Dear Friends,

Last week, we, Priests and the Bishops of our Diocese gathered in Flagstaff for our annual convocation. While it was radically different from the convocations we had in the past, it was nevertheless hailed as one of the best we have had in recent years. Our presentations focused on the hidden life of St. Joseph through the lenses of artists. Elizabeth Lev, the renowned Vatican Church art historian, and author who made these presentations, captivated the priests and the bishops with her very thrilling talks and sense of humor, making the three days of the convocation look like half a day. This was not a mean feat to achieve, considering that she was talking to priests who are often hard to impress.

Dear Friends,

Over the past three weeks, we have emphasized in different ways that, as Christians, we are all called to be good stewards of the resources God has entrusted to us, which include our time, talent, and treasure. One of the most significant ways we can demonstrate our faith and commitment to our parish, which I want to focus on this week, is specifically by sharing our financial resources. In this article, I want to emphasize three points: the importance of generosity, the benefits of giving, and the practical ways you can share your financial resources with your parish.

Dear Friends,

In the last two weeks, our homilies focused on Stewardship, inviting us to recognize that all the things we have: our time, talent, and treasure are gifts to us from God. Both last week’s homilies and article discussed the stewardship of TIME, emphasizing the need for us to spend time with our Loving Father. It was essentially about creating time for prayer and for our brothers and sisters. Understood this way, stewardship of time becomes a very important aspect in developing our relationship with God and our community.

Dear Friends,

This is a famous quote from one of the Church’s great modern saints, Maximilian Kolbe; a Franciscan priest who lived his life leading others to Christ and gave his life at Auschwitz in order to save the life of another. We recently celebrated the feast of Saint Maximilian Kolbe and his call to recognize the poison of indifference is even more relevant today.

Dear Friends,

For the past five weeks, our liturgy focused on the Bread of Life Discourse from St. John’s Gospel, Chapter 6. However, beginning this Sunday till the end of the month, our Sunday liturgy will shift focus on Stewardship. You may recall that for several months in the past, I spoke about and wrote articles on stewardship. I am convinced therefore, that stewardship is by now not a new concept to our parish.

Dear Friends,

Over these past four Sundays we have spent time reflecting on the Eucharist as we explore the words of Our Lord in the 6th chapter of John’s Gospel. As we move into this final Sunday, I believe it is worthwhile to look back on the rich teaching of the Eucharist provided by Jesus in the Gospel of John in order to grow in our Eucharistic devotion as individuals and as a parish.

Dear Friends,

This weekend, our homilies will be the fourth, based on the Bread of Life Discourse taken from John, Chapter 6. We have devoted these five weeks to reflect on the Eucharist because as Catholics, the Holy Eucharist really matters to us as the Source and Summit of our Faith. The beauty of all this is that the Eucharist truly embodies Christ’s uninterrupted Presence among us twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week in all the tabernacles around the world.

Dear Friends,

We are now in the seventh week since the actual construction of our perpetual adoration chapel commenced. I am extremely excited about the progress so far made. Though you may not see much behind the barricade, we have already done the plumbing work for the bathrooms and laid the foundation for the building. These are the most important aspects of the structure of the chapel, (Mt. 7:24-26). As we wait for the concrete for the foundation to set, I look forward with even greater anticipation and excitement for the superstructure to soon take shape. We expect this to commence soon.

Dear Friends,

We have just concluded the National Eucharistic Revival in the United States, which ran from July 17-21. By all accounts, it was said to have been one of the most successful Catholic revivals in our country and the first in 83 years. Over 60,000 Catholics attended, enthusiastically participating in Eucharistic Processions and Adoration, and had many opportunities to listen to inspiring speeches. This number included more than 1,100 priests, 1,200 religious, 600 deacons, 600 seminarians, and 200 bishops and cardinals.

Dear Friends,

One of my ardent prayers is that before I leave this parish or retire, we should have produced at least three priests from our parish. This prayer has been intensified by the assignment of seminarian Max Rich for his summer pastoral experience here at our parish. His presence and commitment to his vocation has not only renewed my own vocation but has also given me hope that my prayers will be answered.

Dear Friends,

This weekend we celebrate two events. The first is the community celebration of our Patroness, Our Lady of Mount Carmel. We transferred the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel to this weekend so that our entire community can more easily participate it. Our second cause for celebration is our Pastor, Father Robert Aliunzi’s priestly anniversary. This Saturday, July 20th, Father celebrates 33 years of priesthood. This is significant especially for a priest since the number 33 is associated with Jesus as he was 33 years old when he ministered and died on the cross. Father Robert, thank you for your many years of ministry and please know of our prayers as we celebrate your priesthood.

Dear Friends,

As I pointed out in my last article, the Feast Day of our Parish, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, is indeed around the corner. This is our 92nd Anniversary and since the founding of our Parish in 1932, (although our current Church was built in 1968), we have celebrated this great Feast in various small and big ways. This year, we shall celebrate it in a rather moderate way. However, despite that, we all know that to better celebrate an important Feast, a proper preparation is always necessary. In our case, we have already begun this preparation with the Novena on Thu, Jul 11 which will go up to Fri, Jul 19.

Dear Friends,

Feasts of various kinds are always occasions to rejoice and reflect on what is being celebrated. The Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, our Parish’s Feast, is no exception. Every year we celebrate this feast on July 16, and we have celebrated it for years, to remind us of the special place Our Lady plays in the life of our Parish and to encourage us to grow closer to her and to her son Jesus Christ.