It is very hard for me to believe, but today, on the feast of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary to her Cousin Elizabeth, I celebrate ten years as a priest. My ordination to the priesthood in the Diocese of Jackson, Mississippi was on May 31, 2008. I remember all of my family and friends who traveled here to Mississippi for my ordination, including friends from Canada, my sister Kimberley from California, my brother Cameron from Illinois, and friends from North Carolina and Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology in Wisconsin. I give thanks to the people of the parishes where I have served since that time as pastor or associate pastor - All Saints Catholic Church in Belzoni; St Richard and Holy Family in Jackson; and St Mary and St Francis of Assisi in Yazoo City, St James in Tupelo, and currently St Jude in Pearl. I give thanks to the correctional institutions where I have served as a priest: Central Mississippi Correctional Facility in Pearl, and the Yazoo County Regional Correctional Facility and the Yazoo City Federal Correctional Facility in Yazoo City. So many people have nurtured me along the way on my journey. I give thanks to all of them. And I give thanks for this wonderful feast in honor of the Blessed Mother that falls on the anniversary of my ordination.
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