Father James C. Erving, OMI: May he rest in peace.

I met Father James Erving, OMI, when the Oblate Fathers sent him to serve at Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish, in Port Isabel. He jumped into that assignment with a vigor I imagine St Eugene molded into his first Oblate companions. He was not there long; he worked like he knew he wouldn't be. But in fact he could not have known. Pastoral discussions involving his Oblate Superiors and the local bishop would soon result in an abrupt transfer to the other side of the Diocese, to Our Lady of Refuge in Roma, Texas.

I remember he came to see me before the change took effect. Humble, yes, and brutally honest with me, the kind of character God carves out of granite. A bishop cannot ask for more from any priest. It would be a difficult move, he said. Lots of things yet to be done to build the faith in Port Isabel, he said. I know, I said. God will provide for Port Isabel, just as He now provides for Roma. Fiercely obedient, obediently fierce; a Religious Community could not ask for more from a priest. Fr. Jim said a lot more; but most of that I take to the grave.

We talked about the pro-life apostolate. I thanked him for being willing to take it up. He had plans, but wasn't sure where to start. But start he did; our pro-life march that year went from St Joseph the Worker, to Sacred Heart Church, passing right through downtown McAllen on a Saturday morning, right in front of the abortion place. The picture is from that day. I like it because it so captures his blunt devotion to Christ and his Church. He is not pointing at me; he points for me to see something beyond. Be assured, I got the point, though I had not yet turned my head. No "let's stay in the sacristy and witness from here" in this man. Fierce defender of the unborn, the poor, the immigrant. Once in a while, I thought that day, a bishop stumbles into a good decision.

He gave all he had to Roma. I worry about the kids, I told him; they need a strong and courageous pastor. He was that. The missions need building up; people are moving into Starr County. I didn't need to say a lot; he understood. I did not know him long; but I think I knew him well enough to know he would be a strong shoulder pushing in favor of God's people here in the Rio Grande Valley.

Once, at a Confirmation in Roma, we ate lasagna after the Mass and after all the pictures. He told me about how Spanish was a struggle, but he was getting better. The people love a priest who gives himself to them, even if he gets the accent wrong on some words, I said. He told me about the immigrant population. We talked a lot about that. He said more, but that too I will keep for a later appointment. 

We do not know the mind of God apart from what is shown us in the wounded heart of Christ. But in the contemplation there, we find more than we could have ever thought possible. His illness came quickly, relentlessly, and took him from us fast.  His suffering was a fierce battle he waged obediently. God was all along forming a saint; that is what He is always trying to do for us. Fr. Jim, I am sure, knew that. May we be so generous in letting God do what He tries so desperately to do.

I hope in heaven, so did Jim. Should God grant me the grace to let Him do in me what He must do to get me to heaven, Jim will be one I expect to see early on, pointing, to make sure I remember to look up at the Mystic Rose, and beyond her, to that center where is beheld the Word Eternal proceeding in the glorified flesh of God Incarnate. Amen.

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Fr. James C. Erving, OMI, 43, died peacefully on Tuesday, March 18, 2014, at 3:24am, in San Antonio, TX.

Funeral services will be held at Immaculate Conception Memorial Chapel at 285 Oblate Drive, San Antonio, Texas 78216.

Vigil/Rosary will be held on Friday, March 21, 2014 at 7:00 PM.

Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, March 22, 2014 at 10:00 AM. Interment will follow at the Oblate Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations can sent to Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, 327 Oblate Dr., San Antonio, TX 78216