New Creation

Alhamdulillah 
As salamu alaykum 
Tumsifu Yesu Christu 
Habari gani? 
? Como estás

The idea of “New Creation” has been on my mind lately.  

When I began formation to enter the community in August 1972, Br. Ignatius Altman one day pulled me aside and asked if I was serious about joining the community and if I wanted it to be long term, for life. I said yes. He looked at me and said, “If that is what you really want, make friends with change.” That began my formation and my journey.  

I continued in formation and was finally incorporated as a brother in April 1978. In 1983, the province made the decision to close Precious Blood Seminary. Living at the seminary was the longest I had lived in one place in my entire life. It was my home. I was asked what I wanted to do. I asked for some time to think things through. I spent time with my spiritual director and in prayer. I came across a prayer, “Pry me off Dead Center,” in the book Guerrillas of Grace. The prayer begins: 

O persistent God, 
Deliver me from assuming your mercy is gentle. 
Pressure me that I may grow more human, 
Not through the lessening of my struggles, 
But through an expansion of them 
That will undamn me 
And unbury my gifts. 

After that, I contacted the provinces that at the time had foreign missions. I ended up in Tanzania. Making friends with change, I was able to let go of what was and venture out in a new direction. Everything was new. I was with 13 Italian Precious Blood priests in a land where Swahili was spoken. I had learned earlier on to let go and let God. Navigating these challenges opened the door to hear God calling me to move on. I entered college then seminary and was ordained in 1994. I returned to Tanzania. I was ordained in May and made pastor in August. Chibumagwa had been without a resident priest for three years.   

All this “undamned me” and “unburied my gifts.” I began this article with Muslim, Swahili, and Spanish greetings. Before this journey, I knew nothing of being a minority, of being misunderstood, of other cultures, of other religions, of other faiths. I have expanded my world view. I have very close friends who are Muslim. I could not have made this journey, this change, without the support of community members and companions. They helped me see a direction, helped me make a decision, and sometimes pushed me out the door.   

For New Creation, “the seed must fall to the ground and die in order to bear fruit.” Change happens. To move forward (notice “move”), one cannot hold on to the past. The past is part of each one of us, but we cannot hold on to it. Look at the seasons of the year. Change. Death and then new life.  

With our past in mind, what do we need to let go of as individuals and as a community to be a New Creation?  

Fr. Tim Coday, C.PP.S. 
Provincial Councilor