St. Maria Goretti - Pastor's Note

School has started! Last Tuesday, we welcomed nearly 450 students back to school. The school provides an energy, an enthusiasm, and a special mission for our entire Parish family. I am so grateful for everyone who works so hard here at St. Maria Goretti, to keep our school strong and vibrant. May all of us keep the mission of our Parish school in our prayers this entire school year!

I’d also like to write a few words this week about our faculty and staff. We are so blessed here at St. Maria Goretti with extraordinary people who make BIG sacrifices to come and teach and work at St. Maria Goretti. All of our people could go any where else and get a “job”. They choose to teach and work at St. Maria Goretti because it is a mission, a vocation even! They could all make a lot more money teaching and working some place else. And yet they make the sacrifice to teach here. It is a labor of love for all of us. Every person is here and on our staff because they care about our Faith and they care about our children. We must be grateful every day for that. We must respect that and we must respect them. We are SO blessed to have the kind of Catholic school that people want to come to, and that people want to teach and work at every year. May God help us to continue to grow and get even better every day!

We do pray for all our children and young people who are heading back to school in the next few weeks. Many of our college and university students head back to school this weekend. All of the local high schools and community schools are also starting up, or have already started up. This time of year reminds all of us of just how important education really is. We are never really ever done learning. All of us just trade and change classrooms multiply times throughout our lives. What we are learning and putting into effect in our lives is extremely important. That’s why our Faith formation and our religious education for each one of us, most especially adults, is such an important thing. Our education and our formation makes us who we are. Our thoughts, words, and actions are all influenced by what we learn. Our Faith is also greatly affected by what we learn or don’t learn, and from what source do we get our knowledge. We need to all keep learning and growing. If you’re still doing that in a classroom setting, we pray for you as you head back to school. If you’re trying to do that in middle of life and all that life entails, we pray for you too and sincerely hope the lessons that you’re learning are leading you closer to God and closer to Heaven.

In the next few weeks, all of our Parish Religious Education programs are also going to be kicking off. Now is the time for parents to get all of their children signed for religious education and formation. This is not something that is optional, or up for discussion, or that can be bargained with. Parents, because of the promises that they made on day of their children’s Baptism, have a moral obligation to get their sons and daughters to religious education. We take all of our educational efforts here at St. Maria Goretti very seriously. Whether you’re a pre-schooler in our school program or a Senior in high school in our T.R.U.T.H. youth program, we need all of our young people to keep learning and growing. Now is the time to register your son or daughter in these programs. Please call our Parish religious education office to get the right forms for the right program.

In addition, a small army of people are STILL needed to help out with this year’s programs. Sometimes, there’s no better way to learn more about your own Faith than to teach it and help pass it on to others. Could you spend some time teaching in one of our programs this year? We sure need you. Why not give Connie Anderson or Jeff Stankovsky a call in our religious education office and see how you could help out this year?

Our summer seminarian, Clayton Thompson, is also heading back to seminary this week. I’d like to thank Clayton for all his hard work this summer. His weekly letters in the bulletin have been really awesome, and have sparked many good conversations. And his Sunday evening Ultimate Frisbee competitions have been a big hit with many of our youth. We are very proud of you. May you know that all of us are praying for you as you go back to Columbus, and may you also keep all of us in your prayers.

Have a great week! Let us all continue to learn, and grow, and become more and more what Jesus needs us to be!

In Christ,

Fr. Kevin

No matter how serious your life requires you to be, everybody needs a friend to act goofy with.