“When did you first fall in love with Jesus?”  Someone asked me this question a few months ago, and it made me stop and recall a memory that I had not thought about in a long time. The year was 1983 and I had just received my First Communion at St. Boniface Catholic Church in Anaheim, California. I understood that it was an important event in my life, but it wasn’t until Mass was over that the moment truly hit me.
 
My Nana took me to lunch at our favorite restaurant, Mimi’s Café. I walked in looking like a pint-sized bride wearing my white puffy lace dress, veil, and crown and a woman stopped me and said, “Congratulations on your wedding day!” I remember looking at her confused and slightly embarrassed. What 7-year-old gets married? I thought to myself. She must have picked up on my confusion and smiled kindly and said, “Don’t ever forget this day and how much Jesus loves you” It was just like an old-fashioned cartoon with Cupid shooting an arrow at someone and immediately you see the eyes of that person turn into beating red hearts. I was hit. I fell in love and I immediately and wholeheartedly understood that  I was loved in return. For me in that moment, recovering from the instability of a broken home and faced with the responsibilities placed on my young shoulders, that stranger in the restaurant helped to shape the path that has led me to the place that  I am today, taking on the role of Pastoral Associate at St. Mary Magdalene Parish.

A Pastoral Associate is a leadership position that can be filled by a lay-person or religious Brother or Sister. A general explanation of the position is that a Pastoral Associate is a member of the parish team who shares responsibility for the pastoral care and the lifelong faith formation of the parishioners within the overall parish mission. The most exciting part of this position is that the responsibilities and duties can be uniquely tailored to the needs and desires of each individual parish. There is no “one size fits all” description of this job. I have started this role with one goal in mind, to faithfully support and assist the clergy so that they might have more freedom and time to attend to the needs of their flock.
 
I am blessed to know so many of you through my years of being on parish staff, sharing the pews with my family as a fellow parishioner, teaching 2nd grade religion, and travelling between our sites with my iPad to stream Masses during the pandemic. I am delighted to speak to you in person this weekend at all our Masses, to formally introduce myself as Pastoral Associate and to commit myself in service to my first love, Jesus, to his faithful servants, our priests, and to you, my brothers and sisters in Christ.
 
 I extend my love and gratitude to my children and my husband for their support through my long hours studying, working, and serving the people of Saint Mary Magdalene Parish and I can’t wait to get the opportunity to get to know you better by asking “When did you first fall in love with Jesus?”