Dear Saints,

I hope you are well!

The week or so since school let out has changed the rhythm of our days around here and has given us an opportunity to reflect and pray through the events of the year. Although we rose to meet its various challenges and demands, weathering the COVID-19 storm took a toll on us as we went. I want to be sure, then, to thank the faculty and staff of OLMC school for their faithfulness in executing the parish’s educational ministry.

With the change of pace, I was able to get away this week for the first time in many months. My parents and I took a pilgrimage to Our Lady of Martyrs Shrine, the national shrine of the North American Martyrs and the birthplace of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha. The shrine is location in the hamlet of Auriesville in Fultonville, NY.

The North American Martyrs have been favorites of mine since the beginning of my time in seminary. I always found the heroic example of Saint Isaac Jogues to be particularly inspiring, and my fondness for him is all the more inflamed after visiting the place he served, suffered, and was martyred.

One of the most moving experiences of our pilgrimage was praying in the Shrine next to some relics of the martyrs. As I knelt there in veneration, I was overcome with a sense of encouragement: these saints loved God, proclaimed the Gospel, and lived Jesus in their very bones, and the joy in my life will be to do the same.

Maybe sometime soon, we can have an extended-family trip to Auriesville. I hope you’ll join us!

Christ’s Peace,

Father Daniel

δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ