Time for a New Adventure
In this Sunday’s Gospel passage, the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” The response is parables about a mustard seed and being a diligent servant. What do these teach about faith? I think they teach that faith is like a living thing that grows, and also a responsibility entrusted to us.
Daily living and labor are ordinary and unremarkable, like growth of faith: it doesn’t happen in notable events, but in daily life. What notable events do is test faith and reveal if there has been real growth. Changes in life invite me to evaluate, has my faith been growing? Have I been diligent in the work asked of me?
Many parishioners were present on Friday, September 12, when Br. Andrew Olson renewed his religious vows and heard our Oblate religious profession, in part: “I vow chastity, poverty, and obedience, in the manner willed by the Holy Church, according to the Constitutions of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary. I pledge myself to the proper apostolic services of the Congregation which will be assigned to me.” As a priest who is also an Oblate brother, I was not sent to San Pedro by a bishop as were the priests in the past. Fr. Tom and I were sent by our Oblate superiors with the consent and approval of Bishop Dewane. It is also the prerogative of our superiors to give us new assignments.
After three years of service at San Pedro, I am being recalled to serve our Oblate province in another capacity. My new assignment has not yet been announced, but I will be departing from San Pedro at the end of October. Another Oblate priest (also yet to be announced) will be sent to serve here with Fr. Tom.
Although I am sad to leave, it helps to look back on how I came to be here. When I was a recently ordained deacon completing studies, I awaited receiving my assignment to one of our communities and I was confident I knew which one. With the information available to me, it was an obvious conclusion. Was I ever surprised when I heard, “I am sending you to North Port, Florida.” I had never heard of North Port! I didn’t know where it was or anything about it. I was stunned not only because my confident presumption was proven wrong, but also because it obviated my ideas of what the future held. I would be sent to serve people I had never met in a place I had never heard of, and I had no idea what to expect.
God is good. If you remember anything from having met me, let it be that. He is faithful and gives beyond what we ask, but he doesn’t leave us to static or predictable relationships and circumstances: he wants us to grow! Life with God is an adventure, and there is no adventure without risks. I came to San Pedro knowing nothing about my future here, accepting it as an adventure that God was inviting me to, and he has given me three years of happy work and blessings through many challenges. And now it’s time for the next adventure!
-Fr. Nate
