St. Joan of Arc Parish Mission Statement

Courageously following Christ by serving the community
through Catholic liturgy, Gospel values, charity and education.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

St. Joan of Arc Parish exists so that God’s children may develop, grow, embrace and live the faith and life of Our Lord Jesus Christ as revealed and taught by the Gospel and teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.

Canon 515 of the Code of Canon Law states:

“A parish is a definite community of the Christian faithful established on a stable basis within a particular church; the pastoral care of the parish is entrusted to a pastor as its own shepherd under the authority of the diocesan bishop.”

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

"But he was pierced for our sins, crushed for our iniquity. He bore the punishment that makes us whole, by his wounds we were healed." —Eph 2:4-5

On Divine Mercy Sunday, the focus is on the healing power of Our Lord's Mercy. Through Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament, confessions, praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet and the celebration of the Eucharistic Liturgy, we will draw special attention to God's Divine Mercy. Along with the regular Mass schedule, we will have Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament in the main church and confessions beginning at 2:00 pm. In honor of Divine Mercy there will be the recitation of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. We will conclude the octave day of Easter with Mass at 3:00pm in which we will ask for Our Lord's Divine Mercy to heal our hearts, our minds and our bodies.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Happy Easter to all of you and a special welcome to all of our visitors! I pray as you celebrate Easter Mass with us, you may come to know the peace of God in your hearts now and always. You are always welcome to come and to thank God for His many blessings; most especially His Son who has risen from the dead!

Now we have begun the season of Easter! Last evening, at the Easter Vigil, we welcomed our newest Catholics. They stepped forward to be baptized and to be received into full communion in the Catholic Church. They received the Sacrament of Confirmation and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. They received the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ for the first time! They formalized their commitment to Our Lord by "turning away from sin and being faithful to the Gospel" for the rest of their lives and hopefully for all eternity.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Welcome to Holy Week! Today we begin the holiest week of the year for the Catholic Church. This week the Church commemorates Christ’s death and burial. Ancient writers called this the Great or Holy Week of Our Lord’s Passion. The custom of keeping the Holy Week goes all the way back to the time of the Apostles. When the early Christians spoke about Jesus to others, they started with the Passion of Our Lord. Scholars believe that the Passion of Our Lord spread before the other parts of the Gospel were even written down. The Passion of Our Lord is really the starting point for building our relationship with Jesus.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

On this Fifth Sunday of Lent we hear about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. And today our catechumens will receive the Third Scrutiny (pre-baptismal exorcism). It contains these wonderful words: "Do not let the power of death hold them back."

There is a famous country song with the words: “Live like you were dying.” What if the doctor told you that you only had six months to live? What would you do differently?

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

As an Arizona desert dweller, you know the importance of drinking water… and lots of it. During those hot summer months, there are few things as refreshing as a nice cold beverage to quench our thirst. Not only do we enjoy a cool beverage on those hot days; we absolutely must hydrate our bodies or we will not last very long in the summer's heat.

The woman in today's Gospel is thirsty. But as we read the whole story, we discover something that she herself is not aware of just yet. We come to see that this woman is thirsting for something much more than water. She is thirsting for something much more valuable than water. And she also learns what happens when you try to satisfy your real thirsts with something non-authentic.

Thanks to a generous donor, our beautiful new outdoor Stations of the Cross arrived a few months ago. They are a powerful reminder of the suffering Our Lord endured for our salvation.

As I have stated often about our sacred additions, we are adding art that is meant to raise our minds to God and strengthen our personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Whenever I have shown people our new Stations of the Cross or our beautiful Church, they see things that often inspire them.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

“Lent is a new beginning, a path leading to the certain goal of Easter, Christ’s victory over death. This season urgently calls us to conversion. Christians are asked to return to God “with all their hearts” (Joel 2:12), to refuse to settle for mediocrity and to grow in friendship with the Lord. Jesus is the faithful friend who never abandons us. Even when we sin, he patiently awaits our return; by that patient expectation, he shows us his readiness to forgive (cf. Homily, 8 January 2016).

From the chapters On Charity by Saint Maximus the Confessor, abbot (Centuria 1, cap. 1, 4-5. 16-17. 23-24. 26-28. 30-40: PG 90, 962-967)

 Without love everything is in vain

Charity is a right attitude of mind which prefers nothing to the knowledge of God. If a man possesses any strong attachment to the things of this earth, he cannot possess true charity. For anyone who really loves God prefers to know and experience God rather than his creatures. The whole set and longing of his mind is ever directed toward him.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Many of you know about the Charity and Development Appeal, the CDA. It is our one annual appeal that supports so many in our community. What you may not know is that the CDA is often the basis for many of our organizations who help seniors, the homeless, those who have lost jobs, women who have been abused and of course, families in crisis.

The CDA is love and faith in action. Through the Charity and Development Appeal, your gift will go farther and help more people. It can help more than one parish, more than one program and more than one agency. I invite you now to make your pledge to the CDA. If you have already completed a pledge or made a gift online, thank you for your support! You do not need to complete a pledge card today.

As I was typing this column for the bulletin, I received a phone call to visit one of our parishioners in thehospital.

With most phone calls of this sort, there is usually a series of health problems associated with aging. I amhonored to be able to visit those who are ill and in need of God’s mercy and love… especially when I can celebrate the sacraments of Confession, Holy Communion, and Anointing of the Sick with them and their family. There is usually a beautiful peace and experience of God’s goodness that accompanies thesevisits.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

We all want to be happy! When I say happiness, I mean real fulfillment that brings real and lasting joy. Our Lord explains in the Beatitudes what true and lasting happiness is AND how we can live each day with true an lasting happiness. Our Lord is teaching us how to be happy! Our Lord is giving us - really offering us a pattern of life, a way of life that promises to make us truly happy. Below is an examination of conscience based on the Beatitudes. I hope they will help you find the peace and happiness you were made for by Our Merciful and Loving God.