Most of us are quiet people who desire to live a good and holy life, promote the values and mission of the Gospel as best we can and desire to one day inherit the surprise of life eternal God promises to us. We are not trail blazers. We are simple people who want to do the simple things of life well. But there are others who left a more profound impact along the way of the paths they walked. Folks like Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King, Thomas Merton, Gandhi, St. Teresa of Calcutta, and many others left lasting impacts and legacies. Like Moses, they show us by word and deed who God is and what integrity and a purpose driven life look like. They show us how to be holy. We need Moses people like these to give us inspiration, hope and an example of holy living.

Happy Sunday!

Every now and then people ask me about books I’ve mentioned or what I’m reading. There’s so much good literature out there I thought I’d make a list of a few different works that have been in my book pile or rattling around my brain. Without further ado…

From Christendom to Apostolic Mission by University of Mary: This is easily one of the most important books I’ve been reading recently. It’s a 90 page essay assessing our current time and discussing strategies to engage a culture that has become disengaged with Christianity.

It was a normal day by all accounts, but John just wasn’t feeling himself. He was a little lightheaded and out of sorts. Later in the afternoon, he experienced a sharp pain in his chest and arm. Quick thinking and action brought John to the emergency department with a diagnosis of a significant heart attack. Surviving this ordeal, he found himself face to face with his cardiologist, having an honest conversation about things that needed to change. “I came close to death,” John found himself thinking. Then came the remorse. He was a young man with a loving wife and children who were very close to facing life without him. John found himself with intense sorrow for living an unchecked and self-indulgent life that almost brought him to his demise. He wanted to change.

Happy Sunday!

I pray everyone’s year is off to a good start. Tomorrow, January 18, the parish office will be closed in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We will have the regularly scheduled morning confessions and Mass. There will NOT be evening confessions and Mass. I hope everyone is able to enjoy the national holiday.

This Friday, January 22, is the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade legalizing abortion throughout the country. Please join me in praying for an end to abortion throughout our nation and world. There are many things we can say about the gift of human life and the atrocity of ending a human life in its initial stages. Especially now though, with Christmas fresh in our minds, we remember that God came, not as an adult, but in the womb.

Our faith is not just about ideas. It’s really about having an encounter with God and, in particular, the Risen Christ! Once we give ourselves over to the notion of God’s presence, we have to train ourselves to listen for God’s voice and be attentive to God’s call. Having companions on our faith journeys is so incredibly important as they can help us fine-tune our listening skills and discern God’s voice from others we may be hearing. Faith is all about having these profound encounters not only with God but with our brothers and sisters, and creation itself. Anyone or anything that is alive with God’s presence becomes an occasion for God to speak and call us to deeper graces and experiences. “Come, and you will see.”

Hello everyone at St. Joan of Arc!

It is a pleasure to be here with you in this parish. Thank you for welcoming me and my family. Some background may be helpful.

I was an Episcopal minister and moved here to Phoenix in 2005 in order to serve an Episcopal Church. At that time I was married and had four children and no one in my or my wife's family had ever been Catholic. In early 2007 I resigned from the Episcopal Church and with my family began the process toward becoming Catholic.

Fr. Dan Connealy, Fr. Oliver Vietor, Deacon Andy Lambros, Deacon Mark Salvato and the Staff at SJA wish all parishioners a very happy, holy & peaceful New Year 2021.

Fr. Dan Connealy, Fr. Oliver Vietor, Diácono Andy Lambros, Diácona Mark Salvato y el personal de SJA deseo todo feligreses muy feliz, santo y pacífico Año Nuevo 2021.

Happy Sunday!

Merry Christmas! I pray everyone had a very good Christmas filled with the joy of the newborn Christ! Thank you so much to all of our staff and volunteers who did such a wonderful job making everything happen. We have been working short handed and though things do not always run smoothly we are certainly doing our best. This Sunday we celebrate Holy Family Sunday. I would like to share an excerpt from a homily of Pope St. Paul VI on his visit to Nazareth in 1964.

In Blaise Pascal’s work, Pensees, he says: “What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself.”

Happy Sunday!

This Fourth Sunday of Advent finds us in great anticipation of the coming festivities of the Nativity of the Lord! The entrance antiphon for Mass is taken from Isaiah 45 and proclaims, “Drop down dew from above, you heavens, and let the clouds rain down the Just One; let the earth be opened and bring forth a Savior.” The prophecies of Israel come closer to fulfillment during this time as we continue to prepare ourselves for Christmas. In the Gospel for this Sunday it begins, “The angel Gabriel was sent from God…” We know where this story is heading as Gabriel is about to announce to Mary the birth of Jesus.

Happy Sunday! We are at the halfway point of Advent, celebrating Gaudete Sunday this weekend. The Church sings in the entrance antiphon, “Gaudete in Domino semper!”, “Rejoice in the Lord always!” We rejoice because the Lord is near. In fact, the opening prayer of the Mass begins thus, “O God, who see how your people faithfully await the feast of the Lord’s Nativity…” We continue to meditate on the theme of “waiting” which distinguishes Christian spirituality in this season. We are waiting for the Lord to come at Christmas, but also at the end of time. We are like the virgins who wait with lighted lamp and flasks of oil. No one can wait for us, each of us must be attentive to the signs of the Lord’s coming.

Happy Sunday!

Thank you to all who participated in Giving Tuesday by supporting our endowment held by the Catholic Community Foundation. By growing our endowment, we prepare for stability in the future of St. Joan of Arc. If you were not able to participate, you can still donate and your gift will be matched by 50% up to $50,000!

Fr. Connealy, Deacon Peter, Deacon Andy, Deacon Mark and the Staff at St. Joan of Arc wish all of the Parishioners a very blessed and joyful Thanksgiving.

P. Connealy, Diácono Peter, Diácono Andy, Diácono Mark y el personal de St. Juana de arco les deseo a todos los feligreses una muy Acción de Gracias bendita y goz.

Happy Sunday!

We are nearing the end of Ordinary Time as we celebrate the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time this weekend. At this time of year the Gospel we hear on Sunday tends to have a more eschatological bend, that is, it is often focused more on the end times. This Sunday is no different. In it we hear about the master who gives his servants five, two, and one talents. Those who received five and two both doubled their master’s money. However, the servant who received one talent, “out of fear”, buried his master’s talent. The master calls him wicked and lazy because he merely tried to maintain what was entrusted to him. The Christian life is not about maintaining but growth. Each of us, by nature of our baptism, is called to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the truth and beauty of the Catholic Church. This is no small task, but a lifelong mission. We cannot be content to preserve the faith as our own personal decision. No, the joy of Jesus Christ is meant to be shared. It is a gift that does not close in on itself, but is for our eternal life and the eternal life of all.

Dear St. Joan of Arc Parishioners,

As I sit to write this letter, my Ordination to the Permanent Diaconate is fast approaching. By the time this letter makes the Sunday bulletin, I will be ordained. It’s strange to say that… I have been discerning, studying, and praying for the Lord to guide me through this formation process for the last seven years… now, it’s suddenly here!

As parents, my wife, Pam and I asked all of our sons to, at a minimum, be open to the possibility that God may be calling them to a priestly vocation, and if so, that's where they would find their greatest joy and fulfillment. Ironically, encouraging them to consider their vocation is part of the reason why we felt like we should take our own advice and be open to the Permanent Diaconate.

Happy Sunday!

This Sunday we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints, the feast commemorating all those unknown people who share the life of God in heaven. Pope Benedict XVI reminded us in 2006: “This, then, is the meaning of today's Solemnity: looking at the shining example of the Saints to reawaken within us the great longing to be like them; happy to live near God, in his light, in the great family of God's friends. Being a Saint means living close to God, to live in his family.” This great solemnity, which adds nothing to the glory of the saints, is to awaken in us the desire to embrace our true destiny in heaven with all the holy ones.

Happy Sunday!

The Liturgy for Advent begins with the antiphon, “To you, I lift up my soul, O my God. In you, I have trusted; let me not be put to shame. Nor let my enemies exult over me; and let none who hope in you be put to shame.” This antiphon is taken from Psalm 25. The Church selects it to begin the season of Advent as we lift up our souls to the living God and place our hope in Him as we anticipate the birth of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. As we begin this season I would like to invite you to pay attention to the antiphons of the Mass each day for your prayer. These can be found in a Daily Roman Missal, online, or using Apps such as iBreviary.