A man looking a bit downtrodden approached me as I filled my car's gas tank. He asked, "May I share with you my testimony about how good God is?" "OK," I skeptically answered. He went on to tell me that he had been an alcoholic and drug addict, and that God had healed him; now he was four years sober. He said, "I didn't deserve it, but now I'm a different person. God is so good! Have a terrific Tuesday!" A few minutes later, as I drove away, I saw him smiling and handing a homeless person some money. I was confronted with a choice: either he was a total fraud or God had changed him. Something had happened to him, and it didn't seem fake. Maybe it was God.

Happy Sunday!

This Sunday we are so glad to welcome Fr. Michael Niemczak as he leads our parish mission. Fr. Michael is a classmate of mine from seminary. We studied together for three years at the Josephinum in Ohio and then four years at the North American College in Rome. He is a priest of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe currently serving at Mount Angel Seminary in Oregon. We hope you are able to join for some or all of the mission.

St. Thomas Aquinas said that friends share three things: time, possessions, and secrets. For example, how do I know if you're my friend? Well, let's say we've been to Mexico together, you've tried my shaky attempts at pasta carbonara, and you know what ridiculous costume I wore in a music video I filmed in my early twenties. We, dear reader, are definitely friends. We've shared time, possessions, and secrets.

One of the most fascinating moments in American history is when George Washington could have become the king of the newly liberated United States and didn't. At the height of his power and fame, on Dec. 23, 1783, he resigned his commission as Commander-in-Chief, and went home. The astonished King of England remarked that in doing so, Washington was "the greatest man in the world." Greatness is often defined by what we could do but don't. Greatness is measured by the temptations we overcome.

Happy Sunday!

Well, at long last Ash Wednesday has arrived. We have a full slate of Masses and Liturgies of the Word where you can come and pray and receive ashes. Lent begins a time of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

Happy Sunday!

I'm currently reading a book called The Contemplative Hunger by Fr. Donald Haggerty. It's a very nice book about the contemplative life and prayer. At the beginning of one of the chapters, Fr. Haggerty offers the reader a quote by the philosopher Josef Pieper which struck me deeply: "The greatest menace to our capacity for contemplation is the incessant fabrication of tawdry, empty stimuli which kill the receptivity of the soul."

Happy Sunday!

As many of you know, we are in the midst of a Jubilee Year. Ordinary Jubilee Years happen every 25 years. Sometimes the Holy Father will call an Extraordinary Jubilee Year, as he did in 2016 for the Year of Mercy. This year, being 2025, is an Ordinary Jubilee Year. It is an opportunity for renewal and deepening of faith. The beginning of each Jubilee Year is marked by the pope opening the Jubilee Door. The specific door is at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, but there are many other designated doors throughout Italy and the world. In our diocese, Bishop Dolan has designated seven Holy Doors. The closest one to us is at the Chapel of the Holy Cross in Sedona.

Happy Sunday!

    I hope everyone has had a great week. This Sunday we resume Ordinary Time after celebrating the Presentation of the Lord last Sunday. Our Gospel presents us with the great catch of fish by the disciples and the Lord's invitation to follow Him.

   What is the secret to sharing in God's power to overcome our difficulties? Mary teaches us this in the prophecy of her pierced heart. This Sunday, the old man Simeon prophecies that when her son faces opposition, Mary's soul will be pierced by a sword. The seemingly pointless agony of a mother helplessly watching her son be mocked, tortured, killed and then cruelly desecrated in death by a spear - somehow this piercing of her heart releases a power by which "the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed" (Luke 2:35). What to make of this?

A young couple in my parish told me they were expecting their second child, a baby boy. I knew that their five-year-old only child, Emma, had been desperately wanting to be a big sister for years, so I said, "Emma must have been so happy when you told her the news." "Actually," they said, "she burst into tears. She wanted a baby sister!" How often in life God wonderfully fulfills our desires, and we are sad because we don't approve of the way He does it. We want to control the gift and the delivery method.

Happy Sunday,

I hope everyone had a good week. I am out until the end of January taking some vacation before gearing up for Lent. It feels like the Christmas season just ended (which it did) and now we're thinking about Lent (or maybe just me). In any case, the liturgical year continues to gain speed. This year during Lent, we will once more have a parish mission. We are pleased to welcome Fr. Michael Niemczak from the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. He currently works at Mount Angel Seminary in Oregon. The mission will be a similar format to last year with identical talks in the morning and evening from March 24-26. We hope you can join us.

Happy Sunday,

This Sunday we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord and with this celebration the Christmas season comes to a close. After we have celebrated the Holy Family and Epiph- any, the Church skips to the adulthood of Jesus to meditate on His baptism. For us, baptism cleanses us of original sin and any sin we had already committed. Jesus did not have original sin nor any other sin, so why is He baptized?

Happy Sunday,

A very happy New Year to everyone! I hope it was a good week and you were able to enjoy the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, as well as ring in the New Year. While we celebrated the liturgical New Year a month ago with the beginning of Advent, we now begin a new calendar year which once more gives us fresh eyes and energy to approach the coming 12 months. I pray that each of you has been able to enjoy the Christmas season and hopefully get a bit of rest.