Hit the Road

Praying for our priests and parishes during transitions

06/17/2024

Mt 5:38-42 Jesus said to his disciples: "You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow."

Today, June 17th, is a date that has been emblazoned unforgettably on the minds of many priests of our diocese. Why is that? Well, because today is the date that all the priest changes actually take place. So on the highways of Arkansas there will be priests driving in one direction or another, either leaving the parish they were serving or driving to the new parish they will be serving. And two of those priests are coming and going from IC in Fort Smith.

Today, Fr. Bala is putting together his final belongings and driving north to Tontitown and Decatur. And Fr. Samy who has been in those two parishes will be driving south to IC to serve here as a priest. They are not the only ones: about 25 priests will “hit the road” today. So, please pray for them. It is never easy to leave a parish and start all over again with an entirely new community. And it is not easy for the community as they say good-bye and see a new face standing behind the altar, representing Jesus Christ, the High Priest.

I also wanted to share with you how we got to this date. How does the bishop decide that Fr. Bala should go to Tontitown and Fr. Samy should come here? Well, June 17th didn’t just happen within a week; the process of priest-changes actually started back in December. In December of every year, all priests of the diocese receive a letter from the bishop called “a personnel survey.”

He asks us basically, “How are you doing?” Are you happy where you are? Do you want a change and move to the city, or perhaps to the country, a parish with a school, a parish without a school, etc. Since we receive that letter in December, I always tell the parish staff: If there’s a priest you don’t especially like, be mean to him in December. So, when he gets that letter, he will reply to the bishop, “Get me out of here!”

Or, if there’s a priest you kind of like, be nice to him in December, so the priest will ask the bishop to leave him be. After the bishop receives all those responses back from priests, the bishop creates a graph in which he tries to place priests where they would like to go according to their preferences. This year, thanks be to God, we have a new priest ordained for the diocese, Fr. Cody Eveld. Thus, the bishop now has a new pawn on the diocesan chessboard to move.

And then the bishop meets with a group of priests called the Personnel Board, once a month, starting in January. At each meeting he brings that graph and he asks our opinion. Incidentally, I happen to be on that personnel board, and we share great gossip at that meeting talking about our brother priests and what parishes they might go to. It is the most entertaining board to be on. We talk about which priest and parish would make a good match.

It is really quite beautiful to see the humility and wisdom of Bishop Taylor. Clearly he is the one who makes the final decision after praying to the Holy Spirit for guidance. And then he finally sends the letter of assignment to the priests who then find out that on June 17th of this year their lives will change dramatically, and they will "hit the road."

When we think about it, such changes are not anything new in the church. This has been happening from day one. If you read the Acts of the Apostles very carefully, you discover that St. Paul did not stay in one place very long. He is constantly moving as the Holy Spirit prompts him, making journeys, and staying in some cities as long as three years, like in Ephesus. But in other places he stays a very short time.

So, too, we priests are moved, not by the bishop, but by the hand of the Holy Spirit, following in the footsteps of St. Paul, going here and there and everywhere and preach the Good News. And sometimes the people are happy we came, and like St. Paul the people hugged his feet when he had to leave. At other times, people are happy to see us go, like when they stoned St. Paul and dragged him out of the city for dead.

Our concern is not really whether the people like us or don’t like us. We are here because the Holy Spirit has sent us here to preach the Good News, in season and out of season. Nonetheless, there is a personal side of priest-changes, and that is we do fall in love with our parishioners, and some of our parishioners fall in love with us. Thus these priest changes are ultimately very hard.

But in the end, we cannot avoid priest changes. Because at one point every priest has to leave his parish. Why? Well, either he will walk out of the church on their own volition, or he is carried out feet first, like Msgr. Galvin was. Priests always eventually "hit the road." There is only one Priest who always stays and is with you forever, Jesus Christ, and you don’t have to worry about Him being transferred. Keep your eyes on that Priest.

Praised be Jesus Christ!