A Farewell To Friars

As Fr. Jacob Carazo prepares to hand the reins of St. Thomas Aquinas Cathedral to Fr. Chuck Durante, we need to thank Fr. Jacob for allowing us to sing at the Cathedral as long as we did, continuing the run that started under Fr. Francisco Nahoe's rectorship. Fr. Jacob, Fr. Tom Hamilton, and Fr. Paul Fazio (all of the Conventional Order of Franciscans Minor, OFM Conv.) will be leaving for California by the end of the month; we have sung at Masses served by all three.  Here is a photo from their farewell Mass (how did we not sing for that?) featuring all the Friars who attended:

Thus ends 32 years of service at STA by the Friars, who have been the most prominent and consistent supporters of RPC's mission in recent years.Today was Fr. Paul's final Sunday Mass, and he commented that St. Thomas Aquinas was his favorite assignment in his more than 40 years as a priest. I'd like to think it was at least partly because of the Gregorian chant we provided for him both as a choir and as individual cantors (Kathy and I).

We will miss the Friars, their spirituality, and their affinity for sacred music. Their imprint on the Cathedral and northern Nevada will not soon be forgotten. For them I offer the following:

St. Maximilian Kolbe Prayer

Amidst hate and imprisonment, you brought love into the lives of fellow captives and sowed the seeds of hope amidst despair. You bore witness to the whole world by word and deed that “Love alone creates.”

V.  Pray for us, St. Maximilian Kolbe.

R. Help us become worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:

Heavenly Father, You inflamed St. Maximilian the friar and priest with love for the Immaculate Virgin and filled him with zeal for souls and love of neighbor. Through his prayers grant us to work strenuously for Your glory in the service of our sisters and brothers, and so be made conformable to Your Son until death.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

A side note: The Shrine of St. Anthony, bucolic home of the OFM Conventional province in Ellicott City, MD, was spared damage from the terrible floods that hit the historic part of that town in late May. Fr. Masseo Gonzales, a.k.a. "El Padrecito," studied as a brother in Ellicott City; having served at STA, he is now in Guadalupe, CA. Fr. Masseo maintains a small but important spot in RPC lore as the one who made me aware of Fr. Francisco's arrival and his love of sacred music in the Liturgy. I connected Fr. Francisco with Kathy, and the rest was history. [ETA: Okay, Kathy says there was a little more to it than that, including a recommendation from Dr. William Mahrt.]