For Father Kosmoski, 40 years is an invitation to prayer, reflection

Father David Kosmoski
Celebrating 40 years

This year Father David B. Kosmoski celebrates another milestone in his priestly vocation – 40 years of serving the Catholic faithful as a priest, and as pastor of St. Andrew Parish, Avenel, he has been shepherding his flock for the past 33 years.

Reflecting on his priesthood, Father Kosmoski said, “I can only thank God for his providence and the gifts he has given me. Every day I can say I am doing better than I merit. I am happy that God called me to point the light as I strive to walk in it.”

Father Kosmoski entered the seminary in 1976 and earned bachelor degrees in philosophy and theology at the University of St. Thomas Aquinas, Rome. He also attended the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome where he completed a program specializing in retreat ministry and the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius.

Father Kosmoski was ordained on June 12, 1983, by Pope Saint John Paul II in St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome. His first Masses were celebrated in Lourdes, Lisieux and the Shrine of Knock in Ireland.

After returning to the states, his first assignment was in St. Francis Chapel, Boston, where he ministered to the workers and tourists visiting there. He then studied in Boston College and earned a master’s degree in psychology which led to spending two years working at Arbour Psychiatric Hospital for Acute Care, Boston. He also spent time working with Project Rachel, a post-abortion healing ministry as a counselor.

Father Kosmoski has carried these skills with him throughout his priesthood serving the people of God with all their human frailties and sufferings. ”Through times of discouragement, God provides hope. In loss God provides his gifts. In times of confusion, He brings his light,” he said. He continues to visit the homebound and the sick, counsels those who have lost loved ones and helps the needy in any way he can.

In 1990, Father Kosmoski was appointed pastor of St. Andrew Parish. His skills as a counselor have come in handy while serving his parishioners. “Celebrating 40 years of ordained ministry has been an invitation for prayer and reflection,” he said. The number 40 appears so many times in the Scriptures that it carries a special significance for him regarding perseverance and salvation.

The most rewarding part of being a priest for him is the simplicity of the Mass and the power within it. “People are lost in so many ways like the people in the desert. God fed them manna and led them with a pillar of fire. The Lord is providing for us in the desert by giving us the Eucharist,” he reflected.

In this year of the Eucharistic Revival, St. Andrew Parish is sponsoring a trip to Egypt in September. Those on the pilgrimage will be invited to journal and reflect on what it is like to be in the desert and how the Lord cares for us. “In following Jesus, he makes us keenly aware that he is with us, especially in the Eucharist. Like the pillar of fire that led the people in the desert, he opens our hearts and minds to his word and guidance.”

Traveling is one of Father Kosmoski’s joys in life along with his three dogs, a koi pond, some doves, and a couple of parakeets. He also enjoys cooking and oil painting. “I like keeping busy,” he said.

When asked what his advice would be for someone considering a vocation to the priesthood he said, “Always remember you are a sinner first then go into a church and, in the silence of the heart, ask Jesus what you would like him to do for you and then ask him what he would like you to do for him.”