During the Mass of his ordination, Rev. Timothy Eck II '21 (Metuchen) receives the chalice and paten from his bishop and former Rector of the College, Most Rev. James F. Checchio '92 C'97 (Metuchen).
First Summer as a Priest in the Parish REV. TIMOTHY ECK II ‘21, DIOCESE OF METUCHEN
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ne afternoon I was visiting with an elderly woman in her home. Due to the pandemic, the normal Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion had not been able to visit her in several months. However, with the loosened restrictions during the summer, I was finally able to visit with her. She told me about her life, her childhood growing up in the Bronx, her children, and how she ended up living in a cul-de-sac in a suburban parish in New Jersey. As we were coming to the end of my visit, she turned to me and asked: “Father, I’m worried about what is going on in the world, why do you think this is all happening? What do you think is the
cause of it all?” It struck me that this woman, who has surpassed her ninetieth year, is asking me, someone who has not quite reached my thirtieth year, for advice and guidance in understanding the world. In different circumstances, I would be going to her for wisdom, yet she sought my guidance—a priest of only a month. To this woman, my parishioners, and those I met, I was no longer the same person I was at the beginning of this year. I was now a priest, their priest, and they welcomed me into their lives. They shared their fears and struggles, but also their joys and successes. My experience of being a priest this
summer was one of great humility. I felt the gravity of my actions, knowing that even though I was new to being a priest, people trusted me. The words I said and actions I did mattered. Gone were the practice homilies and sacramental rehearsals at seminary. It was real now. While I learned to serve the people of God, his grace was made abundantly evident. Every time I finished hearing confessions, I gave thanks to God for providing me with words of guidance to those who came to me for the sacrament. The summer in the parish was a time of great learning and joy, filled both with gratitude for the people and the Lord’s guidance. n
ROMAN ECHOES 2021 • VOLUME 26: ISSUE 1
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