It has always seemed like a cliché to me when older folks would tell me, “Time flies much faster when you’re older.” And yet, how right they are!
This realization was brought home recently when I received a very gracious invitation from the Catholic News Herald to write a reflection on the priesthood as I celebrate my 30th anniversary of ordination this month. Thirty years! It certainly doesn’t seem possible, and yet, it’s here! In fact – and with a sense of humor and love that only God could have – this anniversary really did sneak up on me. (My thanks to the eagle eyes of my parish staff for making sure it didn’t go by unobserved.)
I guess you could say it’s easy to lose sight of dates on the calendar, as important as those milestones are, when your eyes and heart are focused on the Lord – my relationship with Him, as well as the day-to-day effort to live the faith as a parish family, with the myriad of experiences and encounters each day brings).
Thirty years ago, I was privileged to have been ordained and to offer my first Mass of Thanksgiving in New Jersey. In the intervening years, there have been changes in parish assignments, and even a change in state (goodbye, New Jersey!). Those years have seen tremendous joys, blessings, laughter and even some adventures along the way, along with a share of challenges, sorrows and loss. I have witnessed many changes in the world around us as we face new situations and challenges – both inside and outside the Church. Through it all, there has remained one constant: the Lord. I am tremendously thankful to Him and to all those who have sacrificed and prayed for me since that Ordination Day 30 years ago. Oremus pro invicem.
Father Eric Kowalski is pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Church in Mocksville.