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Dear Parishioners; We have almost come to the end of the 2010 Annual Catholic Appeal. As of December 20th, 2010, Our Lady of Mercy Parish had done very well. 189 family units out of 1,177 registered families (16.06%) pledged $97,442.00 against the Diocesan mandated goal of $71,021. We pledged 137.20% of the goal. As of December 20th, $93,252.00 of the Goal (131.30%) and 95.70 percent of the amount pledged was paid. This is our strongest showing ever and I congratulate my fellow priests and every other parishioner that contributed to the Annual Catholic Appeal. I have always emphasized the aspects of the Appeal that I feel should resonate strongly with our parishioners. In the near future strong, normal and devout vocations to the priesthood will be absolutely fundamental for the health of our Diocese and Church. No matter what form or shape the Church takes in the future, it will always require a cadre of dedicated people, who extend the ministry of Jesus throughout the ages. An old Latin phrase described the priest as "alter Christus" (another Christ) who despite his faults and sinfulness follows in the footsteps of the Twelve Apostles, who were imperfect men. All Christians by Baptism are identified with Christ but in special way our priests are called to minister to their brothers and sisters in the Church. Essentially it is a ministry of preaching, leadership and celebration of the Sacraments. Without these the Church cannot exist. Fewer priests or no priests mean a severely truncated Church limited by fewer opportunities to celebrate the mysteries of faith. We should be appalled that too many of our active Diocesan priests are over sixty years of age. While sixty is not a ticket to a Senior Citizens' Home, it is not young and if an organization is substantially staffed by folks over their sixtieth birthday, it should give us pause. A secular corporation would be profoundly worried about such statistics! Not only would new, vibrant and exciting ideas be scanty but also a glance at the future should be frightening. What about ten years from now? What about twenty years from now? Take our own parish as an example. Assuming that the Lord gives us another decade or so, ten years from now, yours truly will be over seventy-five years of age, Father John will be seventy-eight and Monsignor Langelier (who is officially retired but who thankfully continues to assist at Our Lady of Mercy.) will be eighty six. Will we only be appalled, when there is no full time chaplain in the hospital when we or a loved one are ill, or when our child can not have the wedding date they wanted, or when we cannot bury a loved one when we would have liked to do so, or when there is no longer three Masses every weekday and perhaps on some days there are none? The Appeal hopes to remediate this looming problem by using some of these funds to promote both priestly and religious vocations and then to properly educate those vocations that might surface. This is a costly task. The other area that I emphasize involves the other end of the cycle, our retired or ill priests. Many of the latter group can no longer minister as they might like; while the former almost always are lending a hand wherever it is needed. Most priests never really retire in the usual sense of that word. A good example of this is Monsignor Larry Hinch, who often assists us during the week when one of our priests is not available. Monsignor Hinch served the Diocese is in many capacities including that of pastor. In his "retirement" he is assisting throughout the Diocese. His story is that of most of our retired priests. In justice their care is a serious obligation for the entire Church community. The third aspect that I have emphasized is the amount from the Appeal that is returned to the parish. Usually we receive about ten thousand dollars a year but that amount is predicated on several items, one of which is the discharge of the remaining balances. A four thousand dollar balance exists between what was pledged and what has been paid. These are not the best of economic times and a family's situation can change from the time that they made the pledge until now. I realize this and I respect it. However, I would ask that all who can do so fulfill their pledge so that our parish will realize some funds in the next month or so. Nonetheless, even if the Appeal provided nothing for the individual parishes the first two items I outlined are absolutely crucial for the health and well-being of our Diocese and ultimately our parish. As always my sincere thanks to our unfailingly generous parishioners.
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