Vacation’s All I Ever Wanted
This week I am away on vacation. Alt- hough I have been away from the parish twice since I have come to Holy, those jaunts were only for two overnights, and I haven’t had a weekend away from the parish. This is the first extended time away in three years. I figured you wouldn’t mind.
While I am away our two deacons will be conducting communion services at 6:15 am during the week, and we will have our regular weekend Masses. Originally, we were scheduled to have a mission priest come, but he had issues getting a visa into the United States (COVID!! {fist shake}) Fortunately for Holy Redeemer, Fr. Brown, the former pastor, will be tak- ing the weekend Masses. If there is an emergency, there are several Catholic churches in the area or you can contact our offices. Hopefully all will be calm.
Where are you Fr. Kevin?
Two of my classmates and I are traveling up to Wisconsin and Michigan primarily to play golf. We have 10 rounds planned.
What can I say, we like golf. The high- light of the trip is that we will be playing a course called Whistling Straits, one of the premier courses in America and the site of the Ryder Cup in September. (I will try not to tear it up too much.) We will continue up into the Upper Peninsula and then back down through Western Michigan. If you have never been to Western Michigan in the summer, you may want to think about it. The weather is generally awesome and the places along the coast of Lake Michigan are in- credible.
Golf gives me an opportunity to let my mind focus on other stuff besides the parish. Neuro-scientists will tell you that it is vital that you step away from the normal stresses and strains of your rou- tine in order to better deal with your life. For instance, when I am working on a homily, I will focus on it for a while and then I will step away from it. (Often I will keep the file on my computer all week, looking at it at various times through the week before I finalize it. That distance often helps put things together and gives clarity. Whenever I have had a big deci- sion to make in my life, I often let it go and sleep on it. That detachment from the issue often helps me see things from a different angle.
That is why vacations, retreats and the like are so important. The space that they give us puts things together. Be- sides that, breaks renew us and re- generate our spirits. Life is more than work.