Dear Parishioners,

This weekend is our 60th Anniversary of the Parish. This is a huge achievement and a moment to remember how far we have all come. I am blessed to be your pastor and I thank all of you for making my first time being a pastor of a church a memorable and fruitful experience. (I am learning more and more every day!) Though the parish has been through a lot of change (especially in the last year), we have all made it to this day and the holy sacrifice of the Mass which draws us all together, continues to be celebrated with reverence and dignity. May we continue to praise Our Lord Jesus Christ today and tomorrow as we have done since this parish was founded following the great apostolic traditions that go back to time immemorial.

Today it might be hard to be Catholic and to live the faith well. But, we should never be afraid to love Our Lord above all things. By being part of a parish, Our Lord is drawing us into something greater than ourselves. We are together as a Church, not for our glory, but for His glory. While the world tells us to live out our own selfish desires and find fulfillment in isolation, the Church tells us that we are only happy when we learn how to give of ourselves for the sake of others. May we never be afraid to love one another and may we see that pattern of love in the Mass itself, where Christ’s own act of love is made present again.

May being part of this community confirm in us the truths of the Faith. These truths that the Church teaches are a light in a dark world. They are hope in a realm of hopelessness. They are meaning in a world which seems to have no meaning. The more we live by Christ’s truths, the more we can live an authentically human life. May we listen to God above all things.

It is good to be Catholic and it is good to be a member of this Church.

God bless!

Father Carter

P.S. Because this celebration falls on the exact weekend that the parish itself was founded, we will be celebrating the Votive Mass of the Anniversary of a Church for all the Masses this weekend. So, the prayers of the Mass won’t be the normal “20th Sunday of Ordinary Time” prayers.