Away Game

I spent this weekend at another parish in our diocese. As the only parochial vicar in this area, I tend to be asked to cover for other priests fairly frequently. Sometimes its for a medical reason while at other times it's just so they can go on vacation.


For me, it's a pretty enjoyable experience - and one I did not really have in mind coming into the priesthood. Though I don't like being away from my parish for whole weekends, it's a great chance to experience different parishes and different parts of the diocese.


Preaching is the most interesting part of it. When I preach "at home," I'm speaking to an audience who knows me and knows my style. That makes it easier and harder. Easier, because I'm very comfortable in my assignment parish; harder, because I don't want to get lazy and rely on a sympathetic audience rather than pushing myself to grow in my preaching.


When I find myself preaching in a new parish, there is the experience of a fresh audience who doesn't know me and doesn't have any expectations - I'm simply someone different from their usual homilist. Again, that makes it easier and harder - they have never heard me preach so it will simply be something new (and hopefully interesting) but there isn't the relationship that I have built with the people of my parish.


If I summed it up, very obviously, I would just describe it as different.




The overall experience of "substituting" in a parish is interesting. You come in, celebrate Mass, meet some people, and then you leave. There is a sort of distance, but, we are still connected. We're part of the diocese of Steubenville and, ultimately, part of the Body of Christ. Just as you could approach a priest anywhere and go to confession, even if you didn't know him; or you could show up at Mass in any church, for me as a priest, I'm able to celebrate with any community and know that we are united in Christ.