From Oct. 8-10, priests in our diocese gathered in Roanoke for a well-deserved break from their everyday duties.
The setting for the annual Priest Convocation was the historic Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains beneath the Roanoke Star. For men who spend most of the year ministering to their flocks, it was a chance to step away, retreat and commune with each other and with God.
“I love coming here and being able to relax,” said Father Chris Masla, pastor of Christ the King, Abingdon, and St. John the Evangelist, Marion. “I’m totally unplugged – I don’t even have my phone with me. I’m just focused on being present.”
Father Masla was one of many priests who took the opportunity to go hiking and visit the Roanoke Star, also known as the Mill Mountain Star, the icon built in 1949 that overlooks the city.
But the retreat was not a vacation. Each day began with a holy hour, and Mass was celebrated in the evening by Bishop Barry C. Knestout. Throughout the day, keynote speaker Father Steven Dudek, missions director from the Diocese of Grand Rapids, Michigan, gave presentations on the importance of cultural diversity in the Church.
Young priests like Father Seth Seaman, parochial vicar of St. Bridget, Richmond, ordained June 1 of this year, took the opportunity to learn from the wealth of experienced priests in attendance.
“I’ve met a lot of priests for the first time, and it’s been very enlightening talking to them about their challenges and experiences in their own parishes,” said Father Seaman.
‘Unity without uniformity’
Father Dudek was ordained forty years ago, and for most of that time, he has been the pastor of “shared parishes,” in which more than one cultural community – for example, a Spanish-speaking community and an English-speaking community – share the same building.
Father Dudek has spoken to more than 20 dioceses about the topic of interculturality, and he is currently working with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) on revisions to the Intercultural Competencies manual. In the past, he contributed to the USCCB manual “Best Practices for Shared Parishes,” created by the USCCB Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church.
“We can create unity without uniformity,” said Father Dudek. “It is possible because we gather around the same table of the Lord, and that’s precisely what the bishops of our nation are calling us to do.”
This was the main subject of his presentations at the Priest Convocation.
“We talked about the fact that cultural diversity in the Catholic Church is not something we do, it’s who we are,” said Father Dudek. “It began on Pentecost, and there is a very strong, theological, Scriptural basis for it, and it’s part of our identity as Catholics.”
Father Dan Kelly, a retired priest who occasionally celebrates Masses at St. Gerard, Roanoke, said the topic is especially important for our diocese.
“Here in this diocese, we have a lot of Latinos, Africans and African Americans. The congregation at 9 a.m. at St. Gerard is made up of people from Burundi, from the Congo, African Americans, European Americans, and Hispanic families,” said Father Kelly. “The choir knocks your socks off – polyphonic music, three-part harmonies, singing the Gloria in Swahili.”
“The keynote talk was about how the clergy can unite the different groups without making pre-judgments,” said Father Kelly. “Some of the European Americans say, ‘Well, gosh, we’re Italian,’ or ‘We’re German,’ and ‘Our grandparents wanted us to learn English,’ but they’re not remembering living in a large group that wasn’t fully acclimated. I’m the grandson of Irish immigrants – and they were recognized, for better or for worse, as Irish.”
“We European Americans shouldn’t forget that 100 years ago, this was what our ancestors experienced,” Father Kelly continued. “European Americans shouldn’t try to get everybody to do things one way, but should realize the gifts of the various cultural backgrounds.”
Father Dudek noted that, in addition to a diverse community, our diocese also has priests from diverse backgrounds.
“I spent time with some of the recent international priests from Ghana, Uganda, Brazil, the Philippines, and Central America, as well as men who have been pillars of the diocese for decades,” said Father Dudek. “The whole convocation was very engaging.”
Father Kelly recalled studying at an Ontario seminary where French-speaking priests and English-speaking priests took several weeks to warm up to one another.
“Today, we are still discussing these issues in a different way,” said Father Kelly.
‘The Lord accompanies us’
Father Kelly celebrated his 85th birthday on Oct. 8, and Bishop Knestout wished him a happy birthday at Mass that night. The bishop also took the time to welcome Father David Arellano, parochial vicar of Blessed Sacrament, Harrisonburg, and Father Seth Seaman, both of whom were attending their first convocation.
In the reading from Galatians 1:13-24, St. Paul reflected upon his conversion from a zealot against Christianity to an apostle sent to the Gentiles.
“He called himself ‘the last of the apostles,’ the least among them, because he had persecuted the Church,” said Bishop Knestout. “But there was a transformation of his heart, where he was able to know God and encounter God in a deeper way because of his encounter with mercy.”
The Gospel reading, Luke 10:38-42, was the famous scene in which Jesus admonishes Martha for complaining that her sister, Mary, chose to sit at his feet rather than help her to serve him.
“The Gospel story is very familiar to us – the contemplative versus the active life. We’re familiar with that tension. Even our daily Mass can be more work, rather than a time of retreat and a place of prayer,” said the bishop.
Amidst the requirements of the priesthood, including full schedules and often frequent moves to different parishes, Bishop Knestout encouraged the priests to remember the examples of St. Paul, Martha, and Mary.
“The Lord accompanies us,” he said. “Every new situation is a chance to reaffirm our own vocation.”
As the retreat drew to a close on Oct. 10, Father Dudek said, “We were in a wonderful city,” and added that he enjoyed all three days he spent with the priests of our diocese.
Father John David Ramsey, pastor of St. Benedict, Richmond, gave his own reflection Oct. 8 as he prepared to dine and socialize with his brother priests.
“I always say that the Priest Convocation is a combination of a family reunion and homecoming,” he said.