Time flies when you’re having fun!

I must be having fun, because it is hard to believe that I started in my current role at Catholic Charities 10 years ago this summer. The days are not always easy – in fact, sometimes they are quite stressful – but I have had a great decade of fun and fulfillment helping serve those in need.

I came to Catholic Charities after 20 years as a pastor, which I absolutely loved. A friend told me at the time, “You are now pastor to the poor.” I believe he was exactly right. I may not be a pastor in a geographic parish, but I do feel like one in a demographic parish. 

For the last decade, I have given my all to shepherd and assist those who are most vulnerable and in need. If serving the vulnerable and needy becomes your vocation or a part of your life, I promise you will be as happy as you can imagine helping those who come your way. 

I remember well meeting with Cardinal Donald Wuerl in 2011 and being asked to come lead Catholic Charities. I said yes, knowing how much I would miss being a pastor in a parish. At that point, I had spent 23 years of my priesthood as a pastor at Mt. Calvary in Forestville, Our Lady of Mercy in Potomac, and Blessed Sacrament in Washington. 

Those were wonderful years for me. When I reflect on those times, I think I miss three things the most. 

I miss being “the mayor” around holidays, especially Christmas and Easter. As pastor, you are the glue. People want to see you, talk to you, and celebrate with you. Many return for the holidays. I may have married them, baptized their children, buried their parents, or had some involvement in their lives. It is such a joy when they come back to say hello. Being such a part of people’s lives is a special gift.

I also miss the chance to lead a parish by working with parishioners through the parish council, finance council and various ministries. I have a similar situation now with Catholic Charities, but there is also something special about doing it “at home” with your “family.”

Without question, I miss being around children the most. In every parish I served, whether as associate pastor, parochial vicar or pastor, I loved to teach. I cherished those three or four hours a week in the classroom educating second graders about First Eucharist, eighth graders about Confirmation, and simply spending time with young people. I was always lifted up by their enthusiasm, their love for education, and their desire to be the best they can be.

I am blessed to experience those same gifts in my “demographic” parish. I may not be in a classroom, but I love to sit down and talk with those who struggling with life’s difficulties, to look them in the eye and listen to their heart. My knowledge of the poor and the vulnerable comes less from studies and research and more from personal experience in a shelter, a food line, and any number of our 56 programs. 

I am extremely grateful for the superb staff I have at Catholic Charities. They are talented, gifted and dedicated in so many ways. Our executive team with our Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Development Officer, Chief of Staff, Executive Director of Human Resources and Communications Director do the heavy lifting, allowing me – and the rest of the agency – to concentrate on service.

Thanks to them, my job has changed through the years. I now focus on four main priorities. One of those is spending as much personal time as I can with those in need – those who need a word of encouragement, a friendly ear, a hand up or a heartfelt prayer. 

I am also challenged to set the vision for the agency, to make sure we stay on track with our Catholic faith and our call to live that faith as best we can by serving all who come our way, regardless of race, religion, gender, or anything else. Our first question to anyone who comes to us is, “How can we help?” I try my best to make sure we can meet their needs.

Along those lines, I am called to find resources, which primarily include money to keep our programs operating and dedicated people to make it all happen. We try hard to find the best people who have a passion for taking care of those in need. I must say, we have experienced this passion in more ways than ever during the pandemic. Countless people sent us donations and participated in our programs through their own personal generosity. I could not be more grateful.

Finally, I see myself as the main cheerleader for our agency, and I am proud to do that. The work is difficult. If you are out on the front lines taking care of those in need, you often deal with very serious problems. Your success rate is not always what you want it to be. Our staff, volunteers and donors need to know how much they are special, appreciated and loved by all of us at the agency and by those they serve.

These last 10 years have gone quickly. I am heading into my mid-70s and realize that retirement is closer than it once was. God willing, I hope to continue working at least two more years, when I will then celebrate 50 years as a priest. For however long I continue, I plan to enjoy every month, every week and every day of this journey as we celebrate together the Church’s commitment to the poor and those in need.

Jesus said we will always have the poor with us, and I realize that now more than ever. No matter what we do or how hard we work, there is someone else who needs help. I also realize more than ever how much the poor are a gift. Jesus said that in feeding, clothing, sheltering and taking care of those in need we do the same for him. Our service is a gift to the poor and a gift to ourselves. They see Jesus in us, and we see Jesus in them.

The joy and fulfillment of service do not come because it is easy. It is not. When my room at St. Bartholomew’s was on the second floor, there were nights I would go upstairs to bed so exhausted that I was bouncing from the left wall to the right wall and holding the railing. (And I don’t drink, so it wasn’t that!)

Joy and fulfillment come because you do your best and give of yourself. That brings an inner peace that cannot be replicated by money, successful careers, fame or anything else. I think those who are most peaceful and joyful have found that through service – to the poor but also to those they encounter every day – they experience the very presence of God more deeply.

When I go to bed each night, I ask myself one question in relation to my role at Catholic Charities: Did I help somebody today? In the last 10 years, I have been able to answer yes, and I am grateful to God for the opportunity to help others and to lead such a wonderful group of people. That’s what gives me strength. That’s what gives me hope for the future. That’s what makes my ministry so fulfilling.

What a blessing it is to be a priest, and what a particular blessing it is to be a pastor to the poor.

(Msgr. John Enzler, the president and CEO of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington, writes the “Faith in Action” column for the archdiocese’s Catholic Standard and Spanish-language El Pregonero newspapers and websites.)