Five years? Has it really been five years since we began publishing FAITH? I remember when FAITH was just a concept – an idea that needed to be approved by Bishop Mengeling. Then came what seemed to be a never-ending string of meetings and presentations. Getting the go-ahead to do something new and different requires a lot of legwork. There were the usual questions about the usual issues. Yet with the guidance of Fr. Charlie Irvin, FAITH’s founding editor, and the wholehearted and daring support of Bishop Mengeling, FAITH went to press with its first issue in December 1999, just in time for a new millennium.

Ten issues later, we concluded our first year. Midway through the second year, Fr. Charlie graciously handed the reins to me. The time since has been interesting, without a doubt. It has also been deeply moving to share the many stories of faith that we have been privileged to share with you.

We have tried to remain true to our original mission of teaching in much the same way Jesus did – through stories of faith. Many of those stories have had unexpected twists and unanticipated endings. All of them, I hope, have helped to share a message of comfort, hope, joy, strength, peace, reconciliation and the challenges that come through a relationship with Jesus. In the end, that’s what we have always sought to do – to help our readers to understand that they belong to someone – to Jesus, and the place to nourish and sustain that relationship is in church – our parish communities and the domestic church of home and family.

I don’t have much experience raising a five-year-old. I’m told a child at that age can be a bit rambunctious, deeply curious, and wide-eyed when it comes to sensitivity to God. I hope the same will be able to be said about FAITH at five.

Luckily, I have lots of help in guiding this particular five-year-old into another year. I am deeply grateful to our staff and contributors for their hard work, dedication, and inspiration that help guide each issue from conception to your mailbox. It’s amazing what can be accomplished by such a talented and faith-filled little band of people.

What does this new year hold? That’s hard to say with any precise detail. It will see FAITH continue to grow, with the addition of two new dioceses – Erie, Pennsylvania and Raleigh, North Carolina. I know it will continue to include powerful stories of God’s goodness. I pray that it contains untold and unanticipated blessings for you and all those you hold dear. And so our journey in FAITH continues.