10/15/2025
As a parishioner, a deacon, and a priest, I have had the opportunity to be a part of 14 parishes in my 32 years in Iowa. In my adult life I have been part of a total of 16 parishes, and 18 parishes in my entire life. That’s not counting the seven parishes I was part of during my two years of seminary. I’ve been in city parishes in Chicago, city parishes in Iowa, and rural parishes in Iowa. I’ve been to Masses in Italy, Germany, Canada, and India, Masses said in English and Latin and German and Italian and Spanish and French and Vietnamese and Portuguese and Polish. What I’m saying here is, I’ve been around. And you know what I’ve found in every single place?
Good people. Holy people. Welcoming people. People who love the Lord and center their lives in prayer and participation in the sacraments and practice the works of mercy. People that offered their hand, shared their name, and told me to sit anywhere I liked and to join them for coffee and donuts after Mass. People that made me feel like I was part of the family. Wonderful priests and deacons and religious. Wonderful lay women and men.
What else did I find?
People that looked at me with eyes that communicated, “who are you?” People that looked at me and sometimes said to me, “you’re sitting in my seat”. People that said, “that’s not how we do things here” or “we’ve always done it that way.” People that were quick to point out, “this is the {nationality} parish. The {other nationality} parish is down the street.” People that would say, “this is the liberal/conservative parish. The conservative/liberal parish is down the street.” People that would say, “I’ve been here for 67 years; you’re not part of this parish.”
In short, every parish I have ever been part of is fully Catholic! People striving for holiness and falling short and needing to turn to God for his mercy and grace. People that love God and people that, at times, seem to love their football team more. People that are trying to love their neighbor as themselves, but are not always sure who their neighbor is or what it means to love them. People hungry to be fed by the Word of God and the sacraments and people that struggle to see the great banquet that is available to them. Curmudgeonly priests and deacons and religious. Curmudgeonly lay women and men.
People like you. People like me.
And all of us, all of us different people and different parishes and communities, find ourselves in the same place and time, right now, together on a Journey in Faith. It’s not just an initiative of the Archdiocese of Dubuque in 2025, but the same journey that every child of God has had to take for 2000 years! We are not alone on this journey. You are not alone on this journey. Let’s give each other some grace as we journey together.
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