A Psalm of Thanksgiving
06-09-2024Letter from the PastorFr. Don Kline, V.F.Dear Brothers and Sisters,
"Shout joyfully to the LORD, all you lands; serve the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful song. Know that the LORD is God, he made us, we belong to him, we are his people, the flock he shepherds. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name; good indeed is the LORD, His mercy endures forever, his faithfulness lasts through every generation.” – Psalm 100
Time flies when you are having fun. Time also flies when you are blessed to be around joyful people. Fr. Andre is certainly one of those joyful people. We give thanks to God for sending him to our parish even for a short while. I am grateful to Fr. Andre for his willingness to serve Our Lord, His Blessed Mother, and our community with the joyful and loving heart!
We welcomed Fr. Andrzej Boroch to St. Bernadette in July of 2023. Now, just one year later, the bishop of the Diocese of Saginaw, Michigan has called Fr. Andre back to the diocese where he has served for over 25 years. The promise of obedience made by all priests on their day of ordination is a gift that is not always understood in the moment, but priests are called to trust in God’s Divine Providence to lead them where they are needed most. Fr. Andre will be serving as Pastor of two parishes in the Diocese of Saginaw.
Fr. Andre was ordained a priest on May 13, 1995. He served a few years in a very large city parish in the capital of Poland, Warsaw. To make a long story short, love of Christ and a missionary spirit brought him to America. Most recently he has served the Diocese of Phoenix for one year at St. Theresa and this past year at St. Bernadette.
Fr. Andre has expressed to me many times how he felt so blessed to be serving Our Lord at the parish he affectionately called, “My Marytown.” Fr. Andre referred to our parish as his “Marytown” which is one of the most beautiful religious sites in America. It is also the National Shrine of St. Maximilian Kolbe and is in Libertyville, Illinois in the Archdiocese of Chicago. Marytown is called the “Third city of the Immaculate” (after Niepokalanow, Poland and Nagasaki, Japan).
I have visited this shrine in Libertyville, which has an incredibly beautiful chapel called Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament. It truly is one of the more stunning pilgrimage sites in the United States. The Chapel has been a sanctuary of perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament since 1928. The Chapel is open to the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for Eucharistic Adoration and prayer. In addition to adoration, the Shrine of St. Maximilian Kolbe offers two daily masses and celebrates the Liturgy of the Hours with the public four times a day!
St. Francis heard the call to “heal wounds, unite what has fallen apart, and to bring home those who have lost their way.” Fr. Andre has responded to this call to follow Our Lord in humble obedience. His willingness to leave family and friends in Poland to serve so generously in our country speaks of his servant’s heart. His desire to strengthen the faithful, to lift up the lowly, comfort the afflicted, and to proclaim the Gospel with zeal and joy are just a few of the ways he has blessed our parish family. Thank you Fr. Andre for your priesthood and for blessing us as you serve God, Our Blessed Mother and the people of God so faithfully.
Also, please keep Fr. Elijah Delello and Fr. Jesús Martinez in your prayers. They are the two young men ordained to the priesthood for our diocese on Saturday June 1, 2024.
God Bless,
Fr. Don Kline, V.F.,
Pastor