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MESSAGE FROM FR. JEFF
Hello everybody!
This weekend, we will have the opportunity to celebrate and thank Deacon Mark as he retires from active diaconal ministry. I have sometimes referred to Deacon Greg, Deacon Mark, and Deacon Scott as our “Extraordinary League of Deacons,” and I have tremendous respect and appreciation for the gifts each of them brings to our parish.
Deacon Mark has served St. Patrick and the wider Church with great competence, faithfulness, and care. I am deeply grateful for his ministry, his friendship, his wisdom, and the many ways he has served God's people over the years. Fortunately, retirement does not mean goodbye! Deacon Mark and his wife Kim will remain parishioners at St. Patrick and part of the life of our community. I hope you will join me this weekend in thanking him and wishing him every blessing in this next chapter.
We are also beginning a new chapter in another important area of parish life. I am very happy to introduce Jared Gilbert, our new Director of Youth Ministry, who officially joined our parish staff this week.
Jared is a 2025 graduate of Franciscan University, where he earned his degree in Theology. He is also a Kentucky native, born in Frankfort and raised for much of his childhood on a farm in Casey County. He was homeschooled through high school, is the youngest of seven children, and enjoys spending time outdoors, so I suspect he will find plenty of kindred spirits here at St. Patrick!
More importantly, Jared comes to us with a genuine enthusiasm for sharing our Catholic faith with young people and helping them develop a deeper relationship with Christ. Youth ministry should be a place where our young people can have fun and build friendships, but also a place where they can ask real questions, discover that our faith speaks to their lives, encounter Jesus, and grow as disciples. Jared is excited to get to know our young people and their families and to begin building those relationships.
I am excited as well. Our young people are an important part of our parish community, and we want St. Patrick to be a place where they know that they belong, where they are challenged to grow, and where they are given opportunities to put their faith into action. I look forward to the ideas, events, and opportunities that Jared will bring to that mission. When you see him around the parish, please introduce yourself, and encourage your children and teenagers to do the same. Welcome to St. Patrick, Jared!
It seems especially appropriate that Jared begins his ministry as we welcome the Saint Carlo Acutis Eucharistic Miracles Display to St. Patrick this weekend. Carlo reminds us that young people are not simply the future of the Church. They are part of the Church and are called to holiness and mission right now. He took the things he loved and the gifts God had given him, including his interest in technology, and placed them at the service of the Gospel.
I hope you will take some time this weekend to experience the display, especially with your children and teenagers. Carlo's life offers a wonderfully simple challenge for all of us, regardless of our age: stay close to Jesus, especially in the Eucharist, discover the gifts God has given you, and use them to help others encounter Christ.
From a deacon completing many years of active ministry, to a young man beginning his ministry among us, to a saint whose earthly life lasted only fifteen years, we are reminded that there is no single age or season for discipleship. At every stage of life, God continues to give us gifts and invite us to use them for his people.
Thank you, Deacon Mark. Welcome, Jared. And may all of us continue to ask how God is calling us to serve in this season of our lives.
God bless you!
Peace,
Fr. Jeff
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