A Family Goodbye
~ On the feast of the Holy Family, it seems especially fitting to reflect on my time within this parish family, particularly as my time here draws to a close. Today the Church places before us the image of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Often our image of the Holy Family can be idealized and sanitized. But they were and are a real family, a family who learned how to love, to sacrifice, and to trust God together in the midst of uncertainty. In many ways, I see that same spirit present here at St. Margaret of Scotland.
As many of you may know, shortly after Christmas I will be moving to Chicago, where I will begin ministry at St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church in River Forest, Illinois.
God willing, I will return to be ordained a priest at St. Pius V on May 16, and then to celebrate my first Mass of Thanksgiving here at St. Margaret at the 10:00 a.m. Mass on May 17. I cannot imagine a more meaningful place to celebrate that moment and to give thanks to God. In the coming months, I will share more details, but I hope you know now that the entire parish is invited, you are invited. Because this is not simply my ordination, but something that belongs, in a real way, to all of you.
Thinking about families—both the Holy Family and this parish family—I am struck by how deeply formative family life truly is. Families shape us in ways we often only recognize in hindsight, ways both good and sometimes tragic.
They teach us how to love, how to forgive, how to endure, and how to hope. They are the spaces where we first learn to pray and begin that long and challenging journey which is the journey of faith.
As I look back on my six years here at St. Margaret, I see clearly the ways this community has formed me: as a student brother, as a preacher, as a minister, and as a man of faith. And I hope, in some small way, that I have also been able to accompany you and contribute to your growth in faith and in love.
The overwhelming sensation I have as I reflect is one of profound gratitude. So many of you have welcomed me, supported me, challenged me, prayed for me, and trusted me. You have allowed me into your lives—not just the polished moments, but the real ones: the beautiful and the messy, the joyful and the painful. I have walked with you through death, through broken relationships, and through wounds and trauma. I have stood with you at graves and I have rejoiced with you at baptisms, weddings, and anniversaries. In all of it and in all of you, I have seen our good and gracious God at work.
Because of you, I desire more deeply to be like Christ. Because of you, I want to be a better priest, a better minister, and a better man. You have been Christ to me—in your patience, your generosity, your vulnerability, and your faith. And in encountering Christ in you, I have been inspired to live my own vocation more faithfully.
Like any family, this parish is not perfect—and that is precisely where grace enters in. It is here, in the midst of ordinary life, that God continues to form us, bind us together, and send us forth. It is here that we learn how to be the Church together, to love what the Church offers us and to learn how to offer the Gospel of Jesus to others.
For those times when I have failed to love you as you needed to be loved, forgive me.
For those times when I have hopefully loved you and helped you to grow, God be praised.
For those times when you have loved me and helped me grow in faith, thank you.
But if I might make one promise to you, it is this: I will carry St. Margaret of Scotland, and all of you, with me into every parish or ministry where I serve, grateful for all that you have given me, and trusting that the same God who has begun this good work in all of us will bring it to completion.
Thank you for these six years. Thank you for your lives of faith. May Christ be with you and may you become more fully like Christ, growing in love and fidelity to the Truth, each and every day.
I love you, St. Margaret of Scotland. Thank you for loving me.
Throughout the year, we present an article in the bulletin each week on a variety of topics, written by a member of our Parish staff or ministries on a rotating basis.