Last night sometime after Midnight, my mother posted on my
Facebook wall: “Eleven years ago you were ordained a deacon. It was on this day
that you totally surrendered your life to the Lord…” March 31, 2001. Earlier in the day she had already told me
something profound about my ministry that I shared with a brother priest: “Don’t worry about the things that don’t matter. You just concentrate on washing feet!” Just like our Lord. As we prepare to enter the holiest of weeks,
this image of washing feet, of giving one’s self totally over to Christ and his
people, is what I carry with me. Eleven
years ago, after my diaconate ordination was over and I was walking to the
parking lot with my father, a bunch of parishioners stopped me to pose for
pictures. They apologized to my father
for holding him up and he said to them, “No worries. He belongs to you now.” This is something that has stuck with me all
these years. I belong to all of you, and
I thank God every single day for the gift of my ministry and for the gift of
being able to serve you at the altar, at the pulpit, at the hospital, in your
homes, and even here through cyberspace.
I am truly blessed. “Just
concentrate on washing feet.”
