Profession of Faith

"There comes a time to lay it all on the line." This thought has been on my heart for months at this point. For those of you whom I have not had the privilege of meeting yet, my name is Fr. Kevin Penkalski, the newest chaplain here at JPII. When I was called by the Diocese back in January to begin a new chapter in my priesthood, there was both anticipation and fear. Yet, within my own heart I knew that this is where the Lord wanted me. As I drove back out west from Mesa and settled in Avondale, something new entered my heart. There was a weight, a burden, and it confounded me. It felt familiar and wholly foreign at the same time.

 

July melted in August, and the once quiet halls of the school began to teem with life. I wandered through the halls and classrooms, slowly reflecting on a discussion I had with Sr. Mary Jordan at the end of July, "You are the spiritual father of this school...embrace it." The weight I was feeling, the palpable burden of it all began to reveal itself to me. This weight is the weight of fatherhood and fatherly love, not only to our students, but to all who claim any affiliation with St. John Paul II High School. It's a strange realization to be honest with you. Just shy of 33, I am faced with the depths of fatherly love to a vast community and I needed to respond in kind.

 

One of the ways that we as Catholics respond to such a burden is to embrace it, like Our Lord embracing the Cross. In this blog, you see some photos of me making the Profession of Faith and the Oath of Fidelity. These professions are promises made to the people of God by priests and those in authority that the salvific Revelation of Jesus Christ will be passed down, unadulterated and unaltered, that Communion with the Catholic Church will never be broken and that the grace of Jesus Christ will be made available to all in need. I desired to make this Profession publicly to the students in my 3rd period class a few weeks ago to swear to them and to you that I will give our students, staff, alumni, and families nothing but Jesus Christ and Him Crucified. The love of Christ urged me, and still urges me, to be the best Catholic, the best priest, and the best spiritual father I can be. So, I lay it all on the line out of love for God, love for you, and love for all who will eventually call JPII home. I pray that God may bring this good work begun in His Name to holy completion. 

 

"So help me God, and God's holy Gospels, upon which I place my hands."

In the Father's Merciful Heart,

Fr. Kevin Penkalski

Chaplain | St. John Paul II Catholic High School