Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

If you were at Mass last Sunday evening, we prayed for and had a special blessing of, our Fall sports teams. It was a neat experience that reminded all of us that our Faith is part of our life, ALL aspects of our lives. We are always Catholic Christians whether we are in church, or at work, or at the store, or even on the playing field or court. What a wonderful idea to ask God’s blessings on our young athletes who will represent our Parish community. Last Sunday evening we blessed our football, our cheerleading, and our tennis programs. My appreciation goes to all of the parents who made it a priority to get young athletes to that Mass. It is my sincere hope that we can continue this new “tradition” with the Winter and Spring sports programs also. The blessing may not help our children to play better, but it does ground our sports programs in the proper perspective.

I would like to congratulate this week and thank the hundreds of coaches, volunteers, parents, and most importantly, our new Athletic Director, Pat Biddlecomb, for all their hard work. St. Maria Goretti has a Sport’s Ministry. Our athletic programs are open to ALL of the youth of our Parish, regardless of where they go to school. All you have to be is a registered member of the Parish, and you are welcome to participate. I am so proud that our Athletic Ministry starts with the premise of our Faith in Jesus Christ and of our love for one another, and then builds superior athletes with the right priorities. We may not always win. But our children are going to have fun, be fair, and still live out their Catholic Christian values while they are participating in sports.

This, of course, did not happen over night. We’ve been working on our Sport’s Ministry for years now. First, this was done under the leadership of Dan Mattingly, who got us started and off on the right track. And then, Harry Owens, brought new options and then took things to another level. And Dave Miller came along and did things with the Ministry that many thought would never be possible. These extraordinary men and the many volunteers who worked with them have built a solid, Sport’s Ministry that we can all be proud of for a long time. Pat Biddlecomb took over a massive job back in November, and continues to amaze all of us with his expertise and leadership. We are so blessed! At a time when other parishes are trying to find direction in their sports “programs” or abandoning athletics for our young people all together, our Ministry not only continues to thrive, but gets better and better all the time! Thank you to every one who works so hard to keep our Sport’s Ministry a ministry. All of your efforts are worth it in the long haul!

You may have noticed that a lot of additional work is being done to the outside of the new church. We are still working on getting our drainage right. The new church has a really massive roof that collects a great deal of water every time that it rains hard. Managing that water and getting it all away from our building has proved to be a challenge. After months of evaluations, tests, and re-designs, our builders are confident that they are solving the problems. A new connection to the drainage system on the North has just recently been completed. This connection did necessitate cutting the existing driveway just outside our daily Mass chapel. When they are completely finished, the driveway will be fixed and restored to its original surface levels. I am sorry for any inconvenience that this may have caused anyone in the last couple of weeks.

This coming Wednesday evening is our celebration for Fr. Dale’s 15 th Anniversary of Ordination. All of us, especially this priest, are extremely grateful for what God did for Fr. Dale fifteen years ago. We celebrate with him this Wednesday and congratulate him on all the good that he has done for so many. We join with the school community of Blessed Theodore Guerin High School in praying for and with Fr. Dale. Mass on Wednesday is at 5:30 PM and there will be a reception after Mass in the Parish Hall. I hope that if you are able, you will be able to come and join us on Wednesday evening,

Have a great week! Our prayers and love go with our college students returning to school this next week. God bless all of you and bring you safely back to us!

In Christ,

Fr. Kevin

God will never make you more holy than you want to be.