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The pastor of St. Francis Xavier parish in Narrowsburg reports the rectory was burglarized of approximately $3,500 while he was celebrating a Christmas Eve Mass.
Father William Scully, O.F.M., celebrated the 4 p.m. Mass and then the 8 p.m. Mass. Prior to the 8 p.m. Mass, he left the rectory, also known as the friary, at 7:45 p.m. and locked it. When he returned to the rectory immediately after that Mass, around 9:10 p.m., the door had been kicked in and closets and desks drawers were open.
The collection money from the 4 p.m. Mass was gone. “That generally tends to be the largest collection,” the pastor said. In addition, the funds from the Christmas flower offering were also missing.
Also gone was several hundred dollars in loose change the pastor had personally accumulated, several of his watches, some lamps and a number of unopened Christmas presents he had received and tucked under his tree.
The pastor said it appears there was an unsuccessful attempt to break open the safe.
He called the police, who subsequently arrived on the scene to investigate. Afterward, the pastor returned to the church to celebrate Midnight Mass, where he informed parishioners of the burglary.
Despite the loss, Christmas hope remains, Father Scully said. He told his parishioners at Midnight Mass and then again at the 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Masses on Christmas Day: “No matter what you go through—the ups and downs, the sufferings—still, the feast is all about hope, it’s all about joy,” Father Scully said.
“I just preached the Christmas message—Christmas joy,” he added. “Things can always be replaced. The one thing you can’t take away is our faith….
“This is all about the birth of Christ. We’re grateful that Christ became man—He became one with us, and we became one with Him.
“Tradition says Christ fell three times on His way to Calvary but what did He do? He got up. So it’s time for us to get up and continue on.”
