Solemnity of All Saints

10-31-2020Weekly ReflectionFr. James Aboyi

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints which allows us to experience the joy of being part of the great family of God’s friends. The liturgy again presents the expression full of surprise of the Apostle John: “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are” (1 John 3:1).

Yes, to be saints means to realize fully what we already are insofar as raised in Christ Jesus to the dignity of adopted sons and daughters of God. He who believes in Christ, the Son of God, is reborn. This mystery is enacted in the sacrament of baptism, through which Mother Church gives birth to “saints.”

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Gospel Reflection

10-24-2020Weekly ReflectionFr. James Aboyi

With less than two weeks to the General Election, the scripture readings this weekend are very timely. The readings capture the essence of Catholic Social Teaching: to respect human dignity, to care for the poor and vulnerable, and to maintain social justice for all. In the Gospel, Jesus talks about three levels of love we have for God and one another. In the first reading, God gives us a practical example of how we can demonstrate these levels of love for our neighbors by loving and showing compassion for the poor, the immigrant, and all vulnerable people in society. The reading identifies the most vulnerable people in the Old Testament as the immigrants, the poor and the widows. In our own time, the most vulnerables in our society are the infants in the womb, the elderly, the homeless, the poor and the immigrants.

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Pope Francis’s Comment on Homosexuals

10-23-2020Weekly Flocknote MessageFr. James Aboyi, V.C.

A number of our parishioners contacted me during the week seeking clarifications on Pope Francis’s comment regarding gay marriage. I guess most of us are aware of the news storm that came out on Wednesday, alleging that Pope Francis has endorsed the marriage. I was initially surprised like many others to hear such news suddenly. However, after reading the news and listening to explanations from different sources, I realized that it appeared his comment was not exactly as the news media portrayed it.

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Gospel Reading

10-17-2020Weekly ReflectionFr. James Aboyi

Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s” (Matthew 22:21). This Bible quotation from our Gospel reading today is a popular one among politicians. This is because many people consider it as the origin of the idea of separation of Church and State. Surprisingly, many people use this term of separation of Church and State loosely when, in fact, they are actually referring to separation of religion and State. There is a big difference between the two. Many people confuse this to mean that religious leaders have no right to condemn unjust civil laws and practices, or the right to request the government to address injustice in the society. Many people who argue on this do not even bother to check and see what the Constitution of the United States actually says. Here is the actual quote from the Constitution:

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Rising with Christ

10-16-2020Weekly Flocknote MessageFr. James Aboyi, V.C.

I am glad to inform you that, after a careful evaluation of the downward trend in the spread of the Coronavirus in recent time, and following the requirements of the Arizona Health Department, Bishop Olmsted has now granted us permission to extend our Mass attendance from 25% to 35% sitting capacity of our Church. This will begin this weekend. This is a significant progress and one more step in the right direction as we gradually move toward the complete restoration of parish life.

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Reflections

10-10-2020Weekly ReflectionFr. James Aboyi

There has been so much talk about the uniqueness and importance of the Presidential Election this year. What caught my attention is the projection about the impact of religious affiliation in the outcome of the election. The Catholic Church in particular has received more attention than any other religious group in recent times. Religious identity has always been the bedrock and a key factor that determines the core values and direction of any society and culture. Thus, a society either leans toward religious and moral values or is secularized and embraces moral relativism. Looking around the world, we see how the dynamic of religion versus secularism is playing out in different societies.

A recent study conducted by Gallup shows that the percentage of Americans who reported belonging to a church, synagogue or mosque or any religion is at an all-time low. The study further indicated that church attendance has dropped more among Catholics than among Protestants. It is no longer news that the largest “denomination” in the United States today are the “NONE,” that is, those who do not affiliate with any religious denomination at all.

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Quick Update

10-09-2020Weekly Flocknote MessageFr. James Aboyi, V.C.

It’s great to be back at the parish. For the past 12 days, I attended the International Catholic Stewardship Council Annual Conference (ICSC). I consider myself blessed to be selected by the Diocese to be among the few priests who were invited to attend the conference. The overall focus of the conference this year were the themes of Discipleship, Evangelization, Stewardship and Mission. The goal was for the participants to listen to different professionals and share resources available to develop new strategies to adapt and minister effectively in the current situation we find ourselves. It was good for me to hear from so many presenters from around the country, and to know that we, in our parish community, are not alone in dealing with the stress arising from the current political tension, economic stress and the Pandemic. Over the next few weeks I will be meeting with our parish staff and others to discuss some of the new ideas I have learned from the conference in order to discern the best pastoral strategies that will meet the needs of our parish.

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Gospel Reflection

10-03-2020Weekly ReflectionFr. James Aboyi

The parable of tenants in the Gospel today tells us of God’s patience and justice. It also invites us to reflect on our responsibility to accomplish the mission God entrusted to us in life and the consequences of failing to do God’s WILL. We are told the landowner was patient with the tenants and forgave them several times. However, rather than appreciating this virtue, the tenants took advantage of the owner’s patience. In the end, his judgment and justice prevailed on the tenants.

This passage reminds us that we must all face the consequences of our choices in life at the end time. This parable raises a number of questions for us. We ask ourselves, “How patient am I with other people and even with myself? Do I take God’s mercy and love for granted? Do I ignore or underrate God?” We learn from this story that God gives everyone enough time to accomplish our mission in life. His patience with us is boundless and God is always ready to give us another chance to repent and amend our lives. We must all render an account to God on how well we lived our life and face the consequence of all our actions in life at the end of time. Let us strive to seek the will of God, trusting in his love and mercy, and unlike the tenants, be mindful of his generous blessings.

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October Devotion

10-02-2020Weekly Flocknote MessageFr. James Aboyi, V.C.

Welcome to the beautiful month of October. The month of October is quite unique for several reasons. Living here in Arizona, the month of October has become one of my most favorite months of the year, mostly because of the beautiful weather that is neither too hot or too cold. In the Catholic Church, the month of October is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Month of the Rosary, commonly known as “October Devotion.” The Church encourages every Catholic to make an effort to pray the Rosary every day throughout the month of October. There is a very rich history behind the October Devotion. This can be traced back to the origin of the Rosary in 1206. At that time, the Church was in crisis as the result of the influence of Albigensian heresy. It was then that the Blessed Mother introduced the Rosary to St. Dominic in a vision as a powerful weapon to defeat the heresy that plagued the Church.

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Gospel Reading

09-26-2020Weekly ReflectionFr. James Aboyi

The Catholic radio station, Relevant Radio 1310AM, used to have a program called, Cradle vs Convert. That is, people who were born into Catholic families versus those who experienced a profound conversion into the faith. The Gospel reading today is a good illustration of these two groups of people in the Church. The parable also represents people who experience a sudden growth in their spiritual lives. Like the first son in this Gospel, there are many people who say Yes to God at their Baptism and grow up in the faith, but later abandon their relationship with God or do not take their faith seriously. The second son represents people who do not believe in God early on, but later experience a conversion of the heart and become faithful followers of Christ.

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Keeping Our Hopes High

09-25-2020Weekly Flocknote MessageFr. James Aboyi, V.C.

I can’t believe it is already three weeks now since we reopened our SJB school for in-person classes. We are still operating a hybrid model with over 90% of our students currently attending classes on campus. I thank God everyone is doing well, both in the school and here in the parish. We have observed an increase in Mass attendance here in the parish for the past few weeks. It is so wonderful to hear in the news about the consistent declining rate of COVID-19 cases. As we look forward to returning back to our normal life and routine, I encourage everyone to patiently continue to observe all the health and safety precautions. Let us resist the temptation of hastily abandoning the safety precautions so as to avoid a sudden spike in new cases.

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Reflection on the Readings

09-19-2020Weekly ReflectionFr. James Aboyi

The parable of the landowner and laborers in the Gospel today speaks loudly to us with the current unprecedented, high-rate of unemployment as a result of the pandemic. Not having a job or the ability to provide for family needs is one of the most challenging situations in which we can find ourselves. The scripture readings today are centered on the generosity of God and the depth of his love and mercy for us that is beyond our human comprehension. The landowner in the Gospel story represents God. He was not only generous enough to hire people to work in his vineyard, but he personally went out in search of workers and offered them job opportunities. This illustrates how God, in his generosity, sent his son to search for us and gave his life for us. Jesus invites us to serve God in his vineyard, the Church. It is not by our personal effort or merit that we belong to the Church. Everyone of us was invited by Jesus Christ into the vineyard at different times and in different ways.

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Catechetical Sunday

09-18-2020Weekly Flocknote MessageFr. James Aboyi, V.C.

This weekend we celebrate Catechetical Sunday, the day each year when all Catechists are commissioned and sent forth by our parish community to lead others closer to Christ. This year's theme, “I Received from the Lord what I also Handed on to You,” focuses on the important and beautiful work of those who help pass on the faith and are witnesses to the Gospel. The theme emphasizes that our faith is a lived faith, inspiring all to be witnesses of the true and living God. Since Catechists are often the instruments through which many come to encounter Christ, they have a unique role of keeping people connected to the life of the parish.

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Congratulations

09-12-2020Weekly ReflectionFr. James Aboyi

Congratulations to all of you on our performance in the Offertory Matching Opportunity! I am so excited to inform you that we exceeded our matching goal of $29,700 by 152%. The total new offertory increase donation is $45,231. This means that $29,700 of this amount will be matched, dollar for dollar, making a total of $74,931 increased donation to our parish within the months of July and August. The new increase in Offertory ($45,231) within July and August represents an average monthly increase of $23,000 in offertory and we expect this trend to continue. This is all from 172 of our parish families (84 new online givers and 88 increased givers) that participated in the matching appeal. The matching gift check from the donor will be mailed to us in the month of October. I understand that a few families participated right before the deadline on August 31st. I will give you more updates next week to include those new gifts.

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Congratulations!

09-11-2020Weekly Flocknote MessageFr. James Aboyi, V.C.

Congratulations to Frank Polimene on his election as the Vice President of the Parish Pastoral Council during our last council meeting. Frank is an active member of our parish and serves in different ministries. He joined the Council just over a year ago. Our Parish Council policy states that the Vice President automatically becomes the President the following year. Going by that, Frank will become the next president of the Council beginning July 2021.

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Reflection on the Gospel

09-05-2020Weekly ReflectionFr. James Aboyi

The Scripture Readings this weekend invite us to examine our prophetic roles as individuals and as a community; specifically, our responsibility in reconciliation and fraternal correction within our families and in the community. In the First and Second Readings, we are told the responsibility of correcting a member who strays away from the faith is not a choice, but an obligation placed on us by God. This is countercultural to our generation, o[ en characterized by the attitude of, “Who am I to judge?” The overall goal as explained in the Readings, is that we are not called to judge a member who strayed from God or condemn them, but rather help them heal and restore their relationship as a member of the Body of Christ.

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Congratulations!

09-04-2020Weekly Flocknote MessageFr. James Aboyi, V.C.

Congratulations to all of you on our performance in the Offertory Matching Opportunity! I am so excited to inform you that we exceeded our matching goal of $29,700 by 152%. The total new offertory increase donation is $45,231. This means that $29,700 of this amount will be matched, dollar for dollar, making a total of $74,700 increased donation to our parish within the months of July and August. The new increase in Offertory ($45,231) within July and August represents an average monthly increase of $23,000 in offertory and we expect this trend to continue. This is all from 172 of our parish families (84 new online givers and 88 increased givers) that participated in the matching appeal. The matching gift check from the donor will be mailed to us in the month of October. I understand that a few families participated right before the deadline on August 31st. I will give you more updates next week to include those new givings.

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