Dear St. Rita Families,

Happy 100th Anniversary to St. Rita Parish! What a joy it is to give thanks to God for all He has done for us over these 100 years! In the midst of all the chaos of life, it is so important to have stability, and the stability of the Church where the unchanging God is ever-present in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar is unmatched. There is such peace in having a refuge from all the problems that plague human existence.

We know that it is impossible to remove all suffering from life, since suffering comes from sin, fundamentally. The best way to minimize suffering in the world is to minimize sin. And, as long as our human nature is wounded, there will be the potential for sin. So, the Catholic parish exists, then, to make present God’s response to sin. It’s the reason for the priest also, that God’s saving mercies might be transmitted to us through his (ad)ministration of the Sacraments.

The life of the parish is, then, precisely this: the revitalization of God’s people, of those who have forsaken the world and its pleasures and lies to place their trust in Jesus Christ. The community that is formed is one which draws its energy and strength from the Gospel, from the forgiveness and mercy received from Our Lord. From there, the community begins to live a new life of faith in the Son of God. This new life puts aside jealousy and strife, lust and greed, pride and control. This new life has as its hallmarks charity and humility, goodness, fortitude, and strength, all of which are made possible because each member remains rooted in Christ.

It is a remarkable claim that without God, we cannot be good. Actually, it’s not that remarkable. But it is directly contrary to modern secular dogma. Sin is glossed over as imperfection (or worse, paraded around as virtue). I can achieve fulfillment and self-actualization if I work or try hard enough. A good life is indicated by wealth, psychological health, or how many followers I have on Instagram or X. A fundamental teaching of the Enlightenment – the fruits of which we are reaping today – is that man does not need God to live a moral life. The falsity of this claim has been borne out over the years. Modern culture has spent years trying to relativize morality (you have yours and I have mine), to tell you that it’s impossible to live up to the standards of the Catholic Church (so all you need is to “fundamentally” choose Christ, even if you sin mortally), and to vilify the Church as bigoted because she unwaveringly proclaims what she has always proclaimed: God is good, and sin is bad; God is unchanging, so sins against Him are unchanging as well. It shouldn’t be a surprise, then, that we are where we are.

Thanks be to God for a Church that does not move with the times! It means that you will always have a refuge from sin and evil. No matter how bad things get, because God is good, unchanging, infinite, eternal, and loving, you always have a place to go. And, our mission likewise remains the same! Not only is the Church your refuge, but it is to be a refuge for all who desire to escape the world and its wiles. All the more reason for us to hold as fully and completely as possible to the faith we have received!

This conviction is translated within us into the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity: faith to believe what God has revealed, hope to persevere in it in all circumstances, and charity to act in obedience to God and service of neighbor. The continued effort required to live this way strengthens us in the human virtues as well, and through all of this, we become more complete witnesses to the world of God’s goodness within us. To become what others desire in their heart of hearts to be – to make them a bit jealous with hope that God’s goodness can be accomplished in them as well – is not something to be sought out of pride (since that is not what others want). Rather, it is simply what happens when the charity and humility of God begin to reign within.

All of this is what God wants to accomplish through each and every Catholic parish, and through each and every Catholic. May St. Rita abound in graces for this holy and glorious work! Congratulations on 100 years, and may God bless us for at least 100 more!

In Christ,

Fr. Christensen