Dear Brothers and Sisters,

How did you cope with missing the Eucharistic Celebration during the weekend? The most common feedback I heard from some of our parishioners this week was that the current restriction from public parish Liturgies and events has awakened in them an appreciation and desire for the Eucharist, our parish community and a deeper relationship with God. The hunger for the Lord and longing for community celebration are feelings that can actually make us grow stronger in our faith. This is one way we can make sense of the current crisis when something good comes out of an apparent evil. To me, our faith at this time is like the parable of the mustard seed which a man took and planted in the soil. He sleeps and rises, nights and days pass and the seed grows but he knows not how (Mark 4:26-29).

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Dear Parishioners,

Please know that my prayers are with you as we go through this very difficult time of social distancing to contain the spread of the Coronavirus. I know most of us were very devastated when we heard the directive from the Diocese restricting all Masses and parish events involving more than 10 persons. I am sure, for most of us, this is the first time in our lives that we have experienced anything like this. I pray it will be the last time we will be told we cannot go to Mass, especially when we really want to attend. While this is a very painful experience, we can still thank God that the restrictions are not permanent and are not directed toward any particular religion. This is a stressful time for all of us. Be aware of some fake news sources out there that spread rumors and unrealistic fear about the virus. I suggest you pay attention only to the authentic news sources and authorities, such as the new diocesan website created to monitor information and directives on the pandemic (https://dphx.org/StayHealthy/) . Other reliable news sources include the Center for Disease Control, Arizona Department of Health Services, Arizona Department of Education and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

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A very big thank you to everyone for a very successful Rummage Sale this weekend. Special thanks to the planning committee, those who donated items and those who participated at the sale. The turnout was very impressive this year. We also received a significantly high number of donated items beyond the capacity of our storage space this year. We are in the process of assessing the total income and expenses from the event. I will report to you when the calculations are completed.

Parish Lenten Mission

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Together Let Us Go Forth ~ Juntos Sigamos Adelante Update

We are excited to have a parish progress report to share with you. Together we have great cause to celebrate! Thank you to all who have so generously supported our parish, the Together Let Us Go Forth~Juntos Sigamos Adelante Campaign, and the Living our Faith, Building Our Home Campaign. I am glad to inform you that this week we received our first disbursement from the Together Let Us Go Forth ~ Juntos Sigamos Adelante Campaign. Thanks to your generous support, we received $37,000. Your witness and dedication of evangelization and discipleship is encouraging.

Through your generosity, we received $654,562 in pledges to support the work of discipleship and evangelization throughout our Diocese, as well as providing funding to support: (1) the purchase of pews for our new church, (2) the remodel and reconfigure of our existing building to better fit our needs beginning with the structural expansion of the St. Vincent de Paul pantry, (3) the purchase of the main crucifix for the new church, (4) the establishment of a tuition assistance program at St. John Bosco School, and (5) upgrading the telephone system at St. John Bosco School.

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