Jesus says to the disciples in this weekend’s Gospel reading from Mark 4:26-34, “This is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and through it all the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how.” He then continues to liken the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed that, despite how small it is, grows to be rather large. Growth happens somewhat mysteriously. In some ways we take growth for granted. We assume that our bodies and plants and animals will grow. We have faith. Similarly, a parent plants the seeds of faith and virtue in their child and pray that it grows. A coach plants the seeds of the fundamentals of a sport, hoping that the player will mature and develop his or her skills. A teacher presents a lesson, desiring that the student understand the material and develop a love for it and for learning. A priest preaches the Gospel and gives us the sacraments, praying that we go forth living lives of holiness and love. Our lives are filled with faith. Our lives our filled with hope: that things will work out, that things will come to fruition. The growth that I have looked for from the parish hasn’t been so much in numbers (even though that is always a temptation), but true growth in the faith, a faith that bears fruit, a parish that, rooted in the Gospel and the Sacraments, goes out to the world and lifts it up in the love of Christ, a people that will arrive one day in heaven. I give God thanks for all that He has done, and I continue to keep you in prayer. Please pray for me, especially during this transition. I want to remind you that next weekend is my farewell weekend. Although I will be celebrating all of the Masses, my farewell Mass will be on Saturday the 20th at 4:30, followed by a reception in the lower level. I hope you are able to make it. The following weekend of the 28th is Fr. Karl’s first weekend with us. He is blessed to be able to be your pastor. He will celebrate all of the Masses and be available afterwards to meet and greet you. He has much energy and is very excited to be your pastor. You’ll find that he is a kind and sociable man with a strong faith. Again, know of my prayers for you always, and please continue to pray for me and one another. In Christ, Fr. Matt