“That Your Fruit Should Abide”

Dear Friends in Christ,

            If you look closely at the artwork above the Tabernacle, you can see vines with clusters of grapes meandering through the lettering.  One can interpret the meaning of this artistic expression from several perspectives:  It is grace that holds the Church and her Four Marks together, it is the Eucharist that we receive and adore, and finally a reference to Jesus’ teaching on discipleship in John Chapter 15.  It is this third dimension that I would like to reflect on with you as I write my penultimate column as your Pastor.  Over the past month, especially in the evenings as I pray alone in our newly renovated church, my priestly heart is filled with gratitude for all the Lord has accomplished through us during these past ten years and the fruit we have produced.  Setting aside the structural improvements we have made to the church including:  The new bathrooms, the new HVAC system, and the church renovation, I would like to highlight a few other areas.

            A fruit that I see abiding for years to come is the work we have done at integrating our parish from a multiplicity of perspectives.  We have many parish ministries, but they do not operate in a silo but with the aim of supporting our parish mission and giving glory to God.  I am also grateful for our integrated and most generous response to our Lenten almsgiving with both a local and international emphasis.  This past Lent, we raised more than $30,000 for both the Center for Pregnancy Concerns as well as the marginalized Christians in Karachi, Pakistan.  I am also most grateful for the integration that has formed naturally amongst our culturally diverse community, and for the establishment of the African Catholic Community of St. Joseph.

            Finally, a fruit I see that will remain long after I have left is the virtue of fortitude in the way our community responded to the unprecedented restrictions that were placed on the citizens of the world during the 2020 pandemic.  As soon as we were allowed to gather for Mass, albeit outside, we did so, in an exemplary fashion.  Our upper soccer field was transformed into an outdoor sanctuary for the Lord, with a custom-built platform so that the holy Sacrifice of the Mass could be offered in a dignified manner, and a sound system was set up each week so that the hundreds of parishioners and visitors who attended our outdoor Masses could hear the Word of God and sing along with our music ministry.  We put our “Faith over fear,” and this practice of courage/ fortitude continues to bear fruit.  May we all remain connected to Jesus, the true vine, as we seek to bear new fruit for His Kingdom in the next chapter of St. Joseph Church & School.

With Love and Gratitude,