“Please be patient with me…. God isn’t finished with me yet….” (Part 3)

04-09-2023Pastor's LetterRev. Richard C. Wilson, VF

Dear Friends in Christ,

So, to finish, in extremely condensed form, my spiritual journey up to now…When I came into full communion with the Catholic Church I got heavily involved with my local parish, St. Joseph’s in Anderson. I started out singing as a tenor in the choir. Then over time I got more involved with other ministries. Soon I was also serving as a lector, CCD instructor, Finance Council member, money counter and later as President of the Men’s Club. I was a leader in our parish pro-life movement, organizing a trip for the parish to the pro-life march to the State Capitol in Columbia each year. It got so that, when I was away for a weekend, I had to find about three people to cover for me in the ministries in which I was involved. At that time, I was newly divorced and still felt that I wanted to be remarried. I tried eHarmony.com, Catholic Match and even hired a match maker from Greenville to help me find the right woman to marry. But…it was not to be.

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Please be patient with me...God isn't finished with me yet...Part 2

04-02-2023Pastor's LetterRev. Richard C. Wilson, VF

Dear Friends in Christ,

Last week I left my life story at the point when I was serving in the Army and worshipping at the Protestant Chapel or Protestant services of one type or other. At about the ten-year mark, I felt that God was calling me to leave the Army and be a Protestant minister. I got accepted at Gordon Conwell Seminary (the same seminary that Marcus Grodi and Scott Hahn attended.) Then I went to see Chaplain Troy Carter, an Assemblies of God Chaplain, and told him my desire to leave the service and become a Protestant minister. He listened intently to me and then leaned across the desk and said powerfully, “Forget about it!” That was quite a shock, but then he paused and said… “But it you can’t forget about it, maybe you should think about it.” I was about to make Major, so I prayed about it, talked to mentors and decided that I would stay in the Army and be the best lay witness that I could be.

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Please be Patient with Me...God Isn't Finished with Me Yet

03-26-2023Pastor's LetterRev. Richard C. Wilson, VF

Dear Friends in Christ,

As a young boy, growing up in northern Minnesota, I could not have imagined, even in my wildest dreams, that I would one day be Catholic, be able to speak two languages, and be Pastor of a large bilingual parish and Dean of a subdivision of a Catholic Diocese. There is no way that I could have ever conceived a future like that for me.

But our God is a loving and merciful God, one who provides for us, one who makes Romans 8:28 come alive: “We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

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Very Pleased to Be Here!

03-19-2023Pastor's LetterRev. Richard C. Wilson, VF

Dear Friends in Christ,

This is my first letter to the parish, and I hope that it will be the first of many. As I have shared with many of you, my assignment to St. Mary’s came as a total surprise to me. I had told several people and some priests that I planned to stay at Our Lady of Peace for as long as I could still walk down the aisle…whether that be in six months or ten years. But it was not to be. On January 24th, I received a call from Msgr. Cellini advising me that the Bishop wanted me to move to be Pastor of St. Mary Help of Christians. It was certainly a shock to me. But, as I reflected on it, I realized that January 24th is the feast day of my patron saint, St. Francis de Sales. It was no coincidence that I received that call on his feast day. St. Francis de Sales was almost constantly on the go; he exercised a truly mobile ministry. May the Holy Spirit help me to be as faithful and committed to the people of God as he was.

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The 3rd Sunday of Lent

03-12-2023Pastor's Letter©LPi

When I became the pastor of a large parish, I soon found myself, for the first time in my life, riddled with anxiety, headaches, difficulty making decisions, and fatigue. I called a therapist friend and told her my symptoms and asked if she thought I needed a serious medical exam. She said, “How much water do you drink?” I told her, “I haven’t had time to drink water lately.” She responded, “You’re chronically dehydrated. Drink eighty-five ounces a day and call me in a week.” I started guzzling water and in a week all my symptoms went away. I felt great.

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2nd Sunday of Lent

03-05-2023Pastor's Letter©LPi

As a kid I remember looking at my sister and thinking, “No man is ever going to marry her. She is way too…my sister!” I couldn’t see her as anything except my goofy, emotional, cooties-laden sister. Years later, on her wedding day, I remember seeing how her husband looked at her, he was totally in love with her, his watery eyes full of overwhelmed joy, drinking in her beauty and grace. He was the one who actually saw her. Blinded by familiarity, I had not been able to see her until now. She was glorious. I finally saw how beautiful my sister really was.

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