Dear Parishioners and Easter visitors,

He is Risen, Alleluia, Alleluia. The word Alleluia translates to “praise God” and indeed we praise God on Easter Sunday morning for His Son has Risen. He has conquered sin and death. It is a day of great celebration for Christians because this real human event has changed the course of history and we have a Savior. The world has a savior.

Dear Parishioners,

We enter into Holy Week with the reading of the Passion of our Lord. It begins on Palm Sunday with a reminder of the triumphant entrance of Jesus into the Holy City of Jerusalem that quickly turns into His trial, suffering and death on a cross. But not to be the end, rather a new beginning as He conquers sin, evil, death on the cross and gives us new life in the empty tomb. These are our High Holy Days because everything comes to fruition in what we call the Paschal Mystery – the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus. This is our Holy Week!

Dear Parishioners,

As of Sunday, March 17 – we are 33 days into our Lenten journey. More than halfway to Holy Week and Easter. For those of you who have been praying the 33 Days to Eucharistic Glory it is the day we complete and make our consecration as individuals. As a parish – Fr. Ryan and I will consecrate the community on Holy Thursday in the parish Garden of Repose at 9:00pm. Everyone is welcome to join us in the garden (parish hall) as we pray and keep watch with our Lord on Holy Thursday Eve. Last year I prayed in the actual Garden of Gethsemane – it is a night I will never forget. Many of the olive trees in the garden are thought to be off shoots of the trees from the time of Jesus. To sit in that same place and soak it all in under an almost full moon was a gift.

Dear Parishioners,

This Sunday is known as Laetare Sunday, which means rejoice! It helps us to remember we are half way through the season of Lent and the great feast of the Church, Easter is just three weeks away. The opening antiphon for the Mass proclaims, “Rejoice, Jerusalem and all who love her. Be joyful, all who were in mourning; exult and be satisfied at her consoling breast.” Rejoice and be joyful in Lent may seem strange but we live with the great mystery that we stand today as a people saved by the Cross of Christ. This special time of Lent is meant to deepen our joy, peace and faith in the saving love of Jesus. While every Mass puts us at the foot of Calvary it also puts at the foot of the empty tomb. So as a people of God we must not forget the love of both the cross and the empty tomb. For this we can rejoice even in Lent.

Dear Parishioners,

We begin our third week of Lent this weekend. I pray it has been a journey of spiritual renewal and growth so far. After Stations of the Cross a few weeks ago the muscles in my legs were sore from being stretched and used in ways that I am not used to – 14 times up and down kneeling on the floor. It made me think that in the same way the Lord wants to stretch our hearts and minds to His love and mercy during Lent through the spiritual exercises we take on during this special season.

Dear Parishioners,

We continue our journey in Lent with the call to Renew us and Save us, O’Lord. The Second Sunday of Lent is the Gospel story of the Transfiguration. Jesus takes Peter, James and John up Mount Tabor where He gives them the great gift of seeing Him glorified with the great prophets Elijah and Moses, who represents the law. This encounter was one that they would never forget and recalled later when they faced challenges and difficulties. They were given the opportunity to see beyond the visible to strengthen their faith.

Dear Parishioners,

We have begun our journey of Lent 2024 with the focus of Renew us and Save us, O’Lord. A brother priest, Father Herb Hauck, who has since passed away once shared this about the season of Lent:

Lent leads us along a process whereby we gain growth in virtue. We use traditional forms of penance: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Why? Because they work! They are truly time-tested.

Dear Parishioners,

This weekend is that last weekend before we enter into our Lenten journey on February 14th – Ash Wednesday. We finish up Ordinary Time for now with the Gospel of Mark and the story of Jesus’ healing a leper. The leper in confidence said to Jesus, “if you wish, you can make me clean.” What a powerful statement by one who was labeled unclean and unworthy to be part of the community.

Dear Parishioners,

This is Charity and Development Appeal kick off weekend. This annual appeal is an opportunity or invitation for us to participate in funding many charitable and educational apostolates in a collective way as Catholics in the Diocese of Phoenix. I can attest that these funds truly make a difference to the charities, schools, and parishes that receive them. All of them continue the mandate of the Gospel to serve those most in need and to teach the Good News. I personally give and would invite you to also consider a gift in whatever amount you discern. I find that supporting the CDA helps me to be connected beyond the day to day parish. Thank you for your generous support of various ministries and apostolates. Together we make a difference.

Dear Parishioners,

I was reflecting the other day of how grateful I am to be back in parish work and assigned here at Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. How good to the see the life of parish families – people who have been here since day one and those who are new members, those who come for the winter months and call this home. A parish is a place of encounter. First with God, but then with the Church, the people of God. The Church and our Sunday worship of God is a great reminder to us that God is part of our daily lives.

Dear Parishioners,

We are now on our short journey in ordinary time in the Church. The root of the word ordinary comes from the word order. The focus for this short period is Ordinary Holiness—Ordinary Lives. Meaning, recognizing that holiness is about living lives that have a natural order toward God and Godly things. The Church provides that structure and order.

As a priest, I’m amazed how happily married couples remember the tiniest details of their earliest encounters. They effortlessly report things like: “he wore a blue shirt,” “we ordered brussels sprouts,” “her hair was up in a bun,” and “he spilled shrimp cocktail sauce at my family’s open front door when it was ten degrees below zero,” (that one’s courtesy of my mom). We delight in remembering and speaking of when our new life of love began. The little details are glorious reminders that it’s all real.

Dear Parishioners,

As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Epiphany this weekend we are in the last days of the Christmas Season. This day reminds us of two things; first, the message of Christ is meant to reach far and wide to distant lands; second, the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh have a deep meaning of who Jesus is and what the wise men believe. Gold is meant for a King, frankincense is used to honor the holy and divine and myrrh is an oil used to anoint the body at death. Each reveal something about this Newborn Child and His destiny for all mankind.