Notes on the Transitions,
Number 8 in a Series:
Farewell to Father Maurer

Father Maurer’s last Sunday Masses at Holy Rosary and Saint Joseph were this past weekend.

Following the Noon Mass, a tremendous celebration was held for him in the old convent building.

The noon Mass was positively packed. The last time I saw so many folks crowded into Holy Rosary was when Archbishop Sartain celebrated Corpus Christi here in 2013.

I was privileged to serve as MC. We had 13 Altar Servers, including six torchbearers and Mr. Gary Rose as assistant MC, serving the Mass. Late additions to the server pool included Father’s brother Gabe, and another server who came out of retirement just to carry a torch.

Unfortunately, all of my photos of the Altar Servers came out blurry.

In addition to being Father’s last weekend, it was also our choir director’s last weekend. Debbie has served at Saint Joseph for something like seven years, and at Holy Rosary for the last year and a half.

We’ll miss you, Debbie!

As for the party, well, it was amazing. The place was full to overflowing on two floors, indoors and outdoors. For a long time, the food line extended well into the outdoors.

There are too many people to thank and acknowledge. The committee that put it together numbered in the dozens.

I’ve heard that the folks decorating the hall started after the 9:00 AM Saturday Mass and didn’t leave until after 5:00 PM. That’s dedication!

I’d personally like to acknowledge and thank the Leija family, especially Aileen. She spearheaded the committee, and she and Teodulo and their family decorated, planned, and basically did a lot of the hard work in making this possible.

The Altar Servers (and some younger siblings) put on a show of dancing and singing that couldn’t be beat! They even managed to rope a couple of adults into the mix, including even yours truly.

There were speeches and tears and farewell hugs.

In the end, all I can say is that we will miss Father Maurer. He transformed this community, and I pray that we will continue on the trajectory he set for us, particularly in the Divine Liturgy.

We must pray for him as he enters into his newest adventure in Lewis County.

If I may be allowed a personal note, I think Father Maurer’s transformation of the liturgy at Holy Rosary and Saint Joseph began a transformation in the life of the two parishes, a transformation wholly for the good.

We have embraced the “New Liturgical Movement“, placing an emphasis on what Pope Benedict XVI called “the hermeneutic of continuity” in the liturgy.

We began the first steps toward a restoration of the Divine Office at the parish, even celebrating Tenebræ. Father celebrated Corpus Christi ad orientem, with the promise of more to come.

He even wore a freakin’ biretta.

Celebrating the liturgy in a way that employed all of these traditional elements with the mind of the Church, both in continuity with the Council Fathers at Vatican II and most especially with the liturgical vision of Pope Benedict XVI, Father Maurer was able, I think, to surrender himself to the liturgy and encourage us to do likewise.

As Pope Benedict XVI wrote,

The life of the liturgy does not come from what dawns upon the minds of individuals and planning groups. On the contrary, it is God’s descent upon our world, the source of real liberation. He alone can open the door to freedom. The more priests and faithful humbly surrender themselves to this descent of God, the more “new” the liturgy will constantly be, and the more true and personal it becomes.

Let us pray that we can build upon this foundation for the future of our parish and our deanery.