I am approaching the
fourth month of my pastoral year assignment at St. Matthew’s Parish in East
Stroudsburg.
For me, the gift of
this pastoral year is being able to take a step away from the seminary setting
in order to be immersed in the life of a parish faith community in the Diocese
of Scranton.
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| At Quo Vadis Days 2016 with participants from St. Matthew's Parish |
During my time at St.
Matthew’s, it has become abundantly clear to me that no two weeks in a parish
are the same – for that matter, no two days are completely the same, either! A
sampling of a day in the life of a seminarian in the
parish looks something like this:
Wake up. Go to Mass. Drink coffee (two cups). Pray
Morning Prayer. Visit parishioners in the hospital. Update parish website. Train
Altar Servers. Eat lunch. Meet with couple preparing for Marriage. Pray with
daily Scripture readings. Plan Confirmation retreat. (Third cup of coffee!)
Dinner. Hit the gym. Bake cake for college students. Pray Night Prayer. Go to
bed tired, but fulfilled!
At times, I am tempted
to become so immersed in the work of the parish that I don’t always maintain a
strong spiritual foundation. It is easy for me to check many “tasks” off the
list of parish duties. It is less easy, however, to sit in silence, to be
before God in all honesty and openness. The results of prayer are not always
immediate; the transformative movement of prayer is often slow. Prayer is our
realization of the patient work of God within us. It is not so easy to check
this off of a list!
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| Catching up with a student at Light the Fire |
Yet, this is exactly
the point of my pastoral year at St. Matthew’s Parish! My continuing steps
towards Holy Orders must first and foremost include time in prayer with God. Only
from this foundation in prayer can I move forward as one called to minister in
the name of Jesus.
It’ll continue to be a
busy year at St. Matthew’s! There will be much to do. The parish is bustling
with activity. I know I will continue to learn much from Fr. Jerry Shantillo, Fr. Joe Mosley,
and the People of God here in the Poconos. Along with the business of parish
life, there will be many opportunities for silence and prayer. And I look
forward to all of it.
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Ryan Glenn, a
seminarian for the Diocese of Scranton, completed Theology III at St. Mary’s
Seminary in Baltimore, Maryland.
During the 2016-17 year, Ryan will reside and
minister at St. Matthew’s Parish in East Stroudsburg, PA.
There, he will
continue to pray and discern his vocational calling. Ryan will also be involved
in multiple parish ministries, including Catholic Campus Ministry at East
Stroudsburg University.