Happy Sunday!

I can’t believe it’s been one year since I’ve arrived back in Flagstaff. It has been an incredible gift to be here, and I hope to be here for many more years. Thank you for welcoming me back so warmly and making this such an incredible year. I am so grateful to be here and to know each of you. This week we welcome our new parochial vicar, Fr. Michael Gilbert. While the office will be closed this week, you’ll be able to catch him at a daily Mass or two, and then on the weekend.

Happy Sunday!

We had a great week this past week with all the children present for Vacation Bible School. Thank you so much to all of our volunteers who helped to make this such a great week. As I mentioned last week in my letter, I would like to invite everyone to participate in the Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary beginning on August 6. The consecration is 33 days and involves various prayers each day. It will finish on September 8th, the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Happy Sunday!

Happy Father’s Day to all of the fathers in our parish. I hope it is a day of prayer, joy, and rest. It is always a gift to see you coming to Mass with your children and grandchildren. We know that all fatherhood is learned from God the Father who loves us first. This Sunday we hear about the parable of the mustard seed, that tiny seed that becomes the largest of all bushes. The many sacrifices of parents are their own mustard seed. We are grateful today for the sacrifices of the fathers in this community who desire to bear fruit in their families.

Happy Sunday!

This weekend we welcomed back Fr. Joseph Nguyen to celebrate Mass here as a priest! His ordination on June 1 was a beautiful experience. We give thanks to God for such a wonderful priest for our diocese. I want to thank everyone for being so kind, generous, and welcoming to Fr. Joseph this past year. He was a gift to our parish and I know he loves each of you very much. Thank you for your part in forming him for the priesthood.

Happy Sunday!

This weekend, on Saturday, was the ordination of Dcn. Joseph Nguyen to the priesthood. We are very excited to welcome him back next weekend, now Fr. Joseph, to celebrate the 4:30pm Mass. There will be a reception afterwards for everyone to greet him and receive a blessing.

Once I was at a meeting with representatives of various religions. On a coffee break, a man from another religion mused to me: “You know, with all our differences, all religions are really about being good people.” I lowered my cappuccino and said as warmly as I could, “That’s not what mine’s about.” His quizzical look begged for clarification. “Mine is about plunging into the life of God,” I said.

Happy Sunday!

Congratulations to all of our graduates in the parish. I know this has been a full weekend with lots of celebrations, the culmination of lots of hard work. We offer our prayers for our new graduates as they embark on the next stage of their journeys!

Happy Sunday!

A very happy Mother’s Day to all of the mothers in our community. We are so blessed by the gift of motherhood in life. I hope it's a relaxing day filled with gratitude for all of you!

We are very excited that Vacation Bible School is quickly approaching! Each year we have about 100 children attend, with many teens helping lead the week. If you have school age children or grandchildren we hope to see them there. If you’ve ever wanted to support the youth of the parish in their journey of faith this is a great way to help.

Happy Sunday!

I hope everyone has had a great week and been able to enjoy some sunshine! I’m so glad it's May and looking forward to the warmer weather. While Sacraments have been completed for the children and adults in the parish, we continue to have a full schedule. Next weekend will be Dcn. Joseph’s last weekend in the parish. He will return on Sat, Jun 8 to celebrate the 4:30pm Mass. Please continue to keep him in your prayers. The school year is starting to wind down but that also means getting ready for 8th grade graduation. Please pray for our students as they complete their school year.

Happy Sunday!

I hope everyone has had a good week. We’ve been advertising our parish pilgrimage to Italy this coming October. I hope you’re able to join us. It’s a great opportunity to visit the tomb of our parish patron St. Francis of Assisi, as well as, see the tomb of the great St. Padre Pío di Pietrelcina.

Happy Sunday!

Spring is doing it's best to break through and it is wonderful! I hope everyone is enjoying a bit of the warmer weather. It is great seeing our newly confirmed receiving Holy Communion regularly now! What a gift to our parish and the Church!

Happy Sunday!

This weekend we welcomed Bishop Nevares to confer Confirmation and give First Communion to nearly 100 of our children and adult candidates! Thank you for keeping them all in your prayers! A special thanks to our staff and their teams for preparing everyone for their Sacraments. What a beautiful day!

This Sunday is the last day in the Octave of Easter. I want to offer a big thank you to all of our volunteers and staff who made Holy Week and Easter Sunday such a success! On Holy Thursday we opened Nativity and OLG for adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. It was great to see so many people making a pilgrimage around Flagstaff. I am especially grateful to our sacristans who helped decorate the altars. I also want to thank the Knights of Columbus and Porters of St. Joseph who were present to make sure we had a safe evening. Our choirs, ushers, and church decorators who gave a lot of their time and energy to make our liturgies beautiful, and I am especially thankful to them as well.