Happy Palm Sunday!

This weekend we commemorate Our Lord’s entrance into Jerusalem and the beginning of Holy Week. One of the great gifts I’ve had is to spend time in Jerusalem; this was probably about 6 six years ago at Christmas time. The old city of Jerusalem has narrow streets and is very crowded and noisy. I can only imagine the same was the case in the time of Jesus. His entrance of great joy, causing everyone to sing, “Hosanna!”, would have been quite remarkable. And yet, we know what will happen. Those who welcome Jesus with joy will have their voices drowned out by the Jewish leaders in a matter of days. The Lord freely submits himself to all of those for our good. He submits himself to what might seem to be the great hypocrisy of the crowd for love of us. As we begin this Holy Week we are invited to walk with Jesus each day. I would very much encourage you to read the daily gospel each day and enter into the scenes with Jesus.

Happy Sunday!

This weekend we celebrate the Third Scrutiny in preparation for our catechumens to be baptized, confirmed, and receive Holy Communion at the Easter Vigil. Please keep them in your prayers as they prepare to be welcomed into the Church. We are grateful to God for them! This Friday will be our last Stations of the Cross in the main Church at 7pm. Please join us for this wonderful Lenten practice. Last week we published the schedule for the Triduum liturgies in the bulletin. Please refer back to that for a list of times for confessions and liturgies.

Happy Sunday!

There are a lot of things to be thankful for right now. So much of that is because of you and your desire to let the Lord work in our parish. First, I hope everyone has been enjoying our Lenten mission with Fr. Vietor, “Your Lenten Exodus”. If you have not seen any of the videos please check out our parish website where we have posted each part of the mission. This weekend we sent nearly 30 of our high school students on retreat. Thank you for keeping them in prayer. We are grateful for Mary Lynch and the wonderful work she has been doing with the teens as well as the core team which so generously offers their time each week for the teens.

Happy Sunday!

This Sunday’s first reading is taken from Genesis 22 where we hear the marvelous account of Abraham following God’s command to sacrifice Issac on a mountain in the land of Moriah. As Abraham lifts his hand to sacrifice Isaac he is stopped by the angel of God. Because of his obedience God blesses Abraham in abundance with descendants as numerous as the stars. In the Gospel we find another mountain but on this one we hear the account of the Transfiguration. We move from the sacrifice of Abraham’s beloved son to the glorification of God’s beloved Son.

Happy Sunday!

We have begun the great season of Lent, the “campaign of Christian service”, as the Church so wonderfully calls it. It is a “campaign of Christian service” because in these 40 days we live even more intentionally the vocation of what it means to be Christian. That is, we live devoted to fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. Fasting so that our bodies may be deprived for a little while of nourishment or delicacy so that we may yearn more for Jesus Christ alone. Prayer, so that we can enter more deeply into our relationship with the living God, which we hope to share forever in Heaven. Almsgiving, because no one is a Christian alone. The plight of our brothers and sisters is our plight as well, and so we offer alms in various ways during Lent to unite ourselves more closely to all Christians.

What is Ash Wednesday?

Ash Wednesday is a day of penance and fasting that begins the season of Lent. Every year Catholics remember and relive the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the miracles witnessed by the early Christian community. Lent is the period where we focus on Jesus’ call to conversion and giving ourselves to God, culminating in Jesus’ ultimate and forever sacrifice in his Passion.

Happy Sunday!

We are closing in on the liturgical season of Lent. Ash Wednesday is February 17th. We will have Mass at 6:30am, 8:30am, and 6pm. There will also be a liturgy of the Word service at 12:00pm with the distribution of ashes. This year, the Vatican has announced a different procedure for the distribution of ashes. Robert Cardinal Sarah, the prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, issued the decree that says the prayer, “Repent, and believe in the Gospel” or “Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return” is to be said once over the entire congregation. Then as people come up in line, ashes are to be sprinkled on the top of the head without saying anything.

Happy Sunday!

Every now and then people ask me about books I’ve mentioned or what I’m reading. There’s so much good literature out there I thought I’d make a list of a few different works that have been in my book pile or rattling around my brain. Without further ado…

From Christendom to Apostolic Mission by University of Mary: This is easily one of the most important books I’ve been reading recently. It’s a 90 page essay assessing our current time and discussing strategies to engage a culture that has become disengaged with Christianity.

Happy Sunday!

I pray everyone’s year is off to a good start. Tomorrow, January 18, the parish office will be closed in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We will have the regularly scheduled morning confessions and Mass. There will NOT be evening confessions and Mass. I hope everyone is able to enjoy the national holiday.

This Friday, January 22, is the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade legalizing abortion throughout the country. Please join me in praying for an end to abortion throughout our nation and world. There are many things we can say about the gift of human life and the atrocity of ending a human life in its initial stages. Especially now though, with Christmas fresh in our minds, we remember that God came, not as an adult, but in the womb.

Hello everyone at St. Joan of Arc!

It is a pleasure to be here with you in this parish. Thank you for welcoming me and my family. Some background may be helpful.

I was an Episcopal minister and moved here to Phoenix in 2005 in order to serve an Episcopal Church. At that time I was married and had four children and no one in my or my wife's family had ever been Catholic. In early 2007 I resigned from the Episcopal Church and with my family began the process toward becoming Catholic.

Fr. Dan Connealy, Fr. Oliver Vietor, Deacon Andy Lambros, Deacon Mark Salvato and the Staff at SJA wish all parishioners a very happy, holy & peaceful New Year 2021.

Fr. Dan Connealy, Fr. Oliver Vietor, Diácono Andy Lambros, Diácona Mark Salvato y el personal de SJA deseo todo feligreses muy feliz, santo y pacífico Año Nuevo 2021.