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Farewell Reception at the Cathedral of St. Mary

6/18/2018

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The Cathedral Guild held a farewell reception after each of the morning Masses yesterday.  It was a tremendous blessing to have the opportunity to visit with so many parishioners one last time before before moving to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.  The giant card with multiple pages of messages is definitely a keepsake.  Thank you.
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"Thank you for your homilies."  That is a comment I heard over and over yesterday.  Many of you even stated some specific messages that touched your life profoundly.  I am humbled to know that my preaching had such a dramatic impact throughout the parish community over these last eight years.

Knowing that my preaching made a difference in the lives of parishioners makes all of the hours of studying the Scriptures, praying with those passages, and composing the homilies worth every minute.  The hours of practice that I put in to fine tune the delivery of the homily were obviously productive hours and time well-spent too.

I am a firm believer in the necessity of having a substantive message based upon the Sacred Scriptures and the teachings of Holy Mother Church.  Furthermore, I am also aware of the need to deliver the message with clarity, charity, and zeal.  The homily should "cut to the heart."  That has been my desire and goal with each homily that I have preached through the years.  I am very happy to know that my diligence and faithfulness in carrying out this awesome responsibility has borne abundant fruit in the vineyard of the Lord. 

I want to thank the pastors and associate pastors that have been present at the cathedral during my eight years and eight months here.  Fr. Gary Ruzicka was pastor when I first arrived.  Thank you, Fr. Gary, for the welcome that you extended to me and to my whole family when we arrived in Cheyenne.  I am grateful for the time we worked together here, and I am blessed that you invited me to connect with the parish staff of your next assignment by giving me the privilege of leading a staff retreat.  It has been a pleasure working with you in a variety of endeavors.  Thank you for your friendship.

Fr. August Koeune has been pastor of the cathedral for the majority of my time here.  Thank you Fr. August for your friendship and kindness as well.  We have tackled numerous projects together, and it has been a true joy to work with you.  I will miss being next door to you.

I was trying to count the number of associate pastors that have passed through the cathedral since I have been here.  I can remember at least eight.  Each one of them brought their unique gifts and talents to their ministry.  I am especially grateful to those associate pastors who have served as Master of Ceremonies for liturgies when the bishop was presiding.  My thanks in particular to Fr. Andrew, Fr. Augustine, and Fr. Thomas.  Your help in guiding these particular liturgies through the years was appreciated.

I want to thank all of the cathedral parishioners.  You have been a true blessing to me.  Please know of my deep gratitude for the many ways you have touched my life through the years.

Finally, I want to thank the Cathedral Guild for the farewell reception.  I especially want to thank Deb and Randy for shouldering the workload for making that reception possible.  Giving up your entire morning on Father's Day to host this reception was a very genrous gift of your time.  Thank you.
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