Dear Parishioners and Friends

In the beginning of time, God created the world, the plants and the animals, and finally man, whom He called Adam. But this ancestor succumbed to Satan’s temptations; he was expelled from paradise burdened with the sin that became embedded in each of us.

If not for the Mercy of God, who sent Jesus Christ, we would still be under the dominion of the insidious power of the devil. The death of Jesus and His Resurrection opened the way to Salvation for us and made possible our return to our Father – God. The moment He fulfilled the Father’s will, Jesus became the second Adam, the One who, at the end of time, would come back to embrace us all with His Great Merciful Love. Contemporaries of Christ showed mercy to one another, they learned to recognize Divine Mercy: “The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common.”(Acts 4:32).

Thanks to God’s Mercy, we have the opportunity to participate in the Mystery of the Birth and Life, Death and Resurrection, and Redemption and Glory of our Lord, Jesus Christ. God’s Mercy gave us not only faith, but also the Sacraments that bring us closer to the Lord. Through the Sacrament of Baptism, we belong to the Church; through the Sacrament of Penance, we beg pardon of God and obtain the remission of sins, and through the Eucharist, we become participants in His continual Sacrificial Presence.  Our response to Mercy must be our love for God and our neighbor: ” In this way we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey his commandments. For the love of God is this, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome ” (1J 5, 2-3)

The words of the Gospel about the disbelieving Thomas, called Didymus, whom Jesus allows to touch his wounds, can be interpreted as Mercy to those who had come before us, to those present now, to those who will come after us, to all those who though not seeing God believe in Him. For: “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” (Jn 20,29).

My very sincere thanks to all of you who took part in my evaluation. I am grateful for your many beautiful and warm words about me. I must admit that your assessment of my work was the highest possible and much higher than my own assessment. I confess that I have worked very hard all these years. I never took a day off. I have never traveled on vacation without being in the company of parishioners. I leave you in good financial condition; practically all parish buildings have been renovated; the sacristy and church boast the most beautiful altar cloths and liturgical vestments. I tried to be with you in happy and in sad times. I am sorry that I could not satisfy everyone. Of all who took part in the evaluation, two persons were not satisfied with anything.

Jesus Christ, Risen Lord and Teacher, help us to understand the depth of God’s Mercy so that we may merit admittance into Our Father’s House.

God bless!