Dear Friends,

As many of you know, Catholics in the U.S. have begun a 3-year campaign to help us all better understand and embrace the great gift of the Holy Eucharist. Deacon Dave Knebelsberger, and a group he has assembled, are praying about and planning a variety of ways to help us all to achieve this goal. We will be joining in all that our new Bishop proposes to the parishes, but I would like to see OLMC experience a Eucharistic Revival with our own initiatives as well. More details to follow.

Dear Friends,

Thanks to all of you who made our Patronal Feast day a great success. The St Theresa Group and Sr Maria Isabel for all of their planning; the Knights for providing a great dinner on Saturday night; our St Vincent de Paul Chapter for ice cream galore; Donna Higgins for the beautiful OLMC banner; our new statue of OLMC provided by a generous parishioner; to all of the children who processed into Mass with flowers for our Blessed Mother; the Living Rosary Group, Sodality, the Evangelization Team, the Ushers and our Maintenance Staff; to all of the generous parishioners who helped with set up and tear down; and (despite the risk of seeming self-serving) to the Still Waters Band for providing the music on Saturday night. And to anyone I’ve omitted to mention, Thank You!

Dear Friends,

My dear brothers and sisters, I extend my love and gratitude for each of you on this Solemnity of our Patroness, Our Lady of Mt Carmel. Because the Church understands the profound importance of honoring the parish patron, we are able to supersede the given Sunday readings and prayers for this date with those for Our Lady of Mt Carmel.

Dear Friends,

The euphoria of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on June 24th overturning the 1973 decision Roe v. Wade as well as the 1992 decision Planned Parenthood v. Casey is starting to subside. Nonetheless, all Catholics--all Americans--who believe in the sanctity of human life are deeply grateful that this court rectified the egregious and deeply consequential errors of that decision. But we cannot assume that the battle is over. In some ways, it has only just begun. (I heard one commentator quote Winston Churchill after the Allies finally won a battle at El Alamein: “This is not the end; nor is it the beginning of the end; but it is end of the beginning.”)

Dear Friends,

Next Friday we will be hosting the praise and worship team, The Well. They are a group of young adult Catholics who travel to different parishes leading the community in contemporary praise music, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and an exhortation on the Word of God. We are blessed to have them come to OLMC and share their love of God and talents with us. What they do is very similar to what Life Teen calls XLT nights. It is a time to worship the Lord in the Spirit and allow Him to move in powerful ways among us.

Dear Friends,

Miguel Nuñez, our new Youth Minister, has settled in and is making plans to restart a youth ministry here at OLMC. We will be using the Life Teen/Edge models for both high school and junior high students. Our Sunday 5:00pm Mass will be the liturgical focus for the high schoolers, so those who attend that Mass can expect the music to be a little more upbeat and (hopefully) attractive to the teens.

To be successful in evangelizing and discipling our young people, Miguel will need several volunteers for the core teams, preparing meals, helping with logistics, etc. If you want to be a part of this outreach to the youth of our parish, please contact Miguel at miguel@olmctempe.com.

Dear Friends,

Next week is the Feast of Corpus Christi, where we give thanks to God for granting us the Gift of the Holy Eucharist. It is also the beginning of the three-year Eucharistic Revival initiative, sponsored by the American Bishops. The purpose of the Revival is to fortify us against the storm we are facing in the culture and our Church by uniting us once again around the source and summit of our faith--the Holy Eucharist. We will keep you informed as the process unfolds. You can also sign up on the website to find out more and to receive updates directly:

www.eucharisticrevival.org/mission-vision-and-timeline

Dear Friends,

A blessed Memorial Day weekend to you. Although not formally declared a National Holiday until 1971, the custom of honoring our deceased military originated after the Civil War. It is right and fitting for all of us, who have benefited from the sacrifices made by these fallen soldiers, should honor them in gratitude for their patriotism and courage. Next weekend is Pentecost, the day on which we commemorate the Holy Spirit descending upon the Apostles gathered in the Upper Room. Like Easter - which finds its origins in the Jewish Feast of Passover, the events of Pentecost fell on the Jewish Feast of Shavuot or the Feast of Weeks. Originally intended to celebrate the harvest, this feast evolved into a celebration of the reception of the Torah, God’s Holy Word.

Dear Friends,

At the back of the Sanctuary, on the ambo side, you will notice a small wooden cabinet attached to the wall. It holds the three jars of Holy Oils that we use throughout the year in the sacraments of Baptism, Anointing of the Sick and Confirmation.

This cabinet, officially known as an Ambry (from the Latin word armarium, for closet) can be found in most Catholic Churches. In older churches it is recessed into the wall, but in most newer churches you will see one like ours, prominently displayed. Ours was built by the same company that made our ambo, matching the wood, the stain and brass accents. My “thanks” to the parishioners who donated the funds.

Dear Friends,

I want to invite you to come on Sunday (this) afternoon to listen to the beautiful classical sonatas of the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary performed by Esther Witherell on violin, accompanied by harpsichord. These pieces, composed in the 16th century, will inspire you in their beauty and spiritual depth. Please, do not miss this opportunity to experience a small piece of our rich tradition of Catholic liturgical music.

Dear Friends, I want to wish all of the moms in our parish a blessed and joyful Mother’s Day. It is right and fitting that we should set aside one Sunday a year to honor all mothers for the continual sacrifice and loving care they give to their children - regardless of the children’s age. Thank you for mirroring God’s unconditional love to all of us by the way you love and care for your family. This is the Fourth Sunday of Easter, also known as Good Shepherd Sunday. Each year on this day the Church gives us the passage from John’s Gospel where Jesus declares Himself to be our Shepherd. He uses the metaphor of the shepherd to assure us of how well he knows us and his determination to provide for all of our needs. With the Good Shepherd in view, I think that the following (summarized) article, by Sr. Theresa Aletheia, is timely (published on Aleteia.org on 7/5/2016).

Dear Friends,

I am writing this letter during Easter Week, still experiencing the joy and gratitude for all that we commemorated so beautifully last week.

I trust that you are aware of our new Pastoral Council. On April 2 we gathered to pray and discern the needs of the parish and to determine which ones to tackle first. The process clearly revealed the love the council members have for their parish and their desire to see OLMC flourish. Everyone understood that we have to balance our efforts between fostering community and spiritual growth with outreach to those who need to be invited back to the Church as well as those who need to discover the Lord of Lords for the first time.