You will never know who pops in...

Kaukauna is a small town, about 16,000 people. So there is an expected sense of normality in day to day life, something that is greatly appreciated. But than again when you live at a Catholic parish you never quite know who will drop in. As I was making my way through the parished offices to the Church to pray this afternoon I was met by a slightly-older-than-middle-aged man wearing a guayabera shirt.

This is not something I would usually catch my attention. It did not actually catch my attention. What caught my attention was the Pastor, Fr. Tom Pomeroy, yelling from his office, "Hey did you meet Fr. John?"

To be honest I walked right past him. Something I do too often, walking past people. But before me stood a priest of the diocese of Green Bay, extending his hand to introduce himself as Fr. John Reuter. I am glad my attention was caught, and take it as a lesson to be more attentive to persons, for I had almost walked past one of the most interesting priest of our diocese.

Parish church in Tlaxiaco, Mexico

Fr. John has been serving outside the diocese for past forty years, almost his entire priestly life, in the area around Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca, Mexico. He is a missionary. He is a priest like I will be some day, but what great variety of service he has been called to.

It is no secret one day I will be serving two, three, or even four parishes. I cannot imagine how busy that will be. Well this little anxiety of mine is put to shame by Fr. John -- he may only have one parish (which is think is pictured above) -- but it has twenty-three mission sites through out fields and jungles surronding Tlaxiaco. This is not a typo -- that is 1 parish, spread over 23 sights.

His life catches my attention. The missionary spirit must ring in the heart of a seminarian and a priest (after all what is the point of this sacrifice if it is not to spread the Gospel of Christ?), and I have found an attraction and a solidarity to his mission.

Native plowing in near Tlaxiaco, Mexico

He was more than half serious when he asked if I wanted to visit (hey got an extra $700.00 hanging around, that is about what a plane-ticket runs to get there -- cheaper than Europe?). Well, I do not think that the opporunity will come about any time soon (no really got an extra $700.00?), but I do not hope to make it there some day. Who knows, with ten new seminarians next year, perhaps one of them will be the missionary to Tlaxiaco.