Greetings to my brothers and sisters of Resurrection Church
My name is Father Eugeniusz Gancarz. The Most Reverend Bishop Robert N. Lynch from the Diocese of St Petersburg has called me to serve as Pastor of Resurrection Catholic Church in Riverview, Florida. I would like to share all this with you because I have accepted the Bishop’s call to serve as Pastor.
I also would like to express all my gratitude to St Clements community in Plant City, Reverend Tom Anastasia, Pastor, the office staff, and so many men, women, youth, couples and children who make up the many groups and ministries. I have served them and it has been a privilege. Thank you, and God Bless you all.
My dear friends of my new parochial family:
Life passes, and we, men, walk through life. In our path we leave our footprints and marks on hearts of those who had been close in our pilgrimage. But memories, affections, teachings, good examples, generosity, and all like things stay. These are some of the many things that you left in the saddlebag of life and Pastoral work of your beloved Pastor, Monsignor Antonio Diez.
From the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank Monsignor Antonio Diez for the strength to keep running this parish spiritually and materially. You know better than me that thanks to Our beloved God, the Divine Providence, and your personal generosity everything has been possible and all realized works are a clear testimony of it.
Thank you Monsignor Diez and God be with you in your deserved rest and let the Fire of your enthusiasm never be gone. Fire! Fire! Fire!
I assure you that I have been praying for you since April, when I first knew that Resurrection would be my new parochial family.
Thank you for all your prayers for me and my priestly ministry at Resurrection community. A special thank to all groups, parochial movements and ministries of Resurrection Parish, especially to the group of Catholic Women for all their prayers.
United in prayer we can work for our Lord, who sends us to work in His vineyard. I think I would like to thank all of you for accepting me as your parish priest, pastor and servant for all of you.
Therefore, I say “Thank You” to everybody, and I wish this “Thank you” goes to all those I need to thank. I think there is no one in Resurrection Parish that I don’t have to thank.
Finally I will like to conclude with words of our Blessed John Paul II, during his homily in his first apostolic trip to Poland in 1979, at the closing Mass of the Krakow pilgrimage in July 10, 1979 that I concelebrated with him for 2,000,000 pilgrims:
You must be strong, my dear brothers and sisters.
You must be strong with the strength of faith.
You must be strong with love, which is stronger than death.
I beg you
To accept once more all the spiritual patrimony with faith, hope and love.
I beg you
— never lose your trust, do not be defeated, do not be discouraged;
— do not on your own cut yourselves off from the roots from which we had our origins.
I beg you
— have trust, and notwithstanding all your weakness, always seek spiritual power from him from whom countless generations of our fathers and mother have found it.
— never detach ourselves from him.
— never lose your spiritual freedom, with which "he makes a human being free".
— Never disdain charity, which is "the greatest of these" and which shows itself through the Cross. Without it human life has no roots and no meaning.
Dear friends: May Our Lord give you and your beloved family members a shower of blessings, peace, and light your way. God Bless you, with all my affection in the love of Christ and the Blessed Mother Mary.
Fr Eugene Gancarz