Parish News
Fr James Kerr, Parish Priest of Northeast Mallee, writes a summary about his sabbatical experience:
I was recently blessed with the opportunity to spend three months in Rome for my Sabbatical.
What is a Sabbatical?
A Sabbatical is an opportunity for those in ministry to step aside from their responsibilities and duties for a little while so they can be renewed and refreshed. Think of Jesus telling his disciples to ‘come away and rest awhile.’
Feeling the Call
I had felt that call to ‘come away’ gently building over the last couple of years. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love where I am and love what I do. I wouldn’t trade any of it for the world! But even if we are happily secure in our vocation, we are still only human, with all the limitations that entails. We need to receive before we can give of ourselves, and I was feeling God calling me to step aside for a little while in order that he could make me anew. It really was a strong sense of God calling me to this time, that he had something to show me, something he wanted me to experience.
The Sabbatical Program Itself
The final nudge came when a trusted friend recommended the Spring Program to me. He could see the need in me. He had also completed the program itself, so he knew it would be a good fit. He was right!
The program was run by the Institute for Continuing Theological Education, based out of the Pontifical North American College in Rome. There were 15 of us priests in the program, based mostly in the United States, but from very varied backgrounds. I was blessed to be with the men I was with. We had our own house and chapel, praying together more or less every day. Most days we also had a class or presentation delivered by various speakers and lecturers, along with the occasional excursions and outings. We visited many sacred and historical sites, as well as seeking out some significant examples of religious art. It was a very well-balanced program; plenty of great input but still plenty of time and space left to get out and explore Rome and its surrounds on our own.
The Highlights
Some highlights of the program were the optional pilgrimage to Turkey, where we visited the sites of all the Seven Churches of Revelations, as well as many other sites connected to the life of St Paul and the early Church. Our retreat in Assisi was also a great blessing and luckily coincided with the Jubilee year and the very rare opportunity to venerate St Francis’ relics. We were also so blessed to finish our time with the opportunity to concelebrate Palm Sunday Mass with the Pope and thousands of the Faithful.
As far as my own explorations went, I embraced the opportunity to explore many of Rome’s lesser-known churches. So often I was surprised to find beautiful frescoes and mosaics or important sacred relics in the most unassuming of churches. Three more very special memories are my visit to the Focolare Centre in Loppiano (near Florence), as well as making it to the Holy House in Loreto and finding and viewing the ancient and beautiful icon of our Lady ‘Advocata Nostra’, tucked away and almost hidden and forgotten in the quiet cloistered convent of Our Lady of the Rosary. Locked away, it was a bit of a challenge getting inside, but a kind man I came across pleaded with Sister on my behalf, “he has come all the way from Australia”. All of these experiences together left me feeling so much closer to the Saints and our Tradition. Everything just feels that bit more real!
Challenges and Growth
The experience was not without it challenges, but these too became opportunities for growth. I was surprised by how deeply I was affected by homesickness; that sense of being out of your depth in a new environment and cut off from your usual supports and the people you love. As hard as it was, I recognised it as an opportunity to taste, ever so slightly, just something of what so many of my parishioners who are migrants must themselves feel day to day. I also came to see it as a good confirmation of just how much I love where I am!
The even bigger challenge was being hit with a sense of being rather useless and forgotten. This really knocked me flat. As a priest in a parish I am often called upon – people seek me out and turn to me, I am needed, I have my place and my identity. But in Rome I was cut off from all of that; no-one needed me, no one called on me. Challenged by these feelings of being a bit useless, I was pushed to remember that before I am a servant, a priest, and a father, I am firstly a beloved child of God; a son, a brother. That is my foundational identity, and indeed that is true for all of us. It is good for us to find meaning in our various identities as carers, as spouses, as mothers or fathers (and the list goes on), and to give generously of ourselves within that vocation, but before all of that, and breathing life into it all, is our foundational identity as a beloved child of God. We can only give because we have first received, and we never cease needing to receive. I think that will be a lesson I will continue to turn back to and draw upon time and again.
In Thanksgiving
I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to undertake this Sabbatical. My thanks to Bishop Paul for his blessing, to the Diocese for its support and sponsorship, to my brother priests who encouraged me and who helped cover my absence, and to our Parish staff and volunteers who held the fort and were so generous in supporting me. My heartfelt thanks and gratitude.