Happy Christ the King!

We give thanks this week for the many blessings upon our church family of faith. Our Solemnity of Christ the King remains important as the ever-growing secularization of our society continues to increase. Since its institution by Pope Pius XI in 1925 the message from his encyclical should penetrate our hearts:

Happy Sunday!

Our liturgical season concludes next week with the Solemnity of Christ the King! During this time we take out Eucharistic King through the streets of St. Joan of Arc. Our Mass schedule remains the same and the procession will begin immediately after the Spanish Mass at around 1:30pm. All are welcome to attend the Spanish Mass by using the Lumen Christi Missals to follow along and then process with us after the Mass.

Happy Sunday!

The month of November has been off to a beautiful and good start. I wanted to place several events at the parish on your calendars. On November 9, 2024, Deacon David Bramer was ordained to the order of the Diaconate. We rejoice and are glad for his new ministry and service to the church. It has been the practice to have an order of decree of appointment of a newly ordained deacon to the parish. All this is happening on November 24, 2024 at the 10:30am Mass.

Happy Sunday!

As we enter into this Election Week, we are reminded in our Gospel regarding the priority of the commandments. When we enter into this week, we can be assured of God’s faithfulness to His sons and daughters awaiting the outcomes of the heads of state. Our Blessed Lord says:

Happy Sunday!

Last week we published our financial report and this week I would like to publish our pastoral report. This particular report offers insights into our sacramental and pastoral life of the parish. As a parish family, the sacramental life is important to produce an abundance of fruits in the parish. These are simply by-products of living in God and are an authentic embrace of the beautiful and rich liturgy that opens our hearts to encounter God, even in the midst of challenges.

Happy Sunday!

This Sunday we are publishing our financial report for the 2023-2024 fiscal year. My heart is still filled with gratitude for the generous love and support you show in being good stewards to our parish family. My first year I wanted to bring good news with numbers in the black and a profit for the parish. However, in all humility we closed in the red at a loss.

This week we hear of the man who inquires of Jesus how to obtain eternal life. He rejects Jesus’ invitation to sell his goods, give to the poor, and follow Jesus. Mark tells us this devastatingly sad line, “At this saying, his countenance fell and he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions” (Mark 10:22). The man’s heart wasn’t centered on Jesus, but on his possessions. Perhaps Jesus intuited this.

Happy Sunday!

The month of October has its traditions and as I write this letter I am not sure if the Arizona Diamondbacks are in the playoffs? Who knows if baseball will see our hometown team. Regardless of the outcome, it was a fun season and great Catholic night at the ballpark.

Happy Sunday!

The General Election season is fast approaching. As faithful Catholics and citizens of the United States, we have a duty and a privilege to vote and elect lawmakers to act on our behalf to govern our state and country as well as ballot propositions which impact our laws. With that being said, all these decisions are entrusted to the people.

As Catholic Bishops of Arizona we want to express our strong opposition to Proposition 139.

If passed, this initiative threatens to enshrine a constitutional right to virtually unrestricted abortion in Arizona.

Happy Sunday!

Our parish has been celebrating 45 years since being established. So many helping hands have worked for decades to make this sacred place a home for worship, adoration, community, family and to live as Christ taught us. When our Blessed Lord asked his disciples: “Who do people say that I am?” It is a great question to ask ourselves. More specifically, “Do people know Christ is present at St. Joan of Arc?”

Happy Sunday!

This week I am grateful for the many volunteers who lend a helping hand in various capacities at our parish. The amount of joy expressed through their servant hearts inspire me to be a better priest. My hope is that you offer a prayer for the volunteers you might see on a daily basis. Many are hidden in the pews and worshiping next to you.

Happy September!

Many schools have resumed and the family routines are in full swing with sports and extracurricular activities. Here at St. Joan of Arc we have seen a steady and quiet month of August and we took this time as a staff to develop our leadership goals. One important reality that came to our team was that of family, a family of faith to be more specific.