Together We Are St. Agnes

As I watched our St. Agnes family walking through the streets of Key Biscayne this past Fourth of July, with children waving flags, parishioners smiling at neighbors, families walking side by side, and our float filled with joy, I couldn't help but smile.

This year was especially meaningful as our nation celebrated its 250th Birthday and our beloved Village of Key Biscayne celebrated the 35th anniversary of its incorporation. It was a day filled with gratitude, patriotism, and community. But as I looked around at all of you, I found myself thinking about something much bigger than a parade.

I found myself thinking about who we are.

During our Building With Joy campaign, I often repeated a phrase that has become part of the identity of our parish:

Together We Are St. Agnes.

Those words have never been a slogan.

They have always been a belief.

Because St. Agnes is not our church buildings.

It is not our beautiful campus.

It is not our ministries or our programs.

St. Agnes is all of us.

Every one of us is a thread in the beautiful tapestry that God is weaving at St. Agnes. If even one thread is missing, the tapestry is not quite as beautiful. That is why every person matters. Every smile matters. Every volunteer matters. Every child, every teenager, every adult, every senior, every family matters. Together, each one of us helps tell the beautiful story of St. Agnes.

That is why I want to begin simply by saying thank you.

Thank you to every person who worked behind the scenes for weeks to make our participation possible. Organizing the float, preparing the T-shirts, decorating, coordinating volunteers, and taking care of countless details required many hours of work and generous hearts. These beautiful moments never "just happen." They happen because people quietly give of themselves without expecting recognition.

Thank you as well to every parishioner who joined us that morning. Whether you carried a flag, rode on the float, walked alongside it, greeted neighbors, smiled at children, or simply came to be present, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

One of the things I love most about Key Biscayne is that traditions like the Fourth of July Parade remind us that communities are not built simply because people live in the same place. Communities are built because people choose to show up for one another.

That is exactly what you did.

And I believe that is also one of the simplest and most beautiful ways we evangelize.

Not with a microphone.

Not with a sermon.

But simply by being present.

By being joyful.

By allowing others to see that faith builds community and that Christ brings people together.

As I looked at our parish family, another beautiful thought crossed my mind.

Some of us were born here in the United States. Others came from Nicaragua, Cuba, Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina, Mexico, Peru, Spain, Brazil, and many other parts of the world. We speak different languages. We grew up with

different customs and traditions. Yet that morning there was only one family walking together.

Isn't that exactly what the Catholic Church looks like?

Our diversity does not divide us.

It enriches us.

It reminds us that the Church embraces every people, every culture, every language, and every nation, united by one Lord, one faith, and one Baptism.

Perhaps the greatest gift we offered our village that morning was not our float or our T-shirts.

It was our witness.

Our witness that people of different ages, backgrounds, cultures, and nationalities can truly become one family when Christ is at the center.

So, to every volunteer...

To every family...

To every child...

To every teenager...

To every adult...

To every senior...

To everyone who walked with us...

Thank you.

Thank you for reminding our village, and reminding one another, that St. Agnes is not simply a parish we attend.

It is a family to which we belong.

If someone happened to see us that morning and wondered, "Who are those people?" I hope they discovered much more than the name of a parish.

I hope they saw a family.

A family that loves Christ.

A family that loves one another.

A family that loves this beautiful village we call home.

And if you are looking for a parish to call home, know that there is always a place for you here at St. Agnes.

Our doors, and, more importantly, our hearts, are always open.

Because, now and always...

Together We Are St. Agnes.

Fr. jc