Local News Archive
Print Issue: May 25, 1972
Role Call
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By Fr. Jerry Hardy Recently, one of my closest friends celebrated an anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood. Each year when this happens he jots down his thoughts and reflections and shares them. He did the same this year and because he and his reflections mean a lot to me, I thought it might be good to include them here. The he is Fr. Bob Kinast, and here are his ideas. They speak for themselves. LIFE ON THE WAY TO EMMAUS Reflections on a priesthood four years old Fr. Bob Kinast Its not that Emmaus is so great; Its just that Jerusalem keeps turning Into dead ends, Blocking its daring promise Between sheer fear and practiced mediocrity. And you are an interpreter of this holy city, Wizened by four years of words And expected to give meaning To its tangle of ways and wills But your glossary of solutions is wearing thin, Your repeated explanations monotonous, even to you. Sometimes it is best to get out of town. But walk, dont ride And look back a lot And listen to strangers And consider your citys anxious confusion From the outskirts of the village. Then maybe youll understand Where the dead ends can lead. When optimism, spawned by our own resources, Has no where left to go, Then HOPE, rooted in Gods fidelity, may emerge; When projects, bent on reshaping life, Wither from exhaustion, Then CONCERN, mystical as the Lords, may posses; When certitude, contained in causes of our knowing, Cannot solve all the questions, Then TRANSCENDENCE of the answer game is possible; When community, relying on the proximity of people, Vanishes in their absence, Then PRESENCE of a purer wholeness may be discerned; When styles, competing for the avant-garde award, Start smothering, Then SIMPLICITY, struck clean by innocence, may return. Return, As you must, From the village where youve barely arrived, For the trip has filled your heart with words Meant for making sense of the baffling city. Many roads lead out of Jerusalem, But the way to Emmaus Always leads back, Only more quickly For the thrill of news to share.
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