A Different Remembrance

     Today the Church celebrates Saint Norbert.  Norbert, who lived in the early 1,100's was founder of the Canons Regular of Premontre, the Archbishop of Magdeburg,  and a strong supporter of Church reform and evangelization.  In the opening prayer at Mass it says: "Father, you made the bishop Norbert an outstanding minister of your Church, renowned for his preaching and pastoral zeal."

     In this Diocese, in my lifetime, there was another Norbert who became a bishop.  His name was Norbert Gaughan, and he was our Auxiliary and then Diocesan Bishop of Gary, Indiana.  He died some years ago.  Every time I celebrate the feast of Saint Norbert I remember and think of the other Norbert.  I'm not sure everyone would place the two Norberts together in the ranks of recognized sainthood.

     Our Norbert was a brilliant man, a gifted preacher, and was placed in the realm of administration.  He was the "get the job done" guy for Bishop Connare.  He could be abrasive, short tempered, frustrating.  If you were a priest, you  probably had stories, some of which were not flattering.  While with us he would help out with the late Sunday Mass at Saint Mary in the small town of Export.  Often there were transitional deacons assigned to the parish, and he would have them preach.  Invariably they will tell you of the time that Norbert, after they had finished preaching, would get up and say: "Now what the deacon really meant to say was ...".  When one of our guys was being ordained a deacon in his home parish, the choir was moving into verse three or four of the opening hymn when Norbert actually stopped them mid-phrase, saying " don't you think this guy waited long enough to be ordained?"

     But to my point ... I've seen another side of Norbert Gaughan that helps me appreciate him in a different light.  He was our assistant pastor at my home parish while I was growing up, a heyday in the history of Saint Joseph Parish.  They had a young pastor that they loved and a great assistant, whose preaching brought people from all over.  He baptized my sister, Janie.  When I went to seminary, he was instrumental in getting me into Saint Vincent Prep and guiding my journey throughout those years.  I, too, was a deacon in Export, and never once did he "interpret" my homily (not that they were that good, but he just didn't).  When ordained, he took photos of the ceremony from his place and later sent them to me (he was an amateur photographer).  In one assignment, when we were building a new church and I was not involved, he insisted that I be included in the meetings.  Father Norbert - Monsignor Gaughan - Bishop Gaughan could be seen in a multitude of ways, some frustrating and some endearing.  But he was, as is today's Norbert, an outstanding minister of the Church ... renowned for his preaching and pastoral zeal, and we are grateful.