Changes!

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Most of my readers know that for over two years now, I've served as a senior vicar at New Roads Catholic Community, a collaborative of Saint Luke and Saint Joseph Parishes in Belmont.  A senior vicar is an older priest who is assigned to a parish or collaborative but whose work does not include administrative responsibilities. In the Archdiocese of Boston priests can retire at 75 - or thereabouts. Well, I won't turn 75 until next April but I have asked Cardinal Sean to grant me senior priest status (retirement) and a week ago he did so. Thus, there are changes happening in my life.  As of November 1, 2021 I'll be a senior priest and I'll take up residence at Good Shepherd Parish in Wayland, MA.  Good Shepherd is a parish with two worship sites, Saint Ann and Saint Zepherin.  I'll be living at the rectory at Saint Ann's with the pastor, Fr. Dave O'Leary and another priest in residence, Fr. Joe Hennessey, a canon lawyer with the Archdiocesan Tribunal.

My last mass at Saint Luke's in Belmont will be live streamed at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, November 7.

I'm going to miss the people in Belmont!  I believe all of us can look back and see the ways we've bonded with others with whom we lived through the hardest times of the pandemic.  For me, that's the people with whom I shared a virtual chapel, via live stream on Sunday mornings from Saint Luke's, praying through the long months of closed church buildings.  The Spirit of God was alive and active in our cyber liturgies - and still is!  Let me take a moment here to thank the men and women who were instrumental in helping us gather in prayer each week: Erik and Emi, our music ministry; Kevin, Tony, Karen, Kathy, Casey and Debbie, our lectors; and Brenda, Kevin and Gates our crack technical crew.

So, what will I be doing in Wayland?  I'll be a senior priest in residence, celebrating a mass every weekend and a weekday mass as well. I'll certainly want to become part of my new faith community and will look for ways to do that, but I'll definitely be keeping a slower, gentler pace.  I'm looking forward to having more time to write so I'll continue to be posting daily on my blog, on FaceBook and on Twitter.  I plan to find a new way to continue my online ministry of breaking open the Sunday scriptures in homilies.  You'll need to give me a little time to put that together but I'll be sure to give you the details when I'm ready to begin.

I have been blessed with 48 years of ministry as a priest and I pray that my good health and the grace of God will grant me many more years to come!  

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