July 26

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

This weekend throughout the Diocese of Trenton, there is a special collection for Retired, Elderly, and Infirm Priests. This is the fourth year that it is being taken up, coinciding with the Church-wide remembrance of grandparents and the aging that Pope Francis instituted with the Feast of Ss. Joachim and Anne, Jesus’s grandparents. And while it is of great importance to celebrate the greatness and wisdom in all those of an older generation, there is something to be said for remembering the priests who have served generously throughout their many years of ministry.

You don’t often think of priests in the same vein as grandparents, and for good reason: it’s not like priests have children and then grandchildren, with our promise of chaste celibacy that we make. But the idea that there are generations of priests and that each generation hands on and down to the next generation is a reality worth considering. In my life and ministry, I have been deeply blessed to have good priests in my life. From my first summer assignment as a seminarian to the priests I’ve had the pleasure of knowing and working with here at St. Charles, there have been many opportunities to learn and grow from the witness and work of those priests in my life. And I’d like to share one particular experience with all of you.

As a seminarian, I had the pleasure of being at St. Benedict’s in Holmdel for the summer in 2011. The pastor, Fr. Dan Swift, was wonderful and really tried to get me involved in various aspects of the parish in my short stay, and there were plenty of things to do. And as a seminarian, he kept me well fed. I remember quite distinctly him inviting me to join him for dinner one night, in which we headed to the priest retirement facility so that we could eat with one of his priest mentors, Msgr. Ed Strano. We went to the local Italian place and had a lovely time. Fast forward a couple of years later, and I’m now a priest assigned to St. Benedict’s with Fr. Dan as my pastor. The same ability to get me involved remained, and our working relationship and friendship continued to grow. In that same time assigned together, Msgr. Strano passed away and went to his heavenly reward. And even though I didn’t know him that well, in seeing his protégé in Fr. Dan and what a good priest he is and how he’s encouraged me in my own priesthood, I felt like Msgr. Strano was in some ways like a spiritual grandfather to me.

And so, if you’re able to help support our priests as they live out their days in retirement, like Msgr. Dubell and many others, I hope that you would. The impact that these men have on the lives of parishioners and on their fellow priests is immense. May God continue to bless them all!

Peace and Goodness,

Fr. Dan