October 2, 2022 (27th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

by Fr. Bob Glynn, S.J.

[This text is an automatically generated transcript. Some edits have been made.]

For those of you who have been fortunate enough not to know me till today, I am Father Bob, and I am the lone Jesuit in a sea of Dominican white in the chaplaincy at here at Stanford. Now, I need to say a couple of things about Jesuit training so we’ll understand what I’m talking about today. I only still understand parts of our training, but... key things. First, we’re novices for two years. You’re called “Mister” as your title and then you have “N.S.J.” after your names. Then at the end of two years, you profess perpetual vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. And then you are “Mister” then your name with “S.J.” at the end, unless you’re a brother, and we leave the brothers all to their own confusion on the side, okay. So then you go on for 10, 11 years striving for the goal: priestly ordination, which in the Jesuits is always just this far ahead of you. Always seeming to get there but it took forever let me tell you. So during that time, okay, you are what is called—even though you’re “Mister”—you are a scholastic. Now, every Jesuit who is a scholastic wants not to be a scholastic. It is a terminal degree that should not be terminal you have to go on you must exceed scholastic if you’re ever going to be anything. Okay? In the time that you are a scholastic for those 9, 10, 11 torturous years, okay, you are given many different things to do. Then, if you have done them and not gotten in serious trouble, and gotten sent to theology, which is the equivalent of seminary, and you get ordained, then you are “Father” such such, S.J., and then they can’t touch you. It’s great.

Okay. Well, I took two stints at our High School in Phoenix, a once when I was a scholastic for three years of teaching. And then when I was Father as a priest for seven years, and now, when I was there for the three years at the beginning, when I was still a scholastic, Mr. SJ at that time, they would always have this big barbecue for the faculty at the beginning of the year. And we had the big faculty was at people and they’d have it at the swimming pool, which was fairly far from our house. And there was a tradition now traditions in the Jesuits mean, work for scholastics. It’s how you translate it. So their tradition was that the four of us scholastics would do all the work, while the fathers sampled, the hors d’oeuvres that you were carrying out to the field, took ice from the thing that you were trying to carry out, and otherwise we’re lazy and unaccountable. So we did this for three years. If you don’t get in trouble during those three years, if you do these things like carrying big tubs of ice and hors d’oeuvres, and no one thanks, you and all that, then you get the prize of going one to a theology. So, three of us did that correctly. Okay, or four of us we got to find.

So then I was sent back to Phoenix. And we were having still with a larger faculty, these barbecues at the beginning of the year. So two of us were sent at the same time to new priests, but there were no scholastics at Brophy that so we got a note from their principal since there are no scholastics the two young priests will handle all of the things for the barbecue. I thought, some how some how same scenario completely. The tub is of ice father needing fathers needing ice grabbing it along the way, the hors d’oeuvres that are sampled while you’re trying to carry them out to the field being nice. Okay, because your father and your newly ordained you can’t very well be nasty to people that won’t look good. Alright, so we’re doing all these things. Another exhausting time you’re to praise God to scholastics have been sent. Oh Lord. Thank you Jesus. Right. There are two real servants now. So the day before the barbecue, the young priests, the other young priest and I get notes. We’ve decided this year after your chronic complaining that the Scholastic should be able to have a good time. With the new faculty and the two young priests will do all the serving again. I was livid. Oh, I couldn’t believe so I said nasty notes. But you know, kind of nasty but nice notes. Like, you know, this was really unfair, which was Don’t you think so? Yeah, of course you do. You’re reasonable people. These people are unreasonable. Then they send a nasty note afterwards. Meaning a back injury which I had not had. You know, saying this sort of thing is ridiculous. Why don’t you just hire people to do this if you know if the young priests are now after all this education, whatever, have to whatever, whatever. And then he was really angry.

So beyond taking it to the useless principal, I took it someone useful: God. I said, How can you think this is fair? I mean, really, I mean, this years, that God they only know talk about how much they spent on us. And our education here. I am still lugging ice you know, and I was on and on, I was really furious, just really furious. I’m, I don’t really get angry too often and particularly in prayer, and I was just livid and then I came they got a little answer in prayer that you know, if you don’t block God off completely, sometimes he manages to squeeze in despite your best efforts. And it was, you know, you had great opportunity, and you had the opportunity that you have missed and then opportunity was to love because you could have done this. You could have carried dice you might not have liked it, I never liked it. And you could have said this is my gift to do this. You know, this is what I know will give today. Then I thought about myself, and I hate parties. And for those of you who really know me here, no, I am extraordinarily shy. So what I thought I was going to be doing if I wasn’t lugging ice passing orders and filling drinks. I would have spent most of my time trying to figure out how I could escape from the party without anyone noticing me. And so that God had really given me an opportunity to be there in a way where I offered myself, but because instead of focusing on what would be a loving act, I focused on me. And yeah, it was unfair, no doubt, but I was more competent than the scholastics. I’m still more competent than the scholastics at retirement age.

And as we have learned over the years, Sister Gloria and I lugging things out at the Welcome banquet, you know, when you do it with love, no matter how old you get, then how tough it is for your body. You’ve want to do it, and then it’s a gift. Otherwise, it’s just something that causes resentment that causes anger, that says, it’s all about me. And God, You should be thanking me that you put someone so wonderful on the face of the earth to do all these things while the other lazy people aren’t doing a damn thing. But that isn’t the point of the gospel. Even when I got that may I say trivial thank you note, without even a gift card in it from the principal saying thanks, Bob. I thought big deal as he just nodded about being thing. Finally, it is about loving. And when we love, we know we don’t need Thanks. We’re having it as we give it. It’s part of encountering God as intimately as we possibly can, while doing it without always being particularly conscious. But knowing that He’s there, and that we’re trying to serve.