Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today, we celebrate the birthday of the Church. The promised Holy Spirit that we've heard about these last couple of weeks comes down upon the Apostles, and their lives would never be the same! The world would never be the same! The Catholic Church, as founded by Christ, now celebrates the fact that the Holy Spirit remains with us to this very day. It is the Holy Spirit that enables all of us to hear Our Lord's call to follow Him every day. It the same Holy Spirit that enables us to build the Kingdom of God here and now. It is the same Holy Spirit that enables us to do God's work, while we await His return!

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Several years ago, I was blessed to be a part of a Eucharistic Procession with nearly 10,000 people in Lourdes I have always thought about having a Eucharistic Procession through our neighborhood streets with the parishioners of St. Bernadette. I wasn't too sure about doing this at first because I preferred a quiet holy hour safely in the air-conditioned chapel as opposed to walking through streets with a monstrance with Jesus' Eucharistic Presence under an elaborate canopy. I convinced myself that people wouldn't understand so why do it?

It is so wonderful to see so many people return to Holy Mass! St. Bernadette Catholic Church continues to follow the directives set by our bishop as he continues to monitor and take seriously the guidance and directives of Governor Ducey, Arizona health oficials, and the Federal Government. As you can see, we are moving toward the goal of full restoration of parish life with prudence. We hope to balance the very real spiritual needs of the faithful with our great concern for the physical well-being of our parishioners and the wider community.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Peace and Joy in Our Risen Lord!

We are living in a moment in history that not one of us have ever experienced before. This pandemic has brought much trial, sickness and suffering to many people. Hopefully, it has also brought us to our knees in prayer. I can sense a growing longing for Christ in the Eucharist and the other sacraments, as well as a greater devotion to the Church and Our Lord by many Catholics. May that hunger for holiness never fade. Because our frenzied activity has dissipated, what is more essential to our eternity remains.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

At the invitation of Bishop Olmsted, many people throughout our diocese recently completed their consecration to St. Joseph. If you missed this 33 Day Consecration opportunity, the next one begins on July 20th. I invite you to prayerfully consider consecrating yourself and your family to St. Joseph for many reasons. St. Joseph is known as Mirror of patience, Lover of poverty, Model of artisans, Glory of home life, Guardian of virgins, Pillar of families, Solace of the wretched, Hope of the sick, Patron of the dying, Terror of demons, Protector of Holy Church, the foster father of Jesus and the husband of Mary. He was just honored on the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker on May 1st.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

St. Paul writes in Sacred Scripture: Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. And be thankful. (Col. 3: 12-15)

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.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

It is such a wonderfully blessed day! After the 40 Days of Lent, today we celebrate the great Solemnity of Easter during which we ponder the resurrection of Jesus from the dead and His victory over sin and death!

Traditionally, the Easter Season is a time when we focus on the initiation of Christians into our faith. Usually, the Easter Vigil is the time we welcome new Catholics into communion with us after a long and fruitful journey in the Rite of Christian Initiation. Those to be welcomed into the Church will now enter into full communion with the Church at a future date to be determined by our bishop. There is an exception for baptizing babies. These will continue as usual as long as there are 10 people or less present. For all those preparing to receive the Sacraments of Confirmation and Holy Communion will occur when our bishop gives us permission to do so.

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,

"I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" She said to him, "Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world."

This passage from the 11th chapter of the Gospel of St. John is from the 5th Sunday of Lent. As we began this year 2020, St. Bernadette and St. John XXIII were making plenty of plans. In the parish, we were anticipating the parish beautification project. Our various ministries were in full swing. Church attendance was increasing, Bible study groups were meeting, children were attending school, parish life was vibrant, and life seemed good. And then … the coronavirus happened seemingly overnight.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Would God allow the COVID-19 virus to upend our lives? As I write this column on Tuesday morning, I should be hearing confessions and preparing to offer morning Mass which surely would be a good thing according to God, right? Instead I sit in my office trying to make sense of things.

It would be great if I could come up with a thoughtful response that would put things in perspective for people. But I have come to realize that the cross is not so easily and swiftly explained and managed. Jesus' walk to Calvary that we reflect upon during lent, was just that, a walk… a process… that was not understood until Easter Sunday.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I want to give you an update on our Charity and Development Appeal and the Together Let Us Go Forth Campaign.

First, the Charity and Development Appeal. Throughout our diocese, Catholics are being invited to participate in the holy work of transforming people's lives and people's circumstances through this Annual Diocesan Appeal. As of today, 84 generous donors have contributed for a total of nearly $ 45,428 towards our goal of $105,000.00.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The foundational call of Christians to charity is a frequent theme of the Gospels. During Lent, we are asked to focus more intently on "almsgiving," which means donating money or goods to the poor and performing other acts of charity. As one of the three pillars of Lenten practice, almsgiving is "a witness to fraternal charity" and "a work of justice pleasing to God." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2462).

Our Lord gives us three essential occasions for spiritual growth during the Lenten Season--prayer, fasting and almsgiving. I have already addressed the importance of prayer and fasting in previous bulletins. Today I want to focus on the third of the three pillars: Almsgiving.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I want to address the practical notion of how we are called to make use of the Communion rail. Currently, the people of God approach the priest, deacon or extraordinary minister of Holy Communion to receive Our Lord. The problem is that once someone receives Holy Communion, the person is forced to make way for the person coming up next in line. The danger is that this way of encountering Our Lord in this intimate moment can be lost because the person may feel hurried, if not obligated, to move along so the next person in line can step up to receive Holy Communion. The feeling that you have to "move along" or "make way" for the next person in line can be problematic for several reasons. A feeling of being rushed may cause a person who is receiving Holy Communion to miss out on a chance to express a proper devotion to Our Lord. A person may rush by the décor, i.e., the nativity scene, flowers, the candles, the vestments, the statues located in the sanctuary. There is also the danger that Holy Communion becomes too individualistic and people forget the communal part of Holy Communion.