Thank You Pastor

Archbishop Carlson appoints Msgr. Rivituso as vicar general

Archbishop Robert J. Carlson has appointed Msgr. Mark S. Rivituso, JCL, as vicar general for the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

Msgr. Rivituso, 49, has been serving as judicial vicar of the Tribunal of Second Instance (Canonical Appellate Tribunal) of the Province of St. Louis and pastor of Curé of Ars Parish in Shrewsbury.

His new appointment is effective Aug. 1.

A vicar general aids the archbishop in the administration of the Archdiocese. Msgr. Rivituso succeeds Msgr. Vernon E. Gardin, who has served as vicar general since 2004 and recently returned to parish ministry as pastor of Immacolata Parish in Richmond Heights.

Msgr. Rivituso will share the office of vicar general with Bishop Edward M. Rice, who was ordained an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese in January. Msgr. Rivituso will be responsible for overseeing the North City, South City and Southwest County deaneries, as well as a ministry team of offices and agencies within the archdiocese. He also will remain pastor of Cure of Ars.

"I am honored to accept this appointment as vicar general of the Archdiocese of St. Louis," said Msgr. Rivituso. "It is a privilege for me to assist Archbishop Carlson in his pastoral and administrative duties.

"I want to express my personal gratitude to our archbishop for his support and confidence in my abilities, as well as to thank Msgr. Vernon Gardin for his past dedicated and generous service as vicar general," he continued. "I ask for your prayers as I humbly serve the faithful of the Archdiocese of St. Louis."

In his appointment letter, Archbishop Carlson said: "In conferring upon you (Monsignor Rivituso) the office of Vicar General, I thank you for your generous willingness to accept the weighty responsibility of the office, for love of God and of His holy people, the Church in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. From my experience of your priestly ministry thus far, I am confident that you will serve the Church very well and, through your service, advance very much the New Evangelization of our society and culture."

Msgr. Rivituso was ordained a priest for the archdiocese at the St. Louis Cathedral (now Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis) by Archbishop John L. May in 1988. The native St. Louisan is a graduate of St. Mary's High School in South St. Louis, Cardinal Glennon College and Kenrick School of Theology. He also has earned a master's degree and licentiate in canon law from St. Paul University in Ottawa, Canada. Pope Benedict XVI named him a monsignor in 2005.

Lysa TerKeurst – Letters to Pastors

I have to keep it short and sweet today sisters.  I have a serious case of snow globe brain.  Like when you see a three year old shake the dickens out of a snow globe and before the snow can settle they shake it again.  Yes.  That would be my brain today.

I spoke at 4 services at my church this weekend.  It was one of the biggest honors of my life.  The staff, volunteers, and members of Elevation blessed me so much I can’t even talk about it without getting choked up.

And my biggest take away?  I don’t know how pastors do it.

Honest to goodness, I don’t.

Sitting on the front row as each finished worship song signaled it was getting closer and closer to the time for me to step on stage, my heart became more and more desperate for Jesus to come back.  Right now.  Rapture?  Hello?  God?  Please?

But no rapture came.

And soon there I was in front of my home church sweating like a toad on a hot tin roof.  If toads sweat.  I have no idea.  And I’m way too tired to Google it.  Anyhow.

There is something so different about speaking at your home church.

I felt a weight of responsibility. I felt it in my heart.  I felt it in my soul.  I felt it in my brain. 

And I thought to myself, how does my Pastor do this every week?  How does he craft a new sermon, get comfortable with that completely new material, carry that weight of responsibility, feel the anxiety of walking up on that stage, deliver a timed message in tune with the Holy Spirit, and then do it 2 to 3 more times during that weekend?  And. Then. Do. It. All. Again. Next. Weekend.

Y’all.  Seriously.  We need to stop right this second, pull out a piece of our good stationary, and write our pastors a thank you note.  And if you happen to know what his favorite restaurant is, send him a gift card to take his wife out for dinner.  She carries the weight too.  In a big way.

As a matter of fact, let’s write her a note of thanks as well.

I’m not kidding.

And heaven help us if we were thinking of writing a note of constructive criticism to the pastor today.  Please don’t. Just love him and his family.  Please and thank you.

My pastor’s wife, Holly Furtick, has a Monday morning commentary up on her blog .  And because Holly and the members of my church were so gracious and generous and lavished me with more encouragement than I could ever possibly deserve… would you leave her a comment today?

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