How a Friar Becomes a Pastor

I arrived in Salt Lake City on the Solemnity of our Holy Father St. Dominic one week ago. However, on the first of August, by the grace of His Excellency Oscar Solis, I became the new Pastor of St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Newman Center here in Salt Lake City. My charge? To serve the Students, Faculty, and Staff of the University of Utah. Yesterday, on the eve of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary I was formally installed as the Pastor of this parish by Bishop Solis. It was a simple, yet dignified Mass offered by His Excellecy for this very purpose.

I couldn't help but be struck by the meaning of the event. There, in the presence of one of the Successors to the Apostles, surrounded by my brother priests, close lay collaborators, and all the faithful people who were there present, there was a very real sense of unity and diversity at the service of building up the Body of Christ in this little portion of the People of God. The ceremony itself calls to mind the fraternity among all of Christ's collaborators for continuining his Mission through time, until the end of time itself, in union with the Deposit of Faith and the Magisterium of Holy Mother Church.

Being the object of these sacred rites were deeply humbling and somewhat terrifying. I kept recalling the feelings that my Godfather had when he was assigned as the Pastor of a parish for the first time. He was terrified. But while at adoration he distinctly heard in his heart Christ reminding him that he was just his priest, his tool, and that the parish itself belonged to Christ and that Christ himself would guide and shepherd it in spite of anything that his priest did poorly. I also knelt in adoration for a time prior to my installation and a similar peace overshadowed me draining me of the fear and trepidation I was feeling due to my own pride. Those same words resonated in my heart. "Have no fear, it's my church, not your church."

But this also got me thinking about the very process that is involved in becoming a Pastor as a Dominican Friar in our province. If you know anything about how this works for Secular Clergy it may interest you to know that things work a little different for us. You see, normally for a Secular Priest the Bishop just appoints his choice in consultation with those he's appointed to help him make these appointments. However, with us our Ordinary, the Provincial, can't just appoint a Pastor to those parishes we serve, even the ones we own. Instead he has to gain permission to propose a friar to the Local Ordinary, the Diocesan Bishop, with a majorty vote of the Provincial Council. Then after a positive vote is given the Provincial proposes the friar to the Bishop who is free to accept or reject the proposal in consultation with those who help him make these decisions. All this is to say that it's quite a process. But to me, the meaning of the process is what's both edifying and humbling. The meaning is that the brothers who we elect to make decisions for us, our peers, literally make a vote of confidence in the ability of the proposed brother to exercise the ministry and office of a pastor. It's overwhelming and touching to receive that confidence. I hope to do justice by it.

Failure

One of the greatest challenges in life is changing habits. We are, after all, creatures of habit. So, a present example. I have intended to post an article three times a week. But, today is August the 1st. The last article is dated July the 20th. Even for the non-math(s) majors out there, it will be clear that I have not met my intended goal. There are many reasons for this. However, the primary reason, the real reason, is that new habits are hard to build. This is why a person will go to confession over and over again without experiencing much change in his behavior. He will come in to confess the same sins, growing in frustration, and eventually falling into despair. This is because we want a shortcut to habits. When I go to confession I want to come out a new man with new habits of virtue rather than the old habits of vice. Alas, grace doesn't destroy nature. Rather, grace aids and perfects nature. So, just like riding a bike or remaining faithful to a productivity method, those natural virtues have to be regularly exercised to develop new habits. This process will start to break up the old habits that we no longer want in our lives so that we can build the new ones that we do want. Becoming “the new me” takes time, a lot of time. So, with that being said, I'm sorry for not posting more regularly since I've restarted the site. I'm working on rebuilding that habit. But, hopefully my lapse into vice will serve to help you grow in virtue.

Welcome back! It's been a while.

I want to welcome you, or maybe just welcome you back, to my site, The Eighth Way. It's been a long time. Six years have passed since I last authored a post here. However, given the times and the circumstances I felt that it was the right time to take up this project once again. In addition to the cosmetic changes, there will also be style changes. I have a roadmap in my mind for how I would like this site to grow and develop. I believe that both old and new readers will appreciate the changes. In particular, I will no longer be using the link post style that was perfected by John Gruber. If there are any links at all they will be of a more traditional sort. Speaking of John Gruber, I will, however, continue the practice of not permitting comments. I want to add something positive to the internet. One more comments section on the internet would be the opposite of that positive endeavor. So be at peace! The battles you seek can be found elsewhere. I'm sure they will be inescapable.

For those of you who are new, the name is an allusion to the Nine Ways of Prayer of St. Dominic, the founder of my Religious Order. The Eighth Way is the way of study. Through enriching our minds with true knowledge we cannot but grow in humility before the vastness of what is knowable and be awestruck by the poverty of what is yet to be known. In and through this same enrichment the mind is able to enter into communion with the Author of all that the mind knows rightly. If one is disposed well to study, then one will be well disposed to contemplation. And, that most noble act, whereby we are drawn into communion with God, will reveal to us the very nature of our destiny, that is, theosis.

Again, I welcome you to my little corner of the internet, where we can investigate the mysterious and the mundane. I hope you are pleased with that which you will read as much as I will enjoy the crafting of the words.

In Our Holy Father, St. Dominic,

Fr. Gabriel, OP