March 19, 2023

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

We enter into the Fourth Sunday of Lent where in the Gospel we hear how Jesus heals a man who was born blind.  For the Gospel of John—Seeing and believing is an important theme.  For the man who was born blind and given sight by Jesus, it is an example of how the man born blind’s faith increased.  However for the ones who kept questioning him, it was a growing rejection of Jesus as they refused to see the gift of Jesus in their lives.  We too are faced with the same question – “Do you believe in the Son of Man”  Christ can radically change our lives if we allow him to.  The Eucharist we receive at each Mass is meant to build us up and send us forth – to be the presence of Christ to all in our lives.  Can we be open to allowing Christ to lead us just as how the man born blind allowed Christ to lead him?

We had our Lenten Mission last Monday to Wednesday.  We would like to thank Fr James Sichko for presenting our Lenten Mission.  We pray that God will continue to guide him in his mission.

I will be making a home visit from March 19th to the 31st.  My mother had a knee replacement at the beginning of February, and I was not able to make it back to assist her.  She was transferred a week after her surgery to a rehab hospital where she remains undergoing intensive physical therapy each day.  Hopefully she will be discharged from hospital before I return.  Please keep her in your prayers.

The Raise the Paddle project for the MARQUEE is for a new H/Vac system for the Gym.  This will provide air conditioning for the gym.  The cost for the new H/Vac system is $200,000.  At the time of writing this letter we are at $107,200.  We are inviting you to help us meet our goal for this new H/VAC system.  You can donate to the Raise the Paddle project online at https://ppay.co/e1Abf13sypc or you can drop off your donation at the Parish Office.  We thank you for your support.  We also have our own “limited edition” Mary Our Queen Commemorative 60th Anniversary bottle of Oak and Eden – Bourbon and Spire that you can purchase at https://my.onecause.com/…/vevt…/shop/fixed-price as well as several sign up parties that are being hosted.

There will be several projects taking place this summer.  The first involves the installation of new hot water piping with a variable volume terminal unit with a heating water coil in each classroom which connects to the existing ductwork in the upper level of our School this Summer.  The hot water piping in the lower level of our School had been replaced over the last two Summers.  We are also looking at the replacement of the roof in the Kenny Center which is in need of replacement.

We are in the midst of changing our database, communications and online giving software.  While this is taking longer than we had expected, however this new software would give us the opportunity to integrate our Church software to something which is more comprehensive instead of using multiple software applications that requires the replication of different tasks.  We will be sending communications to inform you of the process and how you are able to log into this new software with ease.  As we enter the new year, you will be hearing about our Stewardship renewal plans for our Parish.  This will not be just monetary, but it will incorporate the financial, ministry and spiritual needs of our parish and school community.

God’s Blessings,

Fr Marc