By Fr Clement Baffoe SVD
After a long Victorian lockdown and months of uncertainty, on the 28th of November, 2020, I was ordained a priest in Melbourne. This week, on the 28th of November, I have been ordained for two years. One month after my ordination, I was assigned to the Townsville Diocese. In fact, I was one of three confreres to be assigned to this new SVD mission in far North Queensland.
In January 2021, two of us were appointed to the Ministerial Region of the Good Shepherd, Kirwan and one to Palm Island all here in the Townsville Diocese. I came with lots of enthusiasm as most newly ordained priests do but at the same time, I was fearful, I had a fear of the unknown. I was freshly ordained and needed some time to find my feet, but this anxiety was compounded by the fact that we were taking this huge and vibrant parish where no SVD had ever been before. In terms of our SVD spirituality and identity, I would say we were parachuted into an unknown territory, an uncharted terrain.
How then would I describe my two years as a priest? First and foremost, I must say it has been a time of grace, God’s goodness, mercy and great learning. From celebrating the normal weekday Masses, hearing confessions, visiting our schools to share quality time with our teachers and pupils whether in school Masses, liturgies or assemblies, visiting patients at the Townsville University Hospital, our two nursing homes, to celebrating baptisms, weddings and funerals, etc, it’s been a time of encountering God, myself and those to whom I minister.
Within these two years of my priesthood, I have sadly lost my father, brother and mother in a period of fourteen months. In these losses, my parishioners have been there and stood solidly behind me. Without them, I don’t know how I would have faced my storms. The lesson I’ve learnt as a priest from all these is that I need my parishioners as much as they need me. And that, if a priest stands by his beloved parishioners in their joys and sorrows, they will go extra miles for him in return -“Be there for them and they’ll be there for you”.
Day after day, I’m getting to know my parishioners by name and this act of calling them by their names has advanced a deeper connection between us. In the near future, it’s my earnest hope to get to know almost every parishioner even more and beyond mere formalities since the shepherd must know his sheep and in turn the sheep will know him.
What have been my challenges? My challenges include culture, of which language is the foremost. The challenge of using appropriate expressions and also speaking clearly for all parishioners to understand. As somebody having English as my second or third language, I am extremely careful about my English expressions, as anything inappropriate could hurt my hearers. Again, I have an accent different from that of my congregation and this self-knowledge calls for extra work but I must say I work hard on myself. Having said this, I must quickly say that I’m an SVD and interculturality is in our DNA and this challenge of culture is more a blessing than a curse.
The paths in these two years of my priesthood haven’t been certain but when I look back on these years, I can say that the mighty hand of God has been at work in all that has happened. As I launch into the third year of my priesthood, I move in with faith knowing that the God who has been faithful in the first two years will be faithful in the next year and beyond. My faith now has conquered my fear of the unknown.
When you say your prayers, remember to say a prayer for all priests especially we the young priests who are still finding our feet in God’s service.
PHOTO: Fr Clement Baffoe SVD sharing the faith with local school children in Townsville.