By Fr Clement Baffoe SVD
It was on Saturday, 28th of November 2020 that I was ordained to the priesthood. In fact, this day changed me, as a new title “Father”, was added to my name. I went to the sanctuary as a deacon and returned outside the Church as a priest, now capable of celebrating the sacred mystery of the Mass, capable of being an intermediary between God and my fellow human beings in a confessional by absolving them of their sins. I could now through the holy anointing bring God’s healing to the sick. I considered all these a blessing but myself as a “clay jar” carrying these treasures (2 Cor. 4:7).
A few weeks after my ordination, I found myself in a new place, the Ministerial Region of the Good Shepherd, a parish in the Townsville Diocese. This vibrant parish frightened me from the onset. Not only was it a vibrant parish, but I was part of a new team coming to continue the legacy of a “giant” pastor, Fr Dave. In the beginning, we needed to find our own feet and then draw schedules that would suit our new SVD community life. We had to fix our own community prayer times, different functions and many other things. Even though I knew Fr Joseph, the Parish Priest before we both came to Townsville, our coming to live under the same roof meant there was a lot we still had to learn from each other. We needed to learn each other’s culture and its sensitivities, each other’s work ethics, modus operandi, and personal preferences among other things. Outside our little SVD community, we had to learn the parish culture and ways of running this parish too. Besides all these learnings, as a newly ordained, I was ‘learning to be a priest’ as well. Fortunately for me, I found myself in the good company of priests and parishioners who were willing to support me.
What would be my advice to a newly ordained priest coming into a parish? Coming into a new parish, it’s worth knowing that God has always been there among the people before the priest’s arrival. Instead of thinking he is bringing God to the people, the priest should rather think of discovering with the people that which has existed all along among them. Effective parish ministry occurs if the priest can consider the context and respond appropriately. Instead of bringing already prepared ideas and programmes from elsewhere, it would be wiser to consider the new context and its needs.
In my first three years as a priest, this contextualisation has happened for me through home visits, hospital visits, school retreats, homily preparations, planning of weddings and funerals, sitting in the confessional or even at dinner tables as I listen to people’s sacred stories. These have been places and occasions for me to contemplate the hearts and yearnings of my beloved parishioners. I’ve laughed with parishioners, shared in some of their joys and wept with some in my office and at hospitals. Parishioners have in turn stood by me through thick and thin especially when I grieved the loss of my parents. I’ve learnt and unlearnt many lessons since I’ve been here. I must say all these have been great learning curves for me.
I’ve had parishioners ask me about my leaving for studies in Rome next year. The common question has been: how do you feel? This phase of my life is: Not An End: Call It a New Beginning. The feeling for me has been bitter-sweet. Why so? Bitter in the sense that, my first two years were spent on finding my feet ie getting to know the parish and parishioners especially by name and stories. It’s therefore sad to leave just when I’m beginning to settle in comfortably. It’s sweet on the other hand because, these further studies I’m about to undertake will widen my horizons and prepare me for other future challenges. And so even though it’s sad to leave, it’s an exciting and hopeful future awaiting me.
As I leave the parish, I leave better than I came in three years ago. I’ve been challenged, encouraged, supported and allowed to grow in every way humanly, spiritually, and pastorally possible. How I wish I could capture all my experiences in this write-up; however, I believe no amount of ink can capture it all. Wherever I’ll be, I will carry these invaluable experiences along with me, since they’ve been inscribed on ‘the tablet’ of my heart. I’m eternally grateful to the Diocese, the Parish, Fr Joseph, Kathy and each parishioner who has made this journey with me. And to anyone whom I may have hurt, kindly accept my sincere apologies and know that it was inadvertent. May the Lord bless us all.
PHOTO: Fr Clement Baffoe SVD, centre with parishioners and Fr Joseph Reddy SVD after the parish's recent Multicultural Mass.