Dear Friends,

This past week, as the school year came to a close, our own school joined the flurry of activities of other schools which included graduations, among others. The last to graduate this past Monday in our own school, which caught my attention most, were the Little Lamb Preschoolers. As usual, I was fascinated by the simplicity and purity of love exhibited by these little souls which ranged from their often off-tune but passionate songs to their spontaneous genuine words of “I love you”.

Dear Friends,

Last week, I joined the Priests of the Diocese of Phoenix for a five-day silent retreat in Tucson. It was one of the best retreats I have had in recent years. One of my prayer focuses for this retreat was for our Perpetual Adoration Chapel whose construction has been delayed for nearly two years, to be approved by the City of Tempe. So, from the very beginning of the retreat, I asked the Lord to expedite the approval process for the building permit so that the construction of our Divine Mercy Adoration Chapel can commence. This was in addition to asking many of you individually and as a community to pray for this same intention for months.

Dear Friends,

When we look at the state of our world today, we can easily get discouraged. There are many reasons for this but one reason that is common and perhaps most apparent is the division we see in the world. We are technically more connected than ever before, more aware of our fellow man’s existence yet we seem to be just as divided as ever. Even within the Church we see this division. Division is nothing new, it’s been around since the fall of Adam and Eve when Adam blamed Eve for his sin. However, what we see in our modern era is a radical individualism, an idea that we must be reverenced as unique and distinct from all others and that our individual identity is more important than anything else.

Dear Friends,

I want to take this opportunity to thank those of you who participated in the just concluded Parish Census. I am glad to report that we have gathered great data through this exercise, and we are now ready to move forward to the Survey portion. Like I mentioned in my previous articles and video messages, I am very interested to hear your thoughts about our Parish namely, what you think we do well and sets us apart as Our Lady of Mt. Carmel; what you think we could improve on and what new things you desire to be introduced in order for our parish to continue thriving.