A week ago, Pope Leo XIV met with the priests in the Diocese of Rome and shared with them this message:
"[Let] us all undertake to be credible and exemplary priests! We are aware of the limits of our nature and the Lord knows us in depth; but we have received an extraordinary grace; we have been entrusted with a precious treasure of which we are the ministers, the servants. . . If together we try to be exemplary in a humble life, then we will be able to express the renewing force of the Gospel for every man and for every woman."
As you know, next weekend is Fr. Charlie’s last as our pastor. Fr. Charlie, in the words of the Holy Father, thank you for being a credible and exemplary priest, faithful to God who entrusted to your care these past six (6) years His flock here at Saint Albert the Great. Thank you for your life of holiness, for your courage in making important decisions in the face of incredible challenges, and for your humility to God’s will, all of which contributed to the renewal of the spiritual life of our beloved parish.
This is the enduring image that I have of Fr. Charlie as pastor of St. Albert the Great. This was taken on Christmas Eve 2020 at the "Reunion" Mass. The clergy brought our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ - Real Presence in the Eucharist - to the faithful attending Mass in the parking lot. Come home, brothers and sisters in Christ. Do not be afraid. Come home. Fr. Charlie faithfully carried Jesus' charge to him: "Feed my lambs. . . tend my sheep. . . feed my sheep" (John 21:15-17) by making the Sacraments accessible to the people of God during the pandemic.
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