memory lane

I cannot believe it has almost been a year since I have been ordained to the presbyterate of Milwaukee. Tomorrow morning I go to the Seminary and celebrate Mass for the first time since last May. When I return, I will see the faces of four deacons awaiting their own ordination and ready to go to their new assignments. I will see the faces of four new deacons ordained to the diaconate last Saturday at St Mathias. It is the last day of school tomorrow for all the students (barring a few exams next week) and excitement is high. Ordination season at Seminary was and always is a time of great hope for the Church.

We are moving through the Acts of the Apostles in our daily lectionary this Easter Season and the reading for this Thursday was Paul's first major sermon on his first missionary journey. When Paul evangelized, he gave a recounting of the salvation history of the Jewish people and then introduced Jesus as the fulfillment of this history. If you remember Peter's Pentecost sermon, it was much the same. The Apostles recounted history to show the people that God was always at work, and is still at work. We see the lives of the saints throughout Church history and see God working in them in their time also.

When we are in time though, it is harder to recognize God's presence. I doubt Francis of Assisi believed he would have had a large Basilica nor a following that converts souls to this day when he walked the earth. John Paul II or Mother Teresa probably did not think that they would have an effect 200 years from now on Christians. It is easier to look back in time and see God's work, than to look in our own time and see it. We can be assured though, that God is at work and does not skip generations, and works in ours despite the turbulence of scandal in our Church or any other problems that plague humanity. We continue to rely on God to feed us with fresh vocations who crave to make an impact on a wounded Church and bring hope to the people of God.