Letter From Our Pastor

Dear Parish Family: Hopefully there's a quiet moment before Mass begins. You're here, you're present, but everything hasn't quite started yet. And maybe that's the perfect moment to ask a simple question that we don't ask often enough: How do you see yourself in this community that we are trying to build?

Because the first reading from Acts of the Apostles is refreshingly honest. The early Church was not perfect. It had tensions, misunderstandings, even complaints. A group of widows felt overlooked, and they spoke up. That matters. It tells us something important: from the very beginning, the Church was not a place without problems, it was a place that knew how to face them.

And how did the apostles respond? They didn't ignore the issue, and they didn't try to control everything themselves. Instead, they listened, they prayed, and they invited others to step in and serve. They raised up new leaders, men of good reputation, to care for the needs of the community.

In other words, they built a Church where everyone had a role. That's the part we can't miss.

The solution wasn't just administrative, it was spiritual. It recognized something essential about the Christian life: it always holds together two things, prayer and service. The apostles remained devoted to preaching and prayer, but they also made sure the concrete needs of the community were met. One without the other would have weakened the Church.

And here's the result, and it's not accidental: the number of disciples increased.

Growth came not from programs alone, but from a community that was alive, engaged, and balanced.

Now bring that into our parish.

I think we are moving away from the model of thinking the Church as something we attend. We come, we sit, we receive, and we leave. But that's not the Church the apostles built. And it's not the Church Christ envisions.

St. Peter reminds us that we are "living stones," not spectators, not occasional visitors, but essential parts of something God is building. A living, breathing spiritual home. That means this parish does not exist apart from you. It exists because of you.

Your prayer matters. Your presence matters. Your willingness to serve matters.

And here's where I want to be direct, because this is where things either grow or quietly decline:

If you are not involved, even in a small way, then you are missing something essential about your vocation as a Christian.

That doesn't mean everyone does the same thing. It means everyone does something. For some, it's service as an usher. For others, it's caring for the poor, teaching the faith, making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, welcoming new faces, supporting ministries, or simply being intentional about building relationships instead of slipping in and out unnoticed. No act of service done with love is small.

And the Gospel brings it all into focus. Jesus says, "I go to prepare a place for you." He is not just speaking about heaven as a distant reality. He is revealing something about the heart of God. There is a place for you. You are not accidental. You are wanted.

But here's the challenge: if we believe there is a place for us in the Father's house, then we have to help create a place for others here and now. That's what a parish is supposed to be. Not anonymous, not transactional, but a real community where people are known, welcomed, and loved. A place that gives a glimpse, however imperfect, of the kingdom that awaits

So as you sit here, just before Mass begins, don't let this be routine. Ask yourself honestly:

Where is God calling me to step in? Not someday. Now.

Because the Church grows, not when a few do everything, but when many take ownership of the mission. That's how it worked in the beginning. That's how it still works today.

And if we get that right, if we truly become a community of prayer and service, then what happened in Acts will happen here: The word of God will spread.

And the number of disciples will increase.

Not because of strategy alone, but because people will encounter something real. Something alive. Something worth giving their life to.

-Fr. Richard Vigoa