Dear Parishioners,

Friday of last week, I was privileged with our Bishop and priests of the diocese to celebrate Mass for the beloved pastor of Our Lady of the Mountain, Fr. George.  Our Lady of the Mountain is, of course, the mother parish of both St. Luke and St. Mark.  In the early 80s, Fr. George purchased the land for our parish and then encouraged the break off for those living in the valley to become parishioners of the new emerging parish of St. Luke.  For those of us who knew and respected Fr. George, he was quite the character, a devoted pastor and a devoted shepherd for his flock.  We thank God for his gifts and place him in the arms of Jesus, our loving Savior.

On Saturday I was delighted to begin the outdoor Mass again.  A big thank you to the many people who worked hard to ensure things were in place.  As you can see, the outdoor chapel is being renovated.  We have just seeded a new lawn area and the altar is being resurfaced by our young eagle scout, Mike Csipkay.  Vinnie Infinito and Joe Perno have a plan to work on a better sound system and we appreciate the patience that this might take a month or so.  It was really wonderful to be outdoors again surrounded by the beauty of nature and the glory of God.  

As we gather this weekend in celebration for the Feast of Corpus Christi, we call to mind that what we receive we become.  Our prayer and vision is that through the gift of the Holy Eucharist together we strive to be more Christ-centered as in Servant Ministry we work together to grow God’s kingdom on earth. 

On this Sunday evening I fly to Phoenix, Arizona for a three-and-a-half-day workshop on Youth Ministry leadership.  I am bringing Sean, our Youth Minister trainee, and Fr. Alex is bringing Quinn, their Youth Minister.  During these days, my hope is that Sean will get to meet other experienced youth ministers and learn through the experiences of other seasoned youth ministers in a changing world.  I will be back on Thursday.  A big thanks to Fr. Hubert for taking charge of the parish in my absence.  

Congratulations to Emily, Maeve and Maggie who graduated last weekend.  I was honored to preside at the Graduation Mass at Villa Walsh and proud to see the results of many years of role-modeling and sacrifice come to completion.   We pray that the graduates at Villa Walsh through the gift of Catholic education will be strong Catholic women of the world equal to their male counterparts and ready to be leaders of church, state and in their own chosen career.  Catholic education is a choice that not everybody can make.  I am proud that here at St. Luke we have many young adults who have been educated through the public school and are a credit to our communities and our church. This past Sunday, just before celebrating 6 pm Mass, I was happy to take a photo with five boys from our own parish who are such a credit to us.  We were missing Paul, who is an excellent usher and Hailey, who is an excellent reader and of course, we are remembering members of our young adult choir for their sharing of their love of music and their love of God with us.  Congrats to all our graduates!  God bless all our parents who teach from kindergarten through 10th grade, the love of our faith and point them toward service in our community.

Fr. Owen