Peace be with you, my friends! And Happy Summer! May it be a happy and healthy one. And Happy Father’s Day, to all our fathers and those who have been like fathers to us! Thank you for all the ways you go above and beyond each day for us.

I want to begin by thanking Fr. Will and wishing God’s abundant blessings upon him. As you know, Fr. Will has finished his assignment here in Stoughton and will be leaving us this week to begin his new assignment; St. Mary’s in Hull and St. Anthony’s in Cohasset. His many gifts will be put to good use there, I am sure. I have been blessed to share three years of priesthood with him here and will miss his thoughtful liturgies and a great sense of humor. (You may not realize this but he is an excellent mimic, one of the best I’ve seen. I want to publicly thank him for never showing me his impression of me!) If you haven’t had a chance yet and wish to send Fr. Will a note, you can mail it to him at the St. Anthony’s Parish, 10 Summer St., Cohasset, MA, 02025. God’s blessings to you, Fr. Will! Thank you for everything! I want to thank all of you, too, for all that you do for us priests. I look back on my first assignment (Sacred Heart in Weymouth Landing) with such fondness and gratitude. If I grew in holiness (I hope I did!) it was in large part due to the holiness I saw in the people in the pews. This is true for so many of us priests, as I am sure it was for Fr. Will. Please continue to pray for priests — and for vocations to the priesthood. Our new pastor, Fr. Carlos, was with the Office of Vocations for many years. I am sure we will have some vocations from our parishes soon! 

I also want to thank our many volunteers for all they are doing to prepare the church each week for Mass. The entire church has to be wiped down between Masses and disinfected. In addition, we need volunteers to check people in and escort them to their seats. So many have volunteered and because of their hard work and good cheer, all has gone extremely well these past few weeks. Thank you! We are averaging roughly 360 people each week. The maximum is 480 and the counts have been going up each week so if you want to attend Mass, please make sure you sign up by Thursday for that coming weekend’s Mass. Thank you for your patience, as always.

Finally, I just want to thank our great staff. At this point, everyone is pretty much doing the work of two or three people. Since so much of it is behind the scenes, it isn’t always noticed. I am extremely grateful for their incredible work ethic and the positive attitude with which they approach their work. It is always with the bigger picture in mind, to make our churches places where people can grow closer to Christ and become their disciples in mission He has called us to be. Please say a prayer for our wonderful staff and volunteers, my friends. And if you happen to see them, let them know how much you appreciate the work they do!

God bless you all and your families, too.

Peace, Fr. Joe