From Father Steven - February 13, 2022

​Dear Brothers & Sisters,
   
For a few years now, our parish has been served by priests formed at Redemptoris Mater Archdiocesan Missionary Seminary, which was opened by Cardinal Seán in 2005 to form priests for the New Evangelization of the Church and for the missio ad gentes (mission to the faraway).
 
As priests, we are honored to serve you and the more we get to know you, the better we understand our vocation and the mission that the Lord has entrusted to us. Part of this mission is to pray for vocations and to realize that we all have a responsibility to transmit the faith to the next generation and to promote and support vocations to the priesthood.
 
Therefore, after praying about this matter and discussing it with our Parish Finance Council, I have decided that, starting this Lent we will begin tithing regularly from our weekly offertory to support the formation program at Redemptoris Mater Seminary. This seminary does not have an endowment and lives entirely from the generosity of benefactors and the Providence of God.
 
I know that I speak for myself, but also for other priests who are familiar to our parish including Fr. Israel, Fr. Adriano, Fr. Andrea, that the Lord has always been generous to us and that we never lacked what we needed in our formation. Among us there are also a number of seminarians that attend our parish regularly: Gabriel, Mateus, Javier, Aaron, Michael, Rafael, Alexander and Henry and I am certain that this initiative will be as much a help to the seminary as it will be a grace for our parish.
 
Whether in our prayers or in our conversations, let us speak well of God and especially encourage the young people to be bold and generous as they ponder what to do with their lives. And let us pray that they may not be afraid to fall in love with God in the possibility of a consecrated life of service to the Church through the gift of the priesthood. 
 
God Bless,
Fr. Steven