Spending Some Time in East Stroudsburg

It's been awhile (ten months to be exact) since I've written and uploaded any new blog posts. However, as I begin my pastoral year assignment at St. Matthew's Parish in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, I realize that I will have more time on my hands to commit to thinking, reflecting, praying, writing, and blogging! So here we go once again...

These past ten months included amazing moments: attending a papal mass in Washington, D.C., participating in the wedding of good friends in Chicago, being on silent retreat with the Jesuits in Wernersville, going to an ordination in Altoona, and taking a brief, but much needed vacation in Vero Beach.

St. Matthew's Parish in East Stroudsburg, PA

While these moments were quite extraordinary, most of my time was actually spent in the normal (perhaps even somewhat mundane) cycles and schedules of classes, meetings, pastoral obligations, and "downtime." As I review this past year at St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore, I recognize that most of my time has been blessed with both the extraordinary and the mundane rhythms of life. It seems that life is filled with the bustle of excitement and activity as well as the boredom of quiet inactivity.

I hope during this pastoral year at St. Matthew's Parish that I am able to become more comfortable with this normal cyclical rhythm of life. There will certainly be moments of busyness and movement. However, I also know that there will be times of listlessness and monotony. Yet, if I am open to this reality of life, then I just might be able to see that God indeed works in all moments of life.

God's gentle whisper can be heard and God's loving activity can be seen amidst the chaos as well as the stillness of life. I just need the ears of faith to listen and the eyes of faith to see and believe!