Dear Friends,

In Oregon, the state Board of Education recently suspended the requirement for proficiency in reading and math for high school graduation. The stated reason was that such requirements were “a harmful hurdle for historically marginalized students”. Wow, talk about the bigotry of low expectations. This sort of reasoning stems from identity politics. Each individual is judged and valued based on their identity, not on the content of their character or their virtuousness or even their abilities. And the identity that most matters and defines everything is the oppressor/oppressed category.

Dear Friends,

For us, living in the West, especially in the US, it’s hard to wrap our head around the ancient hatreds that run through the Middle East. After all, we are a country that in recent memory fought a bitter war with Germany and Japan and today we are allies and friends. Or even more recently, Vietnam. Our ability to turn a foe into a friend is part of the reason that US Presidents since, at least, Jimmy Carter have tried to broker a peace agreement in the Middle East.

Dear Friends,

In a few weeks we will be in November when we traditionally remember the dead. In fact, we begin the month remembering all the saints whose faith and living merited them the Kingdom and we then remember All Souls, praying that the known and unknown dead may reach Heaven’s Gate. But before we get there, we would do well to consider our own dying. Specifically, how we die but not in the sense of the cause or the circumstance. Rather what condition will our hearts be in when we enter the last phase of our lives?

Dear Friends,

Time to welcome back our “fair-weather” parishioners! I am finally getting used to the seasonal reality of living in Sun City West. But while you were gone, us, “all weather” parishioners were no slackers. We were busy breaking records and setting new records! Whether we wanted to or not we all participated in the Olympics of Heat. Apparently, the summer of 2020 which went from May to Thanksgiving was just a practice session!

Dear Friends,

Over the years, I have witnessed more marriages than I can count. Most of them young couples, in love and idealistic. But I always wonder, “do they know what they are promising?” Granted, I did not really know what priesthood would ask of me when I was ordained but still the marriage vows contain some challenging realities: for better or for WORSE, in good times and in BAD, in SICKNESS and in health, until DEATH do us part. What has really touched my heart is watching many of you deal with the worse part, the bad times, particularly as it relates to sickness. And I am sure it was the good times, the healthy times, and the lively times, that motivate you to care for your spouse as they decline.

Dear Friends,

What a drag it is getting old
"Kids are different today, " I hear every mother say
Mother needs something today to calm her down
And though she's not really ill, there's a little yellow pill
She goes running for the shelter of her mother's little helper
And it helps her on her way, gets her through her busy day

Mother’s Little Helper sung by Rolling Stones

Dear Friends,

Can you really play golf every single day? I know some of you will answer an arousing: YES! But after a time, the thrill of the game will decrease, and a certain unsettling routine sets in if not an outright compulsion. We probably think, “when I retire I can golf everyday”. It’s a nice thought but it reveals a lack of preparation for retirement. And a lack of preparation can make our sunny and bright Retirement Utopia of Sun City West turn into a Sun-less maze that we get lost in.

Dear Friends,

“Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” (Matt. 13:51) We are fortunate to have both the old and the new as part of our mission for this portion of the Body of Christ in Sun City West and in the Vistancia/N. Peoria area. First the new. Part of our Parish mission at this moment in time is to help start a new parish in the Vistancia/N. Peoria area. For the past two years we have been celebrating Mass in the Gym at Vistancia Elementary School. We have purchased 60 acres of land off the west side of Lake Pleasant Parkway, north of Rt. 303, just below the CAP canal.

Dear Friends,

We are all used to having numbers and statistics thrown at us in order to describe the magnitude of an issue or a problem. But too often, those numbers are just an abstraction, and we miss the real human cost, the pain and suffering behind the stats. Years ago, I visited Cambodia and though I didn’t want to see them, it’s unavoidable not to notice the “Killing Fields”. You see tens of thousands of bones and lifeless skulls in the Fields. It is very sobering. That the Khmer Rouge killed millions of their fellow countryman is not an abstraction when you see the Killing Fields but a painful eye-opening moment to the reality of evil.

Dear Friends,

Watching the news reports that the Russian attempt to land a vehicle on the moon’s surface ended badly, it called to mind the Apollo 11 moon landing. Watching Apollo 11 blast off from Planet Earth to head to the Moon, everybody’s first thought was, “will they make it to the surface of the Moon?” A few days later the spaceship entered the Moon’s orbit and then out popped the Lunar Module with the two astronauts aboard. We watched with great anticipation as the Module made its way down to the surface of the Moon and heard those immortal words: “the Eagle has landed”! It would be several hours before Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin would step out of the Lunar Module onto the surface of the moon, earning the right to the best bragging rights ever.

Dear Friends,

WARNING: CONTAINS GRAPHIC CONTENT

A recent media headline read: “Boston doctor charged with masturbating in front of teen girl on Hawaii flight”. Where would an educated medical doctor get such an impulse? Most likely from watching pornography. A few years back, pornographers fought for the right to use girls who “looked” like they were under 18. And that spawned a whole new teen Pornography industry.

Dear Friends,

Experience has taught me that if you “buy a lie” the truth will forever kick your butt. Take for example the alcoholic who despite evidence to the contrary decides to buy that lie that she can find a way to manage her drinking. She’ll tell herself that if she just exerts enough will-power she can control her drinking or if other people would just get off her back, she wouldn’t have drunk so much. However, if she accepts the truth that she can never safely drink alcohol, then she has a chance to recover and live a sober and sane life.

Dear Friends,

When he came into the temple area the chief priests and elders of the people approached him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority?” Matthew 21:23

Jesus was often asked this question. After all he had not been tutored under any of the great rabbis of his day. He was not from the high priestly clan, like his cousin John, nor was he in anyway linked to the official temple worship in Jerusalem. The only qualifications Jesus would claim were his works or signs and his relationship to the Father.