Next Sunday will be the final Sunday that I will celebrate the Eucharist with you. I came to the United States in 1998 to do research for my dissertation in legal ethics. Living in Chicago, I also discovered the richness of this immigrant city, its churches and dedicated communities of the 19th and early 20th century. In my research, I found the farewell speech from 1920 of Bishop Paul Rhode, a Polish bishop from Chicago who was serving also as a pastor at a parish. Being very well aware that he was working hard and with his whole heart at St. Michael Parish, he expressed an old Polish saying to the parishioners: “I did not eat your bread for free.” Who could suspect that 106 years after Bishop Rhode that I would be able to repeat his words here, at Corpus Christi. I repeat them candidly and with a clear conscience: “I’ve paid my dues. I’ve earned my keep,” which are the English equivalent of this Polish saying.
Several times in my life I was asked if I am a conservative or liberal priest. My answer was always the same: “I am neither conservative nor liberal – I am normal.” It is true: I preach what Jesus asks us to preach and teach what the Holy Father and the Church teach. I do not add nor subtract anything from this. I know that during my 12 years here, and during my entire 35 years as a priest, I never said anything that would not be compatible with the official teaching of the Church. In a humble way, I am very proud of this.
I came to Corpus Christi as a young 48-year-old priest, and I am leaving the parish as a 60-year-old priest. When I arrived, I had maybe five gray hairs, and now, half of my head is gray. I spent my best years with you and for you. Together with you, parishioners of Corpus Christi, I have continued my pilgrimage to the Father. And how beautiful and inspiring this pilgrimage has been!
I would like to thank all people I met during these 12 years here, and especially staff members and volunteers. Please forgive me if I mention only a few of them by name. First, I am enormously thankful to our deacons: Tom Thiltgen, Bill Thomas, Andrew Jalove and Phil Leonard. I thank them for their tremendous dedication to the Church, their service to our parish and for their friendship. My deep gratitude also goes to staff members: Mary Lou Conroy, Gina Gallo, Agata Olszakowska-Baranski, Joanne Talbot, and Sofia Lech. I thank Dan Sledz and Dona Cooney who have been our business manager and assistant manager for many years, as well as his current associate, Jill Tierney. A special thank you to two people whose influence on my ministry and their impact on my life is difficult to overestimate. The first is Elizabeth Mazur, our Pastoral Associate, who dedicates an enormous amount of time and energy to preparing liturgies, coordinating ministries, connecting various ethnic groups and assisting me in my pastoral work; and the second one is Debbie Molinaro, who has been participating in nearly all parish activities and ministries. These two women had an immense impact on my pastoral work and in everything that was good in our parish.
I am also deeply grateful to the music ministry – cantors, choir members, and instrumentalists; sacristans; lectors; Eucharistic ministers and those faithfully serving the sick; host greeters; bereavement ministers; OCIA; baptism and marriage prep volunteers; and the Chief Stewards of these various ministries; those caring for our gardens and grounds: decorators of the inside of the church – Denise Palash, and Maria Kwartnik-Johnson, who has contributed so very generously of her own resources to beautify our church with floral arrangements; members of various formational and Respect Life groups; members of the Parish Pastoral Council, the Finance Council, Worship Commission, the Legion of Mary, Our Lady Fatima Prayer Group, the St. Vincent de Paul Society, the Filipino, Italian, and Polish Communities. I am especially grateful to two groups in our parish: the women of the Council of Catholic Women (CCW) and the men of the Knights of Columbus. Their dedication was the reason why so many good things happened in our church.
Our service to the church has created something beautiful. While ministering in our church and community, people realized that they hold much in common, that they like each other, and they developed friendships while also deepening their faith. Such a convivial, welcoming atmosphere encouraged an even stronger dedication to the good works of our church.
All these people form an enormous, diverse, and beautiful mosaic that has been shaping our parish. My role in this mosaic was the role of pastor: to teach, initiate, lead, and support. However, above all, the role of the pastor is spiritual. I celebrated the sacraments for you, preached homilies, taught our Religious Education children – and most of all, prayed with you and for you. I have never felt burned out in my ministry to you – maybe sometimes physically exhausted but never burned out. As I proceed to my new parish, St. Joseph Church in Bradley, Illinois, I intend to wholeheartedly serve the people there with the same enthusiasm I had when I first came to Corpus Christi Parish 12 years ago.
Please continue to pray for me to never be separated from the love of God and to be a better Christian and priest of the Church. I will continue to pray for you. You will always remain in my heart.
In Christ’s Love,
Fr. Mark Jurzyk
