Happy Anniversary! What a joy it is as we kickoff the celebration of our parish’s 175th year of being St. Patrick’s West Park Alive in Christ. Anniversaries are a time to look back to where we’ve been, to celebrate where we are, and to look forward to where we hope to go.

   As we look back, we are truly grateful and indebted to the time, effort, and dedication of so many people who have given and sacrificed so much so that we could come to this point in time. From those who nurtured the mustard seed of faith from which our parish has its roots to those who prayed and stood in witness when our story was challenged, the story of St. Patrick’s is a story of countless men and women of bold and convicted faith. Stories that, if they hadn’t been told, we might not be here today.

   As we celebrate where we are, we have so much to be thankful for. I know that I am truly grateful and blessed to be here with you in this important year. St. Patrick West Park is certainly a parish centered in Christ. Every time I stand at the altar during Mass and look out I see the faces of those who are striving to follow Christ in both word and action. Thank you for all that you are and all that you do to help us continue to tell the story of the love and mercy of Christ. Without each of us doing what we can to help us worship, to help us reach out to those in need, to help teach and share the faith both in and beyond our walls, Alive in Christ would be nothing more than an empty slogan.

   As we look forward to where we hope to go, I challenge each and every one of us, myself included, to ask ourselves what we can to do to help the story of faith continue to be told in and through our parish. Each and every one of us has something to offer to help our parish continue to be alive in Christ. As so many have fought so boldly and so committedly over the years to help our parish’s story continue, our anniversary provides us with an opportunity to recommit and to renew ourselves to being a parish alive in Christ so that in the future others may share of how they came to see and to know Him through the example and witness of you and me.

   Please know that you are always welcome at St. Patrick’s where we strive to be Alive in Christ.