Message from our Pastor
17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 28, 2024
This coming Friday, August 2nd, I will mark my twentieth year here at Divine Word as your pastor. I am not sure where this time has all gone, but it has been powerful to say the least. My heart is full of gratitude for these past two decades to be here and to serve you. Many lessons have been learned and I realize that in my own imperfect way, God’s grace has provided me with perseverance and a heart filled with humility.
I say these two words, perseverance and humility, because I could not be in the space I am in now without them. Perseverance requires a giant portion of patience with oneself and with others. The word is a call to strive to do your best even when you are not at your best. Perseverance is given because you want to do your best for others. It in many ways strips the layers of one’s ego and reminds us of Who we serve. I can only say that God has graced myself with that perseverance that I, at times, probably did not deserve. God’s call is not just at ordination, it is everyday we live. That call is a reminder even before I am a priest, I am God’s beloved son and to know where I find my security in life in the Cross of Christ.
Humility is knowing oneself. Striving to be the person God wants us to be. Humility calls us to a deeper understanding of relying on God to move forward in life even though this life is not completely about me. I hope this is the key to our striving in the spiritual life. God’s pursuit of us and our realization we are in this life to give him glory by how we live. Hence, I must decrease so that the Lord may increase in my life. What we do is for Him, not for ourselves.
I often focus on the Cross and come to realize I could never do what Christ did for us and the world. It is humbling to understand he died and conquered death for our sake. His act was the most humbling act of all – to me there is nothing beyond this that needs to be mentioned that Jesus is Lord and God. This reason alone should humble our hearts and give us perseverance in those difficult situations. If we strive to do this life on our own without Christ it moves us to anxiety, depression, and an inability to cope. I have tried to live without Christ at a point in my life and it just did not work. Let Him in and allow the healing to begin.
I want to thank the Parish Staff for their continued support over the years. I am one grateful pastor with a very competent, energetic, and faith-filled Staff.
They are great to work with and I hope we can continue down this line for years to come. I want to thank the Parish Council and Finance Council for the work they have provided over the years. They are dedicated to making our parish grow in spirit and faith. I want to thank all our parishioners for your generosity, kindness, and spirit. I thoroughly enjoy celebrating the sacraments with you. All of you make my vocation worthwhile. I look forward to what is ahead of us and especially through the next Five-Year Plan – “Be a Part of The Journey.”
I am not sure it is possible to sum up twenty years of ministry in just five paragraphs, but I am honored to serve all of you. As we flow into the last months of this year school will begin in just a few weeks and our parish programs will be in full force. I look forward to what is on the horizon for us. I hope to give you more of an explanation concerning our Five- Year Plan through the month of August.
I am not sure you were able to see any of the four-day Eucharistic Revival from Indianapolis on T.V. last week. We had several people that attended the Revival along with 60,000 others from all over the United States. All I have heard is what a powerful, spiritual experience it was. I will be meeting with those who attended to get some feedback on their experience. I also was able to see some of the liturgies and talks presented livestream.
I will be away from the parish this coming week through Saturday morning. I will be with a few of my brothers and spending time together and recharging for the beginning of our parish programming. I hope you can do the same in your life before the summer runs out on us. Spending time with family and friends is crucial to keeping my balance in life. I hope you have a great week and find time for prayer and worship. My prayers for you always!
