Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Happy April! We’ve got just two weeks left of our Lenten season, two weeks to make our final preparations for Easter 2006. As we prepare to renew our Baptismal promises to Jesus, let us continue to root out ALL pride, selfishness, and worldliness from our lives. With Jesus’ help, we can daily become more and more what He needs us to be.

Our school joins the public schools in Westfield and Carmel on their Spring Breaks this week. The school office will be closed all week and will re-open on Monday, April 10 th.

This week we bid farewell to our Business Manager, Steve Hood. Steve has been here for the last four years and has overseen the construction of both the Rectory and the new church. He has been one busy man. On behalf of all of us, I’d like to thank Steve and wish him well in his new position at Blessed Theodore Guerin High School. Steve’s last day will be this coming Friday.

Beginning tomorrow, April 3 rd, we welcome our new Business Manager, Patrick Gorman. Pat is a very familiar face around St. Maria Goretti. He is active in Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, the Holy Name Society, and Christ Renews His Parish. He is a lector and an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion. He is a Jr. High Youth Minister in our HOPE youth program. And he has served as a parish representative on the Religious Education Council, a service that he will now have to give up as he becomes Business Manager. Chances are, if you have been involved in the Parish in pretty much any way, from the Technology Committee to the Italian Festival, you have worked with Pat already. Pat’s wife, Cathy, is our kindergarten teacher in our school. Pat and Cathy have a son, Jake, who is already following in his parent’s footsteps of being involved in our St. Maria Goretti Parish family. We welcome Pat on-board our staff. He is a welcome addition to a wonderful group of people. I am so blessed with the incredible group of people that I get to work with every day. God has been so good to our Parish!

I would also like to thank the fifteen other individuals who also applied for the Business Manager’s position. There were many extraordinary individuals who were willing to make great sacrifices to come and serve on our Parish staff. Your generosity, your gifts, and your talents did not go un-noticed, and I sincerely hope that you will continue to work in many different areas to make our Parish the best that it can be. It was a very difficult decision, but one that I know was guided by God and by what was best for St. Maria Goretti. Thanks also to those who served on the search committee. Your help and advice in the last few weeks, during one of the busiest times of the year, was invaluable.

Last week, I was driving out of our north parking lot, along the north side of the church, and as I approached the north entrance to the Daily Mass Chapel, one of our really young parishioners ran out of the Chapel doors and right out into the drive in front of me. Obviously, I did get stopped. But honestly, the little guy scared the daylights out of me, as I didn’t see him coming. He also scared his poor mother who was just starting to come out of the Chapel with another child in tow. This occurrence prompts me to remind all of us to be extra careful when driving around the drive, especially when close to the buildings. One fifth of our Parish is under the age of twelve. We have a lot of kids. And kids don’t always stop and look. Sometimes priests don’t stop and look either. If we all slowed down, if we are all a little more careful, we can do a lot to protect everybody. And yeah, I’m preaching to me here too! Be careful on the drive!

Next weekend is Palm Sunday. All of our Masses will begin with the process that will start in the church narthex. We invite you to pick up a palm next weekend, and we will bless them before we process into the church.

Have a great week! I love this week. It is a little quieter, a little slower, a little more peaceful, whether you are traveling or not. Enjoy!

In Christ,

Fr. Kevin

Does your life portray Jesus, or betray Him?