News - August 2018 RSS Feed

How can it not be with a deep sense of profound sadness that we were subjected to the horror and tragedy of the report in Pennsylvania exposing multi-decades of sex abuse and systemic cover-up of said abuse by bishops, priests, deacons, and other church personnel. While all of those named were already out of ministerial service, some for over forty years, it does not diminish the sense of anger, shame, and disappointment that we all feel. In this case it is more of the truth of the adage that the cover-up is worse than the crime. Read more.

Pope Francis has sent a letter to the People of God on August 20, 2018, in the wake of the findings of the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report. Here is the Vatican-provided text. "Letter of His Holiness Pope Francis to the People of God." Click on the title above to read.

In the world of church ministry there are some, but frankly not many, great career opportunities that come along. Most of ministry involves either parish work in religious education, or youth ministry, or faith formation or perhaps coordinating various ministries within the parish. There are chaplain and pastoral counseling positions in hospitals, colleges and schools, and many end up teaching – as I did – in Catholic high schools or colleges. The salaries aren’t always great, and usually the demands for advanced degrees can make the balance difficult to justify either the education or the workload. The primary focus always has to be the passion for sharing the faith. Before that, of course, one must be passionate about living the faith. As the business of running or conducting ministry takes over one’s life, burnout is a consistent problem. Read more.

This week is the beginning of the mass exodus of college students. We had our college blessing a couple of weeks ago, if anyone missed that and would like to receive a blessing before heading off, please present yourself to either Father JM or myself after Mass or at the parish office during the week. Read more.

Have we hit the dog days of summer yet? Coming off of two unsettled weeks of weather it looks like the next heat wave is ahead. That’s a good way to kick off the traditional vacation month. Here is to hoping that everyone has a chance to enjoy some downtime over the next few weeks. Read more.