Hello everyone.  I hope you are well and keeping safe. 

Happy Sunday!  

Come Tuesday, September 1^st, I will be officially appointed the new pastor of  Holy Name of Jesus-St. Gregory on West 96^th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.  I am happy that the Franciscans asked for some more time to stay there as  it gave me more time to procrastinate here even further!  I asked Fr. Rafferty if I could hang my hat here for a little while longer, maybe about two weeks.  He said that he will send me the bill!  I hope he was joking!!!

These days, I am filling up black garbage bags with notes and items I have collected over the years and haven’t looked at for some time now.  It kind of feels awkward at first and then it feels liberating.  

I am so very grateful for the kind notes and good wishes you have sent my way.  I ask for your prayers.  I, of course, will always be grateful for my two years here at this wonderful parish and for the powerful intercession of our Blessed Mother.  She never lets me down!   I will bring you to Sunday Mass with me later on today.  

Meanwhile, here is a great quote about spiritual focus from Brother David  Steindl- Rast, an America Benedictine monk know for his books and lectures, especially in the field of inter-faith dialogue.

“People who have faith in life are like swimmers who entrust themselves to a rushing river. They neither abandon themselves to its current nor try to resist it. Rather, they adjust their every movement to the watercourse, use it with purpose and skill, and enjoy the adventure.”