A Farewell to the Parishioners of St. Philip Benizi Church

Homily Given by Fr. Gregory Hartmayer, OFM Conv.

Saturday, July 31, 2010 – 5:00PM Mass

(Eccl 1:2; 2:21-23)  (Col 3:1-5, 9-11)  (Lk 12:13-21)

My Dear, Dear Friends,

When I went to my office last week in Lithia Springs, there was a message on my phone – on my voicemail – and so I retrieved the voicemail from my phone and the message was from a parishioner from St. Philip Benizi.  And she said, “Fr. Greg, you don’t sound as perky on your phone as you did when you were at St. Philip’s.  You should make a new recording.”  I’m not sure that the word “perky” and the name, “Fr. Gregory” should be used in the same sentence.  I never thought of myself as “perky”.

Before we dismiss so quickly after Mass this afternoon, I want to be sure to say a word of gratitude to all those responsible for the wonderful reception this afternoon and to all those who prepared, who cooked…those who served….  It was a wonderful experience for me and for my family.  I thank you for that and I thank Fr. John, Fr. Michael and Fr. Abelardo for their warm hospitality, as always.

Today’s readings give us a lot to think about and as I come to say farewell to you, they give me a lot to think about too.

A very successful, wealthy businessman was being prompted by the Holy Spirit to seek a way of life that was holier than the one he was living.  And so he traveled to a Monastery and went to see the Abbot of the Monastery who was respected for his humility and for his wisdom.  The Abbot welcomed the wealthy man and invited him to sit at the table.  And as the businessman explained the reason for his visit, to live a holier life, the Abbot prepared some tea, and when the tea was ready, the Abbot slowly poured the tea into the cup that he had placed in front of the visitor.  And when the tea had reached the brim of the cup, the Abbot continued to pour and the tea overflowed onto the table and then onto the floor.  “Abbot…the cup is overflowing!” the man said.  “It can’t take anymore!”  And the Abbot replied, “Just as you are also full.  There is no room in your life for anything else.  When you are empty, come back and I will teach you the way to holiness.”  The Abbot was truly a wise man.

The truth is…some of us are overflowing – with possessions and obsessions – with schedules and commitments.  We are overwhelmed both with pursuing more and building new barns in our lives to store more in them.  As the Abbot teaches the wealthy man, for us to be men and women of faith, to be real disciples of the Gospel, we must begin with emptying ourselves of our “stuff” in order to create a place for God to dwell and fill.

All three of today’s readings warn of the futility of the vain pursuit of wealth and celebrity.  The Book of Ecclesiastes asks the question in our First Reading:  “For what profit comes to a man from all the toil and anxiety of heart with which he has labored under the sun?  All his days sorrow and grief are his occupation; even at night his mind is not at rest. This also is vanity.” (Eccl 2:22-23)  The Hebrew word for “vanity” means “vapor”…a “puff”….  It’s like steam that dissipates in the air – there’s nothing to it.

St. Paul advises the Colossians to “Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry.” (Col 3:5)  And Luke’s Gospel gives us that marvelous story of the person who had so much more than he needs, and instead of sharing with those who do need, he builds a bigger barn for all of his stuff.  And then, Jesus gives us the “kicker” – “You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?” (Lk 12:20)

After the death of John D. Rockefeller, the richest, the wealthiest person in the world in his day; at his time, he was the very first billionaire.  Someone asked a family member of his, “How much money did Rockefeller leave behind?”  And the answer was, “All of it.”  It is a sobering reminder that we cannot take it with us.

Jesus’ parable today is not directed to any particular group of people.  This parable is directed to each of us.  Any one of us can be bitten by the bug of greed…greed in many forms – whether it is greed of time, or greed of talent, or greed of treasure – we can hoard whatever is given to us.

We may have extra time that could be used in some constructive way to help another person or participate in a ministry of the Church.  In most cases, it isn’t extra time, but we make time.  We have a talent that could make life easier for someone else, or offer to assist someone with our skills in service to others.  We may be blessed and can afford to share our wealth and offer our good fortune to support a charity or the work of the Church.

This parable of the man who built bigger barns for all that he had is a parable that all of us can relate to.  It is very easy to be owned by the things that we think we own.  Our possessions can really own us.  I have seen time and time again that no amount of possessions can make our lives on earth secure.  We become rich, not by grabbing all that we can from life, but rather, by sharing what we have and gratefully recognizing that what we have is given to us by God to further the Mission of the Church on Earth, which is Evangelization…to preach and to manifest the Gospel in our daily life.

The most tragic kind of poverty is an emptiness of a life filled with things but possessing nothing of God.  I have to admit that in packing for my departure from St. Philip’s to St. John Vianney, I became very aware of how much “stuff” I have…and most of you are to blame.  But this move finally got me to throw away some things that I have been carrying around with me for far too many years – like my baseball glove, from when I was a Cub Scout; class notes from college; and those large record albums that I have nothing to play them on…and lots of stuff like that!

Like the man in the Gospel, I have a couple of barns.  One of my barns is filled with my stuff, and I have another barn that is filled with wonderful memories of people I have met and the unforgettable experiences that I have had in my life.  There is a very large section in that barn of memories that is filled with the past 15 years of ministry, here at St. Philip Benizi, and it is a priceless collection.

For as long as I can remember, I have always considered myself to be a very blessed person…from my years at home with my family, throughout the seminary, throughout the 16 years that I was in High School Ministry, and these past 15 years at St. Philip Benizi.  In addition to my wonderful family, who have supported me wherever I was – as you see them here today – I also want to express my appreciation to the Conventual Franciscan Friars.  They provided me with an excellent education and formation since I was 13 years old.  My closest and my dearest friends are Friars.

Fr. John, who has been with me on and off now, is a dear friend.  Fr. Abelardo, who came to a strange country, not knowing what to expect, never having met me, put his faith in God and arrived at our door – is also a dear friend.  Fr. Michael – he is the one that is responsible for continually re-assigning me here to St. Philip Benizi!

Many of you have known me throughout the entire 15 years I have lived here, and others for a portion of those years.  I have changed a lot during those years.  I was just a young kid when I came here.  We were all 15 years younger!  In addition to a few extra pounds, I have grown a lot in other ways.  I have certainly grown in my appreciation and my love for the Priesthood.  And again, I owe Fr. John a debt of gratitude for showing me how to “pastor” and how to minister and to serve people.  He has been and continues to be a wonderful Mentor for me.

Jesus and St. Francis of Assisi advised their followers to become rich in what matters to God, and those are the riches that I now possess because you have given them to me.  You have shown me what “faith in action” means.  You have shown me the power of prayer.  You have shown me how to be a better steward, and to share what we have with those who have less.

These past years, I have seen a shift in this parish, from “maintenance to mission”.  What began that shift began with Fr. Patrick, Fr. Julio and Fr. John in 1991.  It’s not to say that the parish had nothing to offer all those years before.  On the contrary, the potential and the realization of so many gifts and acts of faith from those very early years at the drugstore and the early church, and finally, to this beautiful church, is all a result of the faith of the people who were here.  The presence of the Friars I think, just kind of fertilized what was already here…kind of gave nourishment and some direction…and I was and am so happy to have been a part of the team that has been here over these last 20 years.

Your sense of ownership has made this parish run like a well-oiled machine.  The active ministries are far too many to mention, but…

·         from cleaning the church and caring for the church,

·         to the work of the Knights of Columbus and the feeding of the poor, here, in our community, through St. Vincent de Paul, and to our Sister-parish in Honduras, which will always have a very, very special place in my heart,

·         to the dozens of the liturgical ministries where people that serve so faithfully, with great talent, with great commitment,

·         to visiting the sick and the house-bound,

·         to teaching the faith to children, to teens, to adults,

·         to the social life of the parish – and this parish loves to eat!

·         from our seniors, a great treasure of our parish, to our Pre-school;

·         from ministering to people with HIV/AIDS, to the Funeral Ministry…there are so many ways our faith is put into action.

I am so grateful for the guidance and the support I have received from the Finance Council, from the Parish Pastoral Council, from the Good Steward Ministry and from the African Council. 

The unique quality of the diversity of our parish congregation has made me “color-blind”.  It sounds like an illness, but it is one of the most precious gifts that I have in my barn.  I will truly miss our celebrations of Our Lady of Divine Providence, of Our Lady of Guadalupe, of Martin de Porres, of our Nigerian Community’s celebration, and of course, the Multi-cultural Celebration.  All of these events have brought us together and made us closer to one another, despite our differences – of our age, our gender, where we came from, our education – none of that matters when we come around this altar.  And it’s this parish that has taught me that – that has made me be “color-blind” – to not recognize race.  It doesn’t appear to me anymore!  All I see is a reflection of God in His creation as He has made us in His image and in His likeness.

We have celebrated and comforted one another during our life’s journeys these past years.  You have celebrated my 50^th birthday with me.  You helped me grieve at the death of Fr. Patrick and my own father, and you celebrated Fr. Vincent’s and my 25^th Anniversary of our Ordination.  We have done a lot together these 15 years.  We added to the physical plant and to the spiritual life of the parish.

During the past 15 years, I celebrated 81 weddings, 104 funerals, and 316 baptisms.  My friends, I leave here a very rich and grateful man.  My barn is full of priceless treasures.  Thank you for being such an important part of my life.  I love you all.  May God love you and bless you.