Are We There Yet?

Every parent has probably heard this from a child at some point in their lives as they were traveling near or far. We so often want the journey to just be done and to just enjoy the destination. I find myself saying the same thing to the Lord as we officially begin our journey together as a Family of Parishes. I want all the hours of thinking and praying over what the right decision is to be over. I want the inevitable hard conversations to be over. I want the mistakes I will make along the way to be over. I want the time invested in planning to be over. But we are just beginning, and we have many “miles” to go yet. But it is also the journey that makes us into who we are. So, the difficulties, joys, trials, and triumphs we will experience over the coming years will make the NW-7 Family of Parishes the beautiful reality it is. There will be tough times ahead but there will be beautiful and moving moments as well. Moments that we all get to celebrate together.

So please be patient with each other, with the other parishes, with your priests, and with me as pastor. There are going to be miscommunications, dropped balls, and mistakes made. It happens and it is part of life. Remember that the Lord’s prayer states, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Insofar as we are willing to forgive others will we be forgiven by our heavenly Father. Keep this in mind as we move forward.

There is great good to be done but that good will involve some difficult decisions to deepen the Faith of our parishes. Adjustments are just that: adjustments. It does not mean we are burying the past, forgetting where we came from, or that we were wrong. It just means that like any ship upon the sea, we need to adjust our sails, steer the ship to keep it on course, and if there is no wind...row to get to our destination.

I want, our priests want, the sisters want, and you all want to deepen your Faith and Love for God and become better friends of Jesus Christ. This is my desire for you as pastor of the NW-7 Family of Parishes. I desire for you to grow in love and devotion for Jesus Christ, Truly Present in the Holy Eucharist. I want you to increase your devotion to our mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and for you to throw yourself upon the Lord’s Divine Mercy in the confessional. If the Lord brings about an increase in these three areas, we will know that we are moving in the right direction.

Know that I am going to do my best to communicate with all of you, through the bulletin and homilies at Mass. But I am also going to attempt to return to my practice of making weekly YouTube videos on my YouTube channel: Fr. Jarred Kohn, to teach and inform the people of NW-7. I will also record both Sunday and daily homilies and post them to my podcast channel: Homilies by Fr. Jarred. This podcast can be found on Apple, Google, and Podbean. My hope is that this will not only keep you informed, but also help you to understand the vision for our Family of Parishes, to learn more about your Faith, and to learn more about me as a pastor, priest, and man.

Thank you to each and every parishioner of NW-7! I am humbled by the excitement, honesty, and welcome you have poured out upon me and the three vicars of NW-7 (Fr. Andrew Reckers, Fr. Steve Mondiek, and Fr. Aaron Hess). You are all wonderful and doing a great job in your pursuit of holiness.

Peace in Christ,

Fr. Jarred Kohn