Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I am so grateful today. I am filled with gratitude for the great blessing that is our common faith. I am thankful for Our Savior Jesus Christ, born in the radical simplicity of a cave in the little town of Bethlehem 2000 years ago. I am grateful for the hundreds of Catholics who are worshiping with us this weekend and receiving our Eucharistic King in Holy Communion.
READ MOREDear Brothers and Sisters,
A friend recently shared a song about the absurdity of the busy, secular Christmases. It’s called,
“I need a Silent Night.” The lyrics of the first verse and refrain are:
I've made the same mistake before--
too many malls, too many stores.
December traffic, Christmas rush
It breaks me till I push and shove.
Children are crying while mothers are trying to photograph Santa and sleigh.
The shopping and buying and standing forever in line. What can I say?
I need a silent night, a holy night.
to hear an angel’s voice through the chaos and the noise. I need a midnight clear, a little peace right here to end this crazy day with a silent night.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Indeed, the Lord is near!
I have a good friend who is a priest and lives in Indiana. He is about six and a half feet tall! He tends to stand out in a crowd… especially when he wears his clerics. He usually comes to visit once a year or so. While in town, we often go hiking because we do have some amazing trails. So to get a little exercise, I decided it would be good to try climbing Camelback Mountain. If you have never hiked this mountain, I have to say it is a difficult climb. My friend let me know that it is especially difficult for a guy with size 15 shoes! Hiking with skis for feet is hard enough but my friend is not all that coordinated either - as he reminded me all the way up the mountain! Actually, I was nervous for him! There were lots of obstacles along the path and crevices and sheer cliffs. He kept reminding me that there was a shortage of priests and perhaps we should turn back!
READ MOREDear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
On the weekend of December 10/11, 2016, our parishes will be taking up the annual collection for the Retirement Fund for Priests and Religious. This is an opportunity to honor and thank the thousands of senior Catholic sisters, bothers, religious order priests, and our own senior diocesan priests who responded to God's call in their youth and who, now in their retirement years, need our help so that they can live in dignity, free of anxiety about their means of support.
Queridos Hermanos y Hermanas en Cristo,
Durante el fin de semana del 10 y 11 de diciembre de 2016, nuestras parroquias estarán llevando a cabo la colecta anual nombrada el Fondo de Retiro para Sacerdotes y Religiosos/as. Esta Oportunidad se presenta para dar honor y agradecer a los miles de hermanas religiousas de la tercera edad, igual que a los hermanos religiousos, sacerdotes de órdenes religiousas y nuestros propios sacerdotes diocesanos de la tercera edad. Estos siervos han respondido al llamado de Dios desde su juventud y ahora, jubilados, necesitan nuestra ayuda para que vivan con dignidad y libres de ansiedad sobre su sostenimiento.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
The word Advent means coming, and the season prepares us to celebrate the coming of Our Blessed Savior. Advent is the beginning of a new liturgical year for the Roman Catholic Church. On the first day of Advent, which begins this year on November 27, the Church celebrates its New Year's Day. The date for the beginning of Advent falls each year on the Sunday closest to November 30th - the feast day of Saint Andrew the Apostle.
READ MOREDear Brothers and Sisters,
As the Jubilee Year of Mercy ends on the feast of Christ the King, we are reminded to become what we celebrate in this year of mercy. We are called to share the loving mercy that God has for us. God is merciful to all who seek Him with a sincere and repentant heart. Our response to God's loving mercy towards us is to act in that same way to all those we meet. The Holy Father reminds us: "Mercy is the very foundation of the Church's life. All of her pastoral activity should be caught up in the tenderness she makes present to believers; nothing in her preaching and in her witness to the world can be lacking in mercy. The Church's very credibility is seen in how she shows merciful and compassionate love" (MV,10). As members of the Body and Christ, our lives should reflect this witness of mercy to those we meet on a daily basis.
READ MOREDear Brothers and Sisters,
A few parishioners recently asked me if the Catholic Church had changed its teaching on cremation. Since November is typically the month we pray for our beloved deceased, I thought it would be appropriate to once again reflect on the official teachings of the Church on cremation. First, I want to offer a little history lesson on cremation and the Church’s official teaching. Secondly, I want to address some issues concerning cremation that I have seen by Catholics.
READ MOREDear Brothers and Sisters,
Over the last four weeks, we have provided you with the AZ Voter Guide in our narthex as well as Bishop Olmsted’s booklet, “Catholics in the Public Square.” You can also read “Forming Consciences For Faithful Citizenship” by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. I hope you find these helpful as you prepare to go into the voting booth to do your civic and religious duty. The Catholic guides are also posted on our website for your review.
READ MOREDear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
The way our culture currently recognizes Halloween is more than scary… it is wrong. Let me attempt to clarify a few things. This week we will celebrate the Feast of All Saints, which is celebrated every November 1. This celebration dates back to the fourth century. It was originally called the Feast of All Martyrs and it was celebrated on May 13. The words “martyr” and “saint” originally meant basically the same thing — someone who is a witness to Christ even unto death.
READ MOREDear Brothers and Sisters,
Our Lord has blessed St. Joan of Arc parish with many amazing folks. Specifically, your generosity has enabled our parish debt to be paid down almost $100,000 in one year! Some parishioners have been able to give a bit more so our plate collection and our “Save Our Parish” collections have both increased a bit this year. As a result, we have been able to invest more in our Music, Religious Education and Junior High/High School programs. We have see our parish increase in total numbers of parishioners. There have been some incredible donations from generous individuals of our parish that have enabled us to take care of some much needed maintenance issues.
READ MOREMy dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
"Mercy Changes the World"
OnWorld Mission Sunday, October 23, Pope Francis invites each of us to be part of that change for our world of great need, calls us to announce the mercy of God, "the beating heart of the Gospel" (Misericordiae Vultus,12).
On this 90th World Mission Sunday, our diocesan family joins our brothers and sisters around the world who will gather at the Lord's Table to celebrate, with great joy, our common vocation as missionaries. Our prayers and financial help, through the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, support the work of the Mission Church, its witness to Christ and service to the poor.
"Let us not close our hearts within our own particular concerns, but let us open them to all of humanity, "Message for World Mission
READ MOREDear Brothers and Sisters,
I found this excerpt from a little pamphlet called: Those Who Serve God Should Not Follow the Fashions. It was first published in 2003 and the revised Fifth Edition came out in June 2015. It was put together by Robert T. Hart. I found this section interesting. Obviously it was written in a different time under very different conditions. I welcome your thoughts on this as well. He begins:
Dear Catholic ladies, you must clearly understand that, while not all men are tempted in the same way or to the same extent, in general, bare thighs, mid-riffs, shoulders, and backs; low cut, sheer or see-through blouses and shirts; and dresses with long slits are all sources of temptation. Therefore, all these must all be absolutely avoided to avoid serious sin.
READ MOREDear Brothers and Sisters,
There is no need to go into all the various types of clothing here. It is enough to say that there are different appropriate modes of dress for different occasions, e.g. in the privacy of our home, with our spouse only or with our children in our home, at work or school, in mixed company, at the lake or swimming pool, grocery shopping, at church, etc.
Dressing appropriately begins by looking at what is going on inside our heart. A pure heart seeks to do things that are pleasing to God. A pure heart leads a person closer to God. A pure heart leads a person to do godly things. Sacred Scripture reminds us that “Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication…” (Matthew 15:19) and “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8).
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