From the Pastor’s Desk
Dear St. Mary’s Parishioners:
The God we worship is a god of surprises. He always manages to explode the box we can sometimes put Him in. I never imagine myself returning to Vacaville after six years since I first left there, when I was the parochial vicar at St. Joseph. In fact many families that I knew then have reached out welcoming me back to the area. I look forward to reconnecting with them and meeting all the new faces. If you ask any priest, it’s a daunting task whenever we arrive at a new assignment. It can often feel like jumping into a raging river, as we struggle to learn names, the parish schedule, even which keys open which door. If we priests look overwhelmed, it’s probably because we are. At the same time, my heart is bursting with excitement at the prospect of being your new pastor. My goal over the next few months is to simply listen and learn from all of you. With the aid of the Holy Spirit which guides us all, I hope to be attentive to how the Lord wants to use me as your servant.
My desire is to simply proclaim the power of Jesus Christ, just like we see in the Gospel from Luke that we hear this Sunday. It reads, “At that time the Lord appointed seventy-two others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, ‘The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.’” Like the seventy-two, I arrive with nothing new to say. I will have no fancy messages or gimmicks. I simply have the conviction that Jesus Christ lives! An intimate relationship with him is the answer to the deepest desire of the human heart. The more we live the beauty of our Catholic faith with passion, the greater our peace. Jesus himself promised this: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you (John 14:26–27). Notice, however, he does not promise an easy life. Just because we are Christian, does not mean our lives became any easier. In fact, our same Lord promises us that if we choose to follow him, we will be led through the narrow way that leads through the cross.
If that sounds like a tough sale, it’s because it is. As a Church, we face many challenges ahead. A recent Pew Research Study released just last year looked into the rates of Christian practice. It confirmed what we’ve long suspected. As a nation, the rates of Christian practice have decreased over the last 10 years: “75% of Americans identified as Christian in 2011—in 2021, that number shrunk to 63%, a 12% decrease. Ten years ago, roughly 18% of Americans were not affiliated with any religion, identifying as agnostic, atheist or “nothing in particular”—that number grew to 29% in 2021, an 11% increase.” Many cultural and religious observers believe this trend will only accelerate in the coming decades. When we read statistics like this, we can understandably feel discouraged. Preaching the Gospel will only get harder and harder. All the more reason, as I see it, to live the Catholic faith to the fullest. In the midst of the storm, the Christian must stand resolute and trust, like a mighty oak tree. After all, we have a God that always surprises.
Fr. Brian Soliven
