It's been
in the eyes of our eighth graders for at least six weeks now. It's becoming harder and harder to ignore in
any high school or college seniors we know.
I can't say I've seen it in the kindergartners, but I know it's there in
all fourth-year seminarians: short-timer
syndrome.
Tall and
winsome as he is, Deacon Corey Krengiel is "so short he could dangle his
feet off a dime," as my active-duty military coworkers would have said it
back in the day. An assignment here he
began last September right after Labor Day is already completed. He has a few more weeks of classes, a good-sized
vacation at Easter, and a few exams.
Then he will give his ivory Oldsmobile her head and let her take him
home to Illinois. There, on Saturday May
24, God willing, Bishop Jenky of Peoria will ordain him Priest along with three
other men who have been his classmates at Mount Saint Mary's Seminary.
He got his
completed evaluation from me months ago, and his review by the seminary faculty
and even his Call to Orders are both submitted.
Nonetheless, he has continued showing up here, bringing his service and
his homilies for the past weeks - every weekend in March, and Confirmation on
top of that. So he has been a big help
to me despite the fact that he would probably much rather be planning his
ordination or daydreaming about his first Mass.
But I
could see it in his eyes. He is ready to
move on. Indeed, he should be. There's a saying in the clergy world that
your worst day as a priest is better than your best day as a seminarian, and
there is something to that. But as he
enters the priestly ministry to which Jesus called him, he will take a bit of
all of you with him. You helped him
uncover and hone that identity that ordination will unite with Christ the High
Priest.
This is
Deacon Krengiel’s last weekend. Over in
the rectory, we’ll be feeding him as well as we can as “food for the
journey.” Please take the time today to
seek him out, thank him for whatever was your favorite thing about his time
here. Promise him your prayers,
especially on the weekend of his ordination.
Speaking
of a look in the eyes, all of us, every human being in this parish and possibly
all of Washington, went absolutely wild-eyed when we beheld, once again, snow
last Sunday afternoon. Unpredicted and
improbable, it came despite Father McCabe’s assurance that a generous donation
to the Winter Expenses collection would guarantee no more of the sloppy white
stuff this year. For many folks, it was
the last straw. I heard a vast, collective
primal scream ringing from the houses and alleyways as I made my way home for
exposition, adoration, and benediction.
That
impudent outburst of a fading winter was no indication that there is a failure
of fidelity in this parish. The
preliminary numbers on the special collection are quite good – more than half
of the $15K by which our snow-removal costs exceeded budget. I am confident we will get a huge boost when
we add to that amount follow-ups from folks who weren’t here or weren’t ready,
and whatever comes in through Faith Direct, which is how many of our most
consistent givers make their offerings.
So, thank you all.
But it’s
April at last, and at long last the air has a different fragrance. Winter wouldn’t dare do the unspeakable to us
again now. We are done. You can see it in our eyes.
Monsignor
Smith
