Fr. Powers and the Gift of Presence!

People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did.  But people will never forget how you made them feel.”  I like those words. I’ve seen them attributed to Maya Angelou, H. Jackson Brown and others – still, whoever first said them, they ring true. We honor and love and remember those people who made us feel honored, and loved, and remembered. 
It is certainly true in my life.

 

Fr. John Powers was the pastor (and now retired pastor) of my home parish when I was growing up.  I fondly remember serving at mass for him, listening to his jokes, watching how he preached by walking around the aisles in the church, seeing how he interacted with so many people of various ages and backgrounds.  He’d come into our school classes and spend time with us at recess.  He was funny and intelligent and could make anyone laugh at his corny jokes.  He had a spiritual charisma and charm about him.  I remember thinking to myself: “

I want to be like Fr. Powers when I grow up!”

I think in fact the real reason I was drawn to him was not only because of the reasons I just mentioned but because of his ability to be present.  He was one of the first people on scene at the hospital for both my mom and dad when they were each taken to the ER at St. Margaret’s Hospital in Hammond, Indiana.  He was the one who presided and preached at my mom’s funeral mass.  He again preached words of hope and consolation at my dad’s funeral mass this past January.  Fr. Powers, or “SA” as he is affectionately known in the rectory to his closest friends, now uses a walker to get around, yet he still says mass and does his best to be present to people.  At the crisp age of 92 he still gives wonderful and though-provoking homilies and puts smiles on people’s faces.  To be honest, I don’t quite remember all of what he said at my parent’s funeral masses, but I do remember him be truly present to my grieving family. 
 
I think one reason I really love Fr. Powers is because of the great friendship he had with my dad.  That friendship flowered after I decided to leave the priesthood to marry Amy.  He has done nothing but support me and that included being a good support to my dad.  They’d often talk on the phone and would even help the ladies in the church office on Monday mornings count the offering from the weekend.  They joked together (well Fr. Powers would laugh at my dad’s silly and sometimes colorful jokes)!  They were present to one another.  Fr. Powers would make it a point to walk over and see Amy, Anna and myself when we went to mass with Dad.  One of my favorite images of Fr. Powers when I was a young boy was seeing him walk around the parish grounds while reading his prayer book or breviary.  While being present to the Lord, he was witnessing the importance of taking time to pray for his flock. 

 

Throughout his 66 years of priestly ministry (ordained May 3, 1951), Fr. Powers baptized thousands of babies and adults, witnessed thousands of couples say ‘I do,’ said over a million masses, visited countless in hospitals and nursing homes, buried thousands of parishioners and friends, and yet I don’t think he’ll be remembered for those things.  No, he will be remembered for his
presence.  He took time for people.  And in that presence with him, you met Christ.  Reflecting on Fr. Powers it suddenly occurred to me that what we value most in life is not productivity but presence; not talent but time; not genius but gentleness.  Fr. Powers is someone who continues to show me what being present is all about. Everyone remembers how he made and how he continues to make them feel.  During the rite of ordination, there is a part where all the priests come and lay hands over those candidates being ordained.  There were hundreds of priests who laid hands on me on May 21, 2005.  Yet I knew when Fr. Powers laid hands on me because he gave me a light tap with his hand on my cheek then…I knew it was him without even looking up!
 
I think that John Powers really understood the ministry of Jesus.  As I read the stories of Jesus I think this is what attracted people to the Lord.  Jesus never seemed to be in a hurry. He took time to speak with lepers calling to him from the side of the road. He took time to call Zacchaeus down from the tree to speak with him and eat at his house. He took time to chat with fisherman, and meet with tax collectors and listen to the pleas of Samaritan women. This is the predominant theme in the ministry of Jesus – he had time for people. And because he made them feel honored, and loved, and remembered, they in turn honored him, his followers loved him and to this day the church remembers him!
 

How might we be more present to people these days?  And I don’t mean Facebook, texting, snapchat, Instagram or the other means technology offers conveniences to our lives.  No, I mean by putting those things down and actually talking and actively listening to our spouse, children, friends, co-workers, fellow church parishioners, etc.  Maybe take a moment each day and ask Jesus for the courage and strength to be present in our lives to those around us.  Maybe it might be a note, a call or visit to someone who may desperately need our presence in their lives.  Paperwork and things to do will always be there…people will not.  In the end people will remember not what we did or said, but that we were there for them.

As we leave summer behind and prepare for fall with all the flurry of work and school, I’m trying to remember the lesson of one of my heroes, Fr. John Powers.  Yes, I want to be productive to be sure, but I wish even more to be really present to the people who come into my life and to my wife and two children who share my life.  I want to use my talents wisely to be the best pastor that I can be, but I wish even more to be a person who offers time to others.  And certainly I want to be a good administrator who others see as competent and intelligent, but in the end I want even more to be known as a man of gentleness and kindness.  In the final analysis what we value the most are presence, time and gentleness. I know that Fr. Powers would agree.  Thanks, Fr. Powers, for the gift of your presence to me and countless souls. 
 
~PJ

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Leave a Reply

^