Happy Sunday!

I pray everyone had a joy-filled Christmas, rejoicing in the celebration of Our Lord's Nativity! A great thank you to everyone who volunteered their time to help with the different ministries for the Christmas Masses. I am incredibly grateful to our wonderful ushers, lectors, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, sacristans, singers, musicians, altar servers, gift shop volunteers, and many more. As you can see, there are a number of moving parts that are all so important. If you've never been able to volunteer, maybe 2020 is the year! We'd love to have you join one of our marvelous teams.

Happy Sunday!

We have arrived at the final Sunday of Advent and the shortest week of this liturgical season. This Sunday's liturgy begins with the antiphon joyfully proclaiming "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." With great anticipation we sing for the coming of the Savior. Though this is the shortest week of Advent, finishing Tuesday evening, one can feel the tension of the antiphon. Jesus Christ is coming! The prayers of the patriarchs are heard, the words of the prophets find fruition! Our Gospel tells of the angel visiting Joseph, commanding him to name the child "Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." We are the people Jesus comes for to save us from our sins. I would like to invite you over the next couple of days before the Christmas season begins to pray with the prayers and readings from this Sunday's mass. To take time in silence to hear the anticipation of the prophets and to rejoice with Holy Mother Church.

Happy Sunday! Today the Church celebrates Gaudete Sunday. This Sunday of rejoicing shifts the focus of Advent more closely to the coming of the Lord. Throughout the first two weeks we have been looking especially towards the coming of the Lord, but now the tone is changed. The entrance antiphon this Sunday proclaims, "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Indeed, the Lord is near." We no longer speak of a thing in the distant future of an unknown time, but rather of something close. What does this mean for us? St. James offers us some advice in our second readi ng for this Sunday. "Make your hearts firm, because the coming of the Lord is at hand ." There is no one else to prepare our hearts for other than Jesus. He is the one who breaks into our lives in the silence, just as in the manger. The Lord comes quietly and in unexpected ways. The preparation of hearts means making them a place to receive the Lord as gives Himself to us.

Happy Sunday!

This has been quite the weekend for St. Joan of Arc. Our high schoolers have been on retreat in Prescott accompanied by Fr. Daniel. We pray they had a renewing weekend and that the Lord deepened their knowledge and love of Him. As well, our St. Michael Indian School Mission group went up north to deliver the many donations. Thank you so much to everyone who contributed so generously. A special thanks to all those who made the journey to deliver all the donations, this certainly makes a big difference to the people in the St. Michael Mission.

On Monday of this past week the Diocese began celebrations for the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the Diocese of Phoenix. There was a Mass at Comerica Theater to kickoff the year long celebration. We give thanks to God for the many blessings He has bestowed on our wonderful diocese. Including the founding of our own parish, which happened ten years after the Diocese of Phoenix was created. We pray for many more fruitful years of evangelization and deepening the love of God in the life of our diocese.

Happy Sunday!

Today the Church begins her new year! In anticipation of the great celebration of Christmas, we begin to prepare ourselves through prayer, especially liturgical prayer. The readings that we hear during this season, not only on Sunday but during the week, remind us of the great expectation of the people of Israel for their Savior. In this Sunday's first reading from Isaiah we hear, "In days to come, the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established as the highest mountain and raised above the hills. All nations shall stream toward it…" That is, God will establish among his people something special which will draw all the nations towards it. This mountain is Zion, a foreshadowing of eternal life in heaven. Our passage continues to say, "For from Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." The instruction that goes forth will be the teaching of Jesus Christ. God himself will come to us and He will teach us. No longer will the people of Israel look at their prophets for God's words because God Himself will teach them.