Blogposts

Pray for the Persecuted Church.

11-26-2022From the desk of Fr. Villa

We remember the atrocity of the genocide and persecution of Armenian Christians in 1915 by Turkey. It had antecedents in 1895 with the martyrdom of Father Salvatore Lilli and many Armenian Christians, Catholic and Orthodox We continue to remember Cardinal Zen and faithful bishops, clergy, and people,being persecuted by the communist government of China who are seeking to turn the Church into a puppet of the regime. Click this link to find out more about the persecution of the faithful and the meaning of Red Week.

“There is no peace to be compared with that of the souls in purgatory, save that of the saints in paradise”

11-25-2022From the desk of Fr. Villa

As far as I can see, the souls in purgatory can have no choice but to be there; this God has most justly ordained by his divine decree. ...They retain no memory of either good or evil respecting themselves or others which would increase their pain. They are so contented with the divine dispositions in their regard; and with doing all that is pleasing to God in that way which he chooses, that they cannot think of themselves, though they may strive to do so.

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Pray for the persecuted Church. Pray for Cardinal Zen and arrested and missing Chinese bishops.

10-28-2022From the desk of Fr. Villa

Another priest has been kidnapped in Nigeria. Go here for more information: churchinneed.org.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to commit genocide and engage in the systemic rape and torture of Muslim Ugyhurs.In addition, the CCP has been tramping the rights of faithful Catholics. Leaders like Cardinal Zen, the 90-year-old retired Bishop of Hong Kong, and seven other Catholic Bishops are imprisoned in China right now. Cardinal Zen will soon be on trial for being a Christian and standing in solidarity with the vulnerable and human rights protestors in Hong Kong.

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Our Lady of Lourdes

10-28-2022From the desk of Fr. Villa

Our Lady of Lourdes is one of the most famous appearances of the Blessed Virgin.  She told St. Bernadette when asked her name: I am the Immaculate Conception.  Millions of pilgrims visit Lourdes  and many have been cured in the waters provided for by the Blessed Virgin.  Go to the link below to send your intentions or light a candle or both.  Our Lady of Lourdes pray for us. St. Bernadette pray for us. 

www.lourdes-france.org/en

Guest Editorial from Phoenix, Arizona

10-19-2022From the desk of Fr. Villa

*Note: This editorial is for general information and instruction and NOT because these abuses occur in our parish.

A Letter from Our Cathedral Rector

Dear Parishioners,

I want to thank all of you who have recently started receiving Holy Communion on the tongue, not to mention those of you who already had been. This subject has generated a lot of buzz over the past few weeks, the vast majority of which has been overwhelmingly positive. While my main objective in encouraging reception on the tongue is to deepen appreciation for the Eucharist, I also have a pastoral responsibility to eliminate abuses common to receiving in the hand. Such abuses are no doubt unintentional. Nevertheless, what I witness troubles me. And I’m not alone. In 2004, responding to the problem of Eucharistic profanation, the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacrament released an official instruction entitled REDEMPTIONIS SACRAMENTUM: On certain matters to be observed or to be avoided regarding the Most Holy Eucharist.

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Telling Right From Wrong

09-22-2022From the desk of Fr. Villa

It’s not uncommon to hear people including unfortunately Catholics who approach morality from a strictly personal viewpoint: “I’ll decide what’s right and wrong for me” Or “The Church can’t tell me what to do. I decide according to my own conscience.” The Irish Conference of Catholic Bishops years ago published a masterful summary of Catholic teaching about telling right from wrong. These principles of Catholic teaching follow below:

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Questions on Faith, Hope, and Charity, the Theological Virtues

09-07-2022From the desk of Fr. Villa

These virtues are called theological because they tie us directly to God.

Before applying a particular examination to my own spiritual life, it is well to first ask myself, "What are the virtues that I know from experience I most need to develop?" The reason why this question should first be answered is that no two of us are equally prone to commit the same kind of sins. Nor are we personally always tempted in the same direction. There is wisdom in first knowing enough about myself, to be able to get to the root of my own moral weakness. Otherwise, I may be ignoring what really needs attention in my spiritual life and concentrating on what is not so necessary for me at this time in my service of God.

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The Devastation Caused by Contraception

09-01-2022From the desk of Fr. Villa

The two meanings of sexuality are procreation and rearing of children and the union of man and woman in lifelong marriage. This is rooted in human nature as God created it and is the teaching of the Church defending the natural order.

A generation ago, American politicians debated about the Cold War and the Vietnam conflict, the problems of poverty and racism, and the challenges of the space program. But back in 1968, did anyone forecast that we would soon be talking about a general breakdown in ordinary family life? Yes, someone did. Some 30 years ago, Pope Paul VI issued Humanae Vitae an encyclical letter which upheld the time-tested Christian teaching that artificial contraception is morally wrong.

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“There is no peace to be compared with that of the souls in purgatory, save that of the saints in paradise”

08-24-2022From the desk of Fr. Villa

“There is no peace to be compared with that of the souls in purgatory, save that of the saints in paradise”

As far as I can see, the souls in purgatory can have no choice but to be there; this God has most justly ordained by his divine decree. ...They retain no memory of either good or evil respecting themselves or others which would increase their pain. They are so contented with the divine dispositions in their regard; and with doing all that is pleasing to God in that way which he chooses, that they cannot think of themselves, though they may strive to do so.

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The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights reported the following: The Genocide that Wasn't

08-18-2022From the desk of Fr. Villa

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the Canadian Report on the residential schools for Indigenous people: There has been much recent discussion about the Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. It found that 150,000 Indigenous children were taken from their homes and forced to attend schools that would assimilate them into the dominant culture. It was the Canadian government that made the decision to suppress the culture of Indigenous persons, sending children to residential schools operated by the government, Catholic religious orders, and Protestant denominations.

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Society and Sanity

08-10-2022From the desk of Fr. Villa

Every question under discussion, every revolutionary idea and every conservative reaction—all boil down to the question, How should man be treated? and we can only answer this in the light of our view of what man is. No society can be united, if it is not united about this fundamental question… case. We will not forever go on agreeing in practical action when all agreement about the reality involved has vanished.

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On Liberalism Especially in Religion

07-21-2022From the desk of Fr. Villa

“I rejoice to say, to one great mischief I have from the first opposed myself. For thirty, forty, fifty years I have resisted to the best of my powers the spirit of liberalism in religion. Never did Holy Church need champions against it more sorely than now, when, alas! it is an error overspreading, as a snare, the whole earth.”

St. John Henry Newman
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