From Father Steven - July 30, 2023

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Dear Brothers and Sisters,
 
It has been two months that Deacon Gabriel has been with us. So this week I asked him to share with us how he feels. Please read below his experience as a deacon here in the Parish. 
 
God Bless, 
Fr. Steven
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Prior to being ordained deacon, I was finishing up my time of missionary formation in the San Francisco area. While I was there, many thoughts would run through my head, wondering if I were ready or if I were too young; I thought at times I really didn’t know what I was getting myself into as I moved forward with the vocation. However, when the time came for me to return to Boston, I had to attend some retreats in preparation for ordination where I was consoled by the words of scripture where Christ tells his disciples, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruit in plenty; for cut off from me you can do nothing.” It reminded me that if God has called me, he would also give me the graces necessary to fulfill this vocation.
 
It’s now been a little over two months since I have been at Immaculate Conception and I can say that God has accompanied me just as I had hoped. One thing that happens during ordination is that you receive an indelible seal on your character which can never be erased. Now, I don’t necessarily feel any physical difference, but there is definitely a profound change. It’s as if my whole life has been adjusted in one direction, like my life is really geared towards a fixed mission. This helps me to remember that it is God who has placed those at the parish in front of me and I am ultimately at your service.
 
The very beginning of my time here consisted more than anything of shadowing Fr. Steven and Fr. Kevin in the different sacraments and simply being present at different events. It is through them that I see God marking out the way for me, providing me with teachers that make the burden light.
 
I also see how all my time getting to know scripture over the years (inside and outside of the classroom), experiencing how it has accompanied me in me in my trials and my times of joy has been a preparation to share with everyone else each time that I preach. Nevertheless, as Fr. Steven and Fr. Kevin have shown me, when preaching you must be rooted in prayer. It’s never about getting in front of the lectern and sharing my personal thoughts or opinions, but asking the Holy Spirit to assist me in preparing so that what I put together may reach the needs of those gathered at mass. Also, although it may not seem like much, I now feel a strong sense of responsibility whenever I have to proclaim the Gospel. Whereas before I was just reading it, now there is a real sense that Jesus Christ does become present in his words and is speaking to us in the mass through the Gospel whenever it is proclaimed.
 
One other thing that I am discovering about this ministry is just how closely tied we are to the most important moments in people’s lives. If you just think about it, you can go from the excitement and joy of a wedding to accompanying a family in their grief at a funeral all in the same day. Or you can be at one moment participating in the happiness of a baptism and soon after visiting the sick or homebound who struggle with their solitude. I think this is incredibly important, because what we hope to do is to make God present at every moment of life and that is an incredible honor. That is to say that through my ministry people can discover that God has been with them both at their highs and their lows, never abandoning them and never being indifferent to their joy or sorrow.

Above all, I have been impressed with everyone’s immense gratitude for my presence and service. It reminds me that even my vocation alone or simply being present can be extremely important, because already by people seeing that I have been called to the priesthood and that I pursued this vocation, abandoning my own plans for life to follow the Lord’s, makes God present for many and it can also be a source of hope.
 
I am also very grateful to all of you for your support and prayers, I appreciate it all very much. I can honestly say that it is by remaining in Christ that everything I have been doing has been possible. My hope is that I may continue to lead all of you to him so that you may also experience his nearness in everything that you do.
 
God Bless,
Deacon Gabriel