Fr. Michael Rennier on the Importance of Persistence

" . . . After ordination [as an Anglican priest], I gratefully accepted the call to pastor a recently founded parish in Brewster, Massachusetts.

"'I use the word 'parish' loosely because it was, in fact, more of a mission or a startup than an established community. They'd been meeting for a year or so to gauge interest in the project and their average Sunday attendance hovered around 14 people. They had no property, no vestments, no rectory, no endowment. I made a perfect match for them because I had no practical experience and barely knew what I was doing. I was a brand new pastor for a brand new community.

"Looking back, it was a brazen decision, one that was made because I had no idea at all what I was getting into. In retrospect, I find it amusing that I have precious few of the talents that might typically be found in the pastor of a new church. . . .

"Those first few years were jam-packed with growth opportunities, which is a polite way of saying I made tons of mistakes as I learned to be a pastor. I learned how to listen, how to take advice, how to be patient. I sharpened my speaking skills and learned some basic lessons about staying disciplined in prayer. I practiced running meetings efficiently, and how to develop a vision and impart direction to a faith community. It didn't come easy.. . . .

"When my time had come to leave those churches because I'd decided to become Catholic, we had accomplished more than I ever would have expected. It wasn't because I knew what I was doing. It also wasn't because I possess superhuman talents or a magnetic personality. Not at all. It was persistence."

In a recent commentary, Father Michael Rennier reflected on the importance of persistence (which is not always easy) in accomplishing one's goals.

To access Fr. Rennier's complete post, please visit:

Aleteia: Fr. Michael Rennier: The status games we play … and the king who did the opposite (21 AUG 22)