Domine Iesu, noverim me, noverim te

This is a letter I wrote for the February 6th parish bulletin

Dear Friends,

From time to time you might see me wear my 1967 graduation ring from Monsignor Bonner High School.  I like to wear it and would wear it more often, but it’s kind of big and clunky.  One reason I have been wearing it more in the past few months is because it bears on one side of the stone an image of Our Lady of Good Counsel. 

On the other side of the ring, among a whole bunch of other things, there is a short line from one of my favorite prayers by St. Augustine: “Noverim te,” Latin for “That I might know You.”  Here is the complete prayer:

Lord Jesus, let me know myself and know Thee,

And desire nothing save only Thee.

Let me hate myself and love Thee.

Let me do everything for the sake of Thee.

Let me humble myself and exalt Thee.

Let me think of nothing except Thee.

Let me die to myself and live in Thee.

Let me accept whatever happens as from Thee.

Let me banish self and follow Thee,

And ever desire to follow Thee.

Let me fly from myself and take refuge in Thee,

That I may deserve to be defended by Thee.

Let me fear for myself, let me fear Thee,

And let me be among those who are chosen by Thee.

Let me distrust myself and put my trust in Thee.

Let me be willing to obey for the sake of Thee.

Let me cling to nothing save only to Thee,

And let me be poor because of Thee.

Look upon me, that I may love Thee.

Call me that I may see Thee,

And forever enjoy Thee. Amen.

The path of Augustine’s life, both before and after his conversion, often involved striving to know himself.  Eventually he came to realize that knowing God and knowing himself well were intimately linked together.  By “knowing himself,” Augustine is not talking about navel-gazing.  He learned that he needed to have a realistic idea of who he was, his strengths and his weaknesses – and also his blind spots.  He came to know that trying to deceive himself, trying to fool himself about the kind of a person he was would stagnate his growth as a human being and get in the way of growing in the knowledge of God.  For you and me too, those two parts of the first sentence of Augustine’s prayer are permanently linked: “Lord, that I may know myself; that I may know Thee."

The use of the word “hate” in the third line might surprise us.  I don’t think he means to hate himself as one might hate an enemy (whom Christ himself, after all tells us to love), but instead prays that he might be able to constantly choose Christ over himself. 

This wonderful prayer of St. Augustine shows us the desire that he had to abandon his will and his life to Jesus.  It might take us a while to “grow into” this prayer, but it can be one of many valuable tools in our efforts to grow spiritually and to follow Jesus more closely.   

Keep warm and stay safe!

Sincerely,

Father Liam

The following is a letter I wrote last evening to be published in next Sunday's church bulletin.

Dear Parishioners,

As I write this letter on Tuesday evening I have spent only a little over 33 hours as your pastor.  But I am very grateful to have been able to spend many hours here spread over the past 6 weeks.  Early in July I visited for 5 days to meet with Father John, members of the staff and some of the parishioners.  I was here for a few days before and after Joe Murray’s first profession Mass, then went on retreat in Suffern, NY, and arrived back here last Friday.  I met many of you at Father John’s farewell Mass and reception.  All of you have received me very warmly.  Thank you! 

Father John has a true pastor’s heart for you, the people of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish.  It comes through in so many ways!  The most obvious is the warmth and affection that flows between you all and him, back and forth.   Back in June, from the beginning of our conversations about this transition, John said more than once that he wanted to do everything he could to make this a smooth handoff.  I know that this is partly because of his concern for me, a fellow Augustinian friar, but also largely because of his great love for his flock, and his desire to make this transition go as smoothly and painlessly as he can for all of you.  You all know that Father John has exceptional organizational skills and pays remarkable attention to detail.  He has organized packets of informative materials having to do with all facets of the pastoral and administrative activities of the parish. Besides reserving large blocks of time to sit and explain these things to me, he has written many pages of notes to convey the more important points.  Often in recent years when a new pastor replaces a previous one, this kind of overlap is not possible.  Sometimes the two pastors never get to meet in person.  In one case I heard about, the new pastor arrived at the rectory and the parish secretary handed him an envelope from the previous pastor containing some keys and a note saying “Good luck!” 

So I consider myself extremely fortunate to be following Father John in this work as your pastor.  Both you and I owe him an immense debt of gratitude.   

When first I was informed about my appointment as pastor here, I was apprehensive.  For many reasons.  It has been a long time since I last was a pastor.  It was a much smaller parish in a nation far away from America.  But God gives us the grace to do the job he calls us to do.  As Augustinian friars, our community life, centered on supporting each other in our relationship with the Lord, is the sustaining basis for our ministry.  I am extremely pleased to be teamed with Fr. Jorge Luis Cleto and Fr. Jim Cassidy as my brothers in the friary and as co-workers in the parish.  Please pray for us, that we might grow into a community that St. Augustine would be proud of, and that we might serve all of you in the wider parish community in a way worthy of Jesus Christ our High Priest. 

And we three Augustinians will of course pray for all of you, our brothers and sisters in Christ. 

Sincerely,

Father Liam 

Back in Pennsylvania / Project 365

Though I was here less than 10 days ago, I'm back for a couple of days to help Mom with some things she needs to get done.  I usually stay at St. Augustine Friary at Villanova and drive back and forth to Mom's place.  About 25 minutes with no traffic.  Drove down from Massachusetts yesterday and was making very good time until I hit the NJTPK.  There must have been 3 different accidents, causing backups all along that stretch of the pike.  

Koa wood ukulele, bought in Kauai, March of 2010

Inspired by a former coworker, for almost a year I have been engaged in my own version of Project 365 - posting one photo a day for a year.  I'm a little bit behind in the posting, but have been faithful in taking the photos daily.  Some days when I'm too busy I either skip, or take a photo of some random object or objects in my room.  The photo the left is a case in point.  Took it using the camera built into my MacBook.  The app always switches left and right for some reason, like a mirror.  I don't skip often.  It has been a good experience and I do think my photos have gotten better.  My eye has improved.  My familiarity with the features of my camera has progressed.  It has been good, but I will be glad when July 16 rolls around.  I will still continue to take a lot of photos, but I'm glad that the year will be up before I move to Staten Island.  Being pastor and a new member of that friary will take up most of the energy of my waking hours.  

Moving on to Staten Island

Last Sunday Padre Jorge made the announcement at all the Masses, so I can tell you now. I will be moving on to Staten Island in August. I am thankful for being assigned here to the Merrimack Valley again after 14 months in western North Carolina. I have enjoyed working with the people of the parish. My Spanish has gotten better but still not anywhere close to perfect. (Jorge accurately made reference to this in his announcement. Something like: He reads his sermons well but still can't really speak the language.) It has afforded me the opportunity to sing with the Andover Choral Society for one more year, bringing the total up to 14 years. The opportunity to celebrate Mass and preach in Japanese again (only every two months for the Boston-area Japanese Catholic Community - I was just getting to know them).

Our new Prior Provincial, Fr. Mickey Genovese, has asked me to be pastor of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Staten Island, NY. I was pastor of a parish before in Nagoya, Japan before. But it was another century, another country. This will be full of new challenges. I report for work on August 16. I am grateful that I will have the opportunity to attend a week-long workshop for new pastors in NJ in mid-July. Last week at Villanova I met informally with two of the other friars I will be living with. I am was pleased to discover that all three of us seem to be on the same page regarding our expectations concerning Augustinian common life.  In two weeks I will go to Staten Island to meet with Fr. John DelloRusso, the outgoing pastor.

Provincial Chapter

Today was the second full day of our Provincial Chapter (meeting) that happens every 4 years.  I have attended most of them, even when I was out of the Order for 12 years.  I am extremely encouraged by the content of the discussions and the attitudes of the men who are taking part.  Especially regarding the importance and practicalities of community life.

Also, I met with the two friars I will be working with at the parish I will be assigned to in August.  I was very happy to hear that we all seem to be on the same page in terms of our expectations and motivations.  This new situation could work out really well.










Here's a photo of 10 friars from my novitiate class (1967-1968) who are attending the meetings this week at Villanova.  The novitiate is a very special year and you have a special bond with those you spend it with.  It's really good to be with them again for a few days.

On the road to Villanova

Writing this in a hotel room in Connecticut.  I will arrive at Villanova today before 3 PM in time for a ceremony that will make one of the parishioners of our parish in North Carolina an honorary Augustinian.  Shirley is in her late 80s and is very often the altar server at morning Mass at St. Margaret's in Maggie Valley during the week.  In her white alb and sneakers she is always on top of everything.  Helped  me a lot 2 years ago when I was getting used to celebrating Mass again after 12 years off.  Especially things like kissing the altar at the beginning and end of Mass - gestures that are skipped in Mass in Japanese.

Then tonight we begin 5 days of meetings.  As many Augustinians who can attend this once-every-4-year week of meetings called a Provincial Chapter.  During this time we try to determine our direction for the next 4 years.  Mickey Genovese take office during this week as our new Prior Provincial.

Ora pro nobis!

Not really anything new, except I probably will be moving in August

Yes, I got the call this morning.  I report to my new place on August 16.  Subject to change.  Details still fuzzy.  Will let you know when I get more details.