After the show

Every workshop must come to an end, but not before taking just a moment to look at the week that was, giving thanks for the lessons learned, and then looking forward to express hopes and dreams about where we go from here.

That's what Friday was about ... first in smaller groups and then with all those who were gathered for this extraordinary week.  Thoughts about what we appreciated were many, and suggestions about how to improve for the next time were valid.  Now the work begins (or continues as the case may be) for having returned to our places of habitual roosting, each of us must now dare to implement some of the lessons we've begun to explore in the past days.

Some of us will contact local dietitians to invite them to do similar presentations for others who may benefit from their knowledge.  Others will explore new interests and hobbies through their local Community Colleges.  Some may even contact investment advisers to ask more questions or to start planning for the future.  Whatever we do, however small, it's a start on the road to taking care of ourselves, on the road to promoting Priestly Wellness.

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As it turns out, this is also the last of the meetings with this illustrious group at which I will be present.  My tenure as Vice President effectively came to an end with the last Amen of yesterday's Mass of Thanksgiving.  The past eight years have been rich with so many blessings for me that it will take some time for me to truly take stock of them all.

I am grateful to all those who have been part of this process: to the priests who I've had the privilege to meet and to work with from all parts of the country.  The work of the NFPC is always challenging but in a good way, since this group is made up of priests working for priests.  It is a unique enterprise which allows voices of priests from all corners of the country to be heard and this collective voice is the font of great wisdom as we recognize the struggles and challenges we face, even as we dare to suggest tools such as the Wellness document and The Priest as Servant Leader, both of which are aimed at helping priests to be the best, most effective ministers of divine mercy that we can be.

Every ending also represents a new beginning, so I look forward in hope for all that will be, even as I give thanks for all that has already come to be.