By Deacon Keith Hart, Special to The Message
When I think of priesthood, I tend to think of my grandfathers. My paternal grandfather was a farmer for about 60 years. He would sit in his open-cab Allis-Chalmers tractor tilling, then later air-conditioned International Harvesters, praying the Rosary to pass the time. He was a kind man who prayed for rain and thanked God whether it came or not. If there was any unkindness in him, it was reserved solely for Johnson grass, that pernicious weed.
My maternal grandfather, though strong academically, had to drop out of high school during World War II. His older brother went to fight, so my grandpa had to help his dad with all of the work. Eventually he made a decades long career for himself with a bulldozer. He made lakes and ponds for people, including the pond at St. Peter’s Cemetery in Montgomery. He assisted in creating West Boggs Lake north of Loogootee. He later found employment with the County, and worked at the landfill for a number of years. He was able to put his five children through college, and assist some nieces and nephews as well.
My grandfathers were hard workers, and their faith mattered to them, their Catholic faith. With my grandmothers, they passed this faith in Jesus Christ down to their children, and my parents then passed that same faith down to me. While it is the task of all Christians to pass down our faith in the Risen Christ to all people, “Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19), it is particularly the task of priests to do this work of evangelization in the parish community given them by their bishop. While I will never have children or grandchildren of my own to pass the faith on to, I will be ordained June 14 to give my whole life to the passing down of the Good News of Jesus Christ to all people. My life will be configured to plant the Word of God in the hearts of all men and women so that they may better be children of God, joint heirs with Christ to the glory and love of the Father (see Romans 8).
My grandfathers set an example of Christian fidelity for me to follow. By the grace of God, I hope that I may do the same for others, for the Church I love and for the God I love who has called me to serve Him.