MY FAVORITE PRIEST

The genuine article

By Jane V. Turcote

n May of 1995 I attended the Silver Jubilee of Fr. Anthony Jablonowski. Over the span of twenty-five years as a priest, Father has mostly pastored country parishes in mid-western states. St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Church, Patagonia, Arizona, where Father is the pastor, is just such a parish, composed of ranchers, farmers, small store owners, workers, moms, dads and lots of children and old folks. On that anniversary morning, the church filled quickly to celebrate the priesthood of a man that parishioners truly loved. Why? Because he's the genuine article.

Born and raised in upstate New York in a farming community, rich in ethnic diversity, Anthony grew deeply in love with his Catholic faith and farm life. So much so that throughout his priestly life, Father Anthony remained a farmer at heart, a spiritual farmer sowing the seed of God's Word (Matt. 13:4-9), and literally a farmer. Over the years, the foster father of a host of underprivileged boys, Fr. Anthony kept them busy and out of trouble tending chickens, cows and growing vegetables. He not only shepherded his parish, but also the boys, teaching them how to carve out a life for themselves (Jer. 23:4).

As a youngster, Anthony developed a serious liturgical and devotional prayer life plus an insatiable thirst for drinking in the Sacred Text (Ps. 119:129-144). That's why twenty-six years after ordination, there's a pile of dog-eared, yellow-marked Bibles stacked and near at hand in his quarters. As I said, Fr. Anthony combines in his own spirituality a submersion in God's Word, the Eucharistic Sacrifice and devotion. Especially enamoured of our dearest Lady under the title of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Father's devotion keeps vigil before his kitchen statue with burning candle and a sprig of wild flowers. As a seminarian, Fr. Anthony became a Secular Carmelite and years later received the honor of wearing the Carmelite habit. Besides Mass, his daily prayer as far as possible includes the full Divine Office, scriptural meditation and study, the full Rosary, traveling or walking, and a Eucharistic Holy Hour.

Backed by such spiritual fortification and coupled with an open, spontaneous personality, the Lord powerfully uses Fr. Anthony's assiduous preaching and teaching to break open hearts to surrender to true conversion. Often he gives himself as an example of the weak, faltering disciple. Personal conversion is serious business for Father Anthony, who promotes frequent confession and avails himself of the Sacrament regularly. So on any given weekend at St. Theresa's, parishioners find themselves during the Liturgy of the Word listening until it matters that they are listening. Father spares neither Christ's affectionate, loving encouragement nor his clear words of warning in his preaching (2 Tim. 4:1-5, REB).

Offering the gospel when convenient and inconvenient at every opportunity (2 Tim. 4:2), Fr. Anthony painstakingly prepares a rich fare for his parishioners in the weekly bulletin. Truly a pastor of souls, he pours out his heart in exhortation that he in the first place and all his flock aim at living a holy life in Jesus Christ (Gal. 2:19-21). Drawing on his expansive knowledge of the saints, Father gives pertinent examples from their lives to spur people on to avoid sin, foster love of God and neighbor, and to live this life in view of the next. He often refers to impressive quotations from the Office of Readings. His own fidelity to praying the Office of Readings, in my opinion, is key to his priestly fidelity.

What I related thus far moves me to admiration, yet the most amazing aspect of Father Anthony in my mind is his unlimited generosity. Did you ever notice that Jesus let himself be interrupted without hesitation? He stopped what he was saying and stopped what he was doing to serve someone calling upon his generosity (Luke 8:40-42). Somehow Fr. Anthony assimilated this Christ-like trait. At parish functions, he's cooking alongside the cooks. He'll rustle up a meal for anyone who's around at lunchtime or suppertime. Once a parishioner received news that his mother passed away during the night and Fr. Anthony offered Mass and invited the man and his wife for dinner the same day-a typical gesture. One of Father's favorite places to visit and provide for over the Mexican border is an orphanage run by the Sisters of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus. He even cooked a full course meal for the Sisters upon the visit of their Mother General from Rome.

I say to myself, what priest would make Communion calls on Holy Saturday? Also is it heard of today that the pastor's phone is open for calls all day and all night? Interrupted sleep is commonplace for Fr. Anthony, ministering to many people and confreres who know they can receive sound advice anytime they need it (John 3:1-2). Father takes his generous love to prison as well. Twice a week he says Mass and instructs inmates who know they are respected persons in the eyes of their chaplain. Father goes out of his way to provide a beautiful liturgical atmosphere for his Masses with his best scripture students as he calls them-a clean, ironed altar cloth, flowers and music. They know Father spends the maximum amount of time with them that is allowed him and they love him for that.

Father Anthony believes in priestly visibility and accessibility. And this sets him up for always being on duty. Passersby seize an opportunity for spiritual counsel and often for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This happens in parking lots, supermarket aisles, wherever he is spotted by a needful soul (Luke 5:12-16). Whenever he takes in conferences or workshops, inevitably, aside from being a participant, he spends long hours in foreseen, unplanned ministry. His generosity is deliberately given, drawing on Christ's example and he wouldn't have it any other way. Father Anthony is neither an activist nor a person who simply can't say no. I believe he purposely joins the ranks of fools for Christ (1 Cor. 4:9-11).

All Father's priestly qualities converge mightily as a mission preacher. Every year, pastors contact him to preach parish missions. His time during the mission is all for the people-adults, teens and children. If there's a parochial school, Father goes into every classroom, never missing an opportunity to be in touch with young people, so worthy and so often spiritually shortchanged (Matt. 25:31-46). Back home at St. Theresa's, unless away, Father visits all his religious education classes and instructs the teens of the parish himself every week.

I hold up Father Anthony as a truly spiritually free priest-gracious, good humored, mortified, self-controlled and totally self-giving. If I were interested in priesthood or were a priest desiring edification and just a good lift, I'd give Father Anthony a call. Of course, he has his own faults; but his parishioners know he knows it, because he always asks for prayers to be a holier priest and a better man (Rom. 6:22). n