Fr .Marcel Bouchard's
10th Anniversary as Pastor of
Corpus Christi Parish
October 10, 2004
Fr. Rodney and Fr. Marcel share a laugh during a tribute
to Fr. Marcel for his ten years of service as our pastor.
Fr. Marcel Bouchard celebrates Mass during his tenth anniversary at Corpus Christi Parish
Fr. Rodney blessed Fr. Marcel during our celebration of his tenth anniversary
Deacon
Art LaChance holds posters presented to Fr. Marcel by the children of our parish
After Mass, Fr. Marcel relaxed with family and friends at a reception held in his honor
Here is the text of Father Bouchard's homily on the occasion of his 10th anniversary as our pastor:
28th. Sun. C October 10, 2004
10th Anniversary as pastor of Corpus Christi Parish
Today we are presented with a necessary spiritual posture: that of gratitude or thankfulness. Two models of gratitude are held out for our edification and encouragement. One is the leprous Syrian general called Naaman, whose cure we heard about in the first reading. The other model is the unnamed Samaritan leper who is made whole by Jesus in the passage we just heard from the gospel of Luke.
Did you notice: nowhere in either of these readings did we hear the words "thank you" or "gratitude"? In fact, in Hebrew, there is no specific word for thankfulness. The posture of gratitude - or an attitude of gratitude is described in the Jewish scriptures by the verbs "to praise," "to glorify," "to bless." So, ancient Israel’s "attitude of gratitude" issued forth as more than Miss Manners or Emily Post’s direction for the etiquette "never forget to say thank you." (Although that’s not a bad place for us to start!)
Rather, their thanks and gratitude issued forth in prayers that praised, glorified, and blessed their God. So, when Naaman and the Samaritan were healed, their response took the form of a proclamation of faith and a declaration of praise for God and for Jesus.
II. As I celebrate the gift of being the pastor of Corpus Christi Parish for 10 years, it would seem appropriate to share with you my attitude of gratitude by sharing with you not just my thanks, but also some of the reasons why today I offer praise, glory, and blessings to God, who in His wisdom and by His Spirit has made all this possible.
I praise God for the gift of new life:
Liturgy of the Word for Children - just about all of them born since I have been here
Religious Education: almost 1,300 students - just about all of them began their formal education since I have been here (10th. Graders were in grade one my first year).
Children celebrating First Penance, receiving First Communion, being confirmed - way over a thousand for each sacrament.
I glorify God for the gift of the faithfulness of so many of the vowed people who are part of this parish:
Wonderful couples who have loved and sacrificed and grown old together
Parents who struggle in the midst of a culture that doesn’t really care to bring their children up in the faith
Priests and deacons with whom I have had the privileged to serve you
Single people, by designed or by the loss of a loved one, who are open to the joy and generosity of life - and share their time and talent with us all
The faithfulness to God and to one another that you have displayed have inspired, encouraged and strengthened me.
I bless God for the gift of stewardship:
This is none other than that faith (a real reliance on, trust in God) lived out in responsibility exercised for family and Church.
I didn’t bring it here: I recognized it from the first moment I got here
You continue to witness it to me:
number of liturgical ministers
St. Vincent de Paul Conference
number of people going to Honduras each year
from here to beyond our homes, our town, our beautiful peninsula
III. And I thank you, too
The gift of loving, faithful family: some are here (Anita and Andre)
Priests who have gone before: Fr. Rodney, and the parochial vicars who have gone before him. Deacons Alence, Boucher, LaChance, O’Connel, and the deacons assigned here before them, and other priests who have been example to me - including our present Bishop, George Coleman, my immediate predecessor.
Thanks to all who helped make this church a reality - a living symbol of our faith in Christ. Made holy by Him for you, His people, and generations to succeed us.
Together: Eucharist: thanks
How wonderfully fitting that the summit toward which all the activity of the Church is directed and the fount from which all its power flows is fully imbued with thanksgiving. Here the praise, glory, blessing and honoring of God remain the finest expression of our grateful thanks.
Fr. Walter Burghart, a Jesuit and one of my idols because of his gift for preaching, in one homily insists that the Eucharist is a genuine thanksgiving only if we ourselves become Eucharists for the life of the world - only if we are willing to be taken by Jesus, blessed by him, broken with him, and fully given as he was.
So we must, each of us, live with thankful hearts - living each day in alert awareness that all we are, all we become, and all we are empowered to do must be acknowledged as gift - God’s gift. We all want to be like the thankful Naaman, the Syrian, like the grateful Samaritan, one out of ten, because this is the way to the Father, through Jesus, by the power of their Holy Spirit.
So after 10 blessed and privileged years at your pastor I invite you to join with me in echoing the words of the late Dag Hammarskjold (Secretary General of the United Nations who died in a plan crash 40 years ago): For all that has been, thanks; for all that will be, yes!