Dear Friends,

On September 15 the Adoration Chapel team went before the Diocesan Building Committee to seek approval for our project. It is their responsibility to review all parish construction proposals. They offered a few helpful suggestions and then unanimously agreed we could move forward with the Chapel.

Dear Friends, 

Our parish Youth Ministry launched its opening events this week—Life Teen night for High Schoolers and Edge for the Junior High children. I want to honor our Youth Minister, Miguel Nuñez, who has done a very good job in organizing the program and forming a team.

Dear Friends,

This weekend we inaugurate our Teen Mass on Sunday night, followed by the Life Teen program. I am very grateful to all those who have (and are) helping to re-formulate our outreach to our Junior High and High School youth. We all know the profound challenges they face in our highly politicized, secular culture. But we trust in the superior power of the Gospel and the Love of God to change people’s hearts.

Dear Friends,

The Atlantic, a prestigious magazine based in Washington, D.C., recently published an article entitled “How Extremist Gun Culture is Trying to Co-opt the Rosary.” Written by Canadian Daniel Panneton, it was heavy on conspiracy theory and identitarian hysteria, and very light on facts (let alone theological accuracy).

Dear Friends,

One of the main issues dividing Christians from non-believers—and even Christians from other Christians—is abortion. Is it a human being? Or does the mother have the right to decide to end the child’s life?

Dear Friends,

One theme that is consistent among Bishops, Catholic commentators, authors and observers of the Church in the 21st century, is the need for all Catholics to be actively engaged in sharing our faith. Our efforts need to be directed to fallen away Catholics or to anyone who is seeking God.

Dear Friends,

As most of you know, Pope Francis has appointed Bishop John Dolan as the 5th Bishop of our 52-year-old Diocese. Before coming here, Bishop Dolan was the Auxiliary Bishop of San Diego and is a native of the San Diego area.

As with all major moments in our Catholic Church, the transfer of authority from Bishop Olmsted to Bishop Dolan, was a beautiful and tradition-laden event. It began the evening before his formal Installation (August 1st) with Solemn Vespers at the Cathedral. Priests, Deacons and their wives and all religious men and women were invited. At 5:30pm, when the church was silent, we heard 3 loud knocks on the main door. It was Bishop Dolan; he was following a long-standing tradition of rapping on the door as if to say, ‘let me in to take charge of my Cathedral’ (the bishop’s parish).

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.”)