Dear Saints,

There’s a lot going on around here these days. With the help of the bulletin, I hope you find the activity easy enough to track. My hope is that you’ll find the bulletin useful as a source of information, a means of connection to OLMC, and an avenue to become engaged and involved in our parish life. If there’s anything we can do to improve along those lines (or others), please let me know.

This week, I was thinking out loud with a friend about mental health.

Now, be honest. When you read what I just wrote, did you start thinking about mental illness? I usually make that connection immediately.

This isn’t too helpful for any number of reasons, but the main issue I started thinking through was the idea that our discussion of wellness has become about an overly simplified either/or: you’re either healthy or ill. The reality is that each of us has some healthy habits of heart and mind, and each of us has unhealthy habits of heart and mind. Just to make the whole thing trickier, Christian theology, spirituality, and morality is all at stake in the conversation.

The Christian horizon for life is hopeful: We are broken in all manner of ways, but Christ wills our healing.

I’ve been witness to the Spirit’s work these past few months in nothing short of miraculous ways, and this has me more and more committed to fostering healthy hearts and minds at OLMC. To that end, a group of our fellow parishioners recently completed training as Stephen Ministers. The group exists to accompany people in challenging moments or seasons of life, making present God’s love where it is most needed. Join me in thanking and congratulating Bonny O’Mullane, Lori Testa, John Testa, Eileen Vandenberg, Anita Patterson, and Debra Molloy for launching this new ministry.

And please know that I am here for you. I’m eager to join you on this journey, and I’m not afraid of daunting and difficult challenges: these are often our best opportunities to grow into the lives of great meaning and purpose that God wants for us.

I love you my friends, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Father Daniel

δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ