By Father Robert J. Kantor, V.F., Director, Diocese of Venice Mission Office
Have you ever been on a journey that had unexpected detours? I once led a pilgrimage in France with a wayward bus driver who never seemed to know where he was going. Once he took us down a one-way street the wrong way and got us stuck in a narrow alley! It was one of many miscues that were frustrating then and comical only now. But God delivered some powerfully graced experiences along the way. That detour took us further from the great Rouen Cathedral that was our destination but brought us right up to another interesting church not even on our itinerary, named for St. Joan of Arc in the place where she was martyred.
When the age and infirmity of our pilgrims who had suffered multiple falls on uneven cobblestones made it evident our group could not climb to the top of Mont Saint Michel toward the end of our journey, an easier day at a seaside village for shopping and lunch included Mass in a beautiful wooden chapel. I was disappointed, but God had a reason for the detour.
During our travels, I got to know the bus driver and the many challenges of his life, including the abuse he suffered as a foster child following the early deaths of his parents, and the tragic passing of his own wife and son. I told him I would offer Mass for them that day and, after many years of blaming God for all his misfortunes, he came to church for the first time in years. It was a tearful surrendering into the arms of Jesus who knows the suffering of crosses better than anyone. Had we gone to Mont Saint Michel, he would likely have spent that day back at the bus, waiting for our return. Instead, he was reconciled with the God who made him and loves him. This is the mystery of encountering God in the detours of life.
No one can deny that COVID-19 has led to many changes in our lives, detouring us beyond our control. This has included interrupted travel, cancelled family celebrations, curtailed parish events, postponed weddings and funerals, and vacations turned staycations. And yet, God has delivered graces along these detours. People, now more than ever, appreciate the power of human contact and relish time with others that we used to take for granted. Parishes have discovered livestreaming and other creative ways to reach out and remain in contact with parishioners. And, this World Mission Sunday, some of us will have to try new methods of supporting the never-ending work of the Church to spread the Gospel. Online giving through our parishes may be one new way for us to ensure that missionaries around the globe continue to receive our support and know that they are not forgotten.
No one sets out on a journey expecting detours, and when they happen most of us don’t welcome them. But God can use these course deviations to take us out of our comfort zone to new adventures beyond our imaginings. Blessed are hearts open to a life’s journey led by God, going to destinations more amazing than any we could have ever planned, because they are charted by our magnificent God of detours, a God who calls us on mission.
World Mission Sunday is Oct. 24, 2021. The Diocese of Venice collection for World Mission Sunday is the same weekend of Oct. 23-24.
Father Robert Kantor is the Director of the Diocese of Venice Mission Office, Dean of the Southern Deanery, and Pastor of St. Agnes Parish in Naples. He can be reached at frbob@stagnesnaples.org.
From time to time a Parish requires a new Pastor and on this occasion the Bishop will appoint – after consultation with the Priest Personnel Board – and install this new leader marking a new chapter in the life for the faithful.
As part of the installation process, Bishop Dewane first introduces the priest as Pastor to the parishioners. The priest later begins the Profession of Faith for all to hear, including an additional part solely for him. The new Pastor then recites an Oath of Fidelity and promises to “adhere to the teachings, which either the Roman Pontiff or the College of Bishops enunciate when they exercise authentic magisterium.” The installation also includes prayers to provide the new Pastor the wisdom and guidance from the Holy Spirit to lead the Parish.
Father Fitch has served as Administrator of the Parish and for Bishop Dewane the installation as Pastor would solidify in the minds of the faithful that Father was there to continue serving the Parishioners. Outwardly, there will be no changes in the operation of the Parish but nevertheless the Bishop noted this was an important moment for all of the faithful and for the community at St. Charles Borromeo.
The ceremony concluded with the signing of documents by the Bishop, the new Pastor, and two official witnesses of the Parish community, who serve as witnesses for all of the parishioners. Those documents are split between the Parish and Diocese as well as the Pastor’s personnel records.
During the first VDCCW Priest Appreciation Dinner on Sept. 17, 2021, at the Venetian River Club in Venice, the members pledged to focus on better supporting the priests as they continue to serve the people of God.
It was for this reason Bishop Frank J. Dewane installed Father Eric Scanlan as Pastor of Incarnation Parish in Sarasota by Bishop Frank J. Dewane on Sept. 19, 2021.
“I pray that you accept Father Eric as your Pastor,” the Bishop added. “As he helps you to become more centered on Christ, be connected to your new Pastor. I ask that you be willing to support him and uplift him in his sacred work.”
From time to time a Parish requires a new Pastor and on this occasion the Bishop will appoint – after consultation with the Priest Personnel Board – and install this new leader marking a new chapter in the life for the faithful.
The Bishop asked that the faithful listen to their Pastor and accept decisions that are made. While they may not always agree with all of his decisions, they must strive to understand that any action is based on prayerful contemplation and the good of all centered on Christ.
The newly ordained responded to a particular call in their life and evidenced their response in a profound way by coming forward for ordination. The two men reflected afterwards about the powerful emotion of the moment that brought about an inner calm. They also expressed the genuine joy and love for the Lord they each witness.
Through the Sacrament of Holy Orders, a priest is transformed and marked indelibly as an instrument through which others receive the Sacraments, Bishop Dewane added. It is through ordination that Harris and Pince have a new beginning, configured to Christ.
When the Rite of Ordination began, the elect were called forth by Father Shawn Roser, Diocesan Vocations Director, and upon hearing their names, each stood and answered “Present.” After the homily, individually, the ordinand knelt before the Bishop so as to promise respect and obedience to him and his successors. They then prostrated before the altar for the Litany of Supplication/Litany of Saints. The whole assembly joined in the prayer which invoked God’s Grace and the intercession of the Saints in heaven.
The palms of the new priests were then anointed with the Sacred Chrism by Bishop Dewane, the sign of the special anointing of the Holy Spirit who will make their ministry fruitful. Next, the Bishop presented each new priest with the chalice and paten which they are called to present to God in the Eucharistic sacrifice saying: “Receive the oblation of the holy people, to be offered to God. Understand what you do, imitate what you celebrate, and conform your life to the mystery of the Lord’s Cross.” He repeated this commission, once each for the newly ordained priests.
The Liturgy of the Eucharist then followed. The new priests joined all the priests for the first time in concelebrating the Eucharist with Bishop Dewane, reciting together the words of Consecration. For the first time, they offered the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, acting in the person of Christ. From this sacrifice their whole priestly ministry will draw its strength.
Father Harris, 54, was born in Miami and spent his childhood alternating between living in Florida and Connecticut. He earned degrees in Commercial Art and then Business Marketing and Management from Florida Metropolitan University, before earning a Master’s in Education from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn., and worked at interior design, marketing, career development and teaching.
It was in first grade when Deacon Harris proclaimed he was going to become a priest. “We were all asked what we wanted to do with our lives. That was my answer,” he said with a smile. “I was reminded of that moment by my family when I made the announcement of my intention of entering seminary. The idea of becoming a priest was always floating around and pulled at me at times in the intervening years before I finally answered the call.”
