Waiting to Exhale

Many parishes across the Toledo Diocese this weekend welcomed their new priests to the area. People have asked me all week whether or not I had met our new priest. I would reply, "No, but that will come soon enough." I had mixed feelings about meeting the new priest. Always warned by my older brother not to be a "suck up", I have never felt the need to be the first introduced to anyone. Our last priest came one Sunday in July and I don't recall having a conversation with him until Jan/Feb.

As I walked out of Father Dendinger's first Sunday mass at Kirby this morning, more than a few people came up to me with that "So what do you think?" smile. I told them that the phrase "Waiting to exhale" kept floating in and out of my thoughts during mass and that I wasn't really sure why. And although I do know that I really am not overly concerned with analyzing Father Bob, I came away from mass thinking that this was a great time for a change of leadership in our parish.

The one thought that did occur to me was that it was very nice to hear our priest refer to the churches as St. Mary's and St. Peter's, without acting as if they were dirty words. I have always felt that although our consolidation became "Transfiguration" there was no reason to stop refering to the buildings by their 'baptismal names'. Transfiguration is more of a confirmation name. One that should have been chosen by the candidate on the basis of looking forward to a new spiritual development. One person choosing one's confirmation name for him without consulting him is meaningless to the candidate.

So, Welcome Father Bob! I am very glad that you chose to come here. I believe that you have made a good first impression with many parishioners, myself included. I am not going to dwell on any thoughts of 'liking or not liking' you, because I have a sense that that doesn't really matter to you. I sense that you are here to minister to the people and that will be your focus. Maybe that's why I've started to slowly exhale?