August 30, 2026
Dear Friends,
First of all, thank you to everyone who reached out to me with birthday greetings. I am very appreciative and grateful to the Lord for another day/year to celebrate joys and blessings of my natal life! I lift each of you in my prayers of thanksgiving!!!
I was blessed to be with wonderful friends for my birthday and a week following. Some of you know, my “second home” has been in Beverly, Massachusetts. Now, get it right, I’ve never owned a home there, (hello, I do not have that financial realm) but I have been blessed to be part of the North Shore for forty plus years. I won’t bore you, but I met the North Shore of Cape Ann in 1982. The beginning of my journey there was as a Chaplain at Beverly Hospital with a seminary program called Clinical Pastoral Education. It was profound as I was to minister to the pediatric floor and the terminal dying. At this time, I actually lived in the hospital.
It will always be a gift to me and my Director, Rev. Don Hunt was a wonderful, instrumental guide in my ministry. Then, a
wonderful Pastor, Father Richard Johnson, asked if I would consider coming back the following summer and work with him. The
parish was Saint Mary Star of the Sea. Well, it was possible and I did, and my life has never been the same.
Many friends/family, I have made over these decades. There have been endless joys. And with love and time, we have had
weddings, baptisms, stresses, funerals, and all the life situations we all know as families. I do not own physical property, but I will
say, I have in my soul the bounty of family and friends in the most blessed way. I am grateful.
As you might have heard and been informed about, Bishop John Bonnici will be with us September 26 for the 5:30 mass at Saint
Catherine’s. We invited him to come and he asked if this liturgy would be possible. Well, of course!!! This day we will suspend our 4 PM mass so that we might all come together to meet and welcome our Bishop! I pray you will come and meet Bishop Bonnici. A few times, his presence has been gifted with me to engage in meeting him and having some conversation. After mass, there will be a light reception where you can introduce yourselves and welcome him to our parishes and diocese.
If you are in town this weekend, please come and celebrate our mass with Bishop Bonnici and one another!
Holding onto summer,
Blessings,
Father Rob

