From The Pastor’s Desk

We have moved from Ordinary Time to the Lenten Season. Each season of the Church Liturgical year has
different emphasis. Advent is the season of looking to the future. Isaiah prophesying 700 years before the birth of Christ gave the people hope when all seemed lost. All the prophets beginning with Moses pointed to the coming of the Messiah. They sought to motivate the people to plan for the future, when God would send a savior.
We are a people who plan for the future. We plan for short term as well as long term events. We plan for our
vacations, we plan for our retirement. In a parish setting we plan our liturgical celebrations and liturgies, we plan for our buildings’ upkeep, we plan budgets to follow, we plan for growth as well as what we believe will be the future needs.
Over the five and half years since I have come to St. Agnes Cathedral we have accomplished much in providing for safety, especially the front of the Cathedral, the new doors of the Cathedral, new LED lighting in much of the school, the new carpet in the Cathedral, new doors in the school, the addition of cameras throughout the school, the removal of the old convent which was deteriorating from the roof to the outside brick walls. The construction of the new storage building for the school, the parish, health care, PCCW, Knights of Columbus, and Scouts, has fulfilled a great need that every parish has, storage for things that are only used a few times a year or for items that need to be stored for future use. All of this has been accomplished without having to ask for money. Much has been accomplished through our bingo
funds and through people making private donations.
Since I have come to St. Agnes I constantly hear people expressing their desire for a parish building for parish
functions, not a cafeteria for students, but a large enough space for the parish to host dinners and different events. The Vietnamese community is also needing a larger space than the school cafeteria for dinners. After discussing with our Parish Council, Finance Committee and the Vietnamese Council President, Fr. Mac and I sat down to talk with the Bishop several weeks ago. The Bishop asked for a line drawing of a building from an architect just to look at what space is available for building and the estimated cost. If this is the direction we are moving toward, I do not want to use money on a professional fund raiser to tell us whether or not we can afford to build. If we truly want and need a facility then I believe our parish communities here at St. Agnes can raise the money needed to build.