St
Julie Billiart Parish
7399
West 159th St. Tinley Park, IL
60477-1398
This page updated on 05/17/04
|
A Tribute to Rev. Richard
M. Homa |
|||
|
|
From the Pastors page 10/9/2000 Last Saturday, was Fr. Rich’s last Mass with us as pastor of St. Julie. The liturgy was beautiful, as always, with the adult choir, handbell choir and brass ensemble complimenting the celebration. A lot of work went into the preparation of this Mass by Deanne Tumpich, Angie Fagarason and Mary Alice Roth. Some of the key points in Fr. Rich’s homily were: - It was not an easy homily to write! - His mind has been on many different things over the last few weeks – his wheels spinning in a dozen different directions. - He shared some of his random ideas with us, reflecting on the past, present and future. - Referred to his name on the cornerstone – hoping that in some ways his ministry with us as pastor of St. Julie has become a kind of cornerstone of our faith and of the ways we hear Jesus’ call to enter life, and maybe the cornerstone outside of church can continue to represent that. For Fr. Homa, it represents that all of us are the cornerstone of his ministry. He concluded with “All that I do as pastor, and the person I will be at Sacred Heart or anywhere else the Lord might send me, will be built on the cornerstone of the last thirteen years and all that you have taught me and given me. And, of course, in all of this we know that we can only be a cornerstone in each others’ lives because the true cornerstone for all of us is Jesus. And though I’ll be a few miles up the road, we remain one because we are still part of the same building and Jesus is our one foundation.” After Mass, everyone was invited over to the Devine Center for a reception. Special thanks to Cindy Conachen for the decorating and preparation for this big event. As usual, she did an outstanding job. Thanks to the Men’s Club for volunteering their time to help with the bar, and to everyone who helped with the clean-up. A good time was had by all. At the start of the reception, Deacon Rich Miska invited Fr. Rich up to lead us in prayer. This was followed by a toast give by Deacon Rich which went like this: “There is a saying that behind every great man is a woman. Same rings true for parishes – behind every great parish is a pastor. Here at St. Julie that pastor is Fr. Rich. I’d like to propose a toast to Fr. Rich – a man of vision, organization, and compassion, whose dedication to his vocation of the priesthood and his people reflects the Gospel message of love and service to others. His spirituality is an inspiration to each of us to Act Justly to Love Tenderly and Walk Humbly with our God. Deacon Rich went on to say that a pastor is someone with vision, compassion and love for his people. A person who is willing to challenge you, to see past today, to envision tomorrow in a spirit of wisdom, compassion and love for all his parishioners. He possesses a spirituality, a close relationship with God that his people respect and admire. He guides his parish with this same spirituality as together he and his people strive to build the Kingdom of God. Here at St. Julie we have been blessed with just such a pastor, not just a clergyman in a black suit. A shepherd who has prayed with us, challenged us, walked with us these past 13 years. With gratitude and appreciation we offer you this book which contains more than just words, but memories and reflections from parishioners who you have served. Deacon Rich’s wife, Irene, then presented Fr. Rich with a book of letters and cards of thanksgiving from our parishioners. He continued on to say it’s difficult to put into words how your leadership has enriched our parish. One thing for sure had happened – “We’ve become organized.” As Fr. Tony says: “A well-oiled machine.” We will always remember your contributions and guidance in helping us to become this “well-oiled machine.” Deacon Rich then talked about all of Fr. Rich’s accomplishments ending with asking for him to continue to keep us in his prayers as he continues to serve the people of God at his new parish, Sacred Heart. We then led Fr. Rich outside for a final presentation – HIS NEW CAR!!!!! Thanks to all of you who so generously gave on such short notice, and also, thanks to Orland Toyota, 8505 W. 159th St., Orland Park for the good deal they gave us, we were able to present Fr. Rich with a 2001 Toyota Celica. The rest of the evening was spent with good food and drink, entertainment by a string trio and the one thing St. Julie is noted for – FELLOWSHIP!! God Bless You All.
10/1/00 Farewell Mass & Reception On Sunday, October 1, 2000 the parishioners attended Fr. Homa's farewell Mass and reception. The following is the toast and tribute presented by Deacon Rich Miska on the behalf of the St. Julie community. "There is a saying that behind every great man there is a woman. The same is true for parishes. Behind every great parish there is a pastor. Here at St Julie that pastor is Fr. Rich. I'd
like to propose a toast to Fr. Rich
... To Fr. Rich ... The
dictionary defines a pastor as: Here at St. Julie we have been blessed with just such a pastor. ... Not just a clergyman in a black suit ... Fr. Rich Homa A
shepherd who has ... With gratitude and appreciation we offer you this book which contains more than just words, ... but, memories and reflections from parishioners, who you have served these past thirteen years. (A very large loose leaf binder containing personal notes by parishioners was presented to Fr. Rich by Irene Miska) It's difficult to put into words how your leadership has enriched our parish. One thing for sure has happened. "We've become organized". As Fr . Toney says; "A well oiled machine." We will always remember your contributions and guidance in helping us to become a "well oiled machine". Your
accomplishments are many. I will mention
just a couple: Our parish is more than just buildings and organizations. It is a community of people of all ages that reflect your spirituality in all that they do. We thank you for that. It is something that will remain with each of us forever. We
will miss ... This parish will have many pastors in the years ahead. But, in my book, we had one, truly special one, these past thirteen years. One, who was truly a shepherd watching over his flock ... Fr. Rich Homa. You are a benchmark, that all pastors to come at St. Julies will be measured against. You
have often said: "Joe Calahan and Pat
Radecky are our Angels, watching over
the parish community.". So along with
them, we are asking you to keep us, the
parishioners of St Julie, in your prayers as
you continue to serve the people of God at
your new parish of Sacred Heart. (Fr. Rich was presented a farewell gift of a new (fuel efficient) car from the hearts of his parishioners.)
|
||
|
|
From May, 1998
As I mentioned in the homily of my Twenty-fifth Anniversary Mass, a vivid memory I have is of the first Sunday I ministered as a deacon, in the summer of 1972. As I was getting vested and adjusting the deacon stole over my left shoulder, I stopped and stared at the stole in the mirror. I couldn't believe that I was actually ordained and beginning a lifetime of ministry, first as a deacon and then as a priest. And for a few moments I wondered about that future: where would I be going for my first assignment as a priest? Where would I be in five years? in ten? and where would I be in twenty-five years? Would I be a pastor by then? That seemed so far in the future that I couldn't even begin to imagine it. Yet here it is, twenty-five years later, and now it's hard to believe it's been over a quarter of a century since that first Sunday Mass of my deaconate. But looking back, one thing is very clear: the hand of God has been at work guiding my life, putting me where He has wanted me to be, having me do the ministry He has wanted me to do. And so this celebration of my anniversary is a time to thank God: for leading and guiding me, for all the blessings of the people of the parishes where I've been assigned, for carrying me through the difficult times, and for the grace that the hard times were few and far between. Besides being a time to thank God, this anniversary celebration is a time to thank all of you. But as I said in the worship aid for the anniversary Mass,
|
