6/15/2025

I want to thank you all for your prayers and support for vocations in our Diocese over the years. Prayers and support I am deeply grateful for on this my anniversary on June 14th. Now those same prayers and support are being answered in these seven young men now being ordained for service in our Diocese. It has been such a blessing to have many of them spend time in our parishes over the years. I hope you know how important that time has been in their formation. Actual time spent in parishes is a foundational part of their discernment. There is nothing distant then about your support – you all personally have had a hand in helping them say yes to Jesus’ call. In His providence there is no better way that I can think of to celebrate my anniversary than by having my brother, and other good friends, ordained on the same day!

I want to mention a few dates for some upcoming events this summer:

Youth Hike and Mass: This will be Saturday, July 12th. We will meet at Sacred Heart at 8am and carpool to Lost Nations State Game Area for the hike down to the Sile Doty Cave. There is a clearing there where we will celebrate Mass. This is a great event every year and has been fun having our youth and families. The hike in is a bit over a mile to the cave and then the same back. (The North Country Trail cuts through Lost Nations and provides a great hiking opportunity right in our backyard if that is something you enjoy.)

Parish Picnic: Friday, August 1 st from 5-7pm with food available. As in past years, it will be hosted at St. Mary on the Lake. The lawn space is great for games and hanging out. All parishioners and families are welcome. There is always a water game that I end up spending a lot of time in getting wet – for some reason all the kids love to dunk me!

Parish to Parish walking pilgrimage: Saturday, August 23 rd , we will have our parish to parish walking pilgrimage. A pilgrimage is a spiritual journey, meant to remind us that we are going somewhere in this life, to Heaven itself. It is a holy walk that helps remind us that life itself is meant to be a holy walk. Pilgrimages also capture some sense of what life is like – it is not always easy, it takes perseverance, you can’t see the end of the road before you get there, and that along the way we are not alone.

We will leave Sacred Heart at 8am to walk the 11 miles between our parishes. Much of the route is beautiful gravel roads wending our way past farm fields and woods. We will have a

parishioner shadowing us along the way with water and Gatorade along with providing a ride if needed. There will be hot dogs for lunch at St. Mary’s once we arrive. As it gets closer, we will get signups available but I wanted you to mark it down. It was a great experience last year as we walked and prayed our way there.

Please feel free to drop off old religious items at the parish office – Bibles, scapulars, etc. I have a number of things that I will make sure are disposed of properly. (Blessed items are either burned in a separate place or are buried if not of a flammable material.)

God Bless,

Fr. Todd