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.