Over the past few weeks, I have written about some of the ways in which we observe the season of Lent. But today I want to use this space to update you on some other things that are going on.
Our St. Malachy School Advisory Board recently met, and I admitted to them that the principal and I have been having a disagreement – she wants to retire, and I don’t want her to. But recently Mrs. Janet Escovitz informed the school community that she is retiring at the end of this year. Mrs. Escovitz has done a wonderful job leading St. Malachy School during her time here. She has kept the school on an even keel, and has helped to build the school toward a strong future. At a time when many schools in our region are hoping to keep the enrollment from dropping too precipitously, our enrollment is up this year. But as much as I hate to lose her, I know that she is at that point and that she deserves to enjoy her time. Meanwhile, I have had a number of volunteers to help me with the Search Committee to interview candidates for the position, and I am confident we will continue to move forward. But in the meantime, we wish Janet well.
I know that stories get around, so I will ask for your prayers for my predecessor and good friend, Fr. Michael Maranowski, who was admitted to Mercy Hospital last week. At the time I am writing this, he is in for tests for some issues he has been having. Considering bulletin deadlines, this column will probably be old news by the time you read it, and he may be back to his normal routine. But I’m sure he would appreciate your prayers in any event.
Speaking of priests and their health, we continue to pray for Fr. Patrick O’Brien. It has been hard for me to write about Fr. O’Brien in the bulletin, for each week he has been telling me that he is still coming back. And he has been with us recently, but there have been other times when he has over the weekend to say he could not make it. Perhaps we could use the phrase that baseball people use for injured players and say that he is “day to day.” That just reminds me of the great Dodgers’ announcer Vin Scully, who said of an injured player, “He is currently day to day. But then again, aren’t we all?”
My final note is not about a particular person. During a heavy wind recently, some shingles blew off the rectory roof. The bad news is that they hit the parish van, which was parked in the rectory lot. The good news is that they didn’t hit any person, for they did some damage. But speaking of damage, we had an inspection on the roof, and we have been told that we definitely need to replace the roof. We are currently getting bids and are considering the options. The roof is part of our Campaign for the Church Alive case statement, so that may have to be a project soon. Meanwhile, I learned long ago that every pastor considers “roof” to be a four-letter word.
Father H
