A priest is expected to work at least six days a week with no more than 30 days of vacation time. This means that the rare priest who takes the maximum amount of time away from active ministry still works 22 days more than someone who takes no vacation time and works twenty-two Saturdays.
This week, all of the priests of the diocese have our annual priest convocation in Brown County, which means that I will be out of the parish from Monday afternoon until Friday evening for Mass. Priest convocation is not vacation time, but rather a time when the priests of the diocese gather together for continuing professional formation and the opportunity to get to know each other better. A priest's friends are, as rule, other priests. I look forward to convocation as a time to reconnect with priests. If I have not spent time with some of the brothers since the last convocation, it is a reminder that I need to be more intentional about taking time away from active ministry to spend with them for the sake of mutual support. Our continuing professional formation this year will involve a speaker on evangelization and time reviewing the draft of the diocesan pastoral plan.
Our summer seminarian, Mr. Jordan Boone, will be leading communion services on Tuesday through Thursday in lieu of Mass.