Dear Christians,

Each week I have the chance to write you in the Bulletin and each year in the Annual Report, but none is more privileged than this. I am overjoyed at the honor of celebrating 125 years of Catholic faith at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Neillsville.

The current climate of our society makes ever more essential the celebration of faith in God and his providential care for His Church. Just a few years into the New Millennium, entered with piety and fanfare during the Jubilee Year 2000, we find ourselves turning always closer to God.

From our heavenly Father we seek forgiveness. The public cleansing of the Church, brought to light in the sin of her clergy, has made us recommit to the protection of our children and young people. The continuing battle between terrorism and both violent and nonviolent efforts at peace face us with the weakness of human judgment and our dependence on divine wisdom. The modern crisis of marriage and family causes us to reflect on our faithless yielding to selfishness and the limitations we attach to love.

We give God thanks for His many blessings. From the Garden of Eden, through the deserts of Egypt, to the divided city of Jerusalem, humanity has always been in need of God’s forgiveness and, best of all; He has always given it with His goodness and grace. Christ has conquered even death and His glory fills the earth.

I pray that in the pages of this journal of our history you find His face revealed. It is there in the activity and the reflection of parishioners. You may find it in the leadership of His priests and their commitment to the mystical Body of Christ. You can certainly discover it in the faith of the people of God. In fact, you can continue it by witnessing to this legacy for your children and your children’s children.

May the Holy Spirit inspire your reading, instruct your heart and set your soul afire.

Peace,

Rev. Woodrow H. Pace