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.

Blessed Sunday to you all!

Would you risk your life to receive the Holy Eucharist? An honest question and something to ponder who we receive at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Is He important in your life to risk it all? The strong tone of our Blessed Lord helps us think about what is important in our lives. "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."

This week we hear Jesus say, “He that believes in me, has eternal life” (John 6:47). These straightforward words, uttered by human lips, sound — how to put this? — insane. Who could possibly say such a thing? Jesus says things that are so high, so demanding, so beyond our capacity to fathom, we hardly know what to do with them and (if you’re like me), they usually go in one ear and out the other. So, let us ask: how can believing in him lead to eternal life?

Since my college days I’ve loved a song called “Dance with You” by the rock band Live. It touches on the deep mystical hunger of our heart: “I’ve tasted all the wines/ a half a billion times/ came sickened to your shore/ you showed me what this life is for.” These lines resonate with anyone who has feasted on the good things of this world only to be left spiritually hungover and unsatisfied.

Happy Sunday!

This Sunday afternoon I depart for Ireland. One place of interest where I will celebrate the Holy Mass is the Our Lady of Knock shrine. This apparition of 1879 consisted of Mary, St. Joseph, and St. John the Evangelist. In the center stood a lamb on the altar which stood in front of a cross. This lamb was surrounded by angels. This scene lasted for two hours with fifteen people, men, women, and children blessed to witness this.

Happy Sunday!

On July 28th until August 8th I journey for a unique, spiritual, authentically Irish pilgrimage to discover the beauty and Catholic history of this country. The cities visited will include Dublin, Galway, Glendalough and Clifden. During our pilgrimage we will have the opportunity to visit the holy sites of the Monastery in Glendalough, Knock Shrine, Holy Cross Abbey, and St. Mary’s Pro Cathedral along with the Cliffs of Moher, Kilmore Abbey, and Croagh Patrick.

Once I asked a fallen-away Catholic friend of mine what he remembered about the parish priest from his youth. He said, “He was a gentle, nice guy. Kind of vanilla. Kept to himself.” It struck me that he, perhaps like many, perceived Catholic priests as the following: lonely, harmless, and self-sufficient. As a challenge both to this perception (accurate or not) and to us priests who perhaps feel a pull in that uninspiring direction, stands the mighty image of what we see in the Gospel this Sunday.

Greetings and blessings!

This year is very important for our parish because it commemorates 45 years of our establishment as a parish and 25 years in our current church building. Lots of history of love, labor, sacrifice, and planning the foundation of our parish experienced so many faithful before us to make Saint Joan of Arc Parish what it is today.