My
Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ,
I
have been a member of this parish community for over 7 ½ years now. I brought
my family over from All Saints Parish and settled here as I journeyed forward
through formation and ultimately to ordination as a Permanent Deacon. It was
here where I received my first assignment and began exercising my office.
Throughout this time I feel that I have served the community to the best of my
abilities as I Proclaimed the Gospels and evangelized the faith. Throughout this
time period I have experienced new things that have both validated my office
and challenged me. I grew in my faith and knowledge as I progressed upon my own
journey of faith. I felt both blessed and honored to be accepted into this
community and have come to know each and every one of you as friends.
There
have also been some unique circumstances within this parish community which
have impacted us all in different ways. Over the past year and a half, I have
lost my spiritual director and have been asked to perform many tasks and
functions which have taken away from my own continuing formation and
development. Personally, I had to deal with circumstances that I have never had
to deal with before in a parish setting while in my professional capacity I had
to do the same with the strike situation at the Methuen Distribution Center of
Shaw’s Supermarkets. It was not uncommon for me to be working over 100 hours
per week as a deacon and as a manager at the Shaw’s Distribution Center all the
while attempting to maintain a stable family life. This continued up until the
present time as I have tried to stabilize all areas which I have found myself
involved in.
I
was pleased to make the sacrifices and have never complained but in the end
there are things that cannot be ignored: I have only been on retreat once in
almost four years, I have no spiritual director, I have ignored my continuing
development, and my family has shared these sacrifices along with me.
Recently,
I took on the role as Chaplain at the Nashua Street Jail in Boston for Suffolk
County, which was the first action regarding continued formation and
development within the Permanent Diaconate that I had done in quite some time. This
ministry has produced much fruit and a spiritual awakening; but there is much
more that I have to do regarding spiritual and professional development. After
much deliberation, conversations with Father Murray, and prayer, we feel that
it is time that my ministries come to an end at Saint John the Baptist Church.
This is a hard painful decision that Father Murray and I have not arrived at
lightly and we agree that this is the best path forward. We believe that Christ
had called me to serve this parish and brought me here for a particular purpose
and now that purpose has ended.
In
life and ministry there comes a time where hard decisions have to be made and
this is one of the hardest that I have had to come to. In the end, it is felt
that it is the right decision.
The
Archdiocese of Boston has assigned me officially to the Nashua Street Jail as
the Chaplain and has asked that my ministries be concentrated there for the
time being. I have also been instructed to find a spiritual director and focus
on continued development. I will be assigned a “home parish” within the next
few weeks as my time here ends on November 20th, the Feast of Christ
the King.
I
will always consider Saint John the Baptist as my family and will hold each and
every one of its parishioners near and dear to my heart. I truly love you all
and ask for you to pray for me and I will pray for you.
Yours
always and forever in Christ,
Deacon
Tom Anthony
