimes even their own paycheck to help people who are suffering various types of poverty needing time, energy or food. These priests take extra time to listen with their heart and respond with the selfless love of Christ. When you encounter such a priest in your parish you know you should never be the same afterwards. You should never be the same after encountering a priest who gave so much of himself to show Christ to you and challenge you to become who Christ asks of you to be. So yes, it hurts to loose such a priest.

Before. Your priest helped you grow and look to heaven.

After. You should be tastier after, like this bread.

When this priest gives his "Farewell" speech is it a surprise to feel the five stages of grief pop out all at the same time? Not at all. Shock: no way, is this real? I'm happy. I'm happy. Wait, not really happy but...ug! What is this? Anger: How dare he leave, doesn't he know we need and love him? Bargaining: He can go but will come back. Depression: I do not want to talk about it. Father Who? See, I already forgot. Acceptance: I guess that's that. Might as well chalk it up to being "happy" for his new chapter in life, and stuff my real feelings down. 

Oh no, please don't do that. God created those feelings to tell you one thing: honor the movement of love that you feel in that pain.

He has become a father, a brother, a mentor and a dear friend. In a nutshell, if your priest has been so good it hurts when he is leaving: grieve. Don't dismiss your feelings that have been cultivated by the love of Christ. Let yourself honor the footprint of Christ's love that was imprinted in your heart by this priest. Tears are not negative, sadness of missing your priest is a reflection that they were valuable to your life story, to your spiritual life. If you recognize that this priest changed your life outlook and helped you look at God and the world through the eyes of Christ's love then by all means, celebrate that with the gift of tears of gratitude. 

I just finished reading Pope John Paul II farewell letter to the nation of Poland as he became Pope. His words struck me especially being seeped in humility as he affronted this new looming responsibility. He said, "Dear fellow-countrymen, it is not easy to renounce returning to my country, "to these fields rich in varied flowers, silvered with wheat and gilded with rye", as Mickiewicz writes. To these mountains and valleys, to the lakes and rivers, to the people loved so much, to this royal city. But if such is Christ's will, it is necessary to accept it, and therefore I accept it. I pray only that this separation will unite us even more and strengthen us in true mutual charity."

Even Pope John Paul II suffered sadness leaving his people of Poland. He wanted to leave them with a blessing, saying, "I wish to bless you, and I do so not only by virtue of my mission as bishop and pope, but also to meet a deep need of my heart. And you, dear fellow-countrymen, today and whenever you receive the blessing of Pope John Paul II, remember that he came from your midst and has a special claim to your affection and your prayer."

Reading his letter helped me realize that we have a deep need of our hearts to accept the blessing our beloved departing priests.

Here are my three tips for coping with the transfer of your beloved parish priest: Pray, pray and pray.

Pray for yourself: pray that God leaves the truth that your priest shared with you. Pray that you don't forget his words, his example, his courage and his selflessness. Pray that the door stays open of saying "Yes" to faith, hope and love, as an example through your priest, you carry on to the people you encounter. Pray that the love of Christ you saw through your priest, his compassion, his patience his generosity of self, is one you can give to your family and each person you meet. 

Pray for your priest: Ask our Lady and Christ to surround him in his journey to his new home. Pray for his faith to be sustained in the Eucharist, pray for his hope to be lifted when he feels discouraged, pray for his love to be the sacrificial love of Christ to others. Check in on him from time to time and see how he is doing, let him know you are praying for him in his new mission. Send him a postcard, some oreo's or Old Bay (if you are in Maryland). Put a picture of him near your family as a reminder that he loved you like family and as a reminder to pray for him.

Pray for your new priest: He no doubt has nerves entering a parish that just had their beloved priest leave. Even if you don't know him yet: Pray for him, he is coming to serve. Pray for him to be protected from fear, doubt and comparison. Pray that he has a heart like Mary and a love for the Eucharist. Pray that the cross he will carry in your parish will be one met with love. Help him carry the cross as Simon helped Jesus by praying for him and not bogging him down with requests or saying "When Father Wonderful was here he would always do this" obviously because he was so awesome. Accept your new priest for who he is and enjoy getting to know him through prayer, through the mass and never give up praying for him.

So yes, my dear sisters, and brothers and friends reading this: honor the movement of love. What you feel is love because someone went where you allowed no one to go, and that someone was Jesus reaching through your priest. You will and should never be the same after encountering him.