From the Pastor’s desk— May 18, 2025

Dear Parishioners,

This week there is no mass, because I will be gone. It’s a good reminder to pray for more vocations and encourage our young people to respond to God’s call. His radical generosity deserves a radical response and the world needs priests.

Every year around this time I go for a week of vacation with a few brother priests, close in age and ordained within the same three-year window. We don’t all see much of each other through the year, and we are different from each other in many ways, but these few days are a time when we reunite to rest and catch up. This year we’re going to Bardstown, KY. It’s known as one of the earliest dioceses of the United States, and it extended over the territories extending to the west, including Missouri! The area is also known for the Bourbon Trail of distilleries.

Last year, when we were in Hot Springs, Arkansas (we go where we can road trip), one of my favorite memories was praying together. Every priest prays the psalms, the Liturgy of the Hours, throughout each day and in the seminary, we would pray them together as a community and sing from beginning to end. Most days now I might pray along with a recording, or I just read silently in my head. Joining my brothers to pray always builds me up in my faith. When we sing a hymn together, I know we are united. Of all the sightseeing, good food and fun, nothing is better than praying together.

Please pray for me while I am away. I will be praying for you!

Fr. Joseph