What a Life! for April 11-15, 2007

People ask me, “Is the rumor I hear about you retiring true?” My answer is, “It is not a rumor, it’s true. I will be retiring at the end of June this year.” Now let me qualify that statement. I will be retiring from being the pastor of two parishes in Thibodaux. I will live in my house below Houma in Upper Little Caillou. However, I will be active in various ministries and will be available to help in any parish that needs me. I will also continue to write this column and try to put some articles in book form.

I am sixty-eight years old and have been a priest for more than forty-three years. I have only been stationed in what is now the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. My first assignment was in 1964 at St. Joseph Church in Chauvin. I was there for four years as an associate pastor and a member of the faculty of St. Joseph Benedictine High School. Next, I was assigned to St. Thomas Aquinas Center in Thibodaux as the first pastor of the parish. I was there eleven years from 1968-1979.

My next assignment took me to Holy Cross Church in Morgan City. I was there for eight years as pastor and served as temporary principal of both Holy Cross and Central Catholic High Schools. I moved to Houma in 1987 and was pastor for eleven years at St. Bernadette Church, the largest parish in our diocese. I was assigned to St. Genevieve Church in Thibodaux in 1998. Additionally, St. Genevieve has been linked with St. Luke Church since 2002.

These forty-three years have been very exciting and challenging. Both the Church and the world have undergone many changes. The priesthood has also changed drastically. The administration, paper work, technology, involvement of laity in various committees and councils, and expectations of people regarding liturgy and service have multiplied. For example, when I was first ordained, Mass was still in Latin. The common thinking then was that the celebration of the Mass a “priest thing.” The people merely “attended” Mass. In fact, the priest did all the readings, gave communion to the few people that went to communion, and said all the prayers by himself, including the Lord’s Prayer.

Today we realize it is the whole Church that celebrates the Eucharist together; the priest is the necessary leader. However, it is the entire Body of Christ that offers itself with Christ to the Father. This kind of celebration takes more involvement of the people and therefore more training. These are the good things that priests enjoy doing. It is the paperwork and insurance forms, etc., the administration that has become a burden!

While I am in good health, I want to continue being active in new ways. I want to write more (expand the readers of this column), give parish missions, retreats and workshops, do more with the musical gifts God has given me, and get closer to nature by taking care of the fruit trees planted around my house. I also want to pick my fishing days and try to get my body in better shape so I can continue to enjoy life as I face the sunset of life.

Some benefits of retirement I hope to attain are the ability to get adequate rest, reduce stress in my life, and enjoy a well-balanced emotional existence. What is most important is the opportunity to approach my own spiritual development in ever expanding ways. I hope to deepen my awareness of and to appreciate the mystery of God in my life. I want to become more aware of God’s beauty and to remain open to the continual nudges of the Holy Spirit in all aspects of life.