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100 Days at Holy Rosary Antioch

10/11/2015

I arrived in Antioch, CA 100 days ago and immediately jumped into my new life as part of the Pastoral Team at Holy Rosary Parish. Never having worked as a priest in a traditional parish, there has been a learning curve. This is a very diverse parish community with myriads of groups, ministries, and activities. I have visited Holy Rosary in various contexts in the past, but. Of course, have never ministered here before. And I must say that I am really enjoying it.

Of course, the relocation means that I am adjusting to living in a new Dominican Community too. I have lived in community with Father David before as he was my first Student Master at St. Alberts when I was in formation. Fr. Edward was one of my favorite teachers when I was studying theology. And Fr. Roberto and Fr. Edward and I worked together closely in Province administration when Fr. Roberto was Provincial. So, of our present community, only Fr. Vicente was an unknown to me, and I have admired him from afar for as long as I have been in the Order. In fact, all four of the other friars in my community are men for whom I have had a great deal of respect and affection and I am enjoying living with them.

I am still getting to know parishioners. It is such a large parish that every day I meet more and more people. I have a feeling that this will be going on for a long time. The parish community has received me warmly and enthusiastically and have made me feel very much at home from day one.

In the last month, I have experience four big events that have helped me have a deeper understanding if the parish I have come to be a part of. The first was Fr. Vicente’s 60th anniversary celebration. The remarkable love expressed for him, and the amazing hard work that went into that celebration was mind-blowing. I was sort of on the sidelines looking in as parishioners took on the daunting tasks of planning and executing a perfect combination of worship and celebration for that occasion. Fr. Vicente was honored and the parish had a wonderful celebration of community.

Next was the Harvest Fair. I have never been a part of a parish that had anything remotely similar to our Harvest Fair. The scale of the event and sheer scope of the HUMAN resources involved is quite inspiring. I met so many people who grew up in the parish or the school who return year after year to enjoy this unique fair. I was blessed to see so many people working so hard in service of the parish community. It is part homecoming, part international potluck, part entertainment, and ALL great fun. Like with Fr. Vicente’s celebration, I feel that I got to see the entire parish put their best foot forward (and “best food forward”!).

2 weeks ago, I attended the “White party,” a fundraising dinner put on by the School Board. It was a fun evening of great food and music, and fun. I met many parents and others who are committed to excellence in our parish school. I have never worked in a parish with a school before so I am learning a whole new dynamic that exists between a parish and school. And Holy Rosary is a great place to experience that.

Finally, last weekend, I took part in the Parish Evangelization Retreat. I have been a part of dozens of retreats over the years. Retreats have been a hallmark of my ministry and I think they are an important medium for community development, evangelization, catechesis, and conversion. The retreat that happens here twice each year is very impressive. Again, the coordination of the various aspects of the retreat by very competent lay leadership is really great. I loved working with the team, getting to know many more parishioners, hearing their stories and praying and sharing with them all weekend.

I have known of Holy Rosary from afar for my entire Dominican life. It is a wonderful parish with a truly remarkable and diverse community of parishioners. It is amazing to watch (and become involved with) the groups which make up the parish: Hispanic (keep in mind that this is not a homogeneous group of “Mexicans.” They are from all over the Hispanic world!), Filipinos, Africans, and the “Anglo” community (every bit as heterogeneous as the Hispanic Community). Because of the Parish school and because we are in a Bay Area suburb, there are lots of families and the campus always seems to be crawling with little ones. That is a new experience for me as a priest and, again, I am enjoying it. The parishioners have received me beautifully and constantly let me know how happy they are that I am here and that they appreciate my “energy” and “humor.” I am still learning, but a happy to have found a new home in Antioch. I look forward to the adventures that lay ahead.