A day under construction

The longer I’m a priest the more I realize the need for order among the chaos.  For me that begins with the office.  Yesterday after the 8am Mass I spent about two hours going through mail, e-mail, and telephone messages.  This is typical for Tuesdays.  I met with a few people as well for a couple of hours and felt bad about my office because I had cardboard and parts for the office bookshelves scattered all around.  I spent about three hours in the afternoon assembling both.  Its good stress relief to do some construction, but it takes time.  Now that the office is more organized it will be more comfortable meeting people who need to talk and heal.  Along with the office under construction our souls are being built up in the image of God.  Last night the parish hosted the 2^nd of 3 evening mission talks.  Fr. Peter from Hillsboro has graciously accepted the challenge of bringing me and the members of the parish to a holier life with God.  Last night he gave a reflection on Psalm 55.  This psalm describes the feelings of a man who has been betrayed by a good friend.  As a Christian it is easy to see Christ speaking about Judas in this passage.  But for us, sometimes we imitate Christ and sometimes we imitate Judas in our relationships with others.  Sin divides us. God’s love unites us.  So we build up the office and the soul.  All in a day’s work in the life of a parish priest.