Last Weekend the Diocese of Phoenix Formally Began This Jubilee Year's Charity and Development Appeal (CDA)

To allow us at Goodyear SJV to focus entirely on the Parish Mission, we decided to wait until this weekend to do our parish's "CDA Kick-Off." Thank you for your understanding.

I shared with you last year that the best corporate mission statement I've ever seen is from our very own SJV parishioner Jossue Rivas' company Exterminator of Arizona: "Killing Bugs in All of Arizona." It's clear, quick, and tells you exactly what the company exists to do! The educational platform TED Talks is also pretty clear: "Spreading Ideas." The Red Cross' is a bit longer but still concise: "Provide compassionate care to victims of disasters."

In case anyone asks you what is the mission of the Catholic Church you can answer by pointing them to Matthew 28:19-20: "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."

Over the past several Sundays, we have been reading from the First Letter of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians. He's been teaching and reprimanding them, exhorting them to charity, unity, and fraternity. They had let divisions and self-focus take root in their local church—just three years after Paul had gotten them set up!

Today's reading, from the penultimate chapter, is his "back to basics" reminder. This section is so crucial, I am including a big passage so we can let it sink deep into our hearts this week and this whole year:

All week our parish school has been abuzz with activities and special programs in celebration of Catholic Schools Week. Teachers, staff, students, and their families reflected on what a blessing it is to have access to Catholic education in general and to be together at St. John Vianney School in particular. We're up to 500 students from pre-Kinder to 8th grade, and we had a busy Open House last Sunday with many future students!

Dear Parishioners,

I was reminded of a very important point last year by a wonderful Sister in Christ and the principal of St. John Paul II High School, Sr. Mary Jordan, OP.

We were talking about the excellent job the students had done in performing the musical "The Fiddler on the Roof." Many of those actors and musicians were parishioners and alums of our SJV grade school. Sister, like most Catholic school principals, wears many hats (or veils, in her case) - administrator, arbiter, spiritual leader, faculty recruiter, among others. Not least in the list is fundraiser. As many a sister has taught me, "No Margin = No Mission," or in other words, without some money coming in, we cannot advance very far in our Christian, evangelical, and educational mission.

I make a lot of jokes involving in-laws or a "tongue-in-cheek" laugh at how tough and tiring marriage can be. Of course, I do this as a celibate priest who has exactly zero firsthand knowledge of this. If a priest is married to the Church, I cannot blame my mother-in-law for anything!

But while I joke about husbands and wives and in-laws, I am going to be making a much clearer and intentional point this year about how beautiful the covenant of Holy Matrimony is. The first reading today, from Isaiah 62, reminds us that throughout our long history, God has used marriage imagery to show how strong His love for us is and how permanent His commitment is:

This past Monday, at Notre Dame, many of our Holy Cross religious priests and brothers gathered together to pray for Fr. Tom Lemos, C.S.C., in his funeral Mass and burial. As well, many of his family, friends, and parishioners from all over the country were there. Fr. Tom's classmate and dear friend Bishop Daniel Jenky, C.S.C., preached and told stories of Father's kindness, wisdom, holiness, joy, and love for God's people. I had the honor of a lifetime in laying The Profession Cross that we receive at Perpetual Vows in the order - on his casket at the beginning of Mass. Fr. Tom was my novice master and gave me my Habit at my First Vows.

Happy New Year! Hopefully these past weeks of celebrating the Lord’s Birth in Bethlehem, the Holy Family and today’s Epiphany have been blessed for you and your family.

At the Christmas Mass in the Vatican Pope Francis opened the Holy Doors of St. Peter’s, marking the official beginning of the Jubilee Year. Every 25 years (and sometimes one in the time-between) the Holy Church celebrates a jubilee. There are many special events and prayers this year - in Rome, throughout the Diocese of Phoenix and here at St. John Vianney.

I think two of the funniest quips I’ve ever heard about family life are from the notoriously irreverent comedians George Carlin & Phyllis Diller:

“The other night, I ate at a real nice family restaurant. Every table had an argument going” and
“I want my children to have all the things I couldn’t afford. Then I want to move in with them.”

You may have heard the phrase “you can’t see around the corner”, meaning that you generally cannot know what’s going to happen in the future, even when it’s near. I learned this in a literal sense working in Chicago’s “Loop” district - full of skyscrapers. Walking from the train station to the office I would go down streets that were full of people but otherwise pretty calm air. Turn the corner onto another street however and you’d be blasted by a wall of wind. You had know idea that it was coming until you made that turn… but you sure found out!

One of my favorite things about December is the back-to-back celebrations of Our Mother Mary: her Immaculate Conception on December 8 and under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Certainly we are preparing ourselves in Advent for Christmas and the Birth of Jesus. This time of year we also are busy with parties, travel, gift-giving (and receiving, if you’ve been good…) and wrapping up study and work before a holiday break.

Last evening, Saturday Nov. 30, at sunset we began the sacred season of Advent and our new Church year. As I hear it said (more often around Jan. 1), it can mean a “new year, new you!” In our faith this is better called conversion and over the coming weeks we will hear much from the Prophet Isaiah and about the Precursor, John the Baptist. Both proclaimed the coming of the Messiah and the need for each of us to prepare ourselves - by leaving behind sin and self-seeking and looking toward the Light and Liberty our Messiah will bring.