​It is with great joy that I announce the hiring of Mr. Siegfried Spelter as the new principal of St. Mary’s Visitation Parish School!  Mr. Spelter will begin as our principal on July 1st of this year and we are grateful that he has accepted this important position.  I want to thank the members of the Principal Search Committee who, with wisdom and insight, helped to guide the interview process and who, unanimously, recommended him as the right candidate for our school. 
 
Mr. Spelter is currently the Assistant Principal and Director of Enrichment at Notre Dame School of Milwaukee and has had years of experience as a classroom teacher.  As we get closer to his arrival, he will have the opportunity to introduce himself more fully to the community and we look forward to welcoming him as a community when summer vacation winds down and the new school year begins in autumn. 
 
As you know, I too will be departing St. Mary’s at the end of July and Fr. Philip Schumaker will be taking the reins this fall – this means two new leaders will be in place as the next academic year unfolds.  I would urge you to pray for them both and then, with charity and kindness, to welcome them and support them as they take on these positions and learn and adjust to their new roles.  Fr. Schumaker, who participated in the interview process, is excited to work with Mr. Spelter and, together, to guide the school into the future.
 
Finally, it is with a deep sense of gratitude that I want to publicly acknowledge all that Mrs. Tretow has done in her twelve years of service as our principal, as well as all of our faculty and staff for their dedication and selflessness.  May the Lord, in His mercy, teach us and show us what a treasure we have here in our school and grant us all the gifts necessary to preserve it and increase it.
 

As was mentioned at Masses last weekend, I am happy to be able to share with you that Archbishop Listecki has appointed Fr. Philip Schumaker as the new pastor of St. Mary’s and he has also assigned Fr. Reji Chacko, a priest of the Order of St. Camillus as part-time Associate Pastor!  Please pray for them both as they prepare to take the reins of the parish.  I wanted to share with you a few more details about the transition to a new pastor.  The first is that Fr. Schumaker is looking forward to beginning his assignment here.  He is currently pastor of three of the parishes in Bayview in Milwaukee, having previously served as Associate Pastor at our neighboring parish, St. John Vianney.  He’ll have the opportunity to introduce himself to you more fully in the coming months.  Fr. Schumaker’s assignment here will begin on November 1st of this year.  Fr. Chacko, who is currently completing his Clinical Pastoral Education, will begin his assignment here on July 5th.  I myself will be leaving St. Mary’s on July 31st.  As you can see, there is a three month gap between my departure and Fr. Schumaker’s arrival.  In order to bridge this gap, we will have a Temporary Administrator for the parish for the months of August, September and October.  The Temporary Administrator helps to guide the parish on an administrative level in the absence of a pastor and I am pleased to share that Deacon Stan Lowe will be filling that role for those months.  He has had experience in this role before, having most recently served at St. Matthias Parish in Milwaukee.  During those months, Fr. Chacko as well as a variety of help-out priests, will be filling the parish’s sacramental needs. 

I myself will be assigned as pastor of two parishes in Dodge County – Annunciation in Fox Lake and St. Joseph’s in Waupun – I have always been interested in doing rural ministry and this will give me the opportunity to do so.  I will begin those assignments on November 1st and will have the opportunity to go on a three-month sabbatical between leaving St. Mary’s and beginning my new assignment.  Priests are allowed a three-month sabbatical for continuing formation once every ten years – I have never taken one and as I approach my eighteenth anniversary am grateful for the chance to do so.  Fr. Behling is leaving at the end of May in order to begin advanced studies in theology and we certainly thank him for his two years of service here and wish him well as he begins school once again!

A few other notes, the first is that the Perpeutal Adoration Chapel design process is proceeding, we are working on plans and will hopefully have some more to share with the parish in the next couple of months – the design is truly stunning and will be a great addition to St. Mary’s!  We are continuing also to work on the completion of the cemetery columbarium, we hope to be able to begin to sell niches once the project is completed, we will keep you informed as that goes forward.  Many of you are also aware that Mrs. Mary Tretow, our school principal of the past twelve years will be leaving this summer – we are so grateful for her service over these years and we are in the process of hiring a new principal who will begin this summer and open the new school year up. 
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As we finally see more sun and experience more warmth, we are grateful to God for all His many blessings and ask Him for His guidance and protection!

​It’s amazing to me that no matter how old we might be — how many Christmases we have already lived through — that there continues to be something which draws us on numerous levels into this celebration of the birth of Our Lord.  We encounter the beauty of these days and something deep within us wells up and fills our minds and hearts with joy and peace.  And, of course, this makes sense, since what we are celebrating is our own redemption, the profound love of God who, when we were lost in darkness, pours forth His light into the world, in the Person of His Son. 
 
On this Christmas, I’d like to share with you some of the words written by St. John Chrysostom, who lived over sixteen hundred years ago, they are words from a homily he preached on Christmas Day:
 
“I behold a new and wondrous mystery.  My ears resound to the Shepherd’s song, piping no soft melody, but chanting full forth a heavenly hymn.  The Angels sing.  The Archangels blend their voice in harmony.  The Cherubim hymn their joyful praise.  The Seraphim exalt His glory.  All join to praise this holy feast, beholding the Godhead here on earth, and man in heaven.  He who is above, now for our redemption dwells here below and he that was lowly is by divine mercy raised.
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Bethlehem this day resembles heaven; hearing from the stars the singing of angelic voices; and in place of the sun, enfolds within itself on every side, the Sun of Justice. And ask not how: for where God wills, the order of nature yields.  For He willed, He had the power, He descended, He redeemed; all things move in obedience to God.  This day He who is, is born; and He who is becomes what He was not…”
 
On behalf of myself, Fr. Behling and the entire Parish Staff a very blessed and joyful Christmas to all of you! 
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A special congratulations to the St. Mary’s Visitation Class of 2022 which graduated this past Friday – we wish them all the best as they begin their high school endeavors.  A further congratulations to all the parish children who have, or will be, graduated from various schools, high schools and colleges over this month of May and into June!
 
A couple of weeks ago I had mentioned that St. Mary’s will be participating in the Archdiocesan Capital Campaign, “Love One Another.”  You will be hearing more information on this campaign as we move into the second part of the year, but I thought it may be helpful to mention a few aspects of it right now.  This campaign is being conducted throughout the Archdiocese with parishes participating in various ‘waves.’  St. Mary’s is in Wave Two.  The campaign is designed to benefit both the Archdiocese as well as the various parishes themselves.  We have been assigned a goal of a little over $2 Million.  Of that $2 Million, 60% will stay at St. Mary’s and 40% will go to the Archdiocese in pursuit of diocesan wide goals.  If we are able to raise more funds than our goal is at we will receive 80% of the money up to 125% of the goal; if we raise more than 125% of the goal, all funds will stay at St. Mary’s.
 
Funds raised for each parish must be spent on capital needs, in other words, they can not be used to fund ongoing operations which are usually funded through the parish budget.  We are very blessed at St. Mary’s to not have a tremendous amount of large capital needs, however, in discussions with the Finance Council, Pastoral Council and Building and Grounds Committee we do sense that there is a need for an expansion of the Perpetual Adoration Chapel.  Our Perpetual Adoration Chapel began in 1985 in a small room which now serves as the Ushers’ Room in the west vestibule of church, it then moved to the former baptistery where it is now.  We have seen an increase use of the Chapel and at times it can be downright crowded.  This is a magnificent thing to see and experience – so many people seeking the assistance of the Lord and stopping to give Him thanks and praise in the Blessed Sacrament.  We also have the school children come over to spend some time in adoration, but due to the small size of the Chapel, they have to rotate in and out.  The Chapel is a significant part of our parish and one can’t help but think that so many of the blessings which have been showered on this parish come in response to the prayers which have been offered ceaselessly over nearly forty years in perpetual adoration.
 
For this reason, we are beginning to consult and seek necessary approvals from the Archdiocese to formally begin this process, and to secure initial funding through the Archdiocesan Capital Campaign.  The parish currently has no debt, is financially sound and has an opportunity to build a chapel for not only today’s needs, but for decades to come.  Our initial thoughts are to locate the new chapel on the southern side of the church where we have space and for it to be large enough to accommodate regular adorers with enough space for an entire class from school to come in.  By building new it would also give us the opportunity to build a space specifically designed for adoration, to allow us to upgrade safety for those who are there (especially at night) and that would blend with the rest of our parish buildings.

In addition to using funds for the construction of a new Perpetual Adoration Chapel, we would also like to use the campaign to raise monies which can be used to fund various physical improvements in the school as they come up.  Of course this process is only in the initial phases, as we move into the capital campaign you will be receiving more information and see drawings, plans, costs, etc.  We will work to keep you informed on the process as it unfolds.  ​

After all the preparations of the season – the cooking and baking and wrapping and shopping and hosting and decorating and cleaning, Christmas is upon us!  What a joyful day!  And not only a joyful day but an entire liturgical season – the Christmas Season – in which to enjoy the great gift of the birth of the Redeemer.  While so much of our society moves on from Christmas on December 26th, we have many wonderful feasts to celebrate which keeps the beauty of Christmas front and center during the cold winter days.  In fact, the Church’s traditional celebration of Christmastide goes all the way until February 2nd and the feast that is known as Candlemas.  So I encourage you to keep your decorations up and the tree alight as long as you can in celebration of this great and marvelous feast, when “the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.”  I thought I would include some words from St. Alphonsus Liguori on this great day and season of rejoicing, from his Discourse for Christmas Night:
 
“Arise, all ye nobles and peasants; Mary invites all, rich and poor, just and sinners, to enter the cave of Bethlehem, to adore and to kiss the feet of her new-born Son.  Go in, then, all ye devout souls; go and see the Creator of heaven and earth on a little hay, under the form of a little Infant; but so beautiful that he sheds all around rays of light.  Now that he is born and is lying on the straw, the cave is no longer horrible, but it is become a paradise.  Let us enter; let us not be afraid.

Let every soul, then, enter.  Behold and see that tender Infant, who is weeping as he lies in the manger on that miserable straw.  See how beautiful he is; look at the light when he sends forth, and the love which he breathes; those eyes send out arrows which wound the hearts that desire him; the very stable, the very straw, cry out, says St. Bernard, and tell you to love him who loves you; to love God, who is infinite love; and who came down from heaven, and made himself a little child, and became poor, to make you understand the love he bears you, and to gain your love by his sufferings.
 
Now then, O all ye devout souls, does Jesus invite you to come and kiss his feet this night.  The shepherds who came to visit him in the stable of Bethlehem brought their gifts; you must also bring your gifts.  What will you bring him?  Listen to me; the most acceptable present you can bring him is that of a contrite and loving hart.”
 
On behalf of myself and Fr. Behling and the entire parish staff, a joyful and blessed Christmas to you! 
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