Dear Friends,

Does prayer change anything? That seems to be a question that some are asking in light of the awful massacre at the Supermarket in Buffalo. After such a diabolical mass shooting, many people said things such as, “we send our thoughts and prayers to the families.” Almost immediately, others declared that prayer is useless; after all, they reasoned, if prayer worked, the tragedy would never have occurred, especially in a place where people were praying. Fair enough.

We stand at the turning point. After almost 50years of defending the sanctity of human life it looks like we are poised for a long-awaited victory with the overturning of Roe v Wade. Granted this will not end abortion but it will demonstrate the faulty logic of Roe and the power of changing hearts and minds, one at a time.

Instead of Fr. John’s weekly letter, let’s play a little game! We’ll ask 25 Catholic trivia questions. If you get at least 18 of them right, bring your correct answers by Bernadette’s Brew after the 9:00am Mass and get a free cup of coffee! We will publish the answers on the last page of next week’s bulletin. Get ready…. Get set… Go!

Dear Friends,

When I was young (er), I was Dustin Hoffman - or at least people thought I was. People would ask me if I was, and sometimes I would even give my autograph. Ironically, I also worked for a lady named Mrs. Robinson, strictly business relationship, of course. Actually, she was Jewish, but “Jesus loves you more than you will know.” I thought of this when I saw a rerun of the film “The Graduate” with Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft.

Dear Friends,

The Shroud of Turin is still, well shrouded in mystery. The Shroud is thought by many to be the burial cloth of Jesus. I say, “thought” because no one has ever been able to empirically prove that it is and no one has been able to prove that it isn’t. The Shroud of Turin is the most studied and investigated artifact on the planet. And despite the most sophisticated and highly technical scientific analysis it still refuses to yield its secrets.

Dear Friends,

And I came to believe in a power much higher than I I came to believe that I needed help to get by In childlike faith I gave in and gave him a try And I came to believe in a power much higher than I “Came to Believe” by Johnny Cash.

Welcome to all our members, part-time members, sometimes members, associate members, family members of members, not-so-sure-you’re-a-member members, Spring Training visitors and anyone who just wandered in on this Easter Sunday to see what Catholics do on an Easter Sunday.

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Dear Friends,

As we enter into the week we call Holy we begin with the crowds who sing “Hosanna’s” to Jesus as he enters Jerusalem but we will end the week with them by shouting “Crucify him”. There are moments when we want a Savior of our own making and moments when we reject the type of Savior that God offers us. How much do we want a God who comes to us on our terms yet spurn the God who comes to us on His terms?

Dear Friends, The AZ Legislature passed a bill that specifies that a “physician may not provide irreversible gender reassignment surgery to any individual who is under eighteen years of age," (The bill makes some exceptions, including in the case of someone born intersex.) And right on cue the media and the usual progressives they cheer for accused the Legislature of “targeting transgender children”. Well, no. The law doesn't target transgender children, it protects children, who cannot give full consent, from having their bodies permanently mutilated. We don't allow minors to purchase alcohol, tobacco, firearms, vote or be conscripted into military service because we understand that there is a developmental difference between children, teens and adults. So why would we allow them to have surgeries and treatments that are irreversible? Why is it OK for a minor to have a mastectomy or have their genitals surgically removed but not buy a six-pack?

Dear Friends,

Ash Wednesday throws a bucket of cold water on the culture. “Remember you are dust and unto dust you shall return” is just about as heretical as you can be in our culture. For the culture far from being non-religious is in fact very religious and dogmatic at that. It embraces not the faith of Christians but the faith of Peter Pan. The faith of Peter Pan simply states that those who age will die. The secret to immortality then is to remain perpetually a child, wishing on a star and having a Nanny to take of you.

Dear Friends,

This Third week of Lent let’s take a look at what I call the “Seven Habits of Highly Sinful People”. Also called the deadly or capital sins. They are rightly termed “capital” because they are first and foremost the foundations of all our sins and defects of character. And the Virtues are the way to overcome these sins and defeat them once for all.

Dear Friends,

I guess we are back to no longer asking for Russian dressing on our salads. After years of the Russiagate hoax, it’s back to maintaining a posture of “despise all things Russian” in order to prove your bona fides and be allowed in polite society. Now we have this: Anastasia, a movie about the legend of a Russian princess who escaped the murderous Bolsheviks, is now cancelled by Disney because it is about a Russian.

Dear Friends,

From our perspective from this side of the Atlantic, we scratch our heads and wonder why in the world does Russia want to invade Ukraine? The days of empires are long gone and the idea of self-determination for peoples and countries has long been established. So why?

The conflict and now war for Ukraine is rooted in a very long history that includes the rise and fall of empires, wars and ethnic strife, political machinations, Western leaders being out played in a geopolitical chess game but also includes the history of Christianity. Sadly, in many ways religion is at the center of this conflict.