Liturgy, ‘the folks’ were at the heart of golden jubilarian’s ministry
Pope John XXIII, who convened the Second Vatican Council, and Pope Francis are Msgr. Thomas Miller’s favorite pontiffs. They are two men the priest sees as “radiating joy.”
Msgr. Miller, who celebrated his 50th anniversary of priesthood on May 15, has made finding and experiencing joy “in the fullest sense of the word” a hallmark of his vocation.
“I hope, if nothing else, that when people interact with me, in particular, perhaps, through a liturgical celebration, that I, in some way, contribute a spirit of joy. Even if it’s a funeral,” he said. “Joy isn’t some giddy happiness; joy is a deeper kind of thing. I just delight in the gift of life and all that comes with it, and I just hope that I convey that in some way.”
Msgr. Miller grew up in the “pretty small” Catholic community at Sacred Heart of Jesus in Winchester, Virginia. He said his family was “quite involved” with the parish.
“Catholics were a distinct minority at the time,” Msgr. Miller said, but that parish community in what is now the Arlington Diocese has since grown significantly.
The liturgy, said in Latin when Msgr. Miller was a child, captured his attention.
“It was really the liturgy that I just… as a child, I was enthralled in the church, watching. The Mass was so different then, of course, but I was just enthralled by it and then became an altar server,” he said. “And so, from very early on, I said to myself, ‘I think this is something I would enjoy doing.’”
After 50 years of priesthood, Msgr. Miller still loves the liturgy.
“The liturgy still brings me the greatest joy. Even though the liturgy that first enthralled me as a child has changed dramatically, I have become a great lover of the liturgy as we celebrate it now,” he said.
Love of every parish
Msgr. Miller was “a public school guy” through elementary school and the first half of high school, as there were no Catholic schools in Winchester. He began attending St. John Vianney Minor Seminary in Richmond for his junior year of high school and was a member of the seminary’s first graduating class in 1963.
He attended St. Charles College Seminary in Catonsville, Maryland, and then went on to St. Mary’s Seminary in downtown Baltimore. He completed his formation at the Theological College in Washington, and was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Richmond on May 15, 1971, by Bishop John J. Russell.
The priest’s first assignment was as associate pastor at St. Bridget, Richmond, from 1971-1975. He served in that role at St. Jerome, Newport News, from 1975-1976.
“I would say I’ve fallen in love with every parish community I’ve ever been assigned to, and some of them I’ve actually been assigned twice,” he said.
He became pastor of St. Mary, Blacksburg, in 1976 and served there until 1983. He was then rector of the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Richmond for 12 years before returning as pastor at St. Bridget from 1995-2002.
Msgr. Miller became pastor of St. Andrew, Roanoke, in 2002. He remained there until retiring from active ministry in 2015.
“Each (assignment) was very different and, of course, each one in a different time – what was going on in our world and in our nation at the time, and our Church for that matter,” he said.
‘Most fertile times in Church history’
“I think this has been one of the most fertile times in our Church history,” he said of the post-Vatican II Church. “That’s a pretty big boast, but I’ll try it anyway.”
The jubilarian noted that he and his classmates who went on to become priests have lived through what he calls “exciting times” thanks to Vatican II.
“We were seniors in high school, October 1962 at St. John Vianney, when the Second Vatican Council opened,” he said. He added that he was in seminary while the council was convened and throughout the beginning of its implementation in the Church.
“By the time I was ordained, basically the format of the liturgy of the Mass as we have it today was pretty much in place. It was entirely in English,” he said, and explained that when the changes were first being implemented, the Mass was “part in English, part in Latin” until the revised missal was printed.
The priest feels that “wonderful things have come from the council and the subsequent years,” including the “dramatically increased” amount of Scripture that is available to people through the liturgy.
“I just love, love the Scriptures and feel we’re so blessed with the liturgical renewal,” he said.
Msgr. Miller said that throughout his priesthood, he has appreciated the support of and good relationships with his brother priests, but “it’s the folks” – the laity, lay ministers, and the “wonderful” women religious with whom he has worked – that have made his vocation so rewarding and fulfilling.
“The relationships with the folks, that’s been the joy of my life,” Msgr. Miller said. “That flowing from the celebration of the liturgy has been the opportunity to share in the lives of people in all kinds of different ways – certainly sacramentally and sharing with them in their joys and in their sorrows.”
Gratifying time
Msgr. Miller marked his golden jubilee by celebrating the Saturday evening Mass at St. Mary, Richmond, on May 15. The following weekend, he presided at a Mass at St. Andrew, Roanoke.
A further celebration was held on May 25 when Msgr. Miller concelebrated the 12:05 p.m. daily Mass at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart with the 1971 ordination class.
He said they try to get together around their anniversary date, but since this year is a major anniversary, they decided to have something special in Richmond.
“There were seven of us ordained on the same date at the cathedral, and we had an additional classmate who had been ordained at the end of the previous year in Rome, where he studied,” Msgr. Miller said.
Although he is no longer in active ministry, Msgr. Miller continues to regularly celebrate the sacraments.
While attending the Chrism Mass during Holy Week this year, he looked through the program, which listed all the parishes of the Diocese of Richmond.
“I said, ‘Where have I presided at a Mass – and sometimes many – at a particular parish?’” he recalled, and said he discovered that he has celebrated Mass at 40 parishes since his retirement six years ago.
“I’ve gotten to see more of the diocese in my retirement than I ever saw when I was actively engaged and involved,” he said.
Looking back on his 50 years as a priest, Msgr. Miller said that although he has encountered challenges, priesthood has been a “joyful journey” overall.
“To watch life unfold during these 50 years, to have a front row seat to watch life in the Church unfold, has been certainly not boring, very exciting, and very gratifying for me,” he said.