Parish Blog

Dear Friends in Christ,

So…the warm weather has returned as it always does in this part of the country. And with this weather, I see increasing numbers of men, women, and children dressed as if they were headed for the beach. A significant number of men, women, and children are wearing shorts, flip-flops, and a T-shirt from their favorite sports team at Sunday Mass.

Dear Friends in Christ,

I am writing this letter three days after the exciting news of the election of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as the 267th successor to St. Peter. What a joy it has been to experience these past few days! I have always loved being Catholic, but these days have been extra special for me. I suspect it has been the same for you.

Dear Friends in Christ,

May 29th of this year will mark my tenth year as a priest of Jesus Christ. On that date in 2015, Bishop Guglielmone ordained Father Morgan and me at St. Mary’s in Greenville.

I don’t feel that it’s been ten years but denying it doesn’t make it less true. I am overwhelmingly thankful for the honor and privilege of serving Christ as one of His priests. Being a priest is difficult, challenging and sometimes completely exhausting, but the rewards are amazing. I thought I might try and do a brief reflection on my ten years using the description given by Terence Cardinal Cooke: “From the day of his ordination, a priest can never forget that he has been called by God Himself. The priest is called to be a servant, a victim, a brother, a listener and a friend.”

Dear Friends in Christ,

We had finished the Holy Triduum of our Lord’s passion, death and resurrection. The Holy Spirit blessed us with beautiful and reverent liturgies. On the Easter Vigil, I was blessed to offer the Sacrament of Confirmation to 24 people.

Then Easter Monday as I was getting ready to leave for the airport at around 4:00pm, a friend texted me and informed me that Pope Francis had died. It was quite a shock and quite a way to start on my journey to Wisconsin to see my brother Warren and his wife Marilyn.