10-28-18

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

"The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy" Ps. 126:3 It is with these words (which we all prayed during the responsorial psalm at Mass this weekend) that I wish to start this greeting to all of you, for they perfectly capture my own sentiments of thanksgiving and excitement at being sent as administrator here to our parish of St. Joseph. In addition, I've seen so many more reasons to be joyful during this week as I have familiarized myself with the numerous activities taking place here, and met so many of you, learning about your personal dedication to the life of faith and discipleship in Christ. Right here in Babylon the Lord is doing great thing both for and through you. This, in turn, fills me with great hope, and I pray it fills you with hope, too.

Please allow me to introduce myself briefly so that you may get to know me better. I hope that in the upcoming weeks you will take the chance to introduce yourself or your family to me, as it is my desire to get to know each one of you in a personal way.

I was raised in New Hyde Park, and was a parishioner at Notre Dame parish. I received my undergraduate degree in Mathematics from Carnegie Mellon University, in Pittsburgh, PA, and entered the seminary the following Fall. I began my seminary formation at our own Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, spending my pastoral year at Maria Regina in Seaford. In my final year at the seminary, we merged with St. Joseph Seminary in Yonkers. During my time there, I served as a deacon at St. Anne parish in Garden City. I was ordained a priest in 2013, and my first assignment was at St. Brigid in Westbury. After four years there, Bishop Barres asked that I undertake doctorate studies at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, with the intention of specializing in the Old Testament. While there, I resided at a parish dedicated to St. Bernadette Soubirous. However, after some time in DC, I requested from Bishop Barres that I might be allowed to return to full-time parochial ministry, and he generously permitted me to return, at which time I started residing in St. Mary parish in Manhasset. Finally, last Monday, I came here! And now I am administrator here.

My hope is that I may be assigned pastor here in June, when our diocese normally makes pastoral assignments. And so now our lives intertwine under the providence of God in a way that is deeper than the union we shared before by our common profession of the Catholic faith. I want you all to know that your spiritual well-being is, and will always remain, my primary concern. For that reason, my door is always open to you (though, since there are so many of you, it is usually best to schedule ahead of time!). I am so grateful to be here, and look forward to meeting each of you, personally. Please look forward to more reflections here in the bulletin, as well as on our website. As a preview, I would like to take the next three weeks to reflect on the three parts of our mission statement: welcome, worship, and witness. So check back next week for more! Until then, may almighty God, through the intercession of St. Joseph, keep you all in His peace.

In Christ,
fr. Jason