Familiar emotions hit me as I took in the beauty of the Chesapeake from the Bay Bridge on the three-hour drive from seminary. I was heading back to the Arlington diocese for Vocation Awareness Week, and my feelings ranged from excitement to be back in the diocese to nervousness to be speaking after every weekend Mass, including in Spanish, as I practiced my talk aloud.
I arrived Saturday evening at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Falls Church, and after a warm greeting from Father Matthew H. Zuberbueler, pastor, I jumped right into serving and speaking at the vigil Masses. After the last Mass, I relaxed with the other priests in the living room of the rectory. It hit me how comfortable I felt there, and that I wished I were staying at the parish for more than just another day.
The following morning as I was getting ready for the day, I started loading my pockets: phone, wallet, rosary, keys … Except I only made it to the third item on my checklist. To my surprise, I could not find my keys anywhere. I had to abandon the search to head to Mass. My mind was racing throughout Mass with thoughts of where the keys could be. I ran through all the places I had been since arriving at St. Anthony — the church, sacristy, courtyard, rectory — so many possibilities. Yes, I chuckled to myself, I’d wanted more time at the parish, but not by losing my car keys.
As my peace started slipping away, I heard Jesus ask me two simple questions: What is wrong? What do you need? The answer to the first question was laughably straightforward — I need my keys. To the second, I needed to let Father Zuberbueler know. At the risk of being perceived as absentminded, I informed the pastor of my predicament. He calmly listened, then joined me on my search.
After some time without success, I saw a lightbulb go on in father’s head. He led me into the chapel and pulled out a relic of the parish patron, the patron of lost items. We prayed together for his intercession. St. Anthony has pulled through for me in the past, but this was truly miraculous. Within minutes, I found my keys inconspicuously tucked into the corner of the couch, where I had sat the night before pondering how comfortable I was in a parish.
At the end of a rewarding day of ministry, I turned the keys of my car and began the drive back to Philadelphia. It was not yet my time to remain in the parish as a priest; I must first finish my seminary studies. Just as I was thankful for my time at St. Anthony, so, too, I am thankful for my time at St. Charles Seminary, preparing me to receive the keys to a parish someday.
Banach, who is originally from St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Arlington, is in his second year of theology at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pa.
Pentecost Sunday