I thought I’d summarize some of my first homily into this column (so this was from last Sunday). What are my expectations as the new pastor of Prince of Peace? They say in the business world that setting expectations is crucial for leadership. Plus, it is clear that God has certain expectations of us (we could call them commandments). As a priest and pastor, my identity has to be that of a spiritual father. What should a spiritual father expect of his spiritual children? What should be expected of me?
My number one expectation is that we pray. I believe prayer is the most important thing we do. As a parish, we will die out without prayer. As people, we will waste our time and efforts in life without prayer. Prayer helps us to know God’s will. There are many good things we can do, but what does God want us to do? That alone will bear fruit. You must expect me especially as your pastor to pray. I give you permission to ask me about it, but also to share your prayer requests to me so I can pray more specifically for you.
Second, I expect us to learn and know. We are all called to be disciples of Jesus which means we learn from Him. We have to know our faith to live it. But we also need to know God, so we can love God. We can’t love what we don’t know. You must expect me also to do that, but also to know you. My biggest goal to start is to get to know parishioners, including knowing your names, which is going to be a challenge for me and take some time, humility, and repetition of me asking.
Third, I expect us to love—to labor for the Lord, to do good works, to serve, and to carry our crosses. Mostly we each do this in our vocation in life (so serving our families and such), but also there is service in the parish and community. A critical task is to share our faith with others. The details of what we need to do should be clear to us if we are doing the things above—praying and learning as disciples.
Finally, I expect us all to get to heaven! We must not fail in this one. Why does Prince of Peace parish exist, why am I pastor here, and why all these expectations? Ultimately, it is all about our union with God which begins now, but we hope and pray will continue into eternity in heaven. So let us encourage each other in these things!
Peace,
Fr. Greg