Dear friends in Christ,
Happy Fourth of July Weekend! I am so blessed to have been your pastor now for one whole year. The only problem is I can no longer use the excuse that I am new and don’t know anything. I have learned a lot. Personally, I have grown spiritually, and have been stretched in ways that I feel have increased my compassion and sensitivity in good and holy ways. Thank you so much for your kindness, patience, and welcome!
I also feel like I have a much better sense of the many strengths of our Pastorate and the exciting opportunities for continued growth and mission. However, it feels like the world and its myriad of brokenness and problems continue to dampen not only our motivation, but our ability to act on new endeavors. The constant reminders of the struggles and violence in the city we love weighs us down. Also, it can diminish our desire to make our “Share a Meal” efforts at Blessed Sacrament a thriving ministry to provide for the material and spiritual needs of our neighborhood. How can we talk about developing and forming small Christian communities of missionary Disciples when we experience such confusion and division over abortion? The news about the shooting in Uvalde, TX and the massacre of young school children sucks the life out of us as we try to form a ministry to help make Cardinal Shehan the best school it can be. The most recent news of 51 immigrants dying so tragically in a tractor trailer on the U.S. border rips my heart out and rends my soul. Yet, we feel a call to support the amazing work of the Immigration Outreach and Service Center here at our Parish.
These things might slow us down, but they cannot and should not stop us! In fact, we can look at the brokenness in our world around us as a clarion call to act! I just listed four of my top priorities for this coming year: Share A Meal; service and support for Cardinal Shehan School; developing and forming small Christian communities; and the expansion of the great work of the IOSC. Let’s not get discouraged, but rather be active and enthusiastic.
This Summer, we are launching a special campaign to “Care for Our Convent.” The IOSC is moving into our convent building, and in doing so, they hope to expand their wonderful ministry to immigrants and refugee. The hope for the future is to be able to give a safe place for women and their children to live in, along with their adult service, legal help, and tutoring. However, our convent building is in serious need of repair work. If we could raise $50,000 as a Parish together, we could repoint the bricks, which are in bad shape, do some needed gutter and roof repairs, and do some interior changes and painting required to use that space well. More information will come about this important campaign, but one thing is clear, in the face of challenges around us it is time to act!
God bless,
Fr. Matt