Greetings in Christ!
If I do the math right (always an iffy proposition) I am on my yearly retreat/vacation.
A crazy thing happened that led to a great blessing…shortly before the retreat started, the house we were using had to be canceled because construction went way over. It meant that we had to find a place at the last minute. Fr. Geoff is the other priest I do the retreat with and he had a parishioner who gave us use of her house in Florida! I was so blessed/shocked by it all. So, unless something happens at the last minute, I think that is where I am as you read this.
I hope you know how much I thank God for you. Everyday that I am away, I ask God to bless you.
To me, the strength of this community is the beautiful blessing of our diverse congregation: we have every age group here and many different ethnic groups. All of us are united under the banner of Christ and I’ve had more than a few people tell me how blessed they were by people’s kindness when they visit our parish. You are kind people and I am grateful.
I love your fidelity to the Sacraments. I’ve never had so many people so faithful to the sacrament of reconciliation. I am simply astounded by how many of you regularly come to confession to get right with our Lord, even being willing to wait an hour or more for your turn. Your mass attendance and your commitment to the sacrament of reconciliation are such a ridiculous blessing to me.
Your generosity blows me away. Because of your giving, we are in the fight to keep tuition affordable, we can pay our bills and we can care for the poor. Not every parish can do this! We can because you choose to give and I am grateful.
I could go on and on but I just wanted to give you a sense of some of the reasons that I think I am the most blessed priest in the world in serving you.
I thank you all for letting me serve as I am.
Fjk