As your pastor, I want to take a few lines to note my thanks for all of you who make up this One Body of Christ—Saint Catherine of Siena Parish. I want to begin by letting you know how blessed I feel to be a part of your Catholic community and for this short time I have been here with you all—and learning from you about what it means to be active, caring, and effec-tive Catholic Christians in a very hectic world.

As I have said from time-to-time, I am amazed by all that you accomplish here in the parish as you work simultane-ously to fulfill fulltime jobs, care for homes, raise active and good families, and volunteer and work hard to create a caring and effective community here in Simsbury. We are blessed in more ways than one can count—and that comes from God as well as your collective "Yes" to His call to be His disciples. I am amazed because I know you are going in twenty different directions, an-swering multiple calls to help, and you do it with great calm and charity. As a single individual with no "family" duties, I am awed by all that gets accomplished in a 24-hour day, seven days a week—by you. And I want you to know how grateful I am that you remain committed to the Church and our parish—to God—giving Him the priority He deserves.

As a growing and very active parish, I recognize the de-mands that "one more ministry or project’ places on us all, and keeping that in mind I will do my best to be careful with the

direction in which our parish heads in the New Year. I will be very aware of both the needs as they present themselves and of the resources that are available and pray that they dovetail well together for the benefit of those in need, without taxing too much the Spirit that drives our giving parish.

Again, I am grateful for the people that you are—generous, kind, compassionate, doing, and made in Christ’s Im-age. I pray that this Christmas Season and the New Year are full of God’s choicest blessings for you and your families and that His radiant face shine upon you now and in the New Year.

Peace,

-Fr. Michael