Are you ready to embark on a journey this Lent?

Since I arrived in Wentzville on August 1st, I’ve had a lot of time to pray about St. Patrick Parish and her role as part of the very Body of Jesus Christ. I’ve also pondered the efficacy of my priesthood and my fatherhood.  As you can imagine, there’s a lot to ponder in prayer.  I know that I try with all my heart but I also am very cognizant that I make mistakes, not for lack of trying.  :-)

That said, as we begin Lent, I have spent a great deal of time in prayer asking myself, “What do I personally seek from Jesus and what are the People of God seeking on their journeys to Jesus Christ?" One thought in particular keeps coming back. It’s simply this: the People of God want to be inspired by their communities of faith; the Church; the priesthood. I daresay that people want “to want to be willing" to die for their faith in Jesus Christ. And yet, our materialistic culture (of creature comforts) can lull many into complacency.  

How do we combat the apathy of so many fallen-away Catholics and “Nones”? There are so many things we can do, beginning with prayer; acts of kindness; loving people unconditionally, etc. But to truly combat the apathy, I think we need to be “a people and a parish” who invites others to be part of our community. Having just walked back to my room after the first Fish Fry, I was overwhelmed by the awesomeness of our community. People in our world want to feel like they belong to something and that’s exactly what I witnessed at the Fish Fry tonight. A wonderful community of belonging!

Imagine if we all invited just one person/week to join us for prayer, the Sacraments, and community. Wow. God is doing great things here, as he has been for a very long time. But imagine what he has in store for us!

God bless you all!

Yours in Christ,