From the Pastor’s desk— September 8, 2024
Dear Parishioners:
This weekend begins PSR! Welcome to a new year of learning in the parish. Thank you to our catechists for giving up personal time to teach. Catechists are helpers to our parents, who are the first teachers of their kids. Parents model how to talk, walk, eat, and more for their little ones. As they grow up, parents have a right and responsibility to educate their children. No wonder it’s so overwhelming to receive a new child from God! It’s more than anyone can do alone. That’s why we need to help parents where we can. Thanks be to God for the generosity of teachers and catechists who lift some burden off parents.
In addition to thanking our catechists, I want to help parents themselves feel more confident. Whether they are signed up for PSR, St Joseph’s Academy, or homeschooling, our parents need affirmation and direction. So, if you’re a parent reading this, remember God has chosen you for your child because he wanted you to be their teacher. Our catechists are dedicated, but they can only teach a little in their little amount of time on Sunday. God has given your young ones to you for the rest of the week, and he wants to help you raise them up strong.
Here is my advice to parents: live life with a clear conscience. Place religious images around you at home, in your car, and on your person as a reminder of God. Be a part of church, let mass be the one thing you don’t miss all week when nothing else goes right. Learn to say you’re sorry. Pray together with your family. Don’t worry about doing it just right, God simply wants you to be together as a family and to be a part of that with you. In all things, trust in God – he’s not as worried as you are.
Fr. Joseph