As I began to think of what I would write for this week’s article I noticed this issue of the Catholic Universe Bulletin will be dated the 25th of July. For some people this may be a special date, and probably for many more it is just another day in the year’s calendar.
However, for me it does hold some significance, for you see July 25 is the Feast of St. James the Apostle, one of Jesus’ closest friends and it’s the name of the parish where I lived back in the Boston area from the time I was three years old until the year after my mother died when my brother and I decided to sell our home.
As I thought earlier this week about St. James the Apostle Parish I traveled back in my mind to some of my earliest memories and how many of them in one way or another involved the Church, the parish school which I attended, and the playground in which I spent many good hours. Growing up in that parish I thought was good then; and now as I look back I am able to say it was great! My first friend from first grade is still my friend today and he just came back from the West Coast visiting his first grandchild.
It was there I experienced education in the parish school, all eight grades. Looking back on it I feel gratitude that my parents sent me there and that there I had dedicated religious teachers who generously gave of themselves for the 48 of us in each classroom, six rows of eight desks!
Most of all I remember especially from my youth Church events which are chiseled into my memory--my First Communion Day and Confirmation Day, my Graduation from grammar school and the Masses, parish missions and novenas which filled the church day after day. These were all part of my and everyone’s life, as we were spiritually motivated as God’s people surrounded by family, friends, and parishioners.
After grammar school I went to a Catholic High School in another community. My time at St. James was split then with some of my presence being with new friends and events connected with the high school. But looking back St. James Parish was still the center of my religious life.
Like many young people there is a process of moving from one’s familiar surroundings after high school to new experiences. The same was true for me as I attended Boston College for two years and then six years as a seminarian preparing for Priesthood Ordination. Certainly, on the one hand over those years and the following years of priestly ministry in the Archdiocese of Boston, increasingly I had less and less contact with my home parish St. James. This is not unusual for many people, as new responsibilities fill their lives. However, on the other hand I became more and more aware of how much I as a person had received from my home parish. Second only to my family’s influence, parish life at St. James provided the foundation for my religious and spiritual life which I realize has been so significant over these many years.
Since high school graduation there were a few truly significant never to forget experiences involving St. James in my life. It was in that church that Funeral Masses for both of my parents were celebrated, as well as many family members and friends. It was also where I celebrated my First Mass as a priest, and celebrated numerous baptisms and weddings.
The last experience I had with my parish was in the fall of 2004 when working with the Archbishop of Boston as his Vicar General the decision was made to close St. James the Apostle Parish as part of the reconfiguration process that the Archdiocese was committed to. Needless to say it was a very difficult decision; the closing day itself was a very sad day for many people, as it certainly was for me.
Notwithstanding the sadness, I realize how blessed I have been to have had a parish like St. James the Apostle in my life and that much of the good I do is because of the foundation I received there, received from priests and religious and parishioners who taught me to love and obey God and to love and help people. It was those good people who taught me along with my family what community means.
If asked by someone what feelings I have when I think of St. James Parish, I must say that most of all I am thankful for having had such a wonderful parish—such thankfulness is so much more present than any sadness. God’s gifts such as a parish even after it may close live on in the lives of those who received the gift of a good parish.
Many years ago I heard a spiritual axiom which I have treasured. In the case of a closed parish, I believe it calls for gratitude and for response:
Who we are is God’s gift to us; who we become is our gift to God.
As we continue the clustering process, please know your Bishop has experienced a wonderful parish, has had it close, and strives to live the gift received going forward as a testimony that God’s gift is not ended. May God bless you all.