Brief Reflection on Pastoral Year
Brief Reflection on Pastoral year
Greetings, dear brothers, sisters and friends!!! I want to very briefly tell you about my pastoral year thus far at St. Dominic Priory and Parish in New Orleans, LA. First, let me begin by saying that it has been a great blessing to live with the brothers here. They have been very welcoming, supportive and charitable to me. This has helped me considerably not only in forming some good, healthy relationships with them, but also in developing as a friar in community life. This has been very important to me. I want to continue developing. As a result, I have made myself available to my brothers not only to be their brother, but also in contributing to the Priory. This has included helping our dear brother, Fr. Val McInnes, who has very been ill. The Prior, Fr. Dan Shanahan, has also appointed me to record and manage the Priory finances electronically. This has been a great learning opportunity for me. I have appreciated Fr. Dan trusting me with this responsibility. Furthermore, as a fraternal work of the Priory, I have also been visiting our elderly and infirm brothers assigned to Our Lady of Wisdom facility whenever I'm available or needed. Accordingly, these are some of the Priory responsibilities or works I've been involved in while living with the brothers.
As for ministry to the parishioners, I've been working with various groups in St. Dominic Parish. This has helped me develop ministerially as a friar. Although I'm primarily working with the Young Adult Group (YAG), the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) and the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD), I also work with some other groups, such as the Holy Name Society (HNS) and the Knights of Columbus. Additionally, I'm currently teaching a class on the Sacraments to high school students on Wednesdays. I also participated in leading a youth retreat (Teen Encounter with Christ - TEC) this summer. Finally, on Tuesday and Friday evenings before the celebration of the Eucharist, I lead the Parish in praying the Holy Rosary of Our Lady. As such, everything has been working out very well for me ministerially. I have been maturing as a minister. Please, pray for me that I will continue to develop this year. Peace and blessings!!!
In Christ with our Most Holy Mother,
Br. Mariano D. Veliz, O.P.
