FROM FR. TIM WHILE THE PASTOR IS AWAY:

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I would like to introduce Fr. Edward J. Enright, O.S.A., a dear friend of mine who will be assisting us while Fr. Sam is away. Here are a few words from Fr. Ed’s bio describing his background and academic achievements:

“I have been a member of the Order of St. Augustine for 53 years, and ordained 45 of those years. I have been a tenured Associate Professor of Religious and Theological Studies at Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts for the past 10 years. I was an Assistant Professor in the same department from 1984 to 1992, moving on from there to Villanova University, Villanova, Pennsylvania where I taught for 16 years as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, receiving tenure in 2001. I have presented many papers over the years at various conference and conventions, including American Academy of Religion, American Catholic Historical Association, American Society of Church History, College Theology Society, Catholic Theological Society of America, and Newman Conferences in the United States, England, and Ireland. I earned my Bachelors Degree from Villanova University in 1970; an S.T.B. in 1972, and the S.T.L. in 1974 from The Catholic University of American. In 1991, I received the S.T. D. from The Catholic University of America, with a dissertation entitled, “Faith and Reason in Newman’s Anglican and Roman Catholic Correspondence as Historical Background to An Essay in Aid of a Grammar of Assent.””

On a more personal level, Fr. Enright has been my mentor and guide for more than 10 years. Many of you have heard me preach about his wisdom and guidance, but to say that Fr. Enright is merely a mentor is an understatement. He is not only my brother priest and the one who vested me at my ordination, but also one of my best friends and my father in faith. In addition to all his technical guidance, Fr. Enright has fostered within myself an even greater understanding of the human condition; to be in touch with reality and never confined by robotic and rote approaches. Rather, he has taught me, above all, to love people, to laugh with them, to cry with them when tragedy strikes, and to identify myself with the lowly and meek whom Christ came to serve.

Please say hello to Fr. Enright, if, and when you see him around the parish. He loves people and is, without a doubt, the most compassionate and genuinely interesting man I know.

Peace,

Fr. Tim