Pastor's Reflection - Sept. 14, 2025

Dear Brothers in Sisters in Christ,

Greetings from the Camino! We are currently in O Porriño, Spain as we continue our journey to Santiago de Compestela. It has been an incredibly blessed journey so far and I thank you all for your prayers and assure you that you are very much in our prayers each day.

Recently, in the Office of Readings, there was a beautiful reflection from St. Leo the Great about our destiny and the fulfillment of our hearts desire to see God face to face. He reminds us that for now we only see partially, because we have not achieved the fullness of our redemption. Still, we are incredibly blessed to know the great hope to which we are called and this particular paragraph stirred an immense sense of gratitude within my heart.

The whole purpose of our spiritual journey is to experience life in abundance and to be free from fear and doubt, trusting in the merciful plan of God to walk with us and bring us safely into His marvelous kingdom. My walking the Camino has been a powerful reminder of God’s faithfulness. He never ceases to bring people in and out of my life who inspire and help me.

Our journey is filled with intense moments of joy and pain, but we never walk alone and God will never fail to help us by sending the graces we need to keep moving towards our eternal destination. We just can’t remember where we are going even though life can be filled with a number of detours. We can always find our way back to the path God has traced out for us. And some of those detours are divinely planned to help us grow in wisdom and faith.

The upcoming year will be bring challenges but also unique opportunities to discover the goodness of God in each other. I am excited to join you for another year and am greatly looking forward to our All Parish Picnic next weekend.

In Christ,

Fr. James Northrop, Pastor