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A priesthood anniversary to remember |
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By Archbishop John C. Nienstedt
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Thursday, 26 August 2010 |
It was supposed to be a quiet, uneventful gathering at a local rectory to celebrate the 65th anniversary of priesthood ordination for Msgr. James Lavin, now residing with the Little Sisters of the Poor.
 That They May All
Be One
Archbishop John C. Nienstedt
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When I arrived, the pastor and parochial vicar, two neighboring priests, a transitional deacon, three seminarians and Msgr. Lavin had already assembled. Half the crew was busy in the kitchen preparing beef stroganoff and layering asparagus tips on a pan to be warmed. With pasta ready to boil, we all retired to the living room to pray Evening Prayer.
A social hour followed, during which Monsignor was presented with gifts
and cards marking the occasion. He began to tell stories from his days
as a professor at the University of St. Thomas. He had the undivided
attention of all in the room.
A startling surprise
Just as we were called to dinner and as final preparations were being
made at the table, a sudden explosion occurred, a sound like the
crashing of a huge crystal chandelier on a concrete floor. We re-entered
the kitchen where shards of glass lay strewn everywhere.
Apparently, a Pyrex glass serving dish was positioned with one side next
to the open burner and the other facing out onto the room. The
difference in degrees, from one side to the other, it was reasoned, was
enough to cause the whole dish to burst into a million pieces.
Glass was everywhere, as far as four feet across the room. But what was
even more ominous was the presence of glass on every side of the cooking
pot that contained the night’s dinner! What to do? The discussion
began.
Well, we could try to strain the gravy laden mixture to see if any
pieces of glass could be found. We could try to eat the meal and hope
that no glass would be found. Ultimately, we agreed to dump the
contents and call out for pizza.
The parochial vicar came up with a better suggestion: Let’s check the
food pantry and see if we might find some spaghetti sauce. Sure enough,
three jars were produced and the meal was salvaged.
Hearty laughter
As the Italian sauce and German noodles were being served, one of the
seminarians asked when the asparagus would be served. The red faced cook
admitted that in the mayhem caused by the explosion, the asparagus was
overcooked and it, too, had to be thrown away. We all had a hearty laugh
over that.
I am sure we will all be telling this tale years from now, no doubt with
an embellishment or two. But for Msgr. Lavin on his 65th anniversary,
it was a memorable evening.
Glass stroganoff, anyone?
God bless you!
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