Kind Of Care Free Day

I got a lot of work done today; but, it doesn’t feel like I did anything at all.  This morning, I had the 8:30 a.m. Mass at the parish.  I opened up, as I usually do, around 7:00 a.m. and then retreated to my office to work.  I wrote a daily reflection that would also be my Pastor’s column for the July 14th bulletin before Mass.  I also finished most of the rest of the Pastor’s Page.  All I need to do is put in a joke.

After Mass, I went to the Pastoral Center.  It was kind of like a tomb.  Many of the employees took personal days off to extend their holiday into the weekend.  So, it was nice and quiet there.  I wrote tomorrow’s daily reflection and then went through the mail.  I received a letter from Archbishop Thompson acknowledging receipt of the letter I sent to him indicating that I had accepted the canonical election to be administrator of the diocese.  He wrote a gracious letter to me thanking me for accepting leadership responsibility for the diocese and offering to help if needed.

He also told me that I would be going to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops meeting in November as well as our Regional meeting of Indiana Bishops in December.  This is a very exciting time for me as, being someone who always likes to learn, I am learning all sorts of things about how a diocese runs and the responsibilities that our bishops have.  Believe me, my profound respect for those guys has leaped over the past week.  There is a LOT that needs to be done behind the scenes.

Since it was so quiet at the Pastoral Center, I came home an hour or so early and have been working quietly on office work, future bulletin articles, and the like.  This evening, I plan to sit around and watch a little television.

Tomorrow’s a typical Saturday.  I’ll go to the office in the morning to get office work done and then get ready for afternoon confessions and evening Mass.  After all the Masses this weekend, we are having a welcome reception for our new Associate Pastor, newly-ordained Rev. Declan McNicholas.  Fr. Declan’s looking forward to meeting our parishioners.

I hope your evening is calm and laid back as well.  More tomorrow.