***************

MOVING HOUSE
Fr. Austin Norris

Year endings in a corporate world are a must annually. Exams at school and university a certainty. However in a priests’ life, work never seems to end though. Shifts and transfers only provide a change in ambience – one presbytery to another. Just that and no more..!! For the Mission beckons and the work must go on….. After all my Ordination motto reads: ”Here I am Lord…”

What are the thoughts that go through a priests’ mind and heart…?? What are his feelings and fears..?? Does one dare ask..?? Yeah; we know that we are birds of passage.. but the heart has its seasons and reasons and these need to be addressed…

First and foremost – as you will all agree, moving house is a hassle. In spite of you having a houseful of people, this becomes quite a bother. And imagine the plight of the priest – alone and single. He has to do again, what had been undone in the past when he moved into the parish at the first instant. This can be and is quite a headache – believe me – I have moved five times in the past twenty years.

Having worked in a parish for as brief as a year, there are bound to be “attachments” to people and places. Take the room for a start. One has knowingly arranged the room according to one’s taste and preference. The work table, the book rack, the music system all fit in – a small “haran” is built – a comfortable space, even if it is a “bachelor’s quarter”.

People on the other hand, are a different matter. They take on a different hue altogether. That’s where the heartstrings begin to tug. The pain of moving, mostly perhaps, comes from this quarter – single or not ! Yes, one has made ones acquaintances and friends. Familiarity and closeness comes through working with particular associations, groups and communities. Very often it is the little ones and the aged who insert us into their homes and hearts. They are guileless and ones feels “safe and loved in their midst”. This is wholly based on the mutual accepting and receiving quotient. There are no fixed rules to this. Some parishioners will open their homes and hearts to you (for various reasons), and others will keep you at arms-length (for various reasons). Believe it or not, there are not many who actually invite priests over for a meal; and so when one does go over, it is only because of a persistent and sincere invitation. Not that one craves for such invites.

Getting back to ‘moving house’, the phone call from Archbishop’s House, “for an interview”, at around March or April annually, sets off a chain reaction. The mind conjures images of “welcome” and “not-so-welcome” parishes and places. The “quick chat” with the Bishop does not help to ease the “pain and loss of comprehension”. One is left “to grieve alone” or chat it over with a spiritual director or confrere who is a confidante. The closure is not helped by the need to pack up, put files in order and plan for the next destination. Every entry and exit to the room becomes a timeless motion… counting the months, days and hours before one leaves with a tear in ones eyes. Oh Yes…..!! I have left every place with tears streaming down my face. And I am not abashed at admitting the same. Maybe I dare to wear my heart on my sleeve and I am happy for it…!! Maybe the tears serve as an ablution for what might have been, as one goes with new resolve to newer and greener pastures, to start all over again.

In the midst of all this pot pouri of emotion and moving house, ONE CONSTANT REMAINS – The Mission of Jesus Christ. “Go make disciples of all nations..” “….Feed my sheep…” “Do as I have done…” This is reassuring; the Summons from the Master Himself….!! Who dare refuse…?? And so in the words of one of my favourite hymns, every other priest and me – “…,must leave my boats behind, leave them on familiar shores; cast my net upon the deep… follow you again my Lord……”