Happy Sunday!

I hope everyone had a most enjoyable Thanksgiving! Today we start the new liturgical year with the First Sunday of Advent! I can't believe it's already here but time never slows down and so are marching on. This great season of Advent grabs our attention and directs our hearts and minds to look towards Bethlehem. The entrance antiphon for the Mass this Sunday is "To you, I lift up my soul, O my God. In you, I have trusted; let me not be put to shame.

READ MORE

Not long ago, I was called to a hospital to anoint a woman in her early 80s. She was dying, and visibly in pain. But what struck me most wasn't her suffering - it was the atmosphere in the room. She had eight children and 30 foster kids, and many of them were gathered around her. You'd expect sorrow, fear, maybe even despair. But the room was filled with something else entirely - a quiet strength, a kind of sweetness. It was as if she was suffering not just with them, but for them. And they, in love, were suffering for her.

READ MORE

Happy Sunday!

This week I am currently on my retreat so this letter is being written early. Thank you for your prayers during my retreat in Louisiana. On Tuesday I will fly back to Arizona and return to Flagstaff on Wednesday evening. It's amazing that Thanksgiving will be upon us so soon and then Advent beginning. Before that though, we will be hosting the diaconate ordination of Nathan Blanchard next Saturday. Please keep him and the whole Blanchard family in your prayers as they prepare for this exciting event. The ordination will be at 11:00am on Saturday. Due to preparations there will be no morning mass or confessions next Saturday the 22nd.

READ MORE

Happy Sunday!

This Sunday the Church celebrates the Feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of the Lateran Basilica. Commonly called St. John Lateran, this church is the Pope's cathedral. It is one of the four major basilicas in Rome and is a beautiful place of pilgrimage. Lining the main aisle are six columns on either side with a different apostle in each column. Some of the apostles hold the instrument of their martyrdom, others have symbolic features from their life, each of them is massive.

READ MORE

Happy All Souls' Day!

Today the Church celebrates the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed. Indeed, throughout the month of November the Church prays for the deceased in a particular way. This has been a practice of the Church from the beginning. I remember visiting the catacombs in Rome and seeing the different graffiti throughout the underground tunnels. Families used to gather at the tombs of their loved ones to pray and would also bring a picnic.

READ MORE

Happy Sunday!

We are less than a month away from the first ordination to take place in our new parish church. On November 22nd Bishop Dolan will be here to preside at the diaconate ordination of Nathan Blanchard. Many of you know Nathan and his family, his father is Dcn. Greg Blanchard. We feel so privileged to host such a wonderful event. It will take place at 11:00am on Sat 22.

READ MORE

Happy Sunday!

Today is the calendar feast of the North American Martyrs, St. Isaac Jogues, St. John de Brebeuf, and Companions. These saints were French Jesuits who ministered in current upstate New York to the Huron Tribe. Writing back to France to encourage more Jesuits to join them, St. John de Brebeuf wrote thus, "When you reach the Hurons, you will find us with hearts full of love. We shall receive you in a hut, so mean that I have scarcely found in France one wretched enough to compare it with.

READ MORE

Dorothy Day, the great Catholic activist, doubted God's existence. At least in her early adult years. But something changed when after giving birth to her daughter, she experienced an overwhelming gratitude. She later described how, as she held her daughter, the only appropriate response was a kind of unlimited gratitude. She had done nothing to deserve such a gift - this tiny, miraculous life - but there she was, flooded with gratitude, completely undone by the love of such a Giver.

READ MORE

Happy Sunday!

This weekend we celebrate the Feast of our patron Saint Francis of Assisi. His feast is October 4th and since he is our patron we are able to celebrate it as a solemnity on Saturday and Sunday. Thus, if you typically follow along with the readings in your missal, you'll notice the readings are different today. St. Francis was born around 1181/82 in Assisi, Italy to a wealthy family of textile merchants.

READ MORE

Happy Sunday!

This week the Church celebrates a few very special feast days. On Monday we celebrate the Feast of the Archangels, Tuesday is St. Jerome, and on Wednesday St. Therese of Lisieux, and on Thursday the Guardian Angels! These days are a beautiful combination of angelic intercessors alongside the saints who, having walked here on earth, now call heaven their home.

READ MORE

Happy Sunday!

This weekend our first reading comes from the prophet Amos. He was a unique prophet in that many scholars believe his ministry lasted only a year or so. God called him from his life as a shepherd to prophesy to His people. Today we hear from him a very strong rebuke against those who take advantage of the poor and needy. He tells us that the Lord God will not forget what they have done.

READ MORE

Happy Sunday!

This Sunday the Church celebrates the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Celebrated every year on September 14th, we usually observe it during this week, but since this year it falls on a Sunday it takes precedence over the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Our Liturgy will speak of the beautiful triumph of Jesus on the cross.

READ MORE

Happy Sunday!

This week's second reading comes from St. Paul's letter to Philemon. This letter is so brief that it is not divided up into chapters, just verses. The letter is written by Paul in his imprisonment to Philemon speaking about a slave Onesimus. While Onesimus seems to be a real person, there is also a certain play on his name, which means "useful" or "beneficial".

READ MORE