A Message from the Bishop

January 2012

Dear Friends,

As we renew our Annual Diocesan Appeal, our theme for 2012 remains Our Parish, Our Diocese, Together in Christ. As members of Christ and his Church, we are connected to one another – parishioner to parishioner, family to family, and parish to parish. We are truly joined as one in the Lord.

Your support of the Annual Diocesan Appeal is an act of stewardship, sharing the gifts that have been given to you by the Lord. Your generosity supports common services and programs that assist all 54 parishes and missions that comprise the Diocese of San Jose.

Your gifts are an act of faith. Your gifts provide the resources that support all of our efforts, including religious instruction of children, teens and adults. Your gifts also make possible the training of candidates for priestly, diaconal and lay ministry, as well as ongoing formation of the Christian faithful. Your generosity also funds youth and young adult ministries and the liturgical renewal that we are undertaking in the Diocese. These ministries are a resource to your priests and parish leaders, assisting them in serving you and the other members of your parish.

I ask you to join me this year in sharing our resources through the Annual Diocesan Appeal so that the work of our local Church may continue to grow and to flourish. As your stewardship has supported my ministry as bishop, I express my gratitude to you – in advance – for doing so once more. Your love of one another and your concern for those in need give me great pride and reason to thank God for you. You are signs to all that we are one, “Together in Christ.”

Please know that you, your families, and your loved ones remain in my daily prayer.
With every best wish and kind regard, I remain,

Sincerely yours,

Patrick J. McGrath
Bishop of San Jose