God's grace is everywhere. So far today I celebrated Mass and preached three times, recruited volunteers for parish events, baptized a crying infant, met with a college student, reviewed parish financial statements for July, finished a lengthy legal memorandum in a case for a Midwest Archdiocese, and just got back from anointing a person near death at Messiah Village. I wanted to go to the LifeTeen Olympics at Saint Patrick Parish in Carlisle, but duty called (well, actually, the nursing supervisor at Messiah Village called). God's grace is everywhere.

Last evening I had a picnic at the Rectory for members of our parish Planning Committee, and one of them told me that I have the pastoral skill of "voluntelling" -- if someone within earshot whispers that they might want to volunteer at something, the thing they know they're in charge of it! Today I was glad to be able to finish the legal memorandum. It dealt with a case in which the testimony was over 3,000 pages long, and through it all nothing was black or white. That made the writing a lot of fun. This was the fifth anointing this week at Messiah Village, where the care for dying residents is extraordinary. It's been another busy day of blessings.

Now a glass with ice is awaiting something liquid as I plop in the recliner. Tomorrow, finish grading papers from my July Law School course at Catholic U in DC, do a little flying, some parish business, and finish the syllabus for my Fall semester course at Catholic U (corporation law and finance). Who has more fun?

August 11, 2013
Msgr. William J. King