Dear Friends in Christ,
I am so grateful to Fr. Mike McDermott and Fr. Matt Himes for filling in this weekend. Fr. Mike we are so blessed to see often in his work at the hospital and at St. John’s Catholic Prep. He is always so generous in helping out the parishes of Frederick County when there is a need. Fr. Matt Himes is the associate Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Baltimore. I’m going to take a wild guess as to what he will be preaching about – Vocations!
Thinking about, discerning, and praying for vocations to the priesthood, diaconate, and religious life is so important for our Church. I know that our seminarian David is working on some ideas to help us all pray for and think about vocations. There is no greater joy for a parish than to see one of its parishioners beginning the process of preparation to the priesthood, diaconate, or religious life. It is also a great sign of a healthy parish when it produces vocations of radical service for the people of God as a priest, deacon, or religious. If you are thinking about a vocation in the Church, I would love to talk with you about it. Please talk about the possibility of a vocation with your children or fellow parishioners you think would make a great priest, deacon, friar, nun, monk, or sister. It is a great joy and a wonderful blessing. Just think there is great job security, free education, wonderful friendships, you make a real difference, and the retirement benefits are literally out of this world. Let us make praying for and supporting vocations part of the culture of our great parish here at SKD. Right now, I’m somewhere in the Caribbean wishing you all the best – God bless you!
Fr. Matt
