Dear Brothers and Sisters,

On December 7, 1941, the United States was attacked at Pearl Harbor. This attack eventually led to World War II. I have met veterans who had once been young, patriotically idealistic, and had responded to Japanese aggression, altering their whole lives for the good of our country.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

One of the deep sadnesses that any parent experiences occurs when your children leave the faith. We have shared that the number of those interested in the Order of Christian Initiation (OCIA) has skyrocketed. Last year, 21 people were baptized at our Easter Vigil! This year, even more people are interested in becoming Catholic or completing their sacraments.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Jesus asks His disciples to take up their cross and follow Him. This is a strange invitation. Calling a person to follow by taking up a cross, does not seem like a strong selling point. A cross includes things like hardships, disappointments, sadnesses, heaviness, difficulties, trials, sickness, and rejection, to name a few. These are things that a person tries to avoid.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Our parish office staff recently wanted to “clean up” the records for our parish database. This was a very tedious endeavor that involved making many phone calls and sending over 2,000 letters to reach those people who were still in our database but have not shown tangible involvement in our parish family for months. Here lies the problem.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Jesus speaking with the Canaanite woman in today’s Gospel is widely considered one of the most uncomfortable and confusing interactions that Jesus has with anyone in all of the Gospels. So many interactions with Jesus point to Our Lord’s compassion and mercy. Jesus is often seen as the one who reaches out to those who are sick and in need. But today, we hear a very different tone from Our Lord.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

It is hard to believe, but we are already in August, and our students are back to school. Seems like our eighth graders were just graduating yesterday. Time flies when you are having fun. During our brief hiatus, there has been some amazing work going on behind the scenes around our campus to prepare for the return of more than 600 students and staff members and the hundreds of “snowbirds” returning to our valley for the winter.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

We are so blessed to have St. John XXIII Catholic grade school as part of our history. For over 27 years, our dedicated teachers and staff have educated thousands of young people in the Catholic faith. As we begin our 2026/2027 school year, we give thanks to God for all His blessings as we welcome our students and their families.