For many years, I concluded my outgoing voice mail message by saying, “Today is God’s gift to you; what you do with it is your gift back to God.”
My belief in that hasn’t changed. What has changed is what I am capable of doing with my days. I can no longer keep up with my younger self, so identifying my capabilities and finding balance were the biggest challenges in my first year of retirement.
I knew I would still need to do things that give me the chance to make a difference after leaving Catholic Charities full time. I continue as Mission Advocate for the agency, but that role does not take much of my time. I remain available to help whenever and however I am needed.
I also returned to my alma mater, St. John’s College High School, as chaplain. In hindsight, that was a great decision, as I knew it would be. I worked four days a week for a few hours each day, and I loved everything about it. I especially enjoyed being with the young people and spending time with like-minded teachers and leaders doing their best to instill faith in and provide a great education to our next generation.
To be honest, though, I was unprepared for the amount of pastoral work I was asked to do. Not at St. Bartholomew’s, where I love living and being part of the parish. My workload is similar to before I retired and just right, and I enjoy my time with Father Mark Smith and Father Alex Wyvill.
What surprised me most was the number of outside calls and requests for funerals, weddings, Baptisms, and other celebrations. I was probably involved in more than 130 altogether. I loved doing all of them, and they are a big part of why I became a priest. I just didn’t expect the volume of requests.
I still want those calls and requests, but I noticed a change this past summer as they began to ease. I must say that it was a gift to be able to slow down, relax, and catch my breath.
I’m sure there will be more calls and celebrations in the months and years ahead, and I will always try to say “yes” as best I can. But I also realize that my energy level and ability are not what they used to be. I shake my head now when I think back to doing as many as four weddings in a single day (with maybe even a Baptism squeezed in there somewhere). I probably did it 10 or 15 times in my priesthood.
I realized over the last year that I am no longer physically capable of doing that. I need to find the right balance of serving God and God’s people while not taking on more than I can handle.
I have friends who retired and got bored out of their minds. I also have friends who work just as hard in retirement as they did before. I’m probably more in the latter category, but I need to be realistic about it. At age 77, I need to mindful of what I can do and do well.
I spend a good deal of time praying and reflecting upon what is most important in my life, what my gifts are right now, how I can make good decisions, and what the Lord wants of me. The main lesson of my 51 years as a priest is that God is in charge, and that doesn’t end in retirement.
Health permitting, I would love to stay at St. John’s at least the next couple years, and I will continue to help Catholic Charities in any way I can. The other aspects of pastoral ministry will also continue, while I hope to be able to catch my breath, enjoy the gift of time with the Lord, and enjoy the gifts of family and friends.
To me, that would be the ideal retirement. I’m still working on how to serve God and make a difference at a level commensurate with my age, energy, and capabilities. I think I’m getting there.
Say a prayer that it works for me. And I pray that you find balance in your life as you serve God, your neighbor, and your loved ones.
(Msgr. John Enzler serves as the mission advocate of Catholic Charities of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington and is a chaplain at his alma mater, St. John’s College High School in Washington. He writes the Faith in Action column for the archdiocese’s Catholic Standard and Spanish-language El Pregonero newspapers and websites.)
