On June 5, 1999, I received the sacrament of Holy Orders from then Archbishop Thomas Kelly and was ordained a priest.  For me personally and certainly for my family, particularly my parents, it was a memorable and extraordinary day.  The Cathedral of the Assumption was filled with family and friends that spanned the length of my life.  Other than at my parents’ funerals, I have never seen so many people from all parts of my life at one time.

The day is memorable for obvious reasons, but as the years have gone by, it has gained in significance for reasons not obvious to me that day. My early priesthood was filled with “firsts”—weddings, funerals, confessions, baptisms, and the ebb and flow of parish life.  The next twenty-one years have been filled with so much more, especially the love and support from four different parish communities.

Twenty-two years have now passed since the memorable day of my ordination.  In this last year, I have become more open about the events that led to my changing my career and discerning a vocation to priesthood.  I have shared how the death of my closest friend Michael in 1983 was an inflection point in my life.  Through my ministry, I have become more aware of my own deep, inconsolable grief as I witnessed so many of you experience and share the same journey.  I spent the week before my 22^nd anniversary in the small Indiana town where Michael is buried with his parents.  It has been 27 years since his death, and yet it still seems like yesterday.  I know how so many of you feel the same way about those you love. 

Priesthood has allowed me to come to terms with the sacrifices that all of us experience.  While there is great sadness in this life, our faith teaches us that the joy that awaits us in the life to come is the same joy our beloved deceased already experience. Eternal life in the presence of God is beyond our understanding, but not beyond our belief.  As I begin my 23^rd year of priestly ministry, this promise of real joy is not only for me, but even better, for ALL of us. I have been privileged to share in the joys and sorrows of your lives and I am deeply grateful for your willingness to share in mine. Thank you all for your prayers and support.                                                         Fr. Gary