Pastoral Letter: A Joyful Welcome

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ –
 
Happy Easter!
 
Last night and today, Christians around the world gather to celebrate our highest of holy days, the resurrection of Jesus. At Easter, we remember and give thanks that love is stronger than death. We remember and give thanks that the Light of the World dispels both our personal and communal darknesses. We remember and give thanks that the merciful and healing love of God unbinds us and sets us free.
 
For many of us, our weeks of praying and fasting and almsgiving during Lent give way to Easter joy that freedom, light and new life bring. For others of us, our own life circumstances aren’t in sync with the liturgical calendar. Easter joy may be delayed by the loss of a loved one, the struggle with addiction, feeling alone or abandoned, facing health or financial challenges, or not finding the hope or the courage with which we want to live our lives. For some, the suffering of Good Friday lingers, or the wait in the tomb continues. So we wait, confident in the promise that Jesus made to his disciple before his ascension – he is with us until the end of the age. Resurrection will come.
 
A great joy for us all is the new life given to our Church and our parish community by those who were baptized, received into the Church, confirmed and/or received the Eucharist for the first time this Easter weekend. We are grateful to God for their witness and enthusiasm, and we welcome them as part of our community. We also look forward to the ways in which they will add to and deepen our parish life. Special thanks to their catechists, our catechists for our Children’s Faith Formation, Rite of Christian Initiation of Children, and Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults programs. We are grateful for their care and dedication.
 
On this Easter Sunday, let us ask God, then, that we may continue to experience at ever-deeper levels the freedom, the life and the joy that is this day, that is captured in the Easter greeting, Alleluia!

On Easter Monday, I will begin my sabbatical, finally taking the trip that St. Ignatius parishioners gave me three years ago when we celebrated the 25th anniversary of my ordination. I will be away for four months, spending time with my family in San Jose, California and in Sicily; cycling in northern Italy, southern France, and Iowa; enjoying Italian food, French wine, and Midwestern hospitality. This comes just as I mark 10 years as pastor of St. Ignatius Parish, which have been among the happiest in my 38 years as a Jesuit. I am excited about this time to rest and recharge, but I look forward to returning in August with renewed energy to continue our work together, especially to engage all we heard and learned in our recent parish Synod. (Know that we are already making some plans in light of what we heard in the Synod: engaging with Discerning Deacons, an organization in the US that is actively discerning the role of women in the Diaconate; activities at St. Ignatius during Pride Month that make more explicit our embrace of our LGBTQ+ sisters and brothers; and a dynamic series on the Second Vatican Council and its meaning for us today in our turbulent church, with nationally recognized speakers.) I leave you in the deeply caring and remarkably capable hands of our parish staff, with Fr. John Whitney as the Acting Pastor. In the meantime, I will carry you in my heart and keep you in my prayers.
 
God bless you and all your family and friends with the joy of the risen Lord! See you in August. As ever,
 
oremus pro invicem,
 
Fr. Greg