This weekend is a time to celebrate the studies and achievements of those who have completed their high school education. Their families are proud and as they attend the Baccalaureate Celebration held Wednesday of Senior Week, they take the opportunity to affirm and celebrate each other. Their parents and friends have an opportunity to re-member—to put together the happenings of the past years that brought each of them to this point in their lives. I always look forward to listening to the stories of significant events in the lives of our young people as the move forward to a future filled with hopes and dreams, and of sometimes apprehension of the unknown.
This weekend is a significant milestone in my life’s journey as well. Forty years ago, on June 3 rd I walked into Saint Paul’s Cathedral in Worcester, to be ordained a priest. I remember the week before ordination, I spent at Calvary Monastery in Shrewsbury. It was a beautiful week and I was happy to be finished with studies and my assignment as a transitional Deacon at St. Mary’s in Milford. Steve Pedone, my classmate and I met with Bishop Flanigan in the Cathedral Rectory to prepare for the celebration. Our families, friends, and the priests of the Diocese of Worcester assembled to witness, affirm and celebrate our commitment to Christ, the Church, and our diocese. I, too was filled with hopes and dreams as are our graduates from Hopedale High as well as apprehension of the unknown.
My siblings and their spouses were 40 years younger, so I had lots of young nieces and nephews in attendance. Rather than a sit-down dinner we had an outdoor celebration on the grounds of Barlin Acres (Now Cyprian Keys) with the pool open, lots of food, and a polka band for dancing in the ballroom. Being the honoree, I got to dance with all the women present! Good preparation for wedding receptions!
It is a melancholic time, remembering who was there forty years ago, and who is no longer with us. Calvary Monastery is now closed, Barlin Acres is no longer a Diocesan Retreat Center and Bishop Flanigan is watching from Heaven. However, this is a milestone; a time to sit and remember all that has happened these 40 years, the people I have met, the challenges overcome, the lives I have touched, and those who have touched me. I re-member and I smile. I hank God for all of you here at Sacred Heart who have been a significant part of that journey for 17 of those 40 years!