Pastor's Notes for October 7

Dear Parishioners,
We received a letter from Bishop LeVoir thanking us for our prayers and concern at the time of his mother's death. I offered the Mass at the KC chartering for his mother, in addition to sending a card in the name of the Light of the World Area Faith Community.
On Tuesday of this last week, I took a quick trip to St. Paul to visit our seminarians. They are doing well, but in the course of our time together I was reminded that the best thing we can do to support them is prayer. Especially our new seminarians are immersed is a different way of life, with the spiritual formation that will form the backbone of their hopeful priestly ministry and the intensity of their intellectual studies, they are under enormous pressure, not to mention the spiritual battle that they face. Your prayers help that! As we were talking, I was amazed at the changes in the seminaries since I had first entered 20 years ago. Before that time, there was a certain murkiness about identity of the priest, masculinity, and the Catholic faith in general. Yes, there was scandalous activity (sadly) and certain individuals with a deviant sexuality were admitted, and some were even ordained and went on to commit heinous crimes with minors (a majority of which were post-pubiscent males). Those issues have been addressed by and large. Many 'Vatican II' thinking individuals see this as a reversing the course, as the seminarians are aware of the awesome, and fearsome, task that awaits them should they be ordained. The seminarians are aware that they will be ordained in a Church that has individuals that have gravely sinned (both in deeds, and in not quickly enough of properly addressing those who sinned), yet a Church that is profoundly beautiful and worth giving one's life. They grasp the reality that the Church's teachings are timeless, and are not based on the whims of the human heart, but on the very plan of God the Father. They love the Church for what she is, and seek to help her members live a truly holy life by modeling one themselves.
In Christ,
Fr. Todd