As we celebrate the feast of Saint Cloud, the patron of our Diocese, on September 7, it is a good time to reflect on our progress and future as the One in Christ Area Catholic Community. We all know that parishes, communities, and staff are in a time of transition and change in the entire Diocese. With mergers, appeals, and many parishes still waiting on their decrees, it is a time of high uncertainty and that’s always unsettling. In our One in Christ ACC, the canonical merge

Dear parishioners, Summer is drawing to a close. The days have noticeably started to get a little shorter, there has been a touch of Autumn in the air, and a new school year is beginning. This time of year can seem to bring with it a return to a more regular rhythm of life. It’s good to get back to a sense of rhythm and normalcy. For that reason, it’s also a good time of year to re-examine our spiritual routine as well, and to commit (or recommit) to a regular spiritual regim

First – welcome to the Sacred Heart Festival! We are glad you are here to share our hospitality, enjoy one another’s company, and help support our mission. Having reviewed the underlying values of Catholic Social Doctrine rooted in the entire moral tradition of the Church, we’ll take a very brief look at each of its seven principles. The principles are not isolated or independent considerations, but naturally intersect with one another. One cannot choose one or two principles

As I’ve mentioned in my homilies, one of the convictions that drives me is the Church’s continual reminder of the universal call to holiness. Everyone is called to be holy and to become a saint. Yet sometimes people hear the words ‘holy’ or ‘saint’ and don’t exactly know what it means to be striving for holiness and to become a saint.We might have a vague idea of what it means, but if you were asked to explain to someone what it means, would you be able to do it? What the cal

I have been reviewing the underlying values of the seven principles of Catholic Social Doctrine. Last time I sketched the concepts of Unity in Community; Order; the Natural Law; Responsibility; the Common Good; and Authority. To round out this picture, there are four other values that inform Catholic thought on social structures. Solidarity: the well-being of the community and the well-being of its members are interdependent. Participation by individuals is both a right and a

Dear parishioners, One of the goals I made for myself as I was preparing to begin my time in the One in Christ ACC is to be intentional about the homilies I preach. More specifically, my intention and desire is to walk through the stages of growth in the spiritual life according to spiritual tradition of the Church as articulated by the saints throughout the history of the Church. The saints have a profound way of taking the teachings of Scripture and the Church and living th

Underlying and connecting the seven principles of Catholic Social Doctrine are deeper values rooted in Christian revelation about what it means to be human. This consideration – the nature of our humanity – is the real theme of Pope Leo’s encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas. What are those values? Unity in Community: made in the image of the one God, who is a community of three divine Persons, we are created for community and cooperation. Our social life is not merely a human arr

Dear parishioners, For those of you who were at my first weekend Masses in each parish, you will remember that I gave some “homework” as a way for me to get to know you. The homework was to send me an email or letter with a photo and introduction of yourself followed by telling me one way I can pray for you and how I can help you grow in your faith. I’m grateful for the many messages I’ve received from people in response—I still haven’t caught up with responding to them all!

As you know, Pope Leo XIV released his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, on May 25, 2026. While the focus of the document is AI (artificial intelligence) and technology like robotics, biotechnology, nanotechnology, and other related developments, Magnifica Humanitas is chiefly concerned with “safeguarding the human person in the age of artificial intelligence.” This year marks the 135th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII’s social encyclical, Rerum Novarum (Of New Things). The

Dear parishioners, On January 29th this year, I received an unexpected phone call. Fr. Tom was calling on behalf of the clergy assignment board, informing me that Fr. Ron was looking to retire in July and that I was being asked to consider taking his place. With no new priests being ordained for our diocese this year, and with all of the big changes happening across our diocese, I had anticipated that I would be staying in my current assignment for at least one more year. Thi

I am honored to take this opportunity to repeat the thanks of so many, many people in our ACC and beyond to Fr. Ron for his generous, broad, and dedicated service over the years of his public ministry in these parishes and in many other places besides. I have been inspired by Fr. Ron’s leadership and administrative skill and insight, his passion for the essentials of the Gospel message of Jesus, his exceptional ability to listen, observe, and take in various perspectives, and

Change in Mass Times beginning July 4-5 Just a reminder that as part of the approved plan for One in Christ in the All Things New process, our ACC weekend Mass times will change the first weekend of July (July 4-5) and going forward. Bishop Patrick has directed that each assigned priest to an ACC have no more than three regularly-scheduled Masses per weekend. Weddings, funerals, and other occasional celebrations are not included in the three- Mass rule. The new schedule is th

From Safari…. Sony and Cher’s song, “The Beat Goes On”, played over the din of the restaurant. The song reminds the hearer that fads come and go but life goes on --- little girls still break their hearts, and men still keep on marching off to war. don’t know if Sonny Bono (writer of the song), was familiar with chapter 3 of Ecclesiastes. Chapter 3 is often read at funerals --- There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens. A time to

In the year 304, forty-nine Christians in the Roman colony of Tunisia in North Africa were killed for doing exactly what we freely do each week in our churches. The Emperor Diocletian had forbidden Christians, on pain of death, from possessing the Scriptures, from building any places for worship, and from gathering on Sundays to celebrate the Eucharist. One Sunday morning, as these ancestors of ours in the same Catholic Faith were praying the Mass, the house was raided by Rom

From Safari…. How was your first week of Ordinary Time? What is Ordinary Time? First thoughts might include such words as --- typical, routine, or even mundane. In reality our days are filled with moments of God’s grace penetrating ourlives. The ordinary is the listing of ordinal, or sequential, numbers. Rather than making a statement about degrees of importance, the term Ordinary Time refers to the order of Sundays in the church year that do not fall into the major liturgica

Pentecost – Te Birthday of the Church As we celebrate the beginning of the mission of the Church in the world with the Gift of the. Holy Spirit, I invite you to prayerfully reflect on one of my favorite prayers in the whole treasury of the Church, prayer, the Sequencefor Pentecost. A translation of the original Latin Veni Creator Spiritus, written by the French Benedictine monk Rabanus Maurus, the Church has prayed these words for almost twelve centuries through all manner of

From Safari…. Some of you will recall that the feast of the Ascension came 40 days after Easter. Usually after the proclamation of the Gospel, the Paschal Candle was extinguished. This set the stage for the feast of Pentecost. The Gospel writers and the writer of the Acts of the Apostles (Many scholars consider the Acts of the Apostles to part II of the Gospel of Luke. The Gospel reflects on the life of Jesus, the Acts of the Apostles shows the Holy Spirit working in the live

Blessings to all mothers and grandmothers, to new moms and those expecting a child, to single mothers and foster mothers and those who are “second mothers” in caring for children outside their own family circle. There is a program titled “Called and Gifted” which helps people recognize their gifts from God and inspires them to put them to use for the Gospel. Mothers, of every age and circumstance, are called to this vocation of love by God,and gifted in countless ways to live

From Safari …. Some twenty years ago in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, a gunman shot ten girls in an Amish School, six of the girls died, and then killed himself. Midst their own grief, many of the families comforted the families of the man who shot their daughters. They visited the man’s parents as well as his wife and children. They stood with the family at his burial, outnumbering the non-Amish there. Some criticized the quick and complete forgiveness with which the Amish res

Good Shepherd Sunday The Gospel for each Fourth Sunday of Easter is from one of the passages where Jesus calls Himself the “Good Shepherd.” It is the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, as we reflect on the mystery of God’s call and the beauty of humble and unselfish service. For me, my call has been to priestly ministry, collaborators with the bishop, with fellow clergy, and with the lay faithful to make visible in a human way the holiness, wisdom, and service of Jesus in the