Dear St. Mary Magdalene Family,

Last week Fr. Darius, Fr. Arthur, and myself attended the annual priest convocation in Flagstaff with Bishops Dolan and Nevares and our fellow priests from the Phoenix diocese. During the convocation, one of the most important topics we reviewed was the essential need to foster a culture of vocations at the parish level to support vocational discernment. With that goal in mind, I want to encourage each parishioner, regardless of age, to offer your prayers to the Lord to send us more priests. In this way each of us can, "Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest field." (Matthew 9:38).

Our future priests must be formed first in the domestic church, the family, where they can embrace the beautiful and rich truth and tradition of our Catholic faith. The best way parents can form their children in the faith is by first receiving proper formation in the faith themselves. When you live your faith, your children take notice.

In order to promote a culture of vocations at St. Mary Magadalene I have also invited the Vice-Rector of our diocesan seminary, Fr. Kurt Perera, to occasionally offer Sunday Mass here. As our former Vocation Director for the diocese and now leading our seminarians in formation at St. Mary's House, Fr. Kurt's presence will help strengthen our parish further in this goal. As a reminder, we also have our parish Priesthood Discernment Group which meets each month. Please reach out to myself or Fr. Nave for more information.

As you may have noticed from the numerous construction vehicles and workers around campus, our two initial expansion projects are well underway and should be completed in the next six weeks. The two new permanent, private confessionals in the church will offer an appropriate space to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. And the new audio-visual system teaturing two large color displays will soon be available for lectures, films, catechesis, and evangelization initiatives. Proper technical support is essential to nourish the faith of our parishioners and lead them to Christ. The addition of this new audio-visual system directly supports the four pillars of the Church that include Teaching, Fellowship, Worship, and Evangelization. Once our AV system is operational in the coming months, I will be announcing the creation of a parish lecture series. This lecture series will facilitate regular talks, films, and presentations by noted priests, deacons, and lay presenters. These engaging presentations will be offered in the evenings and will allow for Q&A afterwards. Stay tuned.

Looking ahead I ask you to mark your calendars for two important events. On November 9, 2025, after all morning Masses, we will have our Ministry Fair. At that time, I encourage you to stay after mass and investigate the various ministries God might be calling YOU to embrace. Our Knights of Columbus will graciously offer free food and refreshments. On March 11, 12, and 13, Fr. James Mattaliano, SJ, from the diocese of Fall River, Massachusetts, will present our 2026 Parish Lenten Mission.

As parishioners, we are all "homeowners," so it is no surprise that proper and continued maintenance of our parish facilities is an ongoing need. We will continue to focus our resources first on the most pressing maintenance needs of the parish. The AC airflow imbalance in the main church and sacristy area has been an issue for some time. We began addressing this last week by discovering and replacing a faulty motor that had been inoperable for some time. That repair has helped us correct the temperature imbalance in the main church, sacristy, and meeting areas. Additionally, we have identified 37 outdoor parking lot lights needing bulb replacements. Those will be replaced shortly to keep our parking area safe, secure, and properly lit. To help with the growing maintenance demands, a part-time maintenance person was added to our staff, as well as a part-time front desk assistant to cover the expanded seasonal office hours.

With these new additions, we will continue to grow deeper in our faith while further shaping our parish into a school of prayer, a field hospital for the wounded, and a lighthouse of charity. Let us pray.

— Fr. John

BACK TO LIST