It is amazing how fast time flies. I am writing this on the 24^th anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood. It seems like just yesterday I was living the carefree days of seminary. These were days of routine and ritual. Prayer first thing in the morning, class, Mass, lunch, maybe a class in the afternoon, prayer and then dinner. The evenings were all about study, writing and reading. At the time I thought I was busy but looking back I am often tempted to say that those were the good old days.

In 24 years as a priest, I have had the privilege of serving in four assignments. Each of these communities has taught me how to be a better priest. My first assignment taught me the humility that I would need to be an effective priest. As much as I learned in seminary, as much as I thought I knew, and as ready as I thought I was, in my first assignment I learned quickly that God is God, and I am not. It was in this assignment that I learned that priesthood is all about service.

In my second assignment in “the county” I learned first-hand the importance of trusting in God. Way up there at the top of the state of Maine, far away from family and friend, I felt a bit like Abraham who God told to go to a foreign land. It was here that I learned that who God calls and who God sends, He does not abandon. In this new land I found strength and courage in the grace and patience of God.

As pastor in Old Town and Orono I learned that the church is not a building, is not dogma and rules, and is not exclusive. Instead, the church is a community with Jesus Christ at the head. The Church welcomes, challenges, and affirms. As a community we work together to smooth each other’s rough edges, so that the journey to holiness and extraordinariness is made just a bit more doable. Jesus himself tells us that where two or three gather in His name, he is in their midst. Whether gathered with the college students at the Newman Center or with parishioners at a fair or supper it was Jesus who was calling us together and it was Jesus who was the cause of our joy.

Now here at St. Matthew and St. Therese of Lisieux, a lot older and I hope somewhat wiser, I see how God was with me the whole way. Who would have predicted a global pandemic would break-out six months after my arrival. I had learned all these lessons and I had a new community to share them with. Maybe this was God’s way of bringing me back to the beginning, to remind me that a priest is meant to be a humble servant. Perhaps this was God’s way of reminding me that I needed to trust in his grace. Most importantly, I think God was once again reminding me that where two or three gather in His name there is a community to help one another to grow our faith no matter what comes our way.

I do not write this as the end of my story or to brag about how smart I have become. I have much more to learn about being a priest and being a Christian. I write this instead in gratitude for the hundreds of people who have helped me to grow by being faithful, patient, and generous. I thank those who challenged me to be “more priestly” and those who affirmed my vocation. I am grateful that through it all I have grown to know that all that is good in my life, all that leads me to holiness, and all that gives me joy comes from saying yes to God’s call to humble service.

I am not sure why men are so afraid of answering yes to God’s call to priesthood. Yes, it requires sacrifice, but so does marriage. Yes, it is hard work, but every day the priest gets to hold Jesus in his unworthy hands. As a priest I have been invited to moments of great joy, to tragic events, to confusion and chaos, and to almost every situation in life. While not all these moments were “happy times” every one of them was an opportunity for me to do for others what Jesus has done for me.

Finally, I also want to take this opportunity to encourage young men to be not afraid to say yes to Jesus. Be not afraid to say yes to being Godly men. Be not afraid to be chaste and holy men. Be not afraid to be faithful and loving men. Be not afraid to be men of service and humility. Be not afraid to say yes to God’s call to service because who God calls and who God sends, he does not abandon.