THE PRESENTATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY AND THE WONDERFUL PEOPLE IN THE ARDEN SACRAMENTO PARISH.............

On this Feast Day of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple as a child in fidelity to Jewish practice, we recall her Call by God and the Mission God gave her to become the New Eve, the Mediatrix of Grace, and the Vessel who was to bear the Savior of Humankind, Who is the Co-Eternal of God our Heavenly Father - Jesus the Christ.  Since 2006, this date is also of very special recollection for me, as I praise God and give Thanks for the Parishioners of Presentation Parish in the Arden area of Sacramento, I was pleased to minister to as their Parochial Vicar and Priest In Residence, for three and a half years June 1, 2006 - December 31, 2009.  I would have gladly have become their Pastor if I had been given the opportunity to shepherd, serve, and lead, the Presentation Parish who took seriously the Teachings and Model of Church as the People of God we are in Holiness called to embrace in, "Faith, Fellowship, Collegiality, and Collaboration".  The Spirit of Caring and Sharing in Liturgy and Ministry, Faith Formation and Social Justice they espoused and practiced made it as vibrant and dynamic, perhaps even more a postconciliar Vatican II parish community, as any of the 103 parishes in the Sacramento Diocese, including the 10 parishes and 4 pastorates I have served over the past 26.5 years.  Happy Parish Feast Day People of God in Presentation Parish, Sacramento.  I appreciate and will be forever grateful for the opportunities to serve with and for you, the Greater Glory of the Lord our God and the Common Good of All, in Faithful Witness to Jesus The Christ and emulating the Discipleship Response of Mary His Mother whose Presentation we commemorate today.  Fr.  Troy David Powers