-
-
“Do not be afraid to be holy! Have the courage and humility to present yourselves to the world determined to be holy, since full, true freedom is born from holiness.” — St. Pope John Paul II
Dear Friends,
These past few months have been a blessed time for me and the parish. Thank you for making me feel so welcome. I thank God I have been given a parish with solid institutional and spiritual foundations. I see so much untapped potential in our community to love God and neighbor. Every day I encounter hearts filled with the Holy Spirit, looking for ways to deepen their love of God and neighbor—the hearts of saints! My goal is to inspire and equip our parishioners, young and old, to own the faith they have received and share it with friends and family. While most of this happens through a personal relationship—a living communion—with our Lord Jesus, Saint Ann Parish can help foster that relationship through beautiful worship, spirit-filled service, and organized formation.
After I completed high school, I discovered that the Catholic faith was more than I ever imagined. Through advanced mathematics and physics, I discovered that the universe was incredibly deep, shockingly explicable, and yet increasingly small. When I began learning the faith on my own, I discovered that my eighth-grade catechism was really the tip of a massive iceberg. Catholicism opened me up to the the mystery of life, death, love, and sin. My religion asked and answered all the important questions my friends and society were afraid to pursue. All of the world’s problems, globally and individually, are addressed in the Catholic faith. I learned that the Church does not offer band-aid solutions, but deep and profound revolutions which bring strength through healing and hope in overwhelming darkness. The Church’s teachings are bright lampposts in a world convinced it does not need light. The high standard of the gospel convinced me of the need to trust Jesus more than myself in every part of my life. I started praying and found guidance in the writings of the saints. I realized that only saints were lastingly happy and purpose-filled, and I wanted what they had. Their lives made the gospel more than an ideal to follow but a love affair.
The Bishop has made me pastor of Saint Ann Parish for six years. Over these next six years, I want to pass on the time-tested treasure of our Catholic worship, organize our service groups into formative spiritual communities, and ensure Saint Ann School is known as an academic powerhouse fueled by the love of saints-in-making.
To help reach these goals, I have formed a prayer-based parish leadership team that consists of Mandi Pitt-Reed, Nancy Maroney, Deacon Jim Holzemer, and Anna Rumfola. This team follows the model of Amazing Parish, which focuses on three common building blocks that form the foundation of an amazing parish: reliance on prayer and the sacraments, a commitment to a healthy organization, and a passion for evangelization and discipleship.
These are people whom I have asked to help me bear the burden of parish leadership. Together we are praying for you all the time. We trust each other enough to argue and figure out the best solutions to a given problem. As the pastor, I cannot be involved in everything, nor should I make big decisions alone. Please pray for this team as we learn how to best serve you and each other.
In Christ, Father FyeOriginally published in the St. Ann 2019 Spring Newsletter
-
