Feast of the Holy Family

12-29-2019Pastor's LetterFr. Dan Connealy

Happy Sunday!

I pray everyone had a joy-filled Christmas, rejoicing in the celebration of Our Lord's Nativity! A great thank you to everyone who volunteered their time to help with the different ministries for the Christmas Masses. I am incredibly grateful to our wonderful ushers, lectors, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, sacristans, singers, musicians, altar servers, gift shop volunteers, and many more. As you can see, there are a number of moving parts that are all so important. If you've never been able to volunteer, maybe 2020 is the year! We'd love to have you join one of our marvelous teams.

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Fourth Week of Advent

12-22-2019Pastor's LetterFr. Dan Connealy

Happy Sunday!

We have arrived at the final Sunday of Advent and the shortest week of this liturgical season. This Sunday's liturgy begins with the antiphon joyfully proclaiming "Drop down dew from above, you heavens, and let the clouds rain down the Just One; let the earth be opened and bring forth a Savior." With great anticipation we sing for the coming of the Savior. Though this is the shortest week of Advent, finishing Tuesday evening, one can feel the tension of the antiphon. Jesus Christ is coming! The prayers of the patriarchs are heard, the words of the prophets find fruition! Our Gospel tells of the angel visiting Joseph, commanding him to name the child "Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." We are the people Jesus comes for to save us from our sins. I would like to invite you over the next couple of days before the Christmas season begins to pray with the prayers and readings from this Sunday's mass. To take time in silence to hear the anticipation of the prophets and to rejoice with Holy Mother Church.

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Third Week of Advent

12-15-2019Pastor's LetterFr. Dan Connealy

Happy Sunday! Today the Church celebrates Gaudete Sunday. This Sunday of rejoicing shifts the focus of Advent more closely to the coming of the Lord. Throughout the first two weeks we have been looking especially towards the coming of the Lord, but now the tone is changed. The entrance antiphon this Sunday proclaims, "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Indeed, the Lord is near." We no longer speak of a thing in the distant future of an unknown time, but rather of something close. What does this mean for us? St. James offers us some advice in our second readi ng for this Sunday. "Make your hearts firm, because the coming of the Lord is at hand ." There is no one else to prepare our hearts for other than Jesus. He is the one who breaks into our lives in the silence, just as in the manger. The Lord comes quietly and in unexpected ways. The preparation of hearts means making them a place to receive the Lord as gives Himself to us.

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Second Sunday of Advent

12-08-2019Pastor's LetterFr. Dan Connealy

Happy Sunday!

This has been quite the weekend for St. Joan of Arc. Our high schoolers have been on retreat in Prescott accompanied by Fr. Daniel. We pray they had a renewing weekend and that the Lord deepened their knowledge and love of Him. As well, our St. Michael Indian School Mission group went up north to deliver the many donations. Thank you so much to everyone who contributed so generously. A special thanks to all those who made the journey to deliver all the donations, this certainly makes a big difference to the people in the St. Michael Mission.

On Monday of this past week the Diocese began celebrations for the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the Diocese of Phoenix. There was a Mass at Comerica Theater to kickoff the year long celebration. We give thanks to God for the many blessings He has bestowed on our wonderful diocese. Including the founding of our own parish, which happened ten years after the Diocese of Phoenix was created. We pray for many more fruitful years of evangelization and deepening the love of God in the life of our diocese.

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First Sunday of Advent

12-01-2019Pastor's LetterFr. Dan Connealy

Happy Sunday!

Today the Church begins her new year! In anticipation of the great celebration of Christmas, we begin to prepare ourselves through prayer, especially liturgical prayer. The readings that we hear during this season, not only on Sunday but during the week, remind us of the great expectation of the people of Israel for their Savior. In this Sunday's first reading from Isaiah we hear, "In days to come, the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established as the highest mountain and raised above the hills. All nations shall stream toward it…" That is, God will establish among his people something special which will draw all the nations towards it. This mountain is Zion, a foreshadowing of eternal life in heaven. Our passage continues to say, "For from Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." The instruction that goes forth will be the teaching of Jesus Christ. God himself will come to us and He will teach us. No longer will the people of Israel look at their prophets for God's words because God Himself will teach them.

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The Feast of Christ the King

11-24-2019Pastor's LetterFr. Dan Connealy

Happy Sunday!

Today we joyously celebrate the Solemnity of Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. This afternoon we will host our Eucharistic Procession through the neighborhood. This is a wonderful opportunity to share the good news of Jesus Christ and be joined together in prayer. In a particular way it emphasizes the kingship of Jesus Christ. The Church celebrates this Solemnity because Jesus is not the Lord of one country or people, but of all peoples and so the Church rightly regards Him as King of the Universe. That is, He is the king of all created things, not merely our parish, city, country, etc. In processing Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament through the neighborhood we remind ourselves and those we meet that Jesus desires to be the Lord of all people and all things.

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We remember the faithful departed

11-10-2019Pastor's LetterFr. Dan Connealy

Happy Sunday!

As we continue our journey through the liturgical year we pause in this month of November to remember the faithful departed. The Church invites us to pray in a special way for our loved ones who have passed from this life. In fact, she invites us to pray for all the deceased. We often speak of offering prayers for the souls in Purgatory. The Church teaches us that Purgatory is the place where souls go after death who "are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven" (CCC 1030). Preaching about praying for the dead, St. John Chrysostom said, "Let us help and commemorate them. If Job's sons were purified by their father's sacrifice, why would we doubt that our offerings for the dead bring them some consolation? Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer our prayers for them." Prayers for the dead are a powerful way to assist those who are being purified, even if we do not know their names.

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2018-2019 Financial Report

10-27-2019Pastor's LetterFr. Dan Connealy

Happy Sunday!

The Lord has been good to us this year. I am happy to publish our 2018-2019 Financial Report. There are many highlights from the report, thanks in no small part to the great generosity of our community. We are grateful to have received $229,000 in contributions from the Together Let Us Go Forth campaign. This allowed us to complete the campus-wide roofing project, campus-wide exterior paint project, and the Ramada renovation. We were also able to do work on the parking lot including a seal coat and re-striping. The priests were grateful that part of the project included a rectory chapel addition, interior paint in the rectory, and an A/C unit.

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Rosary Sunday

10-20-2019Pastor's LetterFr. Dan Connealy

Happy Sunday!

This Sunday the Diocese of Phoenix celebrates Rosary Sunday. Hundreds of Catholics are gathering downtown to support this festive celebration. The rosary is a beautiful way to offer our hearts to the Heavenly Father, especially when we are at a loss for words. The rosary stands as an opportunity to live in communion with the Blessed Trinity through meditating on the life of Christ with the Blessed Mother. In the Gospel this Sunday Jesus says, "Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to Him day and night?" Even when we call out day and night and feel like our hearts do not match our words, this in itself is the perseverance in prayer that the Lord invites us to have.

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2019 Catechetical Congress

10-13-2019Pastor's LetterFr. Dan Connealy

Happy Sunday!

Somehow we are midway through October! The Lord is good and there are many exciting things going on here at St. Joan of Arc and in the Diocese of Phoenix. One exciting opportunity is the 2019 Catechetical Congress. On October 26 catechists and other Catholics desiring to grow in the missionary spirit are gathering downtown for a day of prayer and talks. The keynote speaker is a man named André Regnier, the founder of a missionary group called Catholic Christian Outreach (CCO) and author of the book Clear and Simple: How to Have Conversations that Lead to Conversion. The cost for this day of prayer and talks is $35 (does not include lunch) until October 23 ($40 after) and you can find the link to register at dphx.org/childrens-catechesis/congress/. This is an amazing opportunity to hear one of the most effective evangelists in the Church today and grow in your missionary zeal.

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Increase our Faith

10-06-2019Pastor's LetterFr. Dan Connealy

Happy Sunday!

Life is in full swing here at St. Joan of Arc. Our religious education programs, youth group, choirs, and adult groups are all off to great starts. Last weekend our senior group graciously hosted donuts and coffee after the morning masses. They are a true gift to our parish, helping to build community, along with the Knights of Columbus who also regularly host donuts and coffee. Thank you so much to everyone involved!

In our Gospel this Sunday, the apostles make a modest request of the Lord, "Increase our faith." Jesus responds saying, "If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you." Rather than considering this as a time when the Lord tells the disciples how weak their faith is, I would argue he is affirming their desire to have greater faith. It would seem that in offering this simple proposition he is telling them that as they grow in faith they will be able to do great things, but they must begin with what has been commanded. If the simple commands have not been heeded, then their faith will not be able to grow.

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