The Church has three Sacraments of Initiation—Baptism, Confirmation, and Communion—that confer on the recipient full membership in the community. The process begins, of course, with Baptism. The historical roots of baptism can be found to a small degree in the purification rite ancient Judaism had for those gentiles wishing to convert. To a greater degree, the Christian idea of baptism finds its beginnings in the ministry of John the Baptist, especially in his baptism of Jesus.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix celebrated a special Mass on October 17th at Saint Thomas the Apostle Parish in Phoenix and shared it via live-stream to begin the synodal process within our diocese in union with the whole Catholic Church.

Do you know how your neighbors are doing? Have you checked on the wellness of people that previously sat near you in church? Are you one of the people reading this who still has not returned to church?

Christians carry the burden of caring for one another. Thank God our churches have more people now inside for Mass, but we are still way down from normal attendance. Our priests, deacons and lay staff members have tried over the past two years, especially to call upon parishioners to see how they are doing.

This summary of my announcement at all Masses last weekend is especially for those who could not hear the livestream or may have been away.

I am speaking to everyone at all the Masses this weekend to share some wonderful news! I am extremely delighted to report that we paid off the church building loan completely a week ago on September 27th. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!

Our Parish has come a very long way. We accomplished a lot together since July 2000 when the diocese established Saint Clare of Assisi Parish. We have grown a lot and worked hard. We had several capital campaigns to build our new church. And we moved in on Christmas 2008.

October is Right to Life Month. Once again we see how much work lies ahead for those who believe in the sanctity of every human life from the moment of conception through natural death. Thou Shalt Not Kill.

Fri, Sep 24, just two weeks after remembering 9/11 with great sadness for all the innocent people who died that day from terrorist attacks, House Democrats passed a sweeping pro-abortion bill which they masked with the misleading title: “Women’s Health Protection Act,” voting 218-211.

Our parish is ready to add a second parochial vicar to serve the needs of our parish full-time. We signed a contract and got the keys this week to a rental home that can house two priests so that Father Nick can move from the apartment where he has been living alone near the Surprise Stadium.

His religious superior from the Apostles of Jesus Missionaries has been telling us for several years that they do not want any of the priests of their religious community to live alone. They have been patient with us, but had suggested that Father Nick live in another parish with one or two priests from their community.

With gratitude to God, the Almighty Father for His graces, goodness and blessings, allow me to share with you a nutshell experience of my annual vacation at home in Kenya, Africa.

I must admit that I had a very wonderful, fantastic and great holiday at home. I did enjoy every bit of my stay at home to the full. Everything was fun, refreshing and relaxing. Home was so warmly and welcoming. I was super excited to be in my old childhood familiar environs and be reunited with my family, friends and parishioners of my home parish of Good Shepherd, Kakuma, after all that long prolonged period.

We are continuing to make progress on the new parish activities center. As you know, construction projects are always very exciting and sometimes unpredictable. At the beginning of 2021, we thought groundbreaking would take place in June or July, but since then, the materials market has seen big increases in costs and delays in the supply chain and transportation to their destinations. ADAPTIVE Architects and WESPAC Construction have been working very hard to nail down prices, recalculate with subcontractors and refine the project.

Our bishop wrote to his flock, August 27, 2021. Here is a portion of his letter.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

We continue to experience the impact of the COVID-19 virus in many ways in our local community. As the number of cases and deaths are increasing with the most recent variant, we must rely on our faith in Jesus and the guidance of the Church to help us navigate these challenging times that have brought pain, confusion, and division. Let us remember always that it is Christ who heals and unites. We rely on His merciful and infinite love. (…)

In December of 2020 after the release of the first vaccinations, I shared the following guidance: “Due to the serious nature of the pandemic, Catholics should prayerfully consider getting vaccinated and consult their physicians or health care providers for personalized medical information.”

You will see on page 6 of this bulletin that we are nearing the end of the mortgage we have been paying for the construction of the church building (October). Thanks be to God and all our generous people!!!

The readings over the past few Sundays have focused on Jesus revealing himself as the Bread of Life. He is laying the foundation for his teaching on the Holy Eucharist and ultimately upon the Mass as the summit and font of the life of the Church.

Who will keep this promise of the Lord to feed his sheep? Who will say yes to the call of Christ, to give them a shepherd’s care?

Pray the campaign prayer below, daily with your spouse, family or by yourself. Prayer is an essential part of undertaking a large parish project. We need to replace our temporary structures which we now use for our multi-purpose hall and faith formation programs and offices. We have been in these temporary buildings since 2001 and they are woefully inadequate and falling apart.