Dear Sisters and Brothers in Faith:
June 5, 2011 is a date that will long remain in my
memory because it was on that date that Bishop Jo-
seph Cistone ordained me and my three classmates
to the permanent diaconate. This ordination has al-
lowed me to serve the community of St. Vincent de
Paul Shepherd, St. Patrick Irishtown, and St. Leo the
Great Winn for the past three years as pastoral ad-
ministrator. This service has been such a pleasure
for Joanne and me and the time has just flown by so
rapidly that we can hardly believe we have been
here that long. Thank you to every one of you who
have supported us in this ministry.
When the call goes out for volunteers to serve on our
Pastoral Parish or Finance Councils, it is gratifying to
have such quality individuals as Butch Ballauer, Bill
Daniels, Leah Rau, and Kaylie Willoughby step for-
ward. I offer sincere congratulations to Messrs. Bal-
lauer and Daniels for having been selected by the
Lord to serve on the councils. My gratitude goes out
also to Ms. Rau and Ms. Willoughby for their willing-
ness to serve had they been chosen.
Reflecting on today’s readings at Mass can have a
powerful impact on us. With God every person has a
unique dignity—we are all children of God, and each
of us is unrepeatable. For this reason, each of us
has our own personal way of serving God, some-
thing that only we, as individuals, can do. We differ in
our backgrounds, our opportunities, and our inherent
gifts, but each of us has something we are called to
do. Because of this we are each to respond with
dedication and faith to the challenges of our lives.
Everyone counts and everyone has a life to live. The
best example we have for how to live our lives is Je-
sus who became one of us, and was known as “the
Man for Others.”
I hope you have a Christ-filled week!
St. Vincent de Paul, pray for us!
May the Holy Spirit always be with you.
Deacon Mike