Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

We are now more than halfway through our holy season of Lent 2004. How have you and your family used this time to show your love and appreciation for God? It’s still not too late, you know? What sacrifices and efforts can you make in these last few weeks of Lent? Think about it.

Hey, I wanted to talk a little bit with you today about how we can better work together as Church. We are so incredibly blessed here at St. Maria Goretti to have so many enthusiastic people, who are seriously committed to their faith. I am constantly awed by the enthusiasm and creativity of our Parish family. The Holy Spirit is definitely at work. A lot of other parishes would love to have a fraction of the energy and enthusiasm that we enjoy every day. And yet, sometimes, in our enthusiasm and our excitement for our faith, we can forget how important it is that we work together to make good things happen. In the last several months, we have had some individuals take it upon themselves to invite individuals from outside the Parish to come and speak, or come and make presentations, or even come provide services here at St. Maria Goretti, without any prior communication with our Administration and Staff. I know each one of these individuals has meant well. They are good people with good intentions. But sometimes just because something might seem like a good idea to one person, without a lot of other information, it might not be the best thing for everybody in the Parish. Of particular concern is the inviting of speakers to come and make presentations at St. Maria Goretti. When a guest speaker comes to speak at our Parish, and this includes other priests and religious, there is a responsibility that we have to make sure that the speaker is going to teach and present ideas that are consistent with our Catholic Church teaching and tradition. That responsibility falls on the Administration and Staff of our Parish family, and ultimately, on the Pastor. In short, a speaker comes in teaching their “opinion” or their “view” on theology, or spirituality, and it had better be in line with the Catholic Church’s teaching, or else my neck is on the line. The Bishop is not going to call you or them. The Bishop is going to call me. This is why it is imperative that we work together. This is not about power, or who’s in charge, or most especially, this is not to dampen the powerful Holy Spirit that is very clearly at work here. And so far, we have been very blessed. We haven’t had a real mess. But it is time that all of us become more aware of our responsibility to work better together as a Parish family. It is possible that in the future, individual invitations may have to be rescinded, if it is not in the best interest of the entire Parish family to have the speaker here. This also includes working with our Parish staff. We are blessed with some of the most wonderful, most generous people in the entire world, who have made great sacrifices to come and work at St. Maria Goretti. We need to make sure that we are always working with them when we are planning events here at the Parish. They are here to help us, not to make things more difficult. Please keep these things in mind. Again, we want and need and appreciate every good idea that comes our way. It is the way that we have built this Parish family. But we do need to work together, if we are not going to have chaos.

A couple of months ago I made a call out for individuals who have a background in Public Relations and Communications. I am very pleased to announce this week that a new St. Maria Goretti Communications Team has been formed to help us facilitate our communications, especially with the larger communities to which we belong. Several very gifted and creative folks have come forward to share their gifts and talents. John Dippel has graciously agreed to head up this new Team. They are beginning on several projects right away. If you, too, have abilities or interests in this area, please call John at 569-2855 to get involved. Photographers and writers are also needed for many of these projects. Perhaps this is just what you have been looking for to help out around here and serve God.

This weekend, we pray for and with our Confirmation candidates who are making their retreat in southern Indiana. We are very blessed to have a wonderful Confirmation class this year that is full of enthusiasm and faith. Let us keep them in our prayers as we head towards Confirmation here at St. Maria Goretti on Friday evening, May 14 th.

Thanks for reading this. I am always grateful for all of those who stay informed. You guys are the best!

In Christ
Fr. Kevin

No one has more driving ambition than
the boy who wants to buy a car.