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 Dear
friends in Christ,
Praised be Jesus Christ through the Blessed Virgin
Mary! Greetings and God’s blessings upon you all. I am making my
debut in the bulletin this weekend as Fr. Kevin continues to lead a
group of pilgrims in Rome, Italy. What an amazing experience it is
to travel to the heart of our Roman Catholic faith in the Eternal
City of Rome! The last time I was in Rome, Italy was in January 2006
with my Dad when I was still a Deacon. The purpose for our
pilgrimage that year was two-fold. First, we went to Rome to see the
many beautiful Basilicas, Churches and Shrines that can be found in
Rome, as well as to pray at the tomb of Pope John Paul the Great
and many other saints and popes who have gone before us in the
faith. We were thrilled to also be able to attend a Papal Audience
with Pope Benedict XVI, pray with Pope Benedict at the Mass of
Epiphany and we heard his Sunday Angelus message as well as
receiving his blessing. We also traveled to Rome so that I could
make a retreat that the Church requires of men who are preparing for
ordination to the priesthood. I made a five day silent retreat with
a priest named Fr. Richard Tomasek, SJ, who is the Director of
Spiritual Formation at the Pontifical North American College. I
spent time in Eucharistic Adoration, praying over passages of Sacred
Scripture and meeting each day with Fr. Tomasek. This retreat
provided me with the encouragement and inspiration that I needed
before I was ordained a priest in June 2006. The interesting part
about this is that Fr. Tomasek was instrumental in my deciding to go
to seminary in 1999. I had attended a retreat with him in the spring
of 1999 along with a friend of mine who also was discerning
priesthood at that time. At the end of that retreat, I had come to
the conclusion that I was supposed to go seminary, while my friend
concluded that he did not feel called to attend seminary. Be that as
it may, Fr. Tomasek provided me with some additional assistance in
my vocational journey as I prepared to make that final step in
becoming a priest. My pilgrimage to Rome in January 2006 will
forever remain an important time in my life and in my vocation. I
highly recommend that one day each of you make a pilgrimage to Rome.
And, please pray for the safety and the spiritual growth of the
group from SMG who are in Rome right now.
This weekend, I also wanted to share with you all that as a Church,
we are commemorating the 81st
World Mission Sunday. In World Mission Sunday, we acknowledge our
belonging to the universal Church as we respond in prayer, support
and solidarity with all of our brothers and sisters who are serving
and who are being served in the mission lands. Registered
parishioners should have received envelopes for this special appeal
from our Holy Father and the Society of the Propagation of the Faith
to assist missionaries around the world.
World Mission Sunday reminds all of us about the Church’s missionary
activity in carrying out the mandate of our crucified and risen Lord
Jesus to the Apostles before He ascended to heaven: “Go therefore
and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to
observe all that I have commanded you.” And He added, “Lo, I am with
you always, to the close of the age” (Mt 28:19-20). The theme that
was chosen for this year’s World Missionary Sunday is “All the
Churches for all the world.” It brings to our awareness the call for
ALL parishes to help support the missionary activities and endeavors
around the world.
Most of us will not be able to travel to other parts of the world to
minister to our brothers and sisters as missionaries, but we can all
contribute to this work of the Church through our prayers and
monetary gifts. And, one day too, as a Parish, St. Maria Goretti
hopes to be involved with a Mission Parish in a 3rd
world country, as many neighboring parishes around us currently do.
This brings to mind the opportunity I had about five years ago when
I went on a trip to Haiti when I worked at St. Elizabeth Seton
Parish as a youth minister. The work that my group did on that
mission trip to St. Elizabeth Seton’s sister parish, St. Genevieve,
provided us with first hand knowledge about the important work of
the missions in our world.
Please be assured of my prayers for you all and if there is anything
I can do as your Associate Pastor, please do not hesitate to call me
at our parish office (867-3213, ext. 148). Take care and have a
great week.
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Joshua
“The members of the Church are impelled to carry on such missionary
activity by reason of the love
with which they love God and by which they desire to share with all
men the spiritual goods of both
its life and the life to come” (Vatican II Decree,
Ad Gentes,
On the Mission Activity of the Church).
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