Currently we have two weekend Masses available: Saturday 4:00pm and Sunday 9:00am.

Please use the hand sanitizer at the entrances or bring your own.

Please wear a mask at all times (be sure to cover your nose).

Please only shake/hold hands with people from your household.

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Dear Parishioners,

1. We will no longer have the large video screen in the parking lot. Instead people in their vehicles will be able to watch the live-stream on their phones.
2. The live-stream will only be the 9:00am Sunday Mass – so if you want to watch in your car, and then come out to receive Communion, this will only be at the 9am Mass. Communion will be distributed at the doors to the parish hall.
3. We will no longer offer streaming in the parish hall. After several weeks of opening up the hall for viewing we have had very few people attend.

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Dear Parishioners,

This coming weekend, June 13 and 14 we will move back into the church.

Sunday Mass Schedule
The Sunday Mass schedule will be as follows:
Saturday – 4 pm (Fr. Frank)
Sunday – 9 am and 11 am (Fr. John)

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Dear Parishioners,

As we begin to prepare to open for Mass and Communion it is important to note, again, that I am obliged to follow certain regulations from the Bishop which are based upon regulations from the government. I won't list them all here.

The main one is this, that, currently, no church can have more than 25% capacity for a Mass in the church building. This depends upon the layout of the church, but 6 ft of social distancing must be adhered to on every side of each person. We estimate that if we did this, we would only be able to accommodate about 300 people in the church at any given Mass.

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Dear Parishioners,

Daily Mass will resume on Monday May 18. The daily Mass schedule will be as follows:

Monday 8:30am – confessions following Mass
Wednesday 8:30am – confessions following Mass
Friday 8:30am – confessions following Mass

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The disciples are in a state of excitement and confusion as they recover from a series of events and realizations. Jesus is crucified, His body is gone from the tomb and He appears absent, and then He reveals himself as resurrected, alive again. So He’s with them in presence and life in new form...but then again, He says, “I am leaving.” And the key note to remember is his last words, “Follow Me.”

We hear the departing words of Jesus that His new purpose is to go back to the Father in order to prepare a place for us.

In the whirlwind of events and transitions in our personal lives, where we can feel connected and then disconnected to Christ and his presence or Body, let us reflect on “the bigger plan” that is consistently proclaimed in the Gospel. A bigger reality, a fulfillment that He provides, a gift beyond our expectations. We know intuitively that we are created for more, for a lasting state of being, and ultimately for Union in divinity. By His grace, we can see that our own present plans and realities are very small in the midst of a bigger one. Perhaps if we learn how to suspend our expectations and rely on His objective providence and promise, we can trust more deeply and securely in the coming events in our lives.

Rev. John Ehrich, STL, was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Phoenix in 2000. He earned his M.A. from St. Meinrad Seminary in 1998 and his MDiv in 2000. After five years of parish ministry, he studied at the Accademia Alfonsiana in Rome where he earned his Licentiate in Sacred Theology (Moral Theology) in 2007. Fr. Ehrich currently serves at St. Thomas More in Glendale.

Jesus regularly speaks in metaphors about animals and crops, often relating to the agrarian citizens of his historical time.

Take the ‘Shepherd and His Flock’ concept. One of His ideas or depictions could portray two or three shepherds meeting, and congregating together, and therefore, so do their flocks - their individual group of sheep mingle together into a larger flock. If we regard the role of shepherds to the role of priests and prominent holy people, we could see how contemporary religious leaders today are entrusted to their followers and seek to provide their insights and concrete display of faith. Their actions are meant to lead us into deeper communion with Christ and each other.

We as followers might initially have a hard time trusting our shepherds, leaders, as well as the Voice of God, the primary Shepherd. Are we openly listening to these various voices with trust and willingness? Are we willing to later follow through with their practical applications in our lives? These are various and monumental steps that take place throughout our life. What if Jesus, in all the ways He presents Himself, were to be for us a loving friend? As The Shepherd who we can engage with, can we continually trust Him to lead us to new pastures, mingling even with various flocks and families and ultimately being our guide to deep joy?

Rev. John Ehrich, STL, was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Phoenix in 2000. He earned his M.A. from St. Meinrad Seminary in 1998 and his MDiv in 2000. After five years of parish ministry, he studied at the Accademia Alfonsiana in Rome where he earned his Licentiate in Sacred Theology (Moral Theology) in 2007. Fr. Ehrich currently serves at St. Thomas More in Glendale.

A famous story: The Road to Emmaus

After the harsh and difficult events of the Lord’s Crucifixion and then the rumor His resurrection, you, the reader, can surmise the quality of emotion and struggle that is taking place in the hearts of these disciples.

And then a stranger appears.

Initially, the disciples don’t recognize Him as Jesus Christ, the very catalyst of all these past events. But as they continually share in conversation and even vulnerability with this stranger, He allows them to see the truth of His presence with them. And a key point here is the timing: He reveals Himself during the act of breaking bread with them, in act of congeniality and reception.

Isn’t this very much like God in the times He approaches us in our everyday lives? Christ initiates contact when we are open to sharing and reciprocity, and then we are given deeper wisdom and understanding. The messages and person of Jesus often resonates through this initial reciprocity, this first encounter. And as we recognize it more, the more it burns in our hearts, and we even seek for more relationship, more encountering in the gift of the Eucharist, in the liturgy, and certainly in our family and friendships as well. God only needs to be granted access to us by our own volition and invitation. The more we allow Him to enter the scene of our psyche, even if He initially enters as a stranger, the more He allows us to see everything as a gift brought forth in surprising ways.

Rev. John Ehrich, STL, was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Phoenix in 2000. He earned his M.A. from St. Meinrad Seminary in 1998 and his MDiv in 2000. After five years of parish ministry, he studied at the Accademia Alfonsiana in Rome where he earned his Licentiate in Sacred Theology (Moral Theology) in 2007. Fr. Ehrich currently serves at St. Thomas More in Glendale.

The Son of God bears the wounds of the cross for all of eternity. How severe and powerful this idea of evil can be seen, in the scars of our savior for all of time.

Nevertheless, Jesus’ disposition to the disciples is not victimhood but instead revealed when He says the words “peace be with you.” In other words, “Yes, this severity truly happened, but this is mercy.”

The same mercy is available to each of us. Divine Mercy is freedom that is perfectly given and in pursuit of peace. Can we accept that mercy internally, in fullness and deep awareness of our own fragility and then turn to our neighbor and mirror that mercy to others? By His wounds, Christ says, “yes.” Peace be with you.

Rev. John Ehrich, STL, was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Phoenix in 2000. He earned his M.A. from St. Meinrad Seminary in 1998 and his MDiv in 2000. After five years of parish ministry, he studied at the Accademia Alfonsiana in Rome where he earned his Licentiate in Sacred Theology (Moral Theology) in 2007. Fr. Ehrich currently serves at St. Thomas More in Glendale.

This may be one of the strangest Easter celebrations in our recent memory.

So many are unable to come to the church in person on one of the most celebrated days of the year. It’s important to remember that God did not cause this pandemic nor has he abandoned us. He may be in the midst of it and He still has as much strength and power as ever.

We can see the Resurrection event from the perspective of disciples who were confronted with a very baffling encounter. They did not understand it, but they believed. They experienced Him was as reincarnated with their senses and testified to the truth of that experience without knowing rationally or having a fully articulated grasp of the “how” or “why” of the situation.

Though we are confronted with the difficulty of not having access to the sacraments during this pandemic, we still have access to the graces of God. This grace that we seek is still experiential and only requires us to trust in this belief. It can still permeate our lives in our social distancing and daily quarantined activity. Above all rational explanation is the abiding nature of God and the question of whether we decide to believe ourselves. Let us be more aware than ever of our reliance on His graces during this time.

Rev. John Ehrich, STL, was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Phoenix in 2000. He earned his M.A. from St. Meinrad Seminary in 1998 and his MDiv in 2000. After five years of parish ministry, he studied at the Accademia Alfonsiana in Rome where he earned his Licentiate in Sacred Theology (Moral Theology) in 2007. Fr. Ehrich currently serves at St. Thomas More in Glendale.