It's as if someone sent Saint Bernadette flowers for her birthday -
and it's still three weeks until her birthday!
SURPRISE!
It’s that time of year when everybody is expecting presents; to sneak up on somebody with a gift who is not expecting one is quite the accomplishment. Well, we have been sneaked up on. This week arrived here in the Holy House of Soubirous A NEW PRIEST. His existence was known to me; his trajectory was known to me; but I had not met him, and his arrival was a complete mystery to me until last week when I got the call: here he comes!
Father Brillis Mathew has been assigned to be Parochial Vicar here beginning this weekend. His timing is excellent; in fact, in the technique commonly used in modern manufacturing of complex items (such as cars), this is what is known as Just In Time (JIT) delivery. That makes for a minimum of time on the shelves for components; it makes for minimum time to learn the ropes for Fr. Brillis.
Father arrives just in time for the big push of final Advent preparation (including a lot of last-minute confessions, it would seem), and that most bone-crushing of all possible calendar events, Christmas on Monday. I hope he is a heavy lifter!
Father Brillis is no stranger to our area, though he is not a priest of this Archdiocese nor has he ever served here before. His previous assignment was nearby in a parish in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, but Baltimore is not where he is from. He is a priest of the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia, a territorial jurisdiction of the Catholic Church covering the countries of the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Yemen. But that is not where he started; no, he was born and spent his childhood and youth in Kochi, Kerala, in southwest India. Rumor has it that he has yet another name, a family name, that is complex enough he does not even try to use it here.
He has lived on other places, too, including London, and Rome, where he prepared for priesthood. It turns out that we have some friends in common from the Eternal City, which demonstrate afresh that Rome is the place of unity for the universal Church.
As is always a challenge when a gift arrives, there is the immediate dilemma: where are we going to put him? For the moment, he is shoe-horned into our guest rooms. Even the parochial vicar’s office has become a scullery of sorts, filled with overflow objects from the kitchen, and office supplies.
In what may be yet another surprise, since I do not get the impression he mentioned it to many people, Father Alek Schrenk, with us since August, has decided to move back to campus housing at Catholic University. He assures us that this is not because of any noisome habits or hygiene deficiencies of me or Father Novajosky, but rather because of that most noisome aspect of life in our DMV: traffic. He did rather step into a perfect storm as construction of the long-awaited Purple Line finally kicks into high gear. The work zone for this marvel of transportation engineering extends in perfect impenetrability across every possible path to CUA from Four Corners, and beyond. It is rather like no-man’s-land after the battle of the Somme. Father Schrenk staggers home each day showing early signs of PTSD.
So he will be leaving us, already gone by the time you read this, though he may consent to come assist with Mass here in future, he assures me. He might even be cajoled into staying for dinner.
The Fearless Father Novajosky has also left already, but only for Christmas break with family back in Connecticut. He will be back for Holy Family and the New Year, as is often the case with him, welcome help when I need it most.
That means as of this weekend, as of NOW, there are all these gaps in the schedule into which Father Brillis will find himself thrust. He assures me he is ready, willing, and able, even chomping at the bit to practice priesthood among the good and holy people of the parish. As I always ask of you for any priest who finds himself living with me, I beg your prayers for him. And even without my asking, I know you will surround him with your customary Sant Bernadette Welcome.
SURPRISE!
Monsignor Smith
