In the Valley of Dry Bones: A Letter from New Zealand
When I was training for priesthood and close to ordination, I spent some time in Napier with an older priest who was preparing to leave ministry as I was preparing to enter it. Tim Hannigan, one of the last Irish priests in NZ had become a firm friend and mentor to me. Well after he had departed this life, I remember returning to his grave for a chat – to ask him what was to become of me. I was struggling and I asked for his help, his prayers. I felt lost, I was depressed, racked with anxiety, I guessed I had probably misread my priestly calling – I didn’t realize it was so crushing. There I was in a cemetery; I was in Ezekiel’s valley of dry bones. At a loss for what could be done in a parish, I figured that life in a monastery might be my best option to run to.
Parish life was doing me in.
And then, one day, I heard a message that was to change my priestly ministry and give me hope.
Den Sprung wagen: Eine Geschichte aus Schottland
Ich bin seit 30 Jahren Priester.
Im Januar 2022 kam ich als Pfarrer nach St. John the Baptist, in Uddingston, einer schönen, groĂźen Pfarrei in einem Vorort von Glasgow. Im Oktober 2023 versammelte unsere Diözese ihren Klerus. Mit Hilfe eines sehr talentierten Spezialisten fĂĽr Management, Adrian, blickten wir darauf, wo die Diözese in der Vergangenheit stand, auf die Gegenwart – und wo es hingeht. So betrachtet: Wir blickten auf eine Geschichte, geprägt von groĂźem Glauben und von sichtbarem Segen, aber auch von stetigem, messbarem Niedergang. Die Realität, auf die wir blickten, war, dass uns als Diözese nicht wirklich die Priester oder gar das Geld ausgingen, sondern das uns die Menschen ausgingen.
