The following is an excerpt from Fr. Marcus Kaiser’s address to the Annual Meeting of the Parish, given on Sunday, 20 June.
To read the entire transcription, please click the button below.
This is no easy feat, to transition from a mansion to a ranch. But it is simple. It's very simple. It means thinking of ourselves less, it means focusing on the world around us. It means focusing on the product which is disciples for Jesus Christ. Like the Blues Brothers, we are on a mission from God. So, my beloved fellow ranchers, I have no anxiety, absolutely no anxiety about the future of St. Peter's. I have no anxiety at all. So long as I believe that Jesus is on his throne, I can't. The success of any human endeavor might collapse. I myself might fail phenomenally in every effort. But the success of the one holy, catholic and apostolic church cannot fail.
It cannot fail.
If we are part of that kingdom, our success is given by decree by God Almighty, from the depths of eternity in the halls of heaven. He has spoken, the church will advance! Our only option is whether we're going to be part of it or not. The gates of hell cannot withstand the onslaught and march to which we have been called. So, when asked for a mission statement I offer you instead, or as a mission statement, the gospel of Jesus Christ, according to St. Matthew, the 28th chapter beginning at the 16th verse, you may have heard this before. "After Jesus rose from the dead, the 11 disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw Him, they worshiped, but some doubted,” even perhaps as some might doubt here tonight. “And Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you,” including the command to love one another. “And behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.'"
So, let's be a ranch, because Jesus is with us. Amen."