To start this third installment of this article series on our parish vision statement, let me begin with bringing to attention two points from Scripture:

God desires every person to be saved and come to knowledge of the truth (1Tim2:4)

Every person was made by and for God, to have life to the full (Jn 10:10).

Last week, the first of this article series on our parish vision/mission statement: We exist to bring every person into intimacy with Christ, I wrote about how the first words of our vision/mission statement causes us to think about why we, and every person, exist. Which is to know and love God, who created us, in an intimate relationship. That truth echos our recent pope's call for the Church to return to our deepest identity -- as Pope Pius VI says, "The Church exists to evangelize".

Over the next several weeks I will be writing articles to explain our parish vision/mission statement: We exist to bring every person into intimacy with Christ. The purpose of the statement and the articles is to help better unite us as parish toward the same goal, a goal hopefully each one of you can agree with and will join actively in working towards it. I'll begin the series with the first two words: We exist.

When I was 22, I went on a pilgrimage to Rome for the Jubilee Year of 2000. I was traveling light with just a backpack, one blue shirt and black pants, little money, and no Italian. I had a few close friends and one goal: to reach the Eternal City. Despite the challenges and deprivations, I felt alive in a way I had never known before.

When do you feel most alive? I’d wager it’s not when you’re most comfortable or surrounded by stuff. Rather, it’s when your life is aimed at something great; when you’re on a meaningful and challenging journey with good friends.