Happy Sunday! Thank you to everyone for your prayers while I was away in Honduras on a mission trip. It was a beautiful time. I was able to serve with Fr. Denis, a Honduran priest I had met 9 years ago when we were both seminarians. He is now the pastor in the town of Taulabe. One of the things he asked our group to help with was visiting some of the small towns, or “aldeas”, that are under his care. His parish includes not only San Gaspar in Taulabe, but also the 36 surrounding aldeas! Our group was able to go to some of the more distant aldeas and put on catechetical programs and offer home visits. I would go to a different town each day to visit the sick, celebrate Mass and hear confessions. My step count certainly went up as many of the homebound live in places that are only accessible on foot.

Hello,

A recent letter in this bulletin got me thinking about some general principles that might be helpful. Put simply, on the one hand, the Church grows and develops over time, but on the other hand, there is also the possibility for corruptions and error. The trick is to know the difference and to be on the right side, that of legitimate development. But it is not just a test or a problem for us, instead it is the nature of the Church and of our Christian life: it changes over time. This is because the Church is a living reality, not frozen in any particular point of time.

Happy Sunday!

It has been great to see everyone coming back and joining us for the Fish Fry! Everything is as good as I remember. It’s great to see so many people form the parish and surrounding parishes coming to enjoy our wonderful operation. Thank you especially to Deacon Andy for organizing everything and to our volunteers who make everything go so smoothly. Many of our volunteers arrive early in the day on Friday and stay until after everything is finished. If you have never volunteered I would encourage you to reach out to Deacon Andy, even if you are only able to help for an hour. Every little bit helps!

There is a debate among some Catholics that claim the only way to receive our Lord in Holy Communion is on the tongue, as opposed to in the hand. Ultimately, this casuistry is without warrant as both forms have a history and tradition in the Church, and they are not pitted against each other as if reception on the tongue is somehow an evolution beyond reception in the hand. Here’s why:

Happy Sunday!

This week we begin the great penitential season of Lent. This important season of the Church spans 40 days, leading us to Holy Week, the Sacred Triduum, and arriving at Easter Sunday. During Lent the Church invites us to deeper conversion through the practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. I want to share with you a few excerpts from Canon Law on Days of Penance. This is the “source” as we say, for what guides fasting in the Church.

Happy Sunday!

Last Sunday we kicked off the Charity and Development Appeal for 2022. Hopefully you were able to grab an envelope at the end of the pew or go online to make a contribution. We are grateful for the many ways that this supports the various apostolates in the Diocese of Phoenix as well as diocesan ministries which parishes benefit from. Among these apostolates the CDA supports are Newman Centers at ASU and NAU, Catholic schools, pro-life ministries, and more. It also supports services from the Diocesan Pastoral Center that we utilize, such as marriage preparation, diaconate services, and seminarian support. Thank you for offering your gift to the CDA to support these important ministries.

Happy Sunday!

This weekend I am on retreat with our Verso l’Alto high school youth group in Prescott. Last year we had a great time spending the weekend in prayer and growing in fellowship. Please keep our teens in prayer as they come off retreat and that they continue to grow in the graces they have received.

Happy Sunday!

The St. Joan of Arc Sacred Art Project is officially under way. I am grateful for all the wonderful support we have received and for those who have already made their recurring gifts to the Parish Beautification Collection. This is an exciting project for our parish and a great opportunity to spread devotion to our patroness, St. Joan of Arc.

Good Morning,

One of my most loved quotations is from Saint Augustine’s Commentary on the Psalms. He is speaking about Psalm 65 and says, “He begins to leave who begins to love.” The people of Israel are leaving Babylon and heading back home to Jerusalem. Saint Augustine takes these places to mean the world and heaven, so that the people’s journey is emblematic of the journey we all must make. We begin to leave the world and to head to heaven.

Happy Sunday!

This weekend we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord. In the first reading from Isaiah we read, “I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.” As the prophet points us to Jesus we hear for ourselves as well, the deep care that the Lord God has for us as well. God indeed grasps us by the hand and forms us for His mission.

Happy Sunday!

I pray everyone had a very blessed Christmas week! Thank you all for making it such a special time. I am very grateful to all who dropped off gifts for our staff and for myself, especially for those anonymous gifts. It is a great blessing for me to be the pastor of such a wonderful and vibrant community.

I pray everyone’s Christmas celebrations have begun well! The Church continues to celebrate with great solemnity the Octave of Christmas. Among other things that this means, is that each Mass from December 25th to January 1st includes the Gloria. It’s one way that the Church teaches us that Christmas is not a single day, but we celebrate with great joy for eight entire days. During these days, I hope you find ways to enjoy the good things of life, but also to deepen your relationship with the Lord, immersing yourselves in the fount of His love as you reflect on the Christmas mysteries.

Good Morning to All,

Now as we come to the final Sunday of Advent, we know that we are close to the great celebration of the coming of our Lord. This is the whole theme of Advent, His coming, and so we watch and wait and prepare. Now He is almost here. If there is anything left to do, now is the time to get it done quickly. But then we simply remain in watching and waiting and great expectation.

Happy Sunday!

Here we are at the Second Week of Advent and the parish only seems to gain speed! This week on Monday, December 6, we are glad to welcome Mr. Nik Nikas from the Bioethics Defense Fund. Nik has practiced law for a number of years and has engaged in the fight for life at all stages. This past week he listened to the oral arguments presented to the Supreme Court regarding the forthcoming Dobbs case. This case has the possibility of overturning Roe v. Wade. It is a monumental time in our country and the fight for defending human life. He will be speaking about the arguments and pro-life jurisprudence from 7:00-8:00pm in Weidner Hall on Monday December 6th. I hope you are all able to make it!