My Dear Brothers and Sisters at St. Peter’s Parish:
One of the greatest signs of God’s mercy to all of us is that of the birth of His Son in a poor manger in order that we might all have eternal life. The poverty of the manger and the fact that Christ comes to us as a baby proclaims that God wishes to come to every human being— no matter what their position or status in the world. As a baby, Christ comes so that all might desire to pick Him up and welcome Him into their hearts. No one is afraid of a child. Children are welcomed with love. God who loves us unconditionally wants us to welcome Him without fear and without reservation. His love and mercy is for all people and it comes to us freely in Jesus Christ, whom Pope Francis has called “the face of the Father’s Mercy.” I pray that all of us during the coming Year of Mercy may grow and experience God’s love and mercy for each of us as it comes to us in Christ the Lord.
This year I have experienced God the Father’s generosity and mercy in my assignment to this parish. You have all treated me and Father Yaw with such kindness and patience during this time of transition. At times I know that I have been overwhelmed with how new things are and the great activity in our parish. As I try to continue the work that the many Paulist priests who were stationed here over the years fulfilled so generously, I apologize if at times I have failed to meet your expectations or not been able to respond to the many demands of the parish. I hope we can continue to work together to build up Saint Peter’s as an active community of faith. As we do so, I hope that the parishioners will continue to work to develop the lay ministries that will allow this great work to continue with the fewer numbers of priests assigned to the parish. I am looking forward to continuing to work to develop the lay ministries that will allow St. Peter’s to continue as a vibrant community of faith with reasonable expectations as to what can be expected of the reduced number of clergy assigned to our parish community. The Ministry Fair that will take place in our parish in January will be a great opportunity for all to get involved and share the work.
In order that our parish may be a sign of God’s mercy in the midst of our busy city, I am hoping to introduce Eucharistic Adoration to the Centre Chapel this February. I would like to see enough people sign up to be a part of this effort to be able to have Adoration from Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each day. Eventually, when this has practice has become firmly established, we can move Adoration to our parish church and hopefully can have the church opened in the day-time for people to come from around the city to pray before our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.
Christmas is a beautiful time to give thanks to God for the different ways in which we experience God’s presence in our lives. I would like to thank each parishioner of St. Peter’s Church for helping me to experience God’s presence as I serve in this great parish. It is a joy for me to be with you as your parish priest and I am looking forward to the exciting future we will have together here in this parish. It is a future that will depend upon all of us doing our part to build up our community in faith and charity.
Prayers and best wishes for all of God’s blessings this Christmas and throughout the Year of Mercy in 2016.
Merry Christmas!
Fr. Michael McGourty,
Pastor
