I Love What I Get to Do!
This is just a test to see if anyone reads this article – and the reason for a “test,” is because I hope to use the overall theme of this article in a future homily, and I am hoping either a) you will like the introduction and conclusion of the article, or b) that when you hear me use this “story” in a homily, you’ll be able to say, “I remember reading that in the June Catholic Connection!” …Again, just a test.
When you love what you do, you’ll never work another day in your life. Some say that Confucius was the origin of the expression. Others say it was Mark Twain. I first came upon it watching a Humvee commercial. The setting is two military officers, one female the other male. She is standing next to her newly purchased Humvee – he is just standing nearby questioning her about her purchase. Somewhere in the initial dialogue between them, he asks her, with a twinge of skepticism, “why would you want to buy a Humvee?” She, who is clearly a big fan of the vehicle, responds, “when you love what you do, you’ll never work another day in your life.”
I have a close friend who recently was attending Mass locally, and the pastor of the church was lamenting in his homily (with justification) that with fewer priests available in our diocese, there might be a noticeable cut-back in services at the church. My friend told me that after Mass, one of the congregants commented to him, “why doesn’t the bishop get his butt up there to help out?” My reaction was to laugh, but then to wonder if the old adage, “in every bit of jest there is a bit of truth,” applied. You see your pastor at your parish church with regularity. You don’t see me unless there is a Confirmation or another special occasion. Which begs the question, “what does the bishop do when he’s not visible to the other parishes?”
I love what I get to do! But, one of the most noticeable changes in my life since becoming a bishop is the reality that I no longer enjoy the frenetic pace of being a pastor of a parish. I loved being a pastor, and I didn’t mind the schedule. This was especially true when it hit me that I was not celebrating daily Mass for a congregation, or hearing confessions regularly, or having a regular schedule of baptisms. I miss that schedule – but it was quickly replaced by my present lifestyle of being responsible for all of the 40+ parishes and missions in our diocese. My weekends are generally full with a visit somewhere between our western Texas border to the Mississippi, or from the southern border of Arkansas to the northern border of the Diocese of Alexandria. Last weekend (from Thursday to Sunday) I traveled from Shreveport to Ruston, to Monroe, back to Ruston, back to Shreveport, and then to Vivian. I offered the sacrament of Confirmation at these churches, and in one case, twice in the same church. The number of Confirmandi varied from two in one parish, to 89 in another – but all required some travel, and each ceremony involved a Mass and a sermon. As I write this article, I have two Confirmations in the diocese 50 miles distant from the other. And still, I love what I get to do!
In addition to Confirmations, I have daily meetings in my office and elsewhere concerning the affairs of the diocese, the welfare of our retired priests, the weekly meeting of our Diocesan Trustees, and the regular encounters with people who just want or need to visit. I am up early in the morning, and on a regular basis I offer daily Mass at the Catholic Center for diocesan employees. There is the usual daily mail – and the correspondence that goes along with it. I received my first “nasty” letter from a woman who likened me to Pontius Pilate because I moved her pastor, and another note from someone who just wanted to thank me for my homily at her church recently. Such notes just come with the job! The concerns that come my way as bishop involve virtually every parish and mission church in the diocese – you may not see me every Sunday, but many do. And then, I have meetings with staff, with members of our Priest’s Personnel Board, Priest’s Council (called the Presbyteral Council), and with various members of my staff. The Diocesan Cemetery Board likes for me to attend their meetings, and, of course, there are always the planning sessions for this group or another.
I would love nothing more than to have the regular contact with those entrusted to my care among the 40,000 + Catholics in our diocese – but the office of bishop doesn’t afford me the opportunity to just travel. That would be nice, but as much as I love my responsibilities as a bishop, there are limitations to what I can do, and where I can go, and in spite of what the gentleman lamented, my “butt” is busy, but I love what I get to do!
If you are still reading, please do not read a word of complaint in this article from me – if Confucius and Mark Twain, and the folks at Humvee are correct (and I believe they are) “if you love what you do, you don’t work another day in your life.” In other words, as busy as I am (and your pastors are too), it doesn’t seem so much like work, as it does doing what the Lord sent me here to do. Even, as right now, my schedule sandwiches me between celebrating the Baccalaureate Masses at Loyola College Prep in Shreveport and then in Monroe at St. Frederick’s. My presence at these Masses and then their graduations is expected, and still, I love what I get to do!
Some good souls will ask, “what can I do to help my pastor? Or “what can I do to help my bishop?” or “What can I do when the shortage of priests in our diocese results in a cut back of services we have been use to enjoying?”
Pray. Pray for your pastors – we are so blessed to have wonderful priests in the Diocese of Shreveport – just not enough of them. Pray for an increase of vocations to the priesthood – don’t just lament that there are not enough. Pray for Nicholas Duncan, newly ordained to the priesthood. Pray that I will continue to have the time and the opportunity to visit as many parishes as I am able.
I love what I get to do! And without complaint. And while I am at it – I love each of you and those wonderful opportunities to visit parishes from Caddo parish to Zwolle, to Ruston and Monroe, and Lake Providence and Oak Grove and every other parish in between. I love what I get to do – (and I pray you do as well). May the Lord continue to make the most of our love for Him!
Your brother in the Risen Lord,
+Bishop Francis I. Malone