Our assignment for today was to think about our group legacy.  As I began to think about it I couldn’t help but reflect on my own legacy after 41 years of priestly ministry. I come from a family of teachers.  My mother was a teacher, my sister is a teacher, my niece is a teacher and in the broad sense I am a teacher.  Most of my teaching/training has been with priests in the States, Australia, Great Britain and Canada.  That odyssey began in 1972 when the bishops of this country issued a document on the continuing education of the clergy which spawned many responses in the form of national organizations such as NOCERCC and NFPC along with the Center for Human Development for which I work.  Whereas the first two have prevailed, the group for which I work did not because we failed to grow.  By 1992, the Center closed its doors.  I only wish that we had known Tim Flanagan and Dick Lyles at that time. Good Leaders, Good Shepherds would have been just what we were looking for. As a pastor participating in the program for the past two years I believe it is just what the doctor ordered.  The needs of the 60s and 70s are not the needs of the Church today.  I believe Good Leaders, Good Shepherds brings a wonderful balance of competent leadership skills and a deeply rooted vision of spiritual growth.

One thing I have learned over the years is that personally I need an external structure to keep me focused and energized in my ministry. So when Mark Hession who was President of NOCERCC announced at one of our Diocesan Priestly Life and Ministry committee meetings that Region I was going to pilot this new program called Good Leaders, Good Shepherds, I couldn't move from my chair quickly enough to tell him that I was interested in participating.  It seems I was not that quick however because one of the other members of our committee had beaten me to the punch; Father Roger Landry.

The program has more than fulfilled my expectations.  The focus and energizing I was looking for was more than I could hope for.  I didn't miss one meeting, either the over nights or the “Tweeners”.  They were truly the high point of my month.  Some of you may say he must not have much of a life.  But this was what energized me and drove me forward in my ministry.  During the past two years I've tried to share much of this with my Pastoral Council.  It has been a great way for me to internalize the learning and to continue my family legacy of teaching.

Classmates have said to me that they are so glad that they retiring soon and don't have to deal with the problems facing Pastors today.  I have said in retort, “I wish I was just starting out, beginning all over again.” It's just an exciting time to be a priest in ministry in the Church today; a major part of that excitement is the result of being part of Good Leaders, Good Shepherds. Thank you!