From the Pastor’s desk— August 4, 2024

Happy Sunday, dear Parishioners!

I am now back from my time away with our seminarians. Several of them are new to the seminary this year and meeting each other for the first time. As the days passed, it was good to see their brotherhood increase as they got to know each other better. The first day we had Mass together at the Cathedral with Bishop Rice, then went to our retreat location.

Day two, we had prayer together in the morning and in the afternoon went to the vocations BBQ. The guys were swimming, fishing, and playing games. I joined for a few rounds of volleyball and had good conversations about priesthood. There were many Hispanic young men there from the area and Bishop Rice made a point of speaking to them directly to say, “Don’t think of yourselves as immigrants, this is your home, your church. Your church needs you to step up and be priests!” After a good meal, we all went home.

The next two days were spent with prayer again in the mornings and afternoon recreation. Each seminarian was able to meet one on one with Bishop Rice to talk about their goals for the coming year. By the end of the trip, the men were feeling more confident in their new identity as seminarians and ready to start school. Thank you for your prayers. Let us continue to pray for vocations to the priesthood in our diocese.

Fr. Joseph