Many of you already knew it, but it is now official, I received my new assignment. I am appointed chaplain of the Latin Mass community in Little Rock, Arkansas. It is quite exiting to join a new apostolate for me: meeting new people, discovering a new Diocese, a new State, a new city! Other place, other people, but same mission: let Our Lord Jesus Christ know! “Woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel!” (1 Co 9 ; 16)
Since I am a priest, and even before, it is what I try to do, with my own defects and in spite of my imperfection. But there is one thing that gives me a lot of comfort: God has chosen the weak things of the world so that He may confound the strong. (cf 1 Co 1 ; 27) It is good to hear that, otherwise we would be grabbed by fears, anxiety and doubt, facing the task we have to accomplish. Can anyone one on earth understand what a priest is and what his mission is? According to Saint John Mary Vianney, that we are celebrating today, our understanding of priesthood is far below the reality. The Saint said: “Oh, how great is a priest! The priest will not understand the greatness of his office till he is in Heaven. If he understood it on earth, he would die, not of fear, but of love."
Well, I guess I did not yet understand since I am well alive while writing these lines. In a certain way, this is exciting. There are so many things that we still have to learn and to understand. It is a fascinating spiritual and intellectual quest, don’t you think? Here is our motivation in order to go forward on our road toward God. We know that, provided that we remain faithful to God, we will see Him face to face and I try to think about this extraordinary meeting every day of my life. Seeing God face to face! We cannot imagine. But it will happen! So, it is not in vain that we carry the Cross that Jesus puts on our shoulders. It is our safe-conduct to Heaven.
Moving from Georgia to Arkansas, I will take my Cross with me. Among all the things that I have to pack for my trip, it is certainly the only one that I cannot forget. May Our Lady help me to carry it! A new horizon is now open in front of me with many projects. Let them serve well Our Lord if He esteems them useful for His Kingdom.
Dear parishioners of Saint Francis de Sales, it is not without emotion that I am leaving you. I have been with you for four years and it was a good time for me. When I arrived, in September 2003, I was a little bit lost. My English was very poor and I had to go through many administrative requirements. But I felt at home because of your welcome. Now my English is a little bit better (if you want to play a game, you can find how many mistakes are in this post and I will offer a decade of the Rosary for the winner) and I am sure that I will find nice people too in Little Rock. Southern hospitality is not a vain word. I would like to thank you for these four years spent together. A parish is first of all a community of faithful; in other words, it is a family. Please, keep that in your mind: you are members of a great family. Act toward your fellow parishionner as if he or she were your brother or you sister.
For me…I will keep Georgia on my mind and some nights when nostalgia will come on me, I will remember this ‘old, sweet song’ which will help me to keep ‘ya’ll’ in my mind and to offer a prayer for you.
I entrust each one of you to Our Lady of joy. May Saint Francis de Sales help you to remain in the Love of God.
Maria, causa nostrae laetitiae, ora pro nobis.
10 commentaires:
We will miss you very much, Father. Thank you for everything, and may God bless you in your new assignment.
Dear Father,
What a Blessing and joy it has been to have you at our parish! We are very sad you are leaving. It has always been a pleasure to arrive at a gathering and hear the happy words, " Father Demets is here!" You have done so much for us and inspired us in so many ways through your fine Priestly example and generosity with your time. Your sermons cause one to look inward with a true desire to please God, to be better, and continue to fight the good fight. Our great loss is a great gain for the Latin Mass Community in Arkansas...wait till they hear you sing!
+God bless you always, Father! May Our Lady and Good St. Joseph hold you close to Their Hearts!+ We will miss you very, very much!
~T.G.
So your next assignment is ... Arkansas. I was hoping Lyon, France would be your next apostolate. Little Arkansas is the winner.
In Rome for a couple of days in July, St Lawrence was mentionned in the catacombs. Could not help but think of you. I notice that you seem to have some of his humor. Happy Feast Day!
So Lyon was not in your destiny, but as I've learned to appreciate the Fraternity, I am sure that we will also be blessed with great priests to replace the two, and sometimes three, great priests that took care of us since the "October revolution" (inside joke)
All the best, M. l'abbé. I am hopeful that we will meet one day (the FC is not the "real thing" afterwards), I'm still hoping that it will be in Chartres, hopefully next year (some of your Arkansas parishioners surely would want to walk Chartres!)
En union de prières,
AS
Dear Father,
I am saddened to see you go, but I know that you will be a blessing to the Latin Mass Community in Arkansas.
May God continue to bless you.
Thank you ! Thank you ! Well, all what we have to do is to do good where we are. And the Communion of the Saints is not a beautiful idea but a deep reality. So as long as we remain in the love of God, we are still close to each other, wherever we are - Atlanta, Little Rock, Lyon, Corsica, on the moon....
God bless you
Bonne chance Laurent. On n'a jamais pu se rencontrer, helas, mais...malgre tout, je te souhaite bonne chance, felicitations, et bonne continuation pour la suite!
S.C.
S.C. ??? Un francais residant Atlanta ?? En tout cas merci !
You are a great role modle for my sons. They love you Father as do I and as does my wife.
We were very fortunate to have you here for so long.
And will we make a great attempt to practice charity.
Father deMets,
Along with all the other parishoners, I shall miss you and the great inspirations you have brought us through your homilies and your presence. Even though it has been my misfortune to be only a "part-time parishoner, I have not failed to profit from your time with the St. Francis de Sales Latin Mass Community. Thank you for answering your call to the priesthood; so many have been enriched. May you find fertile fields for your ministry and may the Good God reward you with His choicest gifts.
jmh
Dear Father,
Here is a little story, I don't know if you recall, but it still brings a chuckle to me. One Sunday, about 5 or so of us were waiting in line for Confession. None of us look to see if the lights of the Confessional were on or if there were any feet below the curtains. All of sudden you popped out of the Choir Room and said a few words to us. Surprised I said to myself, "How did he do that?" Is there a trap door in the confessional, a secret passage I don't know about? How did he disappear and reappear in the choir room, I thought for a moment. LOL Anyway, I was going to joke with you about this when I saw you, but didn't get a chance or forgot. I believe also the next Sunday or maybe that same Sunday you meationed in your homily about visiting another parish or college and they asked you do something, you thought (not your exact words) you could do some magic tricks and then decided to teach them songs in French. I thought after hearing that, yes you do do magic tricks Father LOL after the confessional incident. LOL You also taught us a song in Latin, I thought ohhhhh goodie. I love to sing in Latin, though I would never make the choir..hehe.
Anyway, you have been a treat Father. Yes you do preach the Gospel of Jesus and are dedicated to our Lady. My daughters also enjoyed your sense of humor displayed also during your homilies. You will be such a blessing to the people at your new Parish. I will remember you in my prayers. God Bless and I hope it will be a wonderful time for you at your new parish. Keep speaking the truth Father too, it is so refreshing and much needed in our times. God bless you Father. :)
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