When I first started helping out at St. Hubert about six years ago, these were the first few words we exchanged with each other. It was a meaningful way to begin, because the way we’ve slowly gotten to know one another over the years has been through the Mass—the great prayer of unity.
There’s a lot of meaning to these words we say. It’s not just a nice way of saying “hello” or “good morning”, but it’s a prayer, a hope and a desire that God is truly and deeply a part of our lives. And as Catholics, we know it happens through the relationship we build with the one we call “Emanuel”, which means “God is with us.”
So as I came to St. Hubert to pray with you, I always felt very much felt at home, because here the simple exchange of hope that we greet one another with seems to come alive: the Lord is here, working through us, with us and in us. What I love about being at St. Hubert is the way this community prays together, which in turn shows itself in the many ways people are involved living out their faith.
So, as I begin this time as pastor, I hold onto the blessings we already share. I look forward to helping you build upon all that Fr. Rizzo and the pastors before have done to serve you, maintain the parish, and help you grow in the spiritual life.
I’m new at this, so please be patient with me. But I’m truly blessed to have a few months with Fr. Rizzo to help me get started before he officially retires. He has been a great pastor, mentor and leader and cares deeply about all of you.
I feel blessed that I can now officially call St. Hubert home. It’s a great place to be.
The Lord be with you,
--Fr. Mike
Some Things to Know About Fr. Mike:
· He grew up in Cary with five sisters, who all have families of their own. He’s the second oldest and an uncle to 17. His mom still lives in the house they grew up in; his father passed away in 1996. He attended Catholic grade school and went to a Catholic university.
· He entered the seminary in 2002 at age 38. Before then, he had a career in the advertising business helping to produce TV and radio commercials in an area called Broadcast Business Affairs. He worked at Leo Burnett, Hal Riney & Partners and FCB and worked his way up to vice-president. He also worked three years at Accenture.
· His first assignment was as an associate pastor at St. William in Chicago in 2007 and in 2011 was assigned to work on vocations and priestly formation at St. Joseph College Seminary at Loyola University Chicago. During his time at the seminary, Fr. Mike helped out at St. Hubert and other parishes on the weekends.