I want to take a moment to say Thank You to all of you who were/are praying for me during this time. My understanding is that my sur-
gery went very well. I was out for the surgery, Thank God, but it also meant I did not get to speak to the surgeon after. I was told the
next day at my post-op appointment that I was on track for where I should be 24 hours out. I was also given some idea of what I could
expect in the coming weeks. At this writing, I still cannot chew, but hoping by this weekend I will be starting. I need to practice for the
Turkey at Easter.

I also want to Thank so many of you who said some wonderful and supportive things to me last weekend. Again, there were those who
thought I should have taken more time off and rested. But it is such a busy time of year. I did entertain the idea of waiting for the sur-
gery, but also knew that I had already waited long enough. I decided to do what I needed to do and deal with things as they came. I did
have to back out of a penance service that I committed to, since it was the day of surgery. That day I really did not get much done but sit
around and try and… well, let’s not go into the details. The biggest struggle I was having was speaking clearly. My thought was that if I
just laid around the house, I would not be speaking and relearning how to talk. I also hate to back out on my brother priest I have
promised to help. So, I started going out to penance services. Within a few days, I decided to not have my priest friend cover my week-
end Masses last weekend. Part of that for me was, as I said, “To be with my people”. If my friend was here, he could say it went well, but
being here myself, you could see me. And My NEW TEETH.

I have noticed significant growth in my speaking over the last week. Hoping this weekend, it is even clearer. It is going to be something
I will need to go with step by step. I hope you will continue to keep me in your prayers, and I continue to heal and grow. I knew this
was going to be a more public thing and I would need to share; however, I never would have guessed how much Love and support I
would receive. Thank you again.

We are moving into a very busy time as Next week is Palm Sunday and the start of Holy Week. I know that you may have your own
busyness in your life as we get closer to Easter. I am hoping you will work to make time for the beautiful liturgy we will be having dur-
ing Holy Week. I say it every year and will say it again next week. “Do not go from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday without going
through the Triduum (the sacred time from the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, through the Veneration of the Cross Fri-
day, to the Easter Vigil).

I would like to Thank the many, many people who step up to help put these Liturgies together. It is a lot of work with a lot of details.
Some that are the same each year, others that will change year to year. However, since these large liturgies only happen once a year,
some of the details could be overlooked if not taken into consideration. I want to Thank all those people who have been and will be
working hard to have these liturgies run smoothly. Many, if not all of them, also have their personal family plans and preparations they
are working on at home too.

Please Note that I will not be in the confessional before the Masses on Palm Sunday. There are some extras at the beginning that I really
need to make sure the servers and others are aware and in place. Our parish Penance service is this coming Wednesday starting at
6:00pm and I will have 5 additional priests here hearing confessions. Please take advantage of this time and keep these priests busy.

Blessings,
Fr. Backer