Happy Sunday!
This Sunday afternoon I depart for Ireland. One place of interest where I will celebrate the Holy Mass is the Our Lady of Knock shrine. This apparition of 1879 consisted of Mary, St. Joseph, and St. John the Evangelist. In the center stood a lamb on the altar which stood in front of a cross. This lamb was surrounded by angels. This scene lasted for two hours with fifteen people, men, women, and children blessed to witness this.
READ MOREHappy Sunday!
On July 28th until August 8th I journey for a unique, spiritual, authentically Irish pilgrimage to discover the beauty and Catholic history of this country. The cities visited will include Dublin, Galway, Glendalough and Clifden. During our pilgrimage we will have the opportunity to visit the holy sites of the Monastery in Glendalough, Knock Shrine, Holy Cross Abbey, and St. Mary’s Pro Cathedral along with the Cliffs of Moher, Kilmore Abbey, and Croagh Patrick.
READ MOREOnce I asked a fallen-away Catholic friend of mine what he remembered about the parish priest from his youth. He said, “He was a gentle, nice guy. Kind of vanilla. Kept to himself.” It struck me that he, perhaps like many, perceived Catholic priests as the following: lonely, harmless, and self-sufficient. As a challenge both to this perception (accurate or not) and to us priests who perhaps feel a pull in that uninspiring direction, stands the mighty image of what we see in the Gospel this Sunday.
READ MOREGreetings and blessings!
This year is very important for our parish because it commemorates 45 years of our establishment as a parish and 25 years in our current church building. Lots of history of love, labor, sacrifice, and planning the foundation of our parish experienced so many faithful before us to make Saint Joan of Arc Parish what it is today.
READ MOREHappy Sunday!
On the first Friday of every month, we have gathered in our Adoration Chapel to pray for priestly vocations with a holy rosary and the Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. We will continue this devotion on July 5th at 5:00pm and also invite high school and college age men for an evening hosted by seminarian Nathan Blanchard in Santa Maria Hall from 6:00pm-8:30pm.
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This week has a stellar lineup for all the saints celebrated this week! The Birthday of Saint John the Baptist is celebrated on June 24th, St. Cyril of Alexandria on June 27th, St. Irenaeus on June 28th, and Saints Peter and Paul on June 29th!
READ MOREOn this day we honor the men who faithfully lead households and I continue to be inspired by the many fathers in our parish. These men sow seeds of hope for their children, encourage forgiveness in the household, and teach in hidden ways to be a man of sacrifice that only a father knows how to do.
READ MOREHappy Sunday!
After celebrating the amazing feasts after Pentecost, we adjust to ordinary time, meaning no particular aspect of the mystery of Christ is celebrated, but rather the mystery of Christ is honored in its fullness, especially on Sundays. This is the trajectory of our week and most important, our fruit and source of our faith.
READ MOREThe weekend of June 1-2, 2024, Father Joseph Tuscan, OFM Cap. will be visiting our parish on behalf of Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS). Fr. Tuscan was born in Columbus, OH and entered Borromeo College Seminary in 1986 where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Behavioral Sciences. In 1993, he professed his Perpetual vows as a Capuchin Franciscan friar and earned his master’s degree in Theology and ordained to the priesthood in 1997.
READ MOREHappy Pentecost!
“Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of all believers and set them on fire with your love. Though they spoke many different languages, you united the nations in professing the same faith!” A beautiful antiphon from first vespers of Pentecost help us reflect on the many nations present when the apostles received an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Those same gifts allowed the apostles to go out and communicate the message of the Risen Lord!
READ MOREHappy Mother’s Day!
On this second Sunday in May, we observe a short day to honor and pray for our mothers. I love the tradition of processing into the church with our Blessed Mother Mary and allowing our own mothers of the parish to follow her and ask for her intercession. Today is special because this is a time to give thanks to God for the gift of human life.
READ MOREHappy Easter!
On May 3rd we celebrated the First Holy Communion and Confirmation Mass with so many of our children here at the parish. Many years of preparation and growing in the faith are a necessary completion of baptismal grace. “For by the sacrament of Confirmation, [the baptized] are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed.” (Catechism 1285)
READ MOREHappy Easter!
Hope and pray the Easter season is going well in contemplating the Resurrection of our Lord! This Wednesday is the memorial of Saint Joseph the Worker and on this day we will have the May Crowning of the Blessed Virgin Mary after our 8:30 am daily Mass. There will be a prayer of blessing and crowning of beautiful blossoms representing Mary's beauty and virtue. To further add to our love for mother, the Our Lady of Grace statue will be present throughout the month of May near the sanctuary.
READ MORERecently I was with my little dog Libby at a retreat center in the Arizona desert. I sat in a chair near a ravine filled with shrubs. Unbeknownst to me, Libby wandered down there and disappeared. Suddenly an animal’s wild shriek erupted from the area. Without thinking, I bolted down into the ravine fully expecting to see coyotes, javelinas, or rattlesnakes. I didn’t care. I desperately wanted to get Libby out of there, without any self-regard. Before I could face whatever danger lay hidden, my dog blissfully trotted out from an entirely different area, utterly unaware that I had (quite heroically) just placed my life on the line.
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