I have met many of you, but for those, I haven’t met yet, my name is Fr. Roth, the new Parochial Vicar here at Saint Joseph. First, I want to thank everyone, this parish has been so welcoming these past few weeks, and I am excited to get to know the parish more. I just wanted to spend this letter sharing a bit of who I am through the lens of my vocation story. My family moved around a bit when I was really young. Born in Pittsburgh, moved to Buffalo, NY before I can remember, then we settled in Littlestown (a small town next to Gettysburg) around 2nd grade. Though I don’t remember living in Pittsburgh, I know the city pretty well from going back regularly to see my grandparents, and sometimes if you listen parts of the accent will slip out.
Growing up, two things led me to know that I was called to be a priest from a young age. First was a love for the Mass. I enjoyed going to Mass from a young age. I looked forward to going to Mass. Fr. Sterner, the priest at Saint Aloysius Littlestown, was like a grandfather for a good portion of the small town. He also has a great love for the Mass, which came through in how he celebrated and talked about the Mass and Eucharist. I am sure it is from him that I get my love for the Mass. The problem was, being from a small town with no vocations and going to public school; I had no clue how someone becomes a priest. Too shy to ask, I tried gleaning that information by asking the few priests I knew what they did before they were priests. Somehow every priest I asked all had a job before becoming a priest, so I assumed having a job first was a requirement. So, I put becoming a priest on the back burner and figured I would live my life for a while.
My life outside of discernment was pretty standard. I worked on my neighbors’ farms since around 5th grade or so, a fruit and vegetable farm when I was little, then a hay farm with the 50 lb. bails when I was strong enough. I was on both the varsity soccer and wrestling teams, and though I enjoyed them both, soccer is definitely a passion. I’ve played it since I could walk and still take any chance to play or watch the game. After high school, I went to Penn State for a physics degree. I chose to go for physics for two reasons. One, because I am fairly good at math and enjoy science, so physics was a natural fit. Two, because I always want to know how things work, and physics gives you the base principles for everything. But near the end of my time at Penn State, I knew if I continued in the physics field, I wanted to go down the track for a professorship.
The problem with becoming a professor was that it takes a long time, even after getting a Ph.D. So, I decided to look a little deeper into what it takes to become a priest. Finding out it takes 6 years and that you didn’t need job experience to do it, I started leaning towards entering the seminary after college. The deciding factor was nothing more than the fact that I didn’t want to take all that time to become a professor when I knew I was called to the priesthood. If I didn’t need job experience, I wasn’t going to delay my vocation any further. After that, I applied to the Diocese of Harrisburg, went to seminary at Mount Saint Mary’s, and was ordained in 2018. I have enjoyed these past 3 years, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, even with everything that happened last year.
I hope this snapshot at least gives you a little bit of an idea about who I am. God Bless, Fr. Roth
HELP US CELEBRATE DEACON PARUSO!
As announced in this bulletin column on April 25, Deacon Paruso announced his retirement from active diaconal ministry. We are so grateful for his many, many years of service, and that we continue to see Deacon and his wife Marlane, especially at Mass.
Now that we can operate with just about every COVID-19 restriction lifted, we have asked Deacon and Marlane to come to the Parish Picnic next Sunday. They plan on being present at the 2:00 PM Gazebo Mass, and then at the picnic. If you would like a chance to see them and wish Deacon well in his retirement, please make sure to join us at the picnic. Again, we remind you that there is no charge for the picnic, but if you plan on attending, in order for us to prepare properly, please register for the picnic via www.stjosephmech.org and click on the white “Parish Picnic July 25” button on the home page (it’s really easy to do!), or call the Parish Office at 717-766-9433. We look forward to seeing you at the picnic!