Congratulations on Parish Life Weekend. I take full credit for the beautiful weather last weekend! Kidding of course, all thanks and glory to God for all things! Stewardship reports that 250+ people signed-up to serve in various ministries, groups, and projects. This is a great sign of encouragement, as we continually invite folks to serve the Lord, most especially coming out of the pandemic when we have lost so many of our habits of service and generosity to neighbors! I know our lives are overwhelmingly busy, but the rewards are great when we step out in faith.

Let me thank, especially Tom & Pat Fish, Rich & Karen LaRoche, Lynda Retterer, Tuan Nguyen, Furman McCormick (Stewardship), Christina Anderson & Joe Walor (Parish Life), the great help from the St. Mary Youth Group, and the many, many folks who worked to make this happen. These things don’t get pulled off without a lot of work and we all owe them a debt of gratitude. Because I may have failed to mention the names of the so many of you, I will pray a Hail Mary before I finish typing this sentence, as a prayer of gratitude for all your generosity. Done.

Pope Benedict once said, “Volunteers want to be asked, they want to be told: ‘I need you’ – ‘You can do it!’ How good it feels to hear words like these! In their human simplicity, they unwittingly point us toward the God who has called each of us into being and given us a personal task, the God who needs us and awaits our response. Jesus called men and women, and gave them the courage needed to embark on a great undertaking, one to which, by themselves, they would never have dared to aspire. To allow oneself to be called, to make a decision and then to set out on a path – without the usual questions about whether it is useful or profitable – this attitude will naturally bring healing in its wake. The saints have shown us this path by their lives. It is a fascinating and thrilling path, a path of generosity and, nowadays, one which is much needed. To say “yes” to volunteering to help others is a decision which is liberating; it opens our hearts to the needs of others, to the requirements of justice, to the defense of life and the protection of creation. Volunteer work is really about the heart of the Christian image of God and man: love of God and love of neighbor.”

Brothers and Sisters, you are wanted, needed, appreciated and loved!

pax et bonum,

Father John Mosimann