Dear Parishioners:
This weekend, please welcome Father Joseph Moriarty, Rector of the Bishop Simon
Bruté College Seminary located at Marian University. He will be sharing with us
about the mission of the seminary and the good work for vocational discernment
they are involved in.
Vocations are one of those things you probably hear me talk about a lot! And I don’t
deny that, I do talk about vocations a lot!!! It’s because “Vocations” are one of the
six principles of Catholic discipleship I believe to be essential for any Catholic today.
Yes, that’s right, I believe there are six special principles that every Catholic should
focus his or her Catholic identity and spirituality around. I have found my most
faithful, evangelical, and focused Catholics are the ones who are embracing these
principles in their spiritual lives.
I put them together in a little acronym called “C.L.O.V.E.R.” It stands
for CONFESSION, LIFE, OUR LADY, VOCATIONS, EUCHARIST & REVEALED WORD.
In so many ways, these six principles can help a Catholic focus in on what is most
important in the spiritual life and faith. They guide you to growing closer to our Lord
and to living the Catholic faith. They focus in on what is authentically “Catholic” to discipleship with Jesus Christ.
In order to help you understand what these principles are, what they mean, and why they are so important – I have
written a “Pastoral Letter” on CLOVER. A “pastoral letter” is a letter from your pastor or bishop offering instruction, help,
and guidance on essential matters in the faith and in the lives of the faithful.
I am hoping this Pastoral Letter helps you to better see why I believe Confession, Life, Our Lady, Vocations,
Eucharist, and Revealed Word are so essential to our Catholic discipleship (and, today, more than ever!) and what the
Church means by each of them.
This letter is about why and what they are; it isn’t about how to do them. There are so many ways here at St. Malachy for
us to engage them, and your next-step depends on where you are with them today and where you want to be with them
in the future. However, later on, we will get into some more practical “how to” engage CLOVER. For now, let’s focus
on what they are and why they are important to our faith.
This weekend, we’ve put a link to the 34 page “CLOVER Pastoral Letter” on the CLOVER section of the parish
website. You can download it, or print it off to read.
I pray you continue to grow closer with us as we seek the living and true God in all things. May our Catholic faith continue
to inspire and move you to better discipleship with Jesus Christ.
In Jesus, through Mary and St. Joseph,
Father Danda
Pastor
