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| Fun while it lasted. |
The gifts bestowed by someone who came before, we are obliged to protect and preserve. That should not be a controversial assertion, but in our era of innovation novelty often prevails over preservation.
In the Church, what has been handed down is the most precious of our possessions. The Faith and the Sacraments, the Church herself; all are the very opposite of innovation and novelty. Their source and their value are eternal! This rubs off in more practical affairs in the life of the Church, such as our own rectory where everything old and good is preserved and protected until it can fulfill its role no longer. Things can get a little shabby in the latter days. The deck on the back of the rectory is a fine example of this.
Even though the deck juts out over the parking lot and gets the direct sun in the summertime, it has been a popular place for residents both short- and long-term. The acquisition at the encouragement of Fr. DeRosa about 2010 of a decent table and chairs, followed by a new retractable awning, made it much more inviting and useful. We put the grills out there, which means I cook out there.
Peggy and Lewis Hicks, while they were the floral elves of the rectory surrounds, introduced the bamboo screening that provided the privacy we need to be on the deck and not on display. The also showed what some flowers and plants can do to spruce up the otherwise bare space, which lesson I took to heart. The flowers bloom outside the window next to my desk, as well as the kitchen window, and boost morale.
The staff likes to have lunch out there when I am away; it has nothing to do with being unable to hear to doorbell or the phone, they assure me. Father Jason Williams of Cincinnati, a student here in the summers of 2019 and 2021, spent about six hours a day out there doing schoolwork. More recently, Fr. Wiktor and Fr. Tran both enjoy it as a “second desk” for their academic pursuits. Rectory dinners become more convivial and last long into the cooling evening once we take the trouble to set the table out there. It has become a major part of our rectory life.
Margaret Gamache, who has been a parishioner here for decades and was one of the first lay teachers in our school, informed me at a recent Finance Council meeting that our deck was installed under Father Bernard Martin, the Third Pastor of Saint Bernadette. She offered no precise date, but did assert that he enjoyed it, which means he had time to use it. Fr. Martin was named Pastor in 1987, retired in poor health in 1997, and died mere weeks later. A working estimate for when the deck was built would be 1991, plus or minus a few years.
That mean our deck lasted 35 years! This explains why it was getting a bit rickety. Anthony Dao, our maintenance factotum, had replaced components as needed over recent years. The stairs up from the carport were alarmingly unstable. It was time.
You will notice the replacement deck going up over coming days, because by the time you read this the old one will be gone. The big change will be the materials; we will be using modern synthetics for the decking and lattice screens. This means it will last even longer than if it were wood.
There is no reason not to plan for a lengthy lifespan for the deck on the rectory. The church tends to keep what is good for as long as possible, for the good of all who come after us.
Speaking of the good that we have received, our nation is marking a milestone anniversary this year on Independence Day, which falls on a Saturday. Even though it is the usually the quietest time of the year hereabouts, I have decided we need to do something to acknowledge this great gift of God and our forebears. There will be a celebratory Mass on Saturday, July fourth, at 11:00, to render thanks for what we have received and prayers for help to be good and generous stewards. What we receive and treasure, we are more likely to maintain and keep, so help us God. Because all the best that we have was given us by the ones who came before us.
Monsignor Smith
