Don’t Unpack

Seeing Jesus in the midst of clergy changes

04/24/2022

Jn 20:19-31 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

This past week many priests in our diocese received a letter written on stationary with green letterhead. Do you know who sends letters on stationary with green letterhead? The bishop does. Those letters this past week contained clergy changes, announcing which priest would be moved to which parish. Don’t worry, I did not receive one of those letters. Or, maybe you should worry because I did not receive one of those letters, and you will have to put up with me a little longer.

However, our associate priest, Fr. Daniel Velasco, did receive one of those letters on stationary with green letterhead. I am sad to share that Fr. Daniel will be leaving us. I would like to read that letter to you, in case you have never seen one or read one. Bishop Taylor wrote: “Dear Fr. Daniel, By means of this letter, I am pleased to appoint you administrator of Our Lady of the Holy Souls Church in Little Rock, Director of Spiritual Direction Formation for the Diocese of Little Rock, and Director of Spiritual Formation for the House of Formation in Little Rock, effective July 1, 2022.” In other words, the bishop is basically giving him three full-time jobs.

The bishop continued: “You are relieved of your responsibilities as associate pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Fort Smith and chaplain of Trinity Catholic School in Fort Smith, effective June 30, 2022.” Finally, the bishop added this note of encouragement: “I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to you for the wonderful priestly ministry you continue to bring to the Church, and for accepting this new appointment. Your dedication and commitment are evident in all that you do, and I want to assure you of my continued prayers and support.” Folks this is what happens when you put your hands in the bishop’s hands on the day of your ordination and promise obedience to him and his successors.

I remember what I said to Fr. Daniel when he arrived at I.C. in September, 2020. I was helping him unload his car with his luggage and boxes of books from seminary. It was immediately evident how mature, intelligent, capable, professional, personal, and polite Fr. Daniel was. I have seen lots of associate priests and it is easy to size them up when you first meet them. So, I said to Fr. Daniel: “Don’t unpack all your boxes, you won’t be here very long.” But I was wrong: not about my assessment of him, but about how long he would stay. We have been truly blessed to have had him for almost two years, I though it would only be a few months.

And I have to say that living with Fr. Daniel is like living with Mother Teresa, Roger Federer, and Mr. Wonderful from Shark Tank all rolled up into one priest. You may not know that Fr. Daniel came here on a tennis scholarship from Mexico to study at Harding University, and he can beat the pros here in Fort Smith. He also earned an MBA and worked as a controller for a mid-sized company for 11 years before going into seminary. This bishop is tapping Fr. Daniel’s tremendous talents by assigning him to one of the largest parishes of the diocese, along with two other full-time jobs. I have no doubt Fr. Daniel is up to the challenge and will serve up an ace.

Now, there was another priest in the diocese who received a letter written on stationary with green letterhead, namely. Fr. Balaraju Akkala. The bishop wrote to tell him he would be moving to Fort Smith to become our new associate pastor. I received a copy of that letter, too, and it said: “Dear Fr. Bala, By means of this letter I am pleased to appoint you associate pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Fort Smith and chaplain of Trinity Catholic School, effective July 1, 2022. You are relieved of your responsibilities as associate pastor of St. Stephen Church in Bentonville and administrator of Blessed Stanley Rother Church in Decatur.” The bishop added words of encouragement for Fr. Bala, too.

I don’t know Fr. Bala – that is what people call him – very well, but I have spoken with him a couple of times on the phone. He strikes me as a kind and gentle priest, and his English was very good. One parishioner from St. Stephen’s texted me and said: “Fr. Bala is going to be with you in Fort Smith. He is a nice Father and has good homilies.” So, I think he will be a great addition to our I.C. family, and I ask you to welcome him warmly. He follows in a long line illustrious associates since I arrived here in 2013: Fr. Andrew Hart, Fr. Joseph Shantiraj, Fr. Pius Iwu, Fr. Stephen Elser, Fr. Martin Amaro, and Fr. Daniel Velasco.

I sometimes ask people this trick question: “How many priests are there in the Diocese of Little Rock?” The correct answer is: “There is only one priest, that is, Jesus Christ.” All the other priests are merely his ambassadors, cheap imitations of the real McCoy, the one and only High Priest, Jesus Christ. Sometimes we priests are like doubting Thomas in the gospel today (he, too, was a priest), and we too struggle to believe. We are all mere mortal men behind these Roman collars. But we love Jesus, and we love you, and we are grateful that you love us. In these times of transition of priests it helps me to remember there is only one Priest in the Diocese of Little Rock, Jesus, and therefore both priests and people should turn to him, like St. Thomas, and say: “My Lord and my God!”

Praised be Jesus Christ!