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.

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.

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.

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".

Happy Sunday! Happy Labor Day Weekend to everyone! I pray everyone is staying safe and enjoying a restful weekend. This weekend's first reading comes from the book of Sirach. Sirach belongs to the Wisdom literature of the Bible. The author offers the listener simple and important advice. "My child, conduct your affairs with humility, and you will be loved more than a giver of gifts.

Happy Sunday!

This week we celebrate a number of wonderful saints. Monday the 25th is the feast of St. Louis the King and St. Joseph Calasanz. Wednesday is the feast of St. Monica, followed by her son, St. Augustine on Thursday. Finally, on Friday, we celebrate the Beheading of St. John the Baptist. While there is plenty to say about these wonderful days, I would like to draw our attention to the Office of Readings for St. Louis. This reading comes from a spiritual testament he wrote to his son.

Happy Sunday!

I hope everyone has had a great week. For the past month and half or so we have been doing donuts and coffee outside on Sunday mornings. I am grateful to our Knights of Columbus and the various ministries that have helped coordinate this. It's great to be able to step outside and enjoy fellowship before heading home on Sundays.

There was a young mother in my parish community who was depressed due to financial strain. She prayed for help. One morning before Mass, she placed on the counter a zip-lock bag filled with jewelry and old coins. Smiling, she explained she had been fixing an old cabinet and found the items hidden deep within the walls of her home. One particular coin could be worth as much as $900,000. The contents of the bag-previously unknown to them-were now their prized possession. Their plans changed that week. They had to learn how much it was worth.

Happy Sunday!

It's great to be back in Flagstaff. I had a nice few weeks travelling, attending a conference on Catholic Education, baptizing my nephew, presiding at a wedding, and seeing some extended family. While it's always nice to have time away, I am grateful to be back!

Once I went to a hospice facility to celebrate Last Rites for an elderly dying man. His family had told me that he had been uncommunicative for days. At the conclusion of the ritual, we began to recite the Our Father prayer. To everyone's surprise, his lips moved, clearly mouthing the words to the Lord's prayer. Stripped of most of his faculties, the man could still pray those precious God-given petitions. A lifetime of prayer had planted the words even deeper than his failing consciousness.

Happy Sunday, brothers and sisters,

My name is Lorena Vera-Trejo, and like many of you, I came to this beautiful city of Flagstaff as a visitor, but I decided to stay. In the late 80's I felt welcomed by the kind Catholic community of Our Lady of Guadalupe. I met a great man and we were married in the beautiful chapel of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

I used to be a bad neighbor. I'd get wrapped up in my life and ignore those around me. Then I found sage advice from Benjamin Franklin to this effect: to be a better neighbor, ask someone to do a favor for you. It's counterintuitive, isn't it? Tell strangers that I need their help? Yuck. I'll risk looking needy. Worse, I'll be indebted to them. But I tried it, and it works like a charm. Recently I asked my neighbor Alan for a hacksaw, and Inga for an egg. They kindly obliged, and our friendship is growing.

Peace and Blessings!

My name is Skyler Wilkie, and I am so ecstatic to step into this role as the new Youth Minister here at SFdA! I feel like I have the home field advantage, seeing as I was born and raised here in Flagstaff! I know many of you as the people who have helped me and guided me in my life with Christ.