Final Words From Our Seminarian

Fom my window in the parish office this summer, I’ve looked out on a lot of greenery.  Midsummer is the season of fullness and rest; all is as large and green as it will be, and the world seems to takes a contented pause.  That is the picture of Bowie and of St. Edward’s parish that I carry away with me as my time here comes to a close: the peaceful fullness of summer. 
Yet, I also know this is only one season.  Come September and October, things will be quite different around here.  The leaves will turn and the harvest season of back-to-school and the parish year will spur on new activity, even as the days draw shorter.  In December, the colors in the church will change from green to Advent purple, then to Christmas white, and a whole parade of traditions and plans will come to light which I’ve never seen.  The view out of my office window will look decidedly different, too.  Then, not long after, spring will awaken new seeds of life again, and the wet, chilly penance of Lent will prepare the parish for the flowers of Eastertide, which overflows almost all the way into summer again—and hopefully a new summer seminarian in my office!
I’ve only been able to see a small piece of the life of this place and parish during my brief window of time this summer.  Most in our parish have been here longer; some for decades, some for years, others for months.  We all share the experience of a temporary stay, though, the passing pilgrim, even those who tarry here for their entire earthly life.  “We have here no lasting city,” as Scripture testifies.  (Hebrews 13:14)
But from season to season, from generation to generation, from age to age, Our Father in heaven does not change.  If creation must unfurl in time like a scroll, He is the artist who sees the whole picture, all at once.  He is the one who, in His good plan, has brought each of us here, and given us this moment in time together—and not just for a time as neighbors, friends, or family.  No, because He has gathered us together in His Son, members of the Body of Christ, the Church, we are bound with a bond that endures beyond the end of time.
For that, the only response that makes sense is gratitude.  I am grateful to God for bringing me to St. Edward’s, for giving me wonderful mentor in Fr. Scott, and for giving me a parish family to love, however briefly and imperfectly I was able to do so.
I hope we’ll keep in touch ( [email protected]).  I hope I’ll have occasion to come back to St. Edward’s—God please, as a priest!  But more than anything, I hope we’ll all continue on the straight and narrow way the Lord has called us to in Christ Jesus, to “the city which is to come.” (Hebrews 13:14)  Let us follow Him to our eternal reunion in heaven, where there is no shadow or change of season because Christ Himself is our eternal day and God is our all in all.  (Revelation 21:23; 1 Corinthians 15:28)  Please pray for me, as I will for you!
 
With love, in Christ,
Christian