Under the Acacia Tree

One of life’s wonderful gifts is change.  Last Sunday I
preached at nine Masses.  And yes they were all in the same
parish.  St. Thomas the Apostle Church in West Hempstead,
Long Island, New York is a unique parish if only because it has
two churches within the parish boundaries.  What is called the
chapel is larger than St. Augustine Church.  The major church
seats 1,000.  For many of the Sunday Masses, both were quite
full.   The schedule is arranged so that there is a Mass at the
Church at 9 and one at the chapel begins at 9:30.  The distance
between the two churches is two miles, so when I finished
preaching at the 9:00 (which was completed by 9:30) I would
then dash outside where a car was waiting to take me to the
chapel.  I arrived at the chapel  just as the deacon would begin
or be close to the ending of the proclamation of the gospel and
walk calmly to the altar and down the stairs to preach.  It was
an exhilarating experience for sure.  And I made the trip back
and forth three times on Sunday morning.   Add the vigil Mass
on Saturday, a 6 PM Mass on Sunday and the early Mass at the
Church and you have the nine Masses.  On Monday and
Tuesday I preached a mini mission using the theme of St.
Paul’s letters captured in the phrase: ―the love of God Made
Visible in Christ Jesus.‖   While the number of people
attending the mission was average – about 300 each evening –
it gave me a chance to introduce the people to some of the call
and response type of preaching which I love, and which is so
much a part of the African American experience.
 
And, of course, being in a different parish gave me an
opportunity to see how another pastor deals with a community
of faith for which he is responsible.  The staff at St. Thomas is
much larger than our staff at St. Augustine.  But then again,
that staff is ministering to 2,500 families.  The bulletin at St.
Thomas last Sunday was 8 pages, so things are on a much
larger basis there.  And, of course, living with the pastor there
are four other priests, all of them international priests. The
rectories of today’s church are changing.
 
What is common to both our parishes is good, thoughtful and
caring people who love the Lord and want to do what he asks. 
The diversity at St. Thomas is richer than ours as I saw Black
People (mostly Haitian), some people who were Asian, a
number of people whose culture is mostly from India, some
Latinos and a large number of European Americans.   The
parish is clearly made up of people who are middle class and
love their homes.

St. Paul often preached to a wide variety of cultures when he
traveled throughout the then known world.  That same variety
of cultures and people was part of the joy of St. Thomas, and
the experience of preaching a mission there.
 
Rev. John Geaney, CSP
Pastor
Dec. 6, 2009