Until we meet again...

03-31-2019Pastor's LetterFr. Don Kline, V.F.

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

"Rejoice, Jerusalem, and all who love her. Be joyful, all who were in mourning…" These words are taken from the Entrance Antiphon for Laetare Sunday also known as the Fourth Sunday of Lent.

This Sunday during Lent calls the Church to rejoice and to be joyful. Joy has been my experience throughout my time as your pastor. The people of St. Joan of Arc Parish have shared your hopes and dreams as well as your disappointments and sorrows. We have laughed and cried together. You have seen my weaknesses and limitations. You have always been patient and you have shown me love and appreciation. Through it all, you have taught me how to be a pastor.

I am grateful for the many ways you blessed my life. I take with me so many wonderful memories and blessings. We have prayed many prayers together. We have celebrated new life together as we celebrated the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, First Holy Communion, Reconciliation, Marriage, and Anointing of the Sick. You have let me a part of your families and welcomed me into your homes. You have allowed me to serve you as your priest and as your pastor. I am most grateful to have been your spiritual father and I tried to share to love of Jesus Christ with you.

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2019 Charity and Development Appeal

03-24-2019Pastor's LetterFr. Don Kline, V.F.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Many of you know about the Charity and Development Appeal, the CDA. It is our one annual appeal that supports so many in our community. What you may not know is that the CDA is often the basis for many of our organizations who help seniors, the homeless, those who have lost jobs, women who have been abused and of course, families in crisis.

The CDA is love and faith in action. Through the Charity and Development Appeal, your gift will go farther and help more people. It can help more than one parish, more than one program and more than one agency. If you have already completed a pledge or made a gift online, thank you for your support!

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The Battle

03-17-2019Pastor's LetterFr. Don Kline, V.F.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Many faithful Catholics are waking up to the reality that we are in a spiritual war - and every moment we are either falling under Satan's power or growing in our relationship with Christ. The culture of death is real. The stakes are high. Issues like alcohol and drug abuse; contraception, abortion, abuse, pornography and cohabitation are destroying families.

Our Lord knows that we all turned against God in some way. He wants to free each one of us. Jesus offers us a way to begin again by way of the cross. As the Scrutiny prayer says: "by the cross Jesus defeats Satan, the source of sin and death."

As we celebrate St. Patrick's Day, I invite you to pray his exorcism prayer. It is called the Breastplate of St. Patrick. By offering this prayer, we are putting on armor to protect us from Satan.

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A New Heart

03-10-2019Pastor's LetterFr. Don Kline, V.F.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Have you ever asked God to give you another chance? Your day has come… (actually 40 days). That is also the point of Lent— God gives us another opportunity to seek His mercy and experience His love. Maybe you need this Lent in a way we have not needed Lent before. Here is a simple way to look at repentance: Who? What? When? Where? How? Why?

Who is in need of repentance? That would be everyone! We all need to change some patterns of behavior, some bad attitudes, some bad habits… though maybe not entirely. Who are you in God's eyes? Who has God made you to be? Who do you need to turn toward to be forgiven? Who do you need to forgive?

What do you need to repent of? What behaviors or attitudes get in the way of your peace? What is weighing heavy on your heart? What thoughts plague your mind? What sort of things do you spend your time doing that are preventing you from moving closer to God and who He made you to be?

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Lent 2019

03-03-2019Pastor's LetterFr. Don Kline, V.F.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Lenten Season begins on Ash Wednesday, March 6, 2019. On Ash Wednesday, St. Joan of Arc parish will offer a 6:30am Mass, Confession from 7:00am – 8:25am, 8:30am Mass, a 12:00pm Liturgy of the Word and Confession from 5:30pm – 5:55pm, 6:00pm Mass in Spanish. Everyone who comes to Mass or the noonday Liturgy of the Word will receive ashes on their foreheads. The symbolism is powerful. The ashes are reminders that each one of us came from dust and will return to dust one day. The ashes on our foreheads are in the shape of a cross. Wearing this sign on our foreheads proclaims to others "I live for Christ".

For non-Christians, the Lenten season means nothing. But those who would like to grow in their relationship with Our Lord, Lent is a time to offer personal sacrifices by giving something up like a favorite food, doing greater works of charity, and praying more intently.

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Love Like Our Lord Jesus

02-24-2019Pastor's LetterFr. Don Kline, V.F.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Being a disciple of Our Lord Jesus can be tough. He does offer some very difficult teachings; It can be a challenge even for the most devout Catholic to follow Our Lord and His teachings. This Sunday we hear some of the most difficult teachings of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Our faith involves believing in God which means having a relationship with Him. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Sadly, many people (even people who call themselves Catholics) say they don't believe in God at all.

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02-17-2019Pastor's LetterFr. Don Kline, V.F.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Blessed are the poor, the hungry, the downhearted and rejected. The message in today's Gospel reminds us to act with compassion. Be the Love that Gives Hope with your gift to the Charity and Development Appeal (CDA). Your gift, big or small, will make a difference in the lives of many people.

For those who have not yet made a pledge, please do so today! These programs and services reach beyond the boundaries of any one parish to all of our community. Support works of mercy in our Diocese. Make a pledge, fill out your donor card today or donate online at dphx.org/CDA, and be an instrument of God's love and mercy through your gift to the CDA.

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Fundamental Right to Abortion? (part II of II)

02-10-2019Pastor's LetterFr. Don Kline, V.F.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Sadly, the unwillingness to offer real sacrifices and the lack of true love has led many people to believe that life is disposable. This tragic way of thinking has impacted our world in many negative ways i.e., marriages, families, workplaces, government, the economy, communities and even the Church.

It is so easy to become puffed up with pride and a false sense of self-reliance; many selfishly choose their own path; many seek to maximize personal pleasure and avoid giving of themselves in sacrificial love to others and therefore miss the beauty of God's creation all together.

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Fundamental Right to Abortion? (part I of II)

02-03-2019Pastor's LetterFr. Don Kline, V.F.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The New York state legislature voted Tuesday on legislation to allow the so called "fundamental right" to abortion in state law and eliminate protections for preborn babies until birth. The bill asserts that "Every individual who becomes pregnant has the fundamental right to choose to carry the pregnancy to term, to give birth to a child, or to have an abortion." The bill also erases the state's recognition of preborn babies older than 24 weeks as potential homicide victims, removes abortion from the penal code entirely, and allows licensed health practitioners other than full doctors to commit abortions.

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The Word of God

01-27-2019Pastor's LetterFr. Don Kline, V.F.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Often times you will hear me refer to the Sacred Scriptures in my homilies. The Sacred Scriptures are also the known as the Bible. I wonder if most people know that the Bible IS the Word of God? Most of what we know about Our Lord Jesus comes from Sacred Scripture. Of course we also have historical writings and the Sacred Tradition of our Church as well. This mountain of information hopefully leads us to a deeper relationship with Jesus. As we are formed in the Faith, we come to know Our Lord Jesus. We not only learn about Him but we learn to love Him.

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Love that Saves for Eternity (Part II of II )

01-20-2019Pastor's LetterFr. Don Kline, V.F.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Having your child baptized is what Catholic parents do for their child. Nurturing and raising your baptized child in the faith is also vital to the spiritual life of the child. The rite of baptism makes this important connection during the celebration of the sacrament when the parents of those being baptized are reminded that THEY assume the commitment to "training them in the practice of the faith". The parents and godparents are also reminded in part of the celebration with the words addressed to them: "on your part, you must make it your constant care to bring them up in the practice of the faith. See that the divine life which God gives them is kept safe from the poison of sin, to grow always stronger in their hearts. If your faith makes you ready to accept this responsibility... profess your faith in Christ Jesus. This is the faith of the Church. This is the faith in which these children are about to be baptized".

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Love that Saves for Eternity (Part I of II)

01-13-2019Pastor's LetterFr. Don Kline, V.F.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

One of the many blessings I have as a priest includes administering the sacrament of Baptism to newborn babies whose parents are presenting them to the Church. So I thought that as we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus, it would be good to address the importance of baptism.

Today, on the banks of the Jordan, Jesus reveals Himself to John and to the people of Israel. This dramatic scene of Our Lord's baptism is the first time that He enters the public scene as an adult, after leaving Nazareth. Upon reaching the Jordan River, Our Lord is among the crowd that is listening to John the Baptist. He lines up like everyone else, waiting to be baptized by John. John the Baptist sees Our Lord approaching and realizes that there is something unique about this man. John recognizes that Jesus the One for whom he has been waiting for his whole life. John understands Jesus is the One who is greater than he and that he was not even worthy to untie His sandals.

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House Blessing

01-06-2019Pastor's LetterFr. Don Kline, V.F.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

One of the great Christmas traditions of the Church is to bless one's house to start a new year. "Chalking the door" is a centuries-old custom in which Christians gather on the feast of the Epiphany to ask God's blessing on their home. A traditional way of doing this is to take a piece of blessed chalk and inscribe above the entrance door to the home the following: 20 + C + M + B + 19. The "20" and "19" refer to the actual date. The "+" between the letters symbolize the cross of Christ. The "C M B " initials have two meanings: 1) The initials of the three magi: Caspar, Melchoir and Balthazar, the three wise kings or Magi who visited the Christ Child. 2) This is the abbreviated Latin phrase, Christus mansion benedicat, which translates as "May Christ bless the house."

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