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11/30/14

So, What's Our 'Retired' Fr. Bill Doing Nowadays ?

By Robert R. Schwarz

"Every person who is suffering is on that cross . "


            A priest during an interview a month before  his retirement party —you would have thought it was New Year's Eve—on June 28, 2013 said,  "I m going to try to be  the most productive pastor emeritus I can be. " No one among the several hundred parishioners who  packed the St. James school gymnasium that June  night  doubted Fr. William Zavaski's  prophecy.  Now, 18 months later, Fr. Bill shows little sign of resting from 45 years of priesthood, the last 18 as pastor of St.  James Catholic Church in Arlington Heights, Illinois. 

            To satisfy the ongoing curiosity of  many of the parish's more than 4,000 families who keep asking  " what is Father Bill  doing nowadays,  ? "  your  reporter once again prevailed upon this 71-year-old man to sit still for a second  interview and answer some questions.  So, in summary , he's now celebrating Mass on weekends and Mondays  at the Holy Family church in nearby Inverness ; the pastor there is  Fr.  Terry Keehan , one of  Fr. Bill's former altar boys at St. James. In between funerals and weddings here and there , he says Mass at the Luther Village retirement home  (" Whenever someone there  needs help , I go and help out " ) . He leads an occasional spiritual retreat  and will soon be performing priestly duties for senior citizens at St. James.  Also , Cardinal Francis George has asked him to be a chaplain for all the newly ordained priests in the archdiocese. 
            Though he draws a small pension from the archdiocese, Fr. Bill identifies himself as a volunteer , an "independent agent. "   As he once said,  "I also want to work on my spiritual life, because, you know,  that the older you get, the closer you get to those gates."
            At a small table in his modest one-bedroom home in a residential neighborhood less that a 100 yards from the church parking lot,  we talked about fun-things  Fr. Bill has been  up to.  He related them with characteristic gusto slightly reminiscent  of  his persona seen on a St. James stage through decades of his cameo and other performances in Broadway musicals  that never failed to elicit howls of laughter from his flock.              Though the balding of his white hair has noticeably advanced,  other aging has not; it's  been merciful to Fr. Bill , allowing him to be as affable as he was playing FDR in " Annie" and  as mobile as Fagan's pick pocketing fingers were  in the recent St. James'  "Oliver."    Now and then , having said  something  which  after a second or two of reflection   he found humorous ,  he'd let loose with  a  guffaw :  "HA ! "
            Some of his spiritedness he says he owes  to walking Merton , his ten-year-old Tibetan terrier  named after the renown monk and  author Thomas Merton .  The dog at the moment was  near our feet , either   taking a nap or  sulking over recently being scolded by his master for dipping into the kitchen garbage basket.  " He's a pain in the neck, " the priest said  with restrained affection. Fr. Bill maintains a three-times-weekly exercise regimen  at a wellness center near  Northwest Community Hospital.  He is still recovering from surgery more than a year ago that repaired  torn and detached eye retinas.   "That was a little scary, " he said.  "I prayed a lot. I still don't have great vision."
            The man does  have his share of recreation—well deserved for sure.  There will be a six-week getaway in a rented house  in Fr. Meyers, Florida this winter with two former seminary classmates .  Traditionally  in summer he  plays cards and golf  and hikes in New Buffalo, Michigan, where 17 years ago he and six of those seminary classmates purchased a  home.  " I have a lot more time to read, " he added.  He reads library-borrowed novels, and is currently reading the non-fiction book  " Sacred Fire " by  celebrated author and lecturer  Fr. Ronald Rolheiser.   "I'm not bored . I'm having a great time."
His 'Mountain Top ' Experience  In Israel
            Then  there was a virtual "mountain top "  experience  on his  three-month sabbatical which , among other places, took him to Mt. Tabor in Israel  where  he was the principal presider at a Mass for  his tour group of priests from various countries.  (Mt. Tabor, the Bible tells us, is where three of Jesus'  disciples saw their Master transfigured in  celestial white light with Moses and Elijah .  In Rome he stayed at the North America College, two blocks from the Vatican, and made a side trip to Assisi, the town known for its very own saint—St. Francis.  "That was just wonderful, " Fr. Bill exclaimed. 
            What he misses most about his  pastorate at St. James is "seeing the people every week ." He raised his voice to add: " I do not miss the administration at all ! It's a lot of work. I was in that office ten hours a day ! "  Then , with obvious thanksgiving : "  I no longer have a night meeting nor have to ask anybody for money. "  In hindsight, would he have done anything differently?  He  paused in thought.  "  I don’t think so. I'm very  happy with what we have done. "  He mentioned the fact that the  $88,000 parish debt  , most of it for new school construction,  was paid off a year after he left. "I felt very affirmed and think the people are happy with what we  have done. "    

            Though Fr. Bill said he lives " one day at a time,"  his agenda for at least the next year appears  fairly full. He likes to travel, and so there'll likely be a trip to India to visits Foundation for  Children in Need , an ever-growing  outreach to hundreds of needy children and adults ( St. James  is a major sponsor of FCN ).   .  There'll  be chaplain duties with those newly ordained priests , who will likely hear Fr. Bill's often quoted assertion that  "being  a pastor is the simplest job there is.  All you have to do is love the people—and they'll love you back . "    And waiting for him are rehearsals for his role in  "Peter Pan,"   the church's musical  for 2015.
            Our conversation turned  more serious when Fr. Bill was asked his advice for people who want to  live Godly and simplified  lives in spite of a culture that is stressful and complicated.  He cut to the chase. " Spend some time each day with Jesus. The closer you get to Him, the less material things you'll need.  I pray for three things each day: health,  healing , and holiness. "  He admitted that "it's challenging to live in this culture. "
            As for the current culture, he  said ,   "I thing we live in a moralistically  warped society…but Christians have always had to live in  it. "  He pointed out the Christians who lived in the once pagan Roman society  were "devout people who loved each other and were the best people they could be and  had a moral sense and a value about them."  Commenting on same-sex marriages and homosexuality,  he quoted St. Thomas Aquinas: Any law that is written against the natural law is no law at all, and quickly added: " Some goofy judge thought he knew more than God did when he said two people of the same sex could get married. Well, that's nuts!"  
            He wasn't finished with the  topic.
       
     "Everybody thinks we [the Catholic Church ] are anti-gay or anti this.  We just love people, but there are certain norms and absolutes ."  He didn't think  that  the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops would ever change anything about the definition of marriage.
            Reminded of his comments at our last interview about how pleased he was  with the large number of St. James members  involved  in the churches' some 80 ministries, while displeased  with the "number of families  who don't take their faith seriously , " the priest said, "We have to pray that someone coming back into the church has God's grace and is motivated. We have to continually invite people. I think that parents have to model faith for their children , and we need to spend more time teaching adults as opposed to kids. Jesus taught adults and played  with children. What do we do ? We teach children and play with adults. I think we have it screwed  up."
His Home and the Unseen Crucifix Face of Jesus
                                                                                     
            Lastly , we talked about Fr. Bill's home life.  Does he cut the grass, rake leaves , make his  own house repairs,  cook for himself ?   "I'm  on my own here,"  he said.  " Fortunately, someone  takes care of the lawn, but I'll be doing some gardening in the spring.  My brother is a handyman and he comes over and does things for me , like fixing the porch ."  Thanks to fellow parishioners who regularly  invite him  to dinner—and they know what he likes to eat—Fr. Bill does little cooking.  " I'm well taken care of and grateful to God. "  Unlike two of the recently sold parish homes, Fr. Bill's retirement home  has not been sold . " I'm going to stay here until they throw me out ."  He guffaws.
            His kitchen also serves him as a workroom ; it has a desktop computer  and a washer and a dryer.  Hanging on the wall is a painting of two dear, now buried friends: "Maurice"  and "Higgins" , air dales which once shared  another home with Fr. Bill.  Paintings, drawings, and art pieces—many given affectionately  by parishioners or close friends, others purchased during his travels—came into view as we walked through  the house.  There is  a painting of an Amish buggy on country road, a Lithuanian  street scene  done  in sepia  ( a  gift from a bishop ) , several Lithuanian  wood carvings and a crucifix crafted  by a neighbor , a Tiffany designed lamp, a painting of the St. James altar by one-time local resident and noted artist  Tom Lynch ,  and a retirement  present of  a quilt hangs on the staircase landing which has been stitched  in the likeness  of the large, round stain glass window that hangs above the St. James altar  .    
            On the fireplace mantel's  opposite ends are statuettes of  Jesus and Mary. Over the fireplace is a large oil painting of his favorite scenes  in Rome, which  he bought during his sabbatical there.
            On a wall in  his bedroom are pen-and-ink sketches of St. Francis and the Last Supper. Covering Fr. Bill's bed is a beautiful , crazy quilt  made for him  in 1976 by two parishioners.  Over his bed  is a sacramental that perhaps is also a  metaphor for this priest— and others like him. It  is a carving  of Jesus hanging on the cross with  His head bowed quite low. You cannot see His face.     
            " Why this particular  crucifix ?"  I asked.
            "I like it the most ,"  was the answer.
            " Why?"
            " Because you don't know what He's going through. "  Then, in a  whisper as if   to himself, were his  words:  " Every person who is suffering is on that cross.  I think of so many people who are suffering. " 


THE END
All comments are welcome.

© 2014 Robert R. Schwarz

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