When I arrived to Saint Joseph two years ago, God manifested his strange sense of humor when the Gospel for my first weekend here proclaimed, \u201cno prophet is accepted in his own native place.\u201d<\/div>\n
What did this mean? <\/p>\n
I was happy to be home, but only the Lord knew the blessings and challenges that lay ahead.<\/p>\n
I was excited about serving the local Church that saw me grow and nourished my faith. \u00a0Especially as an immigrant myself, I wanted for the Church to do and to be what she had been for my family when I was a child growing up here in Augusta. \u00a0I wanted to make true the words of Saint John Paul II, that all families of migrants ought to find a homeland everywhere in the Church.<\/p>\n
I knew there would be challenges, and there have been many in my time here, yet with God\u2019s grace and by working diligently and assertively, I feel satisfied at having given back of my own efforts, my own time, my own being, to the Catholic Church here in Augusta, the church that has given me so much.<\/p>\n
Times flies, two years do not seem like enough time, yet time has not passed without much work: 151 baptisms, 19 couples prepared for marriage, 12 of them which I married here at the parish, 648 Masses celebrated, 27 adults prepared to receive the sacraments, countless confessions, visits to hospitals, funerals, prison visits, two health fairs at Saint Nicholas with over 200 patients, meetings with Goodwill and the Augusta Partnership for Children, dealing with the deportation of parishioners, emergencies, phone calls, immigration assistance, YMCA programs, food sales, going to court, Guadalupe celebrations, retreats, preaching, meetings, holy hours, spiritual direction, teaching etc.<\/p>\n
The work of the priest is never finished. \u00a0It is never ending just as the depths of the mystery of God Himself. <\/p>\n
The prayer often attributed to the murdered Archbishop Romero of San Salvador reminds us that:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision. \u00a0We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God\u2019s work. Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The prayer concludes: \u201cWe may never see the end results [of our efforts], but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker. We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own.\u201d<\/p>\n
The work of the priest is never finished or complete because the work of the Church is never finished or complete. \u00a0 <\/p>\n
The greatest work of the priest is to draw all people into the mystery of God, a God who eternally exists in relation. \u00a0Father, Son and Holy Spirit eternally relate to each other, three persons in one God, and he invites us to enter into that relationship.<\/p>\n
The priest invites others to enter into a relationship with God by becoming an icon of the presence of God. \u00a0He invites by relating to all people in love and kindness: never with personal agendas or self-interest. \u00a0The priest relates with all so that all may enter into the mystery of the Living God.<\/p>\n
Every month while here I celebrated Mass at the Augusta Medical State Prison for about twenty men. \u00a0Twice Mass was cancelled due to stabbings, both times I watched from the chapel\u2019s window how an inmate covered in blood was taken across the courtyard towards the hospital. \u00a0Last month as I celebrated Mass I had a realization. \u00a0The next morning I would attend the Columbia County Rotary Club breakfast meeting and speak on the history of the tomb of Saint Peter in Rome, explaining all about the bones of Saint Peter. \u00a0I realized my task at the prison and at the Rotary Club was exactly the same, to draw those listening to Christ. \u00a0The priest draws all to Christ, from the faithful-Mass attendee doing a lifetime in prison without parole for murdering his wife, to the MCG doctor who invited me to the Rotary Club. \u00a0The priest relates to all, so that all may enter into the mystery of the Living God.<\/p>\n
Last October I went to the Greek Festival downtown. \u00a0I had attended a Greek Orthodox wedding and met the priest there, so I decided I would stop by to say hello. \u00a0While waiting in line to get food, a young lady waiting behind introduced herself and began to ask me questions about the Catholic Church. \u00a0Towards the end of our long wait, she said to me, \u201cso, everything you said means Catholics are Christians. \u00a0What I have been told in the past is wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fast forward several months to Theology on Tap at the Knights of Columbus Hall about four weeks ago. \u00a0I arrived early and began to greet people, introducing myself. \u00a0As I approached one table I recognize the young lady sitting there, she smiled at me. \u00a0I introduced myself to the others leaving her last. When I reach her she said, \u201cFather, do you remember me?\u201d \u00a0\u201cYes I do, we met at the Greek Festival.\u201d \u00a0This young lady had already signed up for the RCIA program at Saint Mary on the Hill. \u00a0I saw her three days ago praying at the Adoration chapel at Saint Marys. \u00a0The priest relates to all, so that all may enter into the mystery of the Living God.<\/p>\n
I received a phone call over a year ago from a hospice nurse. \u00a0A lady was dying close to Waynesboro, the family was requesting a priest. \u00a0I drove out there, prayed with her and spoke with her husband who had been distant from the Church for some time. \u00a0The lady died within days and I officiated a service at the funeral home. \u00a0The husband now comes to Mass without fail every Sunday to Saint Joseph having found peace and consolation in God. \u00a0The priest relates to all, so that all may enter into the mystery of the Living God.<\/p>\n
While in Warner Robins four years ago a lady was returning to Church due to very serious problems that had arisen in her family. \u00a0Very unpleasant events were leading her to seek God in her life. \u00a0Over the span of six months I came to learn about the family\u2019s turbulent history and see how chains were being passed from generation to the next. \u00a0I suggested she pray for her whole family, that the Lord heal their past and liberate them from these chains. \u00a0She began to pray a family liberation prayer and many more months passed. <\/p>\n
I was in Savannah visiting a priest friend and after dinner we decided to go for a walk by the river. \u00a0Suddenly I hear my name, \u201cFather Pablo! Father Pablo!\u201d \u00a0I turn and who do I see, my parishioner. \u00a0She very excitedly introduced me to her parents, her brothers and her sister\u2019s family. \u00a0I greeted them kindly and moved on. \u00a0As I walked away a quick thought went through my mind, \u201chow in the world are these people together if they can\u2019t get along with each other!\u201d<\/p>\n
Days later, back in Warner Robins, after Mass my parishioner said to me with tears in her eyes, \u201cFather, it had been sixteen years since we had all been together! \u00a0My aunt died in Savannah and everyone came, we had a wonderful meal together. \u00a0Father, God wanted you there with us to confirm what He is doing in our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
I was speechless. \u00a0All I can say is: The priest relates to all, so that all may enter into the mystery of the Living God.<\/p>\n
I conclude with more of Romero\u2019s prayer to summarize the work of the priest:<\/p>\n
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.<\/p>\n
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.<\/p>\n
We lay foundations that will need further development.<\/p>\n
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.<\/p>\n
We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.<\/p>\n
This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.<\/p>\n
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for the Lord\u2019s grace to enter and do the rest.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When I arrived to Saint Joseph two years ago, God manifested his strange sense of humor when the Gospel for my first weekend here proclaimed, \u201cno prophet is accepted in his own native place.\u201d What did this mean? I was happy to be home, but only the Lord knew the blessings and challenges that lay […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2533,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
Last weekend at Saint Joseph<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When I arrived to Saint Joseph two years ago, God manifested his strange sense of humor when the Gospel for my first weekend here proclaimed, \u201cno prophet\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2014\/06\/last-weekend-at-saint-joseph.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Last weekend at Saint Joseph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When I arrived to Saint Joseph two years ago, God manifested his strange sense of humor when the Gospel for my first weekend here proclaimed, \u201cno prophet\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2014\/06\/last-weekend-at-saint-joseph.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Labyrinthine Mind\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-06-19T22:02:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Father Pablo Migone\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Father Pablo Migone\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2014\/06\/last-weekend-at-saint-joseph.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2014\/06\/last-weekend-at-saint-joseph.html\",\"name\":\"Last weekend at Saint Joseph\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-06-19T22:02:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-06-19T22:02:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#\/schema\/person\/35ce8464416a4368561caf8ed8c2ba1b\"},\"description\":\"When I arrived to Saint Joseph two years ago, God manifested his strange sense of humor when the Gospel for my first weekend here proclaimed, \u201cno prophet\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2014\/06\/last-weekend-at-saint-joseph.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2014\/06\/last-weekend-at-saint-joseph.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2014\/06\/last-weekend-at-saint-joseph.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Last weekend at Saint Joseph\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/\",\"name\":\"Labyrinthine Mind\",\"description\":\"Seeking God in the labyrinth\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#\/schema\/person\/35ce8464416a4368561caf8ed8c2ba1b\",\"name\":\"Father Pablo Migone\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/305296c2dd82f71369f8808eb07ace26?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/305296c2dd82f71369f8808eb07ace26?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Father Pablo Migone\"},\"description\":\"Born in Lima, Peru and raised in Augusta, Georgia, Father Pablo Migone was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 2009 after studying at the Pontifical North American College and earning a Masters in Dogmatic Theology at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome, Italy. He currently serves as Vicar for Mission Advancement of the Diocese of Savannah, Georgia and Pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish and Corpus Christi Parish in the Savannah, Georgia area. The views expressed in this blog are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of his bishop or the Diocese of Savannah.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/author\/pmigone\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Last weekend at Saint Joseph","description":"When I arrived to Saint Joseph two years ago, God manifested his strange sense of humor when the Gospel for my first weekend here proclaimed, \u201cno prophet","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2014\/06\/last-weekend-at-saint-joseph.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Last weekend at Saint Joseph","og_description":"When I arrived to Saint Joseph two years ago, God manifested his strange sense of humor when the Gospel for my first weekend here proclaimed, \u201cno prophet","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2014\/06\/last-weekend-at-saint-joseph.html","og_site_name":"Labyrinthine Mind","article_published_time":"2014-06-19T22:02:00+00:00","author":"Father Pablo Migone","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Father Pablo Migone","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2014\/06\/last-weekend-at-saint-joseph.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2014\/06\/last-weekend-at-saint-joseph.html","name":"Last weekend at Saint Joseph","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#website"},"datePublished":"2014-06-19T22:02:00+00:00","dateModified":"2014-06-19T22:02:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#\/schema\/person\/35ce8464416a4368561caf8ed8c2ba1b"},"description":"When I arrived to Saint Joseph two years ago, God manifested his strange sense of humor when the Gospel for my first weekend here proclaimed, \u201cno prophet","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2014\/06\/last-weekend-at-saint-joseph.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2014\/06\/last-weekend-at-saint-joseph.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2014\/06\/last-weekend-at-saint-joseph.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Last weekend at Saint Joseph"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/","name":"Labyrinthine Mind","description":"Seeking God in the labyrinth","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#\/schema\/person\/35ce8464416a4368561caf8ed8c2ba1b","name":"Father Pablo Migone","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/305296c2dd82f71369f8808eb07ace26?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/305296c2dd82f71369f8808eb07ace26?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Father Pablo Migone"},"description":"Born in Lima, Peru and raised in Augusta, Georgia, Father Pablo Migone was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 2009 after studying at the Pontifical North American College and earning a Masters in Dogmatic Theology at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome, Italy. He currently serves as Vicar for Mission Advancement of the Diocese of Savannah, Georgia and Pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish and Corpus Christi Parish in the Savannah, Georgia area. The views expressed in this blog are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of his bishop or the Diocese of Savannah.","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/author\/pmigone"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2533"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}