The Community at Prayer
Reflection by Father Paul M. Baca
October 30, 2011, 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

As I prepared for my reflections today, I did some serious reflecting about my life and all that it has been and all that it can become. At age 15 I went to the seminary not really knowing what to expect. The seminary that I attended was dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes and it was not just a seminary, but also a regular high school and a trade school. There were about 100 boys attending from all over New Mexico and only about 40% were seminarians. The rest were in regular high school or studying the trades, printing, auto mechanics, shop, cabinet making, carpentry and agriculture. Needless to say, there weren't too many in any one of those classes. We all came from poor families so we could not pay very much, but every one of us had a job to do. I remember the first six weeks I was assigned to take care of one classroom and I did that very well; however, they would change the assignments every six weeks. I was somewhat troubled by my second assignment, which was to do pots and pans. I was amazed that there were so many big pots and pans and how difficult it was to scrub and clean. I did not relish the thought of doing this for six weeks, so fortunately, that first evening on my new assignment the priest in charge asked for a volunteer to run the furnace that provided the heat. I must confess I didn't even know what a furnace looked like, but at that point in time it seemed to me that anything would be better than pots and pans. So for four years I had to get up around 4:00 in the morning to get the furnace going for the day. By 6:00 I had accomplished that part of my job, so I was free to serve the sisters' Mass and then at 6:30 to attend the students' Mass. We would proceed to the refectory for our breakfast and then on to class. There was nothing automatic about the furnace so I had to keep a close eye on the water level and the temperature of the water since it was a hot water system. I would always find a little time around 10:00 to run to the furnace room and check the gauges to make sure that everything was going the way it was supposed to. Around noon I would turn off the furnace to let it cool off so that I could take out the clinkers and ashes out of the firebox. I must admit that I very much enjoyed it all with the exception of getting up at 4:00 a.m.

I was ordained a priest at age 24 and was assigned the parish of Immaculate Conception in Las Vegas, NM, and there I started my journey in the priesthood. Quite quickly I found myself on a 24/7 regimentation that prevailed until my retirement at age 75. By then everything was moving so fast that I was finding some difficulty in reflecting seriously about everything that matters. So when my friends set up a web page for me I thought it would be helpful to do my weekly reflections primarily on the Sunday readings, but along with that recalling the different events of my life. Since my first days in the priesthood I had discovered how important it was to discern the needs of the people I served, and without too much deliberation, responding in the best way I knew how.

Doing the reflections every week helped me appreciate how much I learned during each of my assignments about people, faith, values and prioritizing. During the 50 years I was assigned to six different parishes, met some seemingly insurmountable obstacles and challenges and as I looked around me I learned how people were able to cope with like challenges. In the many years I spent in the seminary I studied philosophy, theology, history, canon law and scripture, but it was in my parish work that I met my real teachers. Looking around me I saw people of faith, that is, a faith to live by even in the worst of times. When I encountered challenges not knowing which way to turn, I saw people prioritizing, taking life a step at a time, and moving on with life.

Preparing my reflections has greatly enhanced my appreciation of family, friends, co-workers and even those who would disagree with me. They have all played such an important part in my priestly life and made it an enjoyable and exciting journey. During the 50 years of my 24/7 active life, I often wondered what I would do when I retired. I wondered if life would become boring, but lo and behold, now that I have been retired for 11 years, I have come to the realization that life will be as exciting and enjoyable as we want it to be if we look back reflecting on the good days and the bad days and how we survived. I have never had any difficulties in finding something to do and retirement did not change that, but rather, it has helped me enjoy life the more. My Mass means more to me than it ever did and my prayer life coincides with everything I do. My faith means more to me than it ever did and the memories of the faith-filled lives of so many of the people I served still continue to enrich all that I do each day. I would encourage people to set aside some time every day to reflect on the blessings that continually enrich life and make it more enjoyable.

Send a response
Father, since your retirement, you have enhanced the lives of many people in Our Community of Prayer, and like you, the Mass has never meant so much to me as it does now. Thank God for your retirement and I only hope our retirement continues for a while longer. Tony

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