Greetings in the Lord from your new state chaplain.
It is an honor to serve in the role as the CDA State Chaplain for the next two years. Let me introduce myself.
I am Fr. Larry Delaney, a priest from the Diocese of Crookston and am currently pastor at St. Joseph’s, Fertile and St. Lawrence (my namesake), Mentor. My ordination was in the summer of 1990 and through the last 31 years I have served in as associate and pastor at several of our larger parishes, all of which have Catholic Schools. I grew up in Twin Valley on a dairy and grain farm. My mother, Mary Lou, still lives in Twin Valley and is a member of Court St. Justin #2020 in Mahnomen.
Next year I am excited about being the spiritual director for the CDA sponsored pilgrimage to Germany and the Oberammergau Passion Play. If you are considering joining this pilgrimage, sign up soon! It will be a joy to once again be able to travel more freely so please pray that the Covid pandemic subsides dramatically over this next year.
One of the goals of the state CDA this year is to increase membership. This is a great goal and really is an extension of our baptismal call to evangelize. Bringing others to the faith happens in many ways starting with leading our families to the Church. But living the faith is much more than going to Mass and receiving the sacraments. We must share our faith through telling others how Christ is the foundation of our lives. In addition, we put our faith into action especially through the corporal works of mercy.
CDA is a wonderful organization through which the members embody these works of mercy. The more active members we have, the more the work of Jesus Christ happens within our communities. Over the last couple of generations, membership in various religious and secular service organizations has fallen significantly. For instance, I was very involved in 4-H in my county growing up and now there are very few clubs in the same county. If we all work together, we can reverse that trend for CDA, nurturing the service of Catholic women in our parishes.
I look forward to meeting many of you through these next two years. Know that you will all be in my daily prayers as you seek to live your discipleship through your membership in CDA.
Greetings in the Lord from your new state chaplain.