Summer
Snippets:
“Oh, Just Thinking!”
He was only 12 and already he knew
he was different. He enjoyed sitting in the backyard, gazing into the low-lying
brush and tall standing trees, the renovated old farmhouse to his back, the
woods before him. After a period of being lost in wonder, his mother, standing
on the back porch, would break in, “What
are you doing?” “Oh, just thinking,” he’d explain, not able to muster a
more adequate explanation of his gazing. “Why
don’t you pick up a book and read something? It’ll be good for you” would
come the strong appeal. And so it was week after week of interruptions on his
gazing.
There are many ways you might
introduce yourself to people you are meeting for the first time. Often what is
said in your introduction would complement or build on the other people in the
group or it would center on why the group is meeting. So perhaps in a new work
group you would share some of what you have done before in this regard. At a
family reunion you might plug yourself into the family tree in some way, at a
convention or other out of town gathering it might be where you live. Would might
a priest say to the people in the parish to whom he would be ministering for
three months?
I chose the opening incident from
my days as a pre-teen because it had helped me understand who I am, gave me an
insight into something deep within me I have always known about myself, but was
never able to articulate. Second, I have come to realize that it is the same something
that is within most folks that they may not have yet understood. What is it? It
is the hunger we all have to experience God face-to-face. That desire fuels our
efforts to worship, to learn more about God, to be drawn to folks who seem at
peace and to be able to move from a deeply anchored center. So my name is
Father Nicholas and I would like to introduce myself by saying that every day I
have an increasing desire to love God, a desire that came to me when I was 12.
Last Sunday with its coffee and
doughnuts after each Mass was a wonderful way for me to meet so many of you as
we bid farewell to Father Chuck who left for a three-month sabbatical and to welcome
me as the temporary administrator in his absence. Father Chuck and I are good
friends and I was honored by his offer to cover the sacramental and pastoral
ministry here at St. Francis de Sales until he returns the 1st of
September.
A little more of where I have been
may be helpful. I was ordained in 1970 and after being both associate pastor at
St. Patrick’s Cumberland and chaplain of Bishop Walsh High School, I did
graduate work at Boston University and worked in the Department of Education
for the Archdiocese for 13 years. With six years as pastor of the Shrine of the
Sacred Heart, Mt. Washington, and 15 at Our Lady of Grace, Parkton, I finally retired
to lead contemplative retreats for the laity, preach parish missions, and offer
days of recollection to individual groups. Two years ago I was invited to
become adjunct faculty for the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation in
Washington, D.C. In that position I am pleased to say that I co-lead a personal
spiritual deepening program called “Living in God” for folks who want to
experience and live out of a deep relationship with the Lord. That program, by
the way, will be offered here at St. Francis DeSales beginning in July, one
Saturday morning a month for seven months. More information on this can be
found in the bulletin or by emailing me at fathernicholasamato@gmail.com.
A quick note of my place here at
St. Francis. While I am “temporary administrator” I really see myself more as
sacramental and pastoral care minister. That is only to say that the great
pastoral team still remains as administrating programs and services and keeping
me on track. If I can be of service to you or your loved ones, please do not
hesitate to call upon me. I will also be available to greet and worship with
you every weekend over the next three months.
This morning I woke up as I do
every day long before sunrise to pray and reflect, sitting at the kitchen
window of the rectory, the heavily forested woods lay before me. I heard my
mother asking, “Honey, what are you
doing?” All I could say in return was,
“Mom, from your vantage point in heaven, you have to ask?” Happy gazing to
each of you!
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
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