Pentecost Sunday
Dear Parishioners,
I would like to thank everyone who congratulated me on my birthday last week and for those who sent cards to acknowledge my 40th anniversary. I appreciate your kindness.
I plan on celebrating my 40th anniversary on July 17th. On the same day we will formally break ground for our new Gathering Center. This should be a great celebration. The planning is in process.
My birthday and ordination dates always fall at the same time as a myriad of other celebrations, so I like to delay the party a little. I don’t necessarily feel compelled to celebrate on the actual days.
Forty is a long time and a lot has happened in the Church. I recall talking to two priests I greatly admired about their life as priests when they were approaching their last days. Both made the same statement which was that if they knew how the Church was going to change, they might have thought twice about their commitment. They were both faithful to their priestly promises throughout their life and they were joyful, but they were also honest which I appreciated.
There words reflect the reality of any vowed life. In an older marriage ceremony of the church, there is a very poetic statement that I will paraphrase. We make a vow facing an unknown future that is hidden from our eyes. We enter a vocation for better or worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health until death. The commitment is an act of faith. The witness that is lived will hopefully strengthen our virtue and the virtue of those who know us.
Our Lord has allowed me to live as an ordained minister serving his mission. My commitment to Christian life isn’t perfect, but the mercy of God is boundless. For that I am most grateful.
My Our Lady of Peace pray for our violent world and for the children and teachers in Uvalde and the victims of the Buffalo shootings.
Fr. Mark