Too Busy

From the Pastor:    Too Busy

       A week or two ago the office staff told me that my calendar was booked up through April and people needing to schedule something with me were being given dates in May. I’m passing this information on to you so that you understand that when you want a home blessing, a pre-baptism meeting, a marriage preparation class, or anything else, you are not going to get it right away. The calendar is just full. It’s not something personal against you, you just get the next available slot that fits both your calendar and mine. And if an emergency pops up and I have to cancel, oh, what a mess that makes. Funerals, calls for the Last Rites, diocesan meetings that are scheduled with little to no advance notice, and other such things throw off everyone. If you have been the “victim” of such a rescheduling nightmare, you know firsthand what problems arise when something/someone else takes “your” slot! So the obvious question becomes, and I have heard this too many times to count, “When will the Bishop send you an associate?”
       In case you are one of the few people who haven’t already asked me this question and received the following answer, let me tell you how these things work. Just as “It isn’t personal” when I cannot squeeze you in for a meeting for two months, so “It isn’t personal” when the Bishop cannot send me an associate! Earlier this year each priest was sent the annual questionnaire from the priest personnel board. Here are the questions asked and my answers (not exact, since I didn’t keep a copy of it). Q. Do you wish to remain in your current assignment or would you like to move? A. I wish to remain here. Q. Do you wish to be relieved of an associate or deacon currently assigned to your parish? Explain. A. None are assigned here. Q. Would you like to have an associate or deacon assigned to your parish? Explain. A. Yes. I would like to have both an associate and a deacon! But they must be open to the Traditional Rites, either already knowledgeable of them or willing to learn, as well as knowing/learning Traditional Church Teachings. QQ. Etcetera, etcetera. AA. Blah, blah. I have written about this before. Every year I ask, and every year no associate or deacon is assigned here.
       It is possible that the Bishop has, on the sly, sent deacons to check us out, to see if they would like to be assigned here. I have had a number of deacons and their wives come here and get their first taste of the Traditional Latin Mass. Perhaps they were just curious about the TLM or perhaps they were scoping us out and decided against this as an assignment. I don’t know for certain. But I do know that having an associate or deacon who is not on board with Tradition would be worse than not having one in the first place, as they could/would undermine everything being done here. For instance, one deacon who came here for Mass with his wife approached the altar rail and both of them stuck out their hands to receive Holy Communion. The wife was the first I came to and the altar boy did as he is trained to do, for many first-timers don’t know that they can’t receive in the hand. He simply put the paten over her outstretched hands and under her chin, and as I moved the Host toward her face she opened her mouth and received. Her deacon husband, witnessing this, proclaimed as I moved to his spot, “I am a deacon of the Diocese of St. Petersburg and I will receive in the hand!” I had to whisper to him that we must follow the 1962 rubrics and therefore must give only on the tongue. “For the sake of the Eucharist, I will receive under protest!” he replied as he stuck out his tongue. He never came back to introduce himself and I never saw him again. Imagine if he was assigned and never wanted to adjust his understanding of what we do and why. The old saying, “Beggars can’t be choosers” certainly doesn’t apply here, for if this beggar isn’t choosy about which clergy to accept, the results could be disastrous.
       Anyway, I didn’t sit down to write about this but I had to answer emails before getting around to this article. One of the emails was from the diocese and included a list of all of the associates (also known as parochial vicars, assistant priests, etc.) currently active in the diocese, including those belonging to religious orders and those from foreign countries. There were only 51 in total. We have more than 80 parishes. It isn’t personal. There are not enough “extra” priests to go around. As for the deacons, I think there are probably many of them looking for a parish where they can be useful as they fulfill their diaconal duties. But realistically, most deacons are retired before they even begin their formation and are quite past the time of life when learning a whole new rite and a new language would look achievable let alone rewarding. The deacon must be able to chant (another thing to learn) the Gospel in Latin. If he is to baptize, he must be able to read the entire ritual in Latin. Even in a simple marriage ceremony without a Nuptial Mass, there are a few parts he must do in Latin. It is a formidable.
       Fortunately, it is Lent, and we can all offer up the inconvenience of a full schedule due to a packed church. It is certainly better than a clear calendar and empty pews!

With prayers for your holiness,
Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka