‘I’m not alone’

Father Tom Ogg marks 40 years as a priest for the Dio­cese of Cheyenne this year, and his "attitude of gratitude" in­cludes a major thanks to Catho­lic Ex­ten­sion for helping at every parish he's served.

The veteran priest now splits his time among three churches: Holy Name in Sheridan, Wyo., and its missions Our Lady of the Pines in Story and St. Edmund in Ranchester.

However, he has "made the circuit" of most of the major parishes in Wyo­ming, plus 15 years as diocesan vocations director. And his own vocations story helps him empathize with other young people who are considering religious life.

Crops and cows

As lean and weathered as the rancher he nearly was, Tom Ogg grew up with four brothers on a small farm/ranch combination near Worland. His father ("a hard-headed Scotsman") raised sugar beets and kept cows, "so when the crops weren't good, the cattle kept us going," he recalls.

The boys worked the farm during the week, "but on Satur­day we had to do Mom's bidding for the whole morning," he chuc­kles. The boys learned to cook, sew and keep house. His mother insisted they all go to church each Sunday. "Dad ruled the household, but when Sun­day came, my mother was in charge."

His father was proud enough to bust his buttons when Tom went off to the University of Wyoming to study agriculture - the first Ogg to go to college.

Unbeknownst to his parents, though, their son was thinking long and hard about looking after another flock - the Lord's.
When he decided to enter the seminary, "my Dad literally disowned me," he remembers. "It was a few years before he came around."

Father Ogg smiles now as he recalls the visit home at Christmas when his father finally seemed to accept his vocation. "I asked Dad, ‘How are the cows?' and he said, ‘Let's go see how they are.'"

Father and son drove around in silence for an hour. "That," he chuckles, "was a sign that the ice had broken."

Fabric of life

Father Ogg remembers always sending small of­ferings of thanks to Cath­o­lic Extension, even when he was a seminarian. "Be­cause of what you've done for us. It's part of the fabric of life here."

The state's economic fortunes go through regular "boom-and-bust cycles," he adds, which puts stresses on the churches. He's seen little towns rise and fall as the rush to tap reserves of coal, oil, uranium or other natural resources ebbs and flows. Sheri­dan, for example, has a high percentage of Polish settlers who once emigrated here to work in the coal mines.

And, of course, farming and ranching can be erratic. "Even now I'm so grateful for the support," he says. "I've been through so many transitions where there was a real need and I would write to Catholic Exten­sion and get the help." A new processional cross for Holy Name, for exam­ple, came through from last year's Christmas Wish List.
The office floor is awash with paper. "If it's not on the floor," Father Ogg shrugs, "it doesn't get done."

And the décor is centered on pigs: a swinging pig on one wall and a stuffed pig on the computer. "Pigs are very clean animals," he explains, relating that sometimes as a boy he would lie down in a newly built pen on a clear night to watch the stars.

On the inside of the parish office door is a Xeroxed sign that exhorts: "Live simply. Care deep­ly, speak kindly, love generously, and leave the rest to God."

Father's description of the priesthood is sprinkled liberally with the word "joy," which he lives out. "Overall, the biggest joy is watching people. To see them moving forward in faith and in life. You can't beat the sacraments as far as a priest goes, especially reconciliation. Being an agent of change is a joy."

Spiritually centered

Four decades of service in the rural missions have allowed this priest to deepen his experience of prayer along the way. "It's that intimacy with someone else, the Holy Spirit - at this stage of my life it's almost beyond words."
He cites the morning's Divine Office, based on Psalm 118 and 150, "Praise God, all living creatures; praise him with trumpets, praise him with harps and lyres."

"You find the goodness of God all around," he says. That knowledge, and the support of fellow Catholics around the U.S. who support the missions through Catholic Extension, means he knows "I'm not alone."