From our chaplain, Fr. Paul

Hello fellow World Youth Day Pilgrims,

I am so happy that we are getting close to our departure for World Youth Day. I thought our retreat down in LaSalette was excellent and it was fantastic to be able to come together as a group to pray, get some work done, and to get to know one another. I want to share with you a little bit about myself. I am 32 years old. I grew up in Merrimack, NH and I am the oldest of three boys. I have lots of interests, a big one being sports, especially baseball. I really look forward to watching some professional soccer in Spain! After going through the Merrimack public school system I was able to go St. Anselm College where I studied Politics. I had a solid experience there and loved being part of the school’s life. I had felt God calling me to priesthood through high school and that calling was confirmed at the end of my time in college when the Bishop accepted my application to go to seminary. I was sent to St. John’s Seminary in Boston in 2001 and six years later I was ordained a priest. I have had two assignments. My first assignment was out by the seacoast. I was associate pastor of St. Mary Parish in Newmarket and St. Michael Parish in Exeter. After two years the Bishop sent me to the opposite end of the state where I have been for the last two years, serving the people of the greater Keene area at Mary Queen of Peace Parish as well as the Parish of the Holy Spirit. I really love being a priest. It has only been four years that I have been a priest, but in that short amount of time I have been overwhelmed by the generosity of the Lord in so many ways. We talked at our retreat about the Holy Father consecrating us to the Sacred Heart of Jesus during our pilgrimage. I want to reiterate for all of us, myself included, that now is really the time to pray that this consecration to the Sacred Heart will set our hearts on fire. One of the greatest ways we can begin to prepare for this consecration is to spend as much time before the Blessed Sacrament as possible in these upcoming weeks. In the Eucharist we have the True Presence of the Sacred of Jesus. The more time we spend in His Presence, the more that we contemplate His Life in our lives, the more open we will be to have the Heart of Jesus to take residence in our hearts. As I mentioned last week, this is really what this pilgrimage is all about. So let’s ask Our Lady to intercede for us in these coming days, that she will lead us ever closer to the Heart of her Son. Look forward to seeing you all very soon and sharing this amazing experience of God’s Love.

Sincerely in Christ,

Fr. Paul