Dear Family of God,

Peace and Joy in Our Lord Jesus Christ!

It is amazing how much we depend on schedules and routines. Many people rely on their watch or phone to keep on track and to get to where they need to be on time. While I was in the seminary, I didn’t need a watch because we had bells. The use of bells let us know when it was time to eat, to sleep, to go to class and when to pray. I will admit, I didn’t much care for the bells at first. Eventually, I came to appreciate them.

Dear Family of God,

Peace and Joy in Our Lord Jesus Christ!

This Gospel reminds us that we are called to proclaim the love of God whether it is convenient or not. Our duty includes a call to personal holiness and salvation as well as a willingness to speak the love of God to those who do not know God. A few weeks ago, I spoke about the how we are obliged to protect the fundamental rights of the citizens and their freedom to live out the Faith in the way that they – and not the government – see fit.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

We are so blessed to have Our Blessed Mother leading us through the difficulties in life. We celebrated the glorious feast day of Our Lady, the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, last Saturday. The feast day recalls the death of the Blessed Virgin Mary - the Dormition, or falling asleep, as it was known in the East. The Assumption reminds us that Her body did not decay but that She was raised up, body and soul, into heaven.

Dear Brothers & Sisters,

Informed Catholics need to agree on the foundational issues that have made this nation the greatest nation in the history of the world. Our nation is a beacon of freedom for literally billions of people. We've been blessed to live a very family-friendly state. One of the reasons we find Arizona to be so pro-family is because Catholics in the public square have worked hard to bring pro-family legislation to our Arizona legislature. We are one of the most Pro-life states because so much legislation has been signed into law by pro-life, pro-family, and pro-freedom governors through the years.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I encourage Catholics to speak loudly at the voting booth. I understand that there are concerns and even fear when it comes to speaking publicly about God and politics. I can assure you, for evil to prevail, good people only need to remain silent or indifferent. This cannot happen under our watch. Our country is a beacon of religious freedom for millions around the world. The Catholic Church has a seat at the table of truth and freedom. But we need to speak with our actions… that means we must vote as faithful Catholics.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

How does a person figure out who to vote for in an election? There seems to be so much information to wade through and at times it can seem overwhelming. How can a faithful Catholic discern who is right for the job?

First, a faithful Catholic is called vote for a candidate who best represents positions that would be in accord with God and His Commandments. This means that we want to vote for someone who would share similar if not the same values, morals, principles, etc. that we hold as Catholics. Of course, a candidate does not have to be Catholic, but the best candidates adhere to values that puts the welfare of the common good over personal political gain.

You may have heard that we have in important election this year. Hopefully, as Catholics, we understand our role and responsibility to vote as citizens and as Catholics. The importance of our role as Catholic citizens of the United States of America cannot be emphasized enough. We are blessed to live in a great nation that allows us to celebrate our faith. We are also blessed to live in a nation that upholds our God given religious freedoms... at least for now. But as you know, freedom is not free. Catholics have a responsibility to care for the welfare of our citizens and our future.

In choosing stained glass windows and sacred art for the interior of our beautiful church, glorifying God is always the priority. How do we choose? The bishops' document offers two ways of evaluating sacred art. The first way focuses on the quality. "Quality is evident in the honesty and genuineness of the materials that are used, the nobility of the form embodied in them, the love and care that goes into the creation of a work of art, and the personal stamp of the artist whose special gift produces a harmonious whole, a well-crafted work." (Built of Living Stones, ch. 3)

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2502 states that "Sacred art is true and beautiful when its form corresponds to its particular vocation: evoking and glorifying, in faith and adoration, the transcendent mystery of God - the surpassing invisible beauty of truth and love visible in Christ, who "reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature," in whom "the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily." This spiritual beauty of God is reflected in the most holy Virgin Mother of God, the angels, and saints. Genuine sacred art draws man to adoration, to prayer, and to the love of God, Creator and Savior, the Holy One and Sanctifier."

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

American Saint, Frances Cabrini once said, "I will go anywhere and do anything in order to communicate the love of Jesus to those who do not know Him or have forgotten Him." This seemed to be the conviction of all our American saints who founded hospitals, grade schools, churches, universities, leper colonies, orphanages, missionary outposts, soup kitchens and more. In order to remind others of the goodness of God and Christ's redeeming, so many saints, canonized or not, functioned as building blocks of our country. Catholics, in other words, have played a huge part in American history.

Today we are reminded again by Our Lord in the Gospel just what the cost of discipleship truly is. Our Lord reminds each one of us that those who love father or mother, son or daughter more than Him are not worthy of Him. Does that mean that you and I are supposed to love our parents less? Of course not! That would be silly to think Jesus is telling us to ease up on loving our family. So what does Jesus mean in today's Gospel? Our Lord is teaching us the importance of prioritizing our relationships. God must come before anyone (or anything) else in our lives. As we seek God above all else, we learn what it means to be a disciple and a Catholic.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Most post-pubescent males can father a child. Fathering a child is vastly different from being a good father. So what does it take to be a good father? One this Father’s Day, I would like to address the vital role my father holds in my life and the important role of the father in the life of his family. 

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The Church is blessed to celebrate this special Feast of Corpus Christi today. So what are we celebrating? Today, we celebrate the fact that Jesus is the Bread of Life. The Gospel reminds us that Christ feeds multitudes with bread. In the Mass, Our Lord feeds us with His own Body and Blood! Christ Himself gave us the Eucharist on the night of the Last Supper. The Church has offered Holy Mass from then until now and the Church will offer Holy Mass until the very end of time. Why? She will do this simply because Jesus commanded us to "do this in remembrance of me!"

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

As human beings, we need one another. We are united as God's children. As such, we do well to understand that being a beloved child of God the Most High, we are called to seek a holy and lifegiving relationship with God and one another. Since each of us have been created in the image and likeness of God, we are able to be a sacred reflection of the Most Holy Trinity - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Today's Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity celebrates the most powerful mystery of who God is as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Secondly, today reminds us of the relationship God shares with us, His beloved children.