14th Sunday in Ordinary Time - C 2025

“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”

The Gospel passage for this weekend seems appropriate as I begin my time as pastor of the parishes in Baraga County.  If you have not yet learned, my name is Fr. Ben Rivard.  I’m both delighted and excited to be assigned as your pastor, serving as one of those laborers which our Lord talks about in today’s Gospel.  When I begin a new assignment, I find it helpful to use my first weekend homily or sermon as a way of giving you some information about me since I have your ear as a captive audience.  In the future, I hope that in my preaching you will find yourselves captivated, not merely captive.  Today, instead of a deeper dive into the readings or a specific topic – which would normally be the content of my preaching – please allow to share a bit about myself.

I grew up in the small town of Cornell, just north of Escanaba.  I am the oldest of ten children and grew up in a family that cherished the Catholic Faith.  I believe some of you have know my brother Tyler Rivard who was ordained a deacon a couple months ago.  He will be ordained a priest for our diocese at the beginning of next summer.  I discerned the priesthood from a fairly young age and applied for seminary in 2014.  In January of 2015 I began my studies at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit and was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Marquette in June of 2021.  I served as the associate pastor of St. Peter Cathedral in Marquette from July of 2021 to August of 2022.  I was then sent to Our Lady of Peace Parish in Ironwood for four months to serve in between pastors.  I came back to St. Peter in January of 2023 until I was named pastor of Precious Blood Parish in Stephenson in July that same year.  I served there for two years until Bishop John named me your pastor.

When a new priest is assigned to a parish, the parishioners may not know what to expect.  Some are nervous and some are excited.  And there are some expectations that parishioners will place on a new pastor.  Allow me to share with you some things which you can expect from me.

First, please know that I will remain staunchly faithful to all of the Church’s doctrines and teachings.  Whenever I preach from this pulpit, you can be confident that I will only share content that is upholds the Catholic Faith.  In connection with this, please know that I will faithfully administer the Sacraments, rites, and liturgies in full adherence to her rules and rubrics.

Second, expect me to be a hard worker.  I promise to work diligently for the care of your souls, the thriving of our parishes, and the flourishing of our school.  I have a lot of energy and am willing to spend it in the service of our parishes and school.

Third, I promise to be a good listener.  I try to make myself available to my parishioners and am willing to listen to people.  There may be times when I may not agree with what someone tells me, but I promise to be open and to listen faithfully.

Fourth, I will fervently pray for you all.

Fifth, I promise to love you as your pastor and father.

These are a few of the things you can expect from me.  I also have a few requests for you all.

First, I ask for the benefit of the doubt.  Perhaps there will be times on occasion when you may not fully understand me or a decision of mine.  And when this happens, there can be a temptation to assume ill will and to talk to everyone except the pastor.  Please, give me the benefit of the doubt and come talk to me.  I expect it and charity demands it.  I also ask that you have patience with me as I get settled in a new community, especially as I get to know all your names.

Second, Mass plus one.  Of course, I ask that people faithfully attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation, unless of course there is a legitimate excuse.  In addition to regular Mass attendance, I request you to contribute to the parish or the school in one additional way.  Perhaps you can contribute your time through the Ladies Auxiliary or Guild.  Perhaps you can contribute your time through the Knights of Columbus.  I am sure that many of you already have your plus one.  If you are unsure of what to do, come talk to me.  I’ll give you a project.  I want our parishes to be more than places where we worship and receive the Sacraments.  Of course, this is primarily what they are for.  But I want them to be centers of community and evangelization.  For that reason, I’m asking for Mass plus one.

Lastly, I ask you all to pray for me.  Please pray that I can be a faithful priest and pastor for you.  Pray for our parishes and our school.  It is only by God’s grace that we are able to accomplish anything good.

Jesus sent out His disciples to preach that the kingdom of God is present here on earth.  Wherever He is present, where His body the Church is present, the kingdom is there.  More concretely, we are the disciples He has sent out for Baraga County.  The harvest is abundant in Baraga County.  We are the laborers sent to bring the presence of Jesus in our part of the Upper Peninsula.  Let’s keep this in mind as I begin my ministry at our parishes and school.