Dear Parish Family,

In today’s Gospel, the Apostles ask the Lord: “Increase our faith.” We can never tire of asking for an increase in the gift of our faith. More than just a belief that God exists or a belief in creeds or commandments, faith is a loving surrender to God, a trust that can go ever deeper. Indeed, faith is all about our relationship with the Lord. With faith in God, we acknowledge the truth of being led and guided by Him down a path we cannot fully comprehend, but which we willingly follow because we love and trust Him. We know in faith that He can do more for us than we can ask or imagine for ourselves. Instead of trying to 'manage' and stay in control of our lives, a relationship with God in faith makes it possible to 'let go' of that control in a trustful surrender. Without faith, 'letting go' quickly becomes 'letting loose' in a careless approach to life which remains unguided by the security of a
relationship with God. A life without faith offers only the illusion of being in control, but it ultimately leads to discontent and destruction both within ourselves and in our interactions with others.

Faith is a gift from God. We need to ask for it. When we hear someone say, “I don’t have faith” or “I’ve lost my faith”, we should encourage them to pray for the gift of faith since none of us are capable of acquiring faith on our own. When someone breaks faith with us (perhaps a parent, spouse, or friend), it causes deep wounds of distrust in all levels of relationship, even our relationship with God. If you or someone you know has experienced a loss of faith, know that God wants to heal and restore this gift within each one of us. We only need to ask for it and give Him permission to begin reordering the disorder, or healing the wounds, in our hearts. For this to happen, we need to keep Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and all the saints before us as our models for deepening the gift of faith in God. It can be frightening to embark on the journey of faith, whether it’s the first or the final step, precisely because we don’t know what’s coming next. But, to take that next step with loving trust that God has us makes the journey not only possible, but exhilarating and necessary for our salvation.

Priest Convocation and Communion Services
Please pray for priests in our diocese who will participate in the Priest Convocation this week. We will be away from the parish from Tuesday afternoon through Friday afternoon. This offers us a time of reflection, prayer, and renewal with our bishop and with one another. Bishop Malesic has granted permission for our parish to celebrate Communion Services at our normal daily Mass times. Our deacons will lead the Communion Services while the priests are away.

Stained Glass Window Work
Henninger's religious store came this past week to pick up our stained glass windows in the sanctuary and choir loft to perform the re-leading work. This work was made possible by your generosity through the Heart of a Shepherd campaign. I will keep you posted on updates and when the refurbished stained glass windows will be reinstalled.

“Faithfully United” Stewardship Commitment Weekend
Last week all parish families received a brochure introducing our “Faithfully United” Stewardship Program. In my homily, I invited our families to prayerfully discern the Lord's call to support our mission and ministries through involvement and financial support. As we celebrate Commitment Weekend today, we welcome Mike and Irena Kenneley who will offer a lay witness talk at our Masses, followed by my appeal for us to renew our commitment to support St. Patrick Parish. With a
view to being installed as the 31st pastor of St. Patrick Parish, I am proud to be "all in" with renewing and increasing my personal and financial commitment to all of our parish families and those who come through our doors in need of the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. I hope you all are eager to do the same!
All parishioners should complete a Commitment Card which was mailed to you in your brochure. An electronic commitment card is available online at www.stpatrickthompson.org/faithfully-united. Additional brochures and commitment cards are available on our website, in the parish office and in
the back of church. You can drop your commitment card in the collection basket at this weekend's Mass, mail it to the church, or complete the electronic commitment card on our website. Please be sure to include any prayer intentions you wish to share. My staff and I will pray for these intentions collectively over the next few weeks. Please indicate on your commitment card if you would like to
speak to a priest so we can be in touch with you. Our goal is 100% participation! God cannot be outdone in generosity, so thank you so much for your own response of generous support to St. Patrick Parish.

I am yours in Christ,
Fr. Scott Goodfellow