The Joy of Proficiency

Dec 30, 2024  |  436 words  |  General Interest 

There is nothing better in this world than encountering someone who has embraced their role in life, is at peace with who they are, and is good at what they do.

Examples abound.  Like the young high school student who sometimes works behind the pharmacy counter at the local drugstore where we get our prescriptions filled.  He is so calm and assured and even-keeled, with both the pharmacists he assists and the customers he waits on.  He is far too young to know what his role will eventually become, but you wish the best for him and are sure he will excel at whatever he chooses to do in life.

Or the unassuming counter guy at the local deli where I sometimes treat myself to lunch during the work week.  Mid-forties, wearing a well-worn t-shirt and a turned-around-backwards baseball cap.  Was maybe a schoolyard basketball player in his younger days.  Pretty much indistinguishable from a million other friends you yourself went to school with from the old neighborhood, once upon a time.  And maybe someone who would be judged at first glance as not having gotten very far in life.

But our smooth operator has this small establishment running like a top.  Everything about how he takes your order is what you would expect, sort of standard-issue efficient.  The surprise comes when your food is ready to be picked up.  He ends the transaction with a gentle flourish that is almost courtly.  It feels like you are receiving a benediction in the most unexpected circumstance, in the unlikeliest of places.

Then there is the 65-year-old priest who is the current paster at the Catholic parish where we attend Mass on the weekends, most of the time.  Instead of being a little tired of the grind and starting to look around for a soft landing, this cleric is positively on fire with a love for the Gospel, and his enthusiasm in this department is contagious.  

There is no question the sex abuse crisis has cast a pall over the Catholic priesthood in recent decades, making it almost synonymous with pedophilia for some.  While I am mindful of that tragic reality, and the devasting effect it has had on many lives, I have only good things to report when it comes to those priests who have impacted my life over the years, or even crossed my path in the most tangential way.  I have benefited from the vocation of many dedicated men of faith who each reflected the love of Christ in their own unique way.  And nobody in my experience did/does it better than our current pastor.

Robert J. Cavanaugh, Jr.

www.robertjcavanaughjr.com

bobcavjr@gmail.com