October 26, 2025
Dear Friends,
On Friday, October 17, Father Pat Kalich, a retired priest of the Diocese of Gary and longtime pastor of St. Mary Church in Crown Point, passed away. Father Pat was ordained a priest in 1994 and for the last four years was my spiritual director. In case you have not heard of this role before, a spiritual director is a companion and guide who helps another person reflect upon God’s presence and action in their life. I have been blessed to have some wonderful spiritual directors over the past 28 years, and Father Pat was an outstanding one.
Over the past few years, I would drive over to his home in LaPorte once a month and we would talk about the blessings and challenges I was experiencing, and how God was working through those experiences to form me as his beloved son, disciple, and minister. Father Pat was always kind and gracious in his listening and in sharing his great pastoral wisdom with me. He would let me do most of the talking, but, when he spoke, he always had something wise and insightful to offer.
My monthly spiritual direction sessions with Father Pat would usually end with me asking to celebrate the Sacrament of Penance. As a minister of reconciliation, Father Pat was also kind and wise. He would not ignore or minimize what I would confess, but he would always invite me to recognize and receive the mercy of God.
As I reflected on the Gospel parable that Jesus addresses to us this Sunday, I thought of Father Pat and of our monthly meetings over the past four years. During those encounters, Father Pat created an environment that allowed me to let go of some of the pretenses and boasting that we can easily fall into, like the Pharisee in the Gospel. Father Pat made it possible for me to know myself as a beloved son and sinner, who needs God’s mercy and who can receive that mercy if I only ask for it. I will be forever grateful to Father Pat for the way he ministered God’s mercy to me.
I am also cognizant that not everyone has had such positive experiences of the Church’s ministers in the Sacrament of Penance. I myself still remember the worst encounter I ever had with a confessor. It was at St. Peter’s Basilica, of all places! It was while I was studying in Rome and it was very disappointing to have a minister of God’s mercy treat me in such a negative way.
But, over and over again, my experience as a penitent has been that the vast majority of priests are like Father Pat, kind and gracious ministers of God. As a confessor, I am often humbled by the sincerity and desire for reconciliation that penitents demonstrate when they celebrate the sacrament. In them, I get a glimpse of the contrition and humility that Jesus tells us are necessary to be exalted by God.
Peace,
Father Leo