Next weekend begins October … and the stores are full of Halloween decorations. It is a sad commentary that now many people spend more money and time decorating for Halloween than for Christmas. Do we celebrate fear and evil more than we celebrate blessings and saints? Remember, the day after Halloween is the Feast of All Saints, which is a Holy Day of Obligation to attend Mass.

I have some great news! First of all, in the past two years, we had 194 new families register in our parish. Welcome to all of you and we are so happy to have you. Thank you for registering. I hope you can attend some of the events this year so you can get to know other parishioners.

Secondly, as of September 2, the cost for our parish magazine is down to $275 per month. Thank you to all of our advertisers, just a few more and the magazine will be free for the parish! Also, thank you Ryan and our staff members who solicit ads.

One of the comments I hear from visitors and new members is that we are a very welcoming community. What a great reputation to have! I want to thank all of you, especially our greeters outside and our ushers inside who make everyone feel so special.

Our “part-time” members will be returning soon. Please make them feel important to us as well. I always look forward to this time of year as they return to us and help us worship our wonderful God.

I hope that you are all enjoying our parish magazine, Clairvaux Community Life. If you are not receiving it please call Nancy or Ryan in the office to be sure you are registered and we have the correct address for you. We recently took a survey of your reactions and it was very positive. Almost 70% rated it excellent or good and over 70% said they read every issue.

I know many of us have forgotten our Diocesan Capital Campaign, Together Let us Go Forth, but it is still collecting pledges. I thank those of you who continue to honor your pledge by sending in your donation to the Diocese. As you may remember, we receive 35% of your donation; it is sent to us twice a year from the money received by the Diocese. I am happy to announce we have just received $13,000 from your donations these past 6 months.

Welcome home for many of you who have been away on vacation; with schools starting it is time to return even if it is hot and humid. Of course, that means that many parish programs and activities are preparing to start as well.

I was in Mexico the last week of July with some students from California visiting Nuestros Pequesnos Hermanos. I was amazed how careful they are in Mexico with the Covid-19 virus. Many of us have become a bit complacent about the virus even as it continues to evolve and spread. Even if you are “vaxed” and “boosted” it is still possible to spread the virus to others.

This will be an historic week for us as we install the 5th bishop of the diocese of Phoenix. Please pray for Bishop Dolan, for Bishop Olmsted, and for our diocese. God has led us through His Holy Spirit for all these years and it is exciting to see what God has in store for us in our future.

It is hard to believe it is almost August. That means schools will be starting soon and families will be back from vacations. It is always a transition time for many in our community: starting school for the first time, moving on to high school or college, and for parents this is also a time of change. Please remember all of our families in your prayers during these exciting and challenging times.

I was recently moved during my morning prayers by a passage from St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. In chapter 4 he begins by saying, “Bear with one another charitable, incomplete selflessness, gentleness, and patience.” After prayer, I tuned on the news before going to Mass to see if anything important had happened during the night. What I saw was a commercial for a political candidate, and then another one, and even a third. I want back to read all of chapter 4 of Ephesians.

I know many of us are tired of hearing about Covid-19, but it is still with us and there are people who are still very concerned and cautious. We always want to respect those parishioners.

When someone says to me that they haven’t been to church since the virus broke out, and that they miss communion, I always remind them that we have a very large church and there is usually space to sit apart especially at the 5:00pm and 7:30am Masses. However, all our Masses are getting fuller even during these summer months.

I don’t need to remind you that Monday is the Fourth of July, our Independence Day. Yes, it is a day to celebrate and be joyful. It is also a day to be very thankful for what we have received from our ancestors and from our God. It is definitely not a time to take our life for granted.

Like many of our ancestors, we are in a difficult time, and it is a time to focus on what is important. It is not a time to give up hope. Our country has been through worse times than these. It was the people of those times who brought us through them. Now it is our turn.