In good hands…
The busy stretch of summer began for me this week. It is busy good, but still busy. It started with a few days at the Kempf lake house, paying off a Dinner Dance item – a day on the water, skiing, tubing, etc. Repeat the same the next two days, except this time with the Newman Center students for “Fun in the Son.” I’ll be home long enough for weekend masses, and then off for a two day golf outing. I return long enough for some laundry and then off to Christian Family Camp for a few days. Return to change clothes and fly to Maine for a baptism of the second born for a couple I introduced, did their marriage and then first born’s baptism. Come back for a day and a half of work. And then back to Christian Family camp for the last three days of Week Two. They will be full days, but wonderful ones – the kind that make me realize how richly I have been blessed in this priesthood I share with our Lord.
What is tremendously satisfying to know is that I leave you all in very good, capable hands. I know I don’t acknowledge or thank them enough, but Pat Marstall and Eileen Engelmeyer do an amazing job running this parish. And make no mistake, run it they do. They are the glue to the day to day demands that keep it all together. Their dedication, enthusiasm for the parish and its parishioners; their patience (you need that too, in this job) and concern for each phone call, each visitor, each person who drops by is a wonderful thing to behold. They simply find a way to get it all done, with a grace that is exemplary. In your name, THANK YOU both for all you do…
It is also assuring to know that you are in good hands “sacramentally.” Fr. Emmanuel is a wonderful priest, and is very insightful when he speaks. It does take a bit to get used to English spoken with a French accent, but his inflection and intonation are delightful to listen to. He so makes me appreciate the complexities of our native tongue, and in wonderful usages of the English language makes me think about scripture in a different way.
And when he shares with me about life in the Congo, I am so grateful for the blessings of the simple things. Electricity. Running Water. Indoor toilets. Windows. Screens. Air – Conditioning. The things that you can overlook because they are so constant and reliable.
As YOU count your blessings these days, take a moment to thank God for all those simple gifts in your life that make a life such a gift…