Happy Sunday!

This week is Fr. Dan Vanyo’s last week with us. I want to thank him for his presence here these last four years. I have been grateful for his help since I arrived just two months ago. He has been very generous with his time, especially being present to the school children by offering adoration every week. This has had a tremendous impact on our school and it is in large part due to his efforts. Please keep him in prayer as he begins his time as Parochial Administrator at El Cristo Rey in the Grand Canyon. His first official day there will be this Friday, September 1. If you are able to make it there is a farewell barbecue for him Sun, Aug 27 at 4:00pm. We wish him well!

Happy Sunday!

It has been great having the school kids back from the summer. I love seeing all the families each morning at drop off and pick up. Our school is very vibrant. We have great families, great teachers, and our new principal, Mr. Sorci, has been doing a wonderful job. I believe there are some Open Houses coming up in the fall so keep an eye out for those dates.

Happy Sunday!

I hope everyone had an excellent week. Last weekend we announced that Bishop Dolan has appointed Fr. Dan Vanyo the new Parochial Administrator at Cristo Rey parish in the Grand Canyon. His new assignment will start on September 1. I am very sorry to lose him so soon. It has been a great gift for me to work with him. He loves this parish very much but is looking forward to this new assignment. I have been told that we will receive a new priest at some point in September. We are not sure yet who this will be or when exactly he will arrive so please keep this transition in your prayers.

Happy Sunday!

Well, it finally came, the start of a new school year! It’s great having our students back on campus. This past week was filled with teachers, parents, and finally the students making their way back to the halls of SFdA. I’m grateful for the leadership of our new principal, Mr. Tom Sorci, as the academic year gets underway. Please keep our students in your prayers for a successful and grace-filled year.

Happy Sunday!

I am about a month in here at SFdA and finally writing my first bulletin letter. Typically, I like to give everyone updates on what is happening around the parish in these letters. Sometimes I will offer a short reflection on the Sunday readings here, or talk about a saint or feast day that we will be celebrating in the week. This week, I want to offer words of gratitude to each of you for welcoming me back so warmly. When I found out the bishop wanted me to return to Flagstaff I was very grateful. However, there is always an element of the unknown, even in the things we know. I had no cause for concern!

Life, like the church, is often burdened with evil, smallness, and impurities. The Lord’s parables give us a hope-filled perspective on all three.

Evil: in Jesus’ parable about the good farmer whose enemy plants weeds at night, Jesus tells us that God is not the cause of evil but permits evil to exist with good out of his patient love. He will finally deal with it, but his love lets things stay messy for a time.

Over the years I have wasted a lot: a lot of money, a lot of time, and a lot of talent. Sometimes I didn't realize I was wasting these things but, after reflection, I realized I could have done more and accomplished much greater things. Of course, I think that is part of our imperfect humanity. It truly is easier for us to waste our gifts than grow them into something more. The parable of the sower speaks about the word of God that gets planted in our hearts. If the soil of our heart is rich, than the word will grow and change us. If that soil is rocky or full of weeds, the word will lie there without any impact, bearing no fruit.

Do you ever feel restless? certainly do. Daily tasks and challenges, but also the more basic demand of simply existing – sooner or later, this can all feel crushing and tire us out. Which is why Jesus' words are such stunningly good news: "Come to me all you who labor and are burdened and will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).

As a boy my favorite board game was “Chutes and Ladders.” The players roll dice to move from the start to the finish, from the bottom of the board to the top. If you land on a chute, you slide back and down. It was a bummer. Land on a ladder, and you jump well up the board and near the goal. It was a thrill to find a ladder and draw closer to the goal. That’s life, isn’t it? At every moment, we’re either moving closer or farther from the goal of our lives.

In the backyard of the house where I live with other priests, there is a lemon tree which produces a huge amount of fruit. One evening in the spring I needed some lemons for a chicken dish. I glanced from the kitchen and saw the tree bursting with large, bright, gorgeous lemons, hanging thick on seemingly every branch. Turning to Fr. Bob (I’ll change his name to protect the innocent) who sat on the couch, I said, “Father, could you pick a few lemons for me?” He said sure and into the backyard he went. He returned a few minutes later empty-handed. “John, there’s no lemons. Sorry.” I said, “What are you talking about?”

Years ago, a woman at daily Mass approached me in the communion procession. She had her arms crossed, indicating she wanted blessing instead of the Sacred Host. She had tears in her eyes. gave her little blessing. She returned the next day. And the next. The same thing repeated. After few weeks, asked her why she didn't receive Holy Communion. She said she wasn't Catholic yet and was preparing to become so. asked her why she wanted to be Catholic. She said, "Because long to be in a real communion with Christ and with everyone love." That, submit, is a darn good reason. few months later, she became Catholic and received the Body and Blood of Christ with unspeakably great joy and still does to this day.

Soren Kierkegaard reminds us that life is not a problem to be solved but a reality to be experienced. The same can be said about God. God, who is the Mystery of mysteries, may be beyond our intellectual comprehension but not beyond our experience. Were our human minds really capable of knowing the true essence and depth of God, we would then be “equal” to God and as superior as He is.

When I was in middle school, there were times I didn’t want my fellow students to see my parents drop me off or pick me up in the school parking lot. I was embarrassed of my parents. Why? I have no idea. Maybe it was our station wagon. Or I didn’t want to look like a little kid. But in retrospect that was a silly thing to do. I was a kid. And I had two parents who loved me and had built a wonderful family. I was afraid of the other kids’ judgment. How silly! I should have been afraid of forgetting or downplaying my family, which is where my identity had its deep roots.