Happy Fourth of July

06-30-2019Weekly ReflectionFr. James Aboyi

Happy Independence Day!

Wishing you all a very Happy 4th of July on Thursday of this week! As we celebrate the 242 years of independence, we thank God and ask for more blessings and protection for our country. Let us also remember the heroes who gave their lives to give us the freedom and prosperity that we enjoy today. On a personal note, this week has been a special week to me for several reasons. I can’t believe that one year has already gone by since I came to St. Benedict Parish. I will be one year old in this parish on July 1st this week. Coincidentally, I will also be 15 years old as a priest on Wednesday, July 3rd. I thank God who, in His wonderful way, has led me thousands of miles from Africa to live with you here in this parish community. I also thank you for accepting me and making me feel welcome and at home.

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The Solemnity of Corpus Christi

06-23-2019Weekly ReflectionFr. James Aboyi

Dear Parishioners,

Love the Heat!

Finally, beginning this weekend, the summer is officially here upon us! Having lived here in Arizona for several years now, it is obvious to me that summer is the most challenging time for churches as we deal with empty pews and increasing bills. Recently, out of curiosity, I decided to read some articles to find out about the impact of summer on people’s mood, attitudes and general behaviors, especially here in Arizona. The findings were very interesting. Most studies showed a high correlation between summer and a rise in anger, rage and violence. It is good to be conscious of these facts and pay attention to our mood during the summer time. However, interestingly, I found a few studies that indicated that many people actually look forward to summer for several reasons such as shopping, pool parties, beautiful monsoon storms, less traffic and cheap hotels. I often tell people not to dread coming to Mass during the summer because, by the grace of God through the generosity of our parishioners, we will continue to cool the church and make it comfortable for everyone. We thank God we live at a time when we all have air-conditioning units in our houses, vehicles and churches.

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Happy Father's Day

06-16-2019Weekly ReflectionFr. James Aboyi

Dear Parishioners,

I wish all fathers in our parish community a Happy Fathers' Day! It is hard to talk about fathers and their roles in the family these days without sounding old-fashioned. However, on this Father's Day, it is good to remind ourselves that, in spite of all the changes in our society, the father always remains a very essential figure in the ideal Christian family. Studies have shown that the crisis of faith among many people today is mostly related to their early life experiences in which a good relationship with a loving father figure was missing. This is essentially because the relationship we have with our earthly fathers often mirrors our relationship with our Heavenly Father, God. Let us pray for all fathers today that they remain faithful to their vocation as fathers and be good role models for their children and society.

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Happy Birthday to the Catholic Church!

06-09-2019Weekly ReflectionFr. James Aboyi

The Solemnity of Pentecost that we celebrate today is often referred to as the "Birthday of the Catholic Church." This is because the Church actually started on this day when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles and gave them the power and courage to go out and preach the Good News to everyone. As we heard in our First Reading today, when the Holy Spirit came and rested on the Apostles, they were all so overwhelmed with the power of the Holy Spirit that they boldly went out of the temple and began to preach in the streets without fear of anyone. From then on, the Apostles and anyone who believed in Jesus were never again allowed to worship in the Jewish temple on the Sabbath day. Therefore, the Apostles gathered together to celebrate the Eucharist on the first day of every week (Sunday) with St. Peter as the first leader of the group (Mt 16:18).

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Ascension of The Lord

--All

Today we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord, which marks the end of his physical presence with his disciples. It is never easy to say “goodbye” to loved ones. However, the Good News with the Ascension of our Lord is that Jesus actually prepared his disciples very well for this moment. In the past week during the daily Masses, we read about how he prepared his disciples by instructing them to stay united in love. He also told them that he would send the Holy Spirit to be with them. Jesus’ ascension into heaven was both a sad and a joyful moment for his disciples. While they were sad that Jesus was leaving them, they also looked forward to the coming of the Holy Spirit who would lead, guide and strengthen them to bear witness to him to the ends of the earth. Jesus also assured them that he would be with them, always, to the end of time (Matthew 28:20).

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