Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

This week we welcome Fr. Les Blowers, a Maryknoll Missioner who served in Korea for 25 years. Fr. Blowers is here to make our annual appeal for the missions. He comes to offer us the opportunity to take part in the work of Maryknoll, the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America. Father will ask for your prayers and sacrifices so that the mission effort of our Church can continue. All of us have a responsibility to make sure that the missionary activity of the Church stays a priority and continues to thrive.

This has been a wonderful week. Last weekend, Fr. Dale, Deacon Weldon, Cathy Rund, our Director of Music, and I joined the community of St. Alphonsus Parish in Zionsville for the dedication of their new church. It was a beautiful, moving ceremony celebrating what that faith community has accomplished. One could not sit through last week’s ceremony and not think about our own dedication of our new church that is going to take place at 7:00 PM on December 8 th, 2004. That is exactly four months from today! It’s coming, folks! It will be here before we know it. And while there is still much work to be done on the new building, there is also much work that we must do as a community to get ready for this monumental day in the history of our Parish family. A Celebration Committee has been hard at work for months already. They have plans for eight days of rejoicing for all of us. A complete schedule of events is being put together now and will be out soon. The celebration will include tours, concerts, guest speakers, prayer opportunities, and multiple receptions. This is going to be awesome!

And then, this past Friday evening, many of us rejoiced with Fr. Dale and the faculty and staff of the new Blessed Theodore Guerin Catholic High School, as they blessed their new building and dedicated their new chapel. Again, this is a dream come true for so many people who have worked so hard and sacrificed so much to see this happen. As a community, we congratulate all of those who made this dream come true. The Church in Hamilton County is greatly blessed to have this available to our families and as an option for the education of our young people. We all look forward to the many good things that will be accomplished through this new Catholic educational facility. The new high school opens on August 16 th. May we continue to keep this effort in our prayers.

What a week, huh? 2004 is a great year for the Catholic Church in Hamilton County. We have been greatly blessed with wonderful people, faith-filled leaders, generous hearts, and continued growth and renewal for all our parishes and institutions. This is a time of great opportunity for the Catholic Church in this area. Good things are happening. Greater things still are possible if we continue to pray and put our trust in God. Our Faith must be taken seriously by each and every one of us. The days of being “Catholic” in name only, and of going through the motions of being a believer are over. The “full, active, and conscious participation” that Vatican II called for, for every person in the Church, is becoming a reality. Now is the time for massive evangelization. This time is an opportunity for us all. We can allow the Holy Spirit to really do great things with us.

Who could you bring to the Faith? Who could you invite to come to Mass with you? Who could you ask to consider going through RCIA, the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults? You know, the Pre-Catechumenate has already begun. It is meeting on Monday evenings from 7:00 to 8:00 PM. The final cut-off for joining this year’s class is September 15 th. It is earlier this year because Easter is earlier than usual. Guys, now is the time to be inviting people. Some people may very well just be waiting for someone to invite them. YOU could be that someone! Think about it. Pray about it!

Have a great week. The summer is going quickly. School starts next week. Can you believe it? I have no idea how I and so many others received any kind of quality education when we were growing up, when we didn’t start school until after Labor Day. It scares me how much more I might know if only I had gone to school two weeks earlier in August every year. Our kids sure are “blessed”. Now, if only I could convince them of that fact.

In Christ,
Fr. Kevin

Why is it that some people believe that self-esteem is
more important than actually doing something to earn it?