Vol. 3, No. 9 Wednesday, March 11, 2020

March 17, 2020

An Act of Charity
Follow diocesan Liturgical Protocols
and common sense to help prevent spreading illnesses
Last Thursday, I published our diocesan protocols to help prevent the spread of illnesses in our diocese. My hope is that by now you have read our protocols or have had the protocols read to you. As you may also know, many dioceses and archdioceses nationwide, and churches and governments in other countries have put similar guidelines into practice. The Catholic Church in Italy has suspended all Masses to assist in ending the spread of colds, flu and viruses.
As of yesterday, the Pima County Health Department verified one case of the coronavirus in our area. Maricopa County and the Phoenix area officials also announced that there are cases in those areas.
There is no need to panic; we just need to be aware and conscientious in our behaviors. Here is part of a story I read yesterday that I found very useful. The story was published in the Arizona Daily Star.
“Take everyday precautions, such as avoiding people who are sick, washing your hands often, and cleaning and disinfecting high-touch areas like your doorknobs, light switches, toilets, faucets and phones,” said Cara Christ, the director of the Arizona Health Department, in the Star’s report.
The Star also reported that Christ said there are no plans to ask organizations to cancel events designed to attract crowds.
If you would like to review our diocesan protocols, please visit www.diocesetucson.org
At the top of the home page there is a slide with a link to the protocols

. Please know that our Catholic schools manage cold and flu seasons every year and are well-versed in making sure that they and their students all are taking the proper prevention steps. Our Catholic schools do have an influenza protocol to follow, and now have added the protocols of the Pima County Health Department to their operations. You may want to check out the Pima County Health Department for the current information at https://webcms.pima.gov/government/health_department
Thank you and stay well!
.
Second week of Lent
Here in our Pastoral Center, we are fortunate to have two fine resources to use as daily meditations for Lent. The first, provided to each diocesan employee downtown by our Pastoral Services Department, is a lovely little book with daily reflections written by Michelle Francl-Donnay, who is described as a writer, teacher, wife, and mother of two. She writes a weekly column for the Philadelphia Archdiocese at CatholicPhilly.com and also writes a blog about faith and science at http://mfrancldonnay.blogspot.com. The other resource, lovingly given to Pastoral Center employees by Msgr. Domenico Pinti, is “The Little Black Book, Six-minute Meditations on the Sunday Gospels of Lent (Cycle A).” I know there are parishes that send these books to parishioners as well.
Here is Francl-Donnay’s reflection for the second of Sunday of Lent (March 8). It is a nice
meditation on God's tenderness toward us.
Sunday Readings: Gen 12:1-4a; 2 Tim 1:8b-10; Matt 17:1-9
Scripture: But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Rise, and do not be afraid." (Matt 17:7)

Reflection: When I listen to these familiar stories of our salvation, of the founding of Israel with Abram, of the transfiguration, I sometimes want to do as Peter, James, and John did and throw myself face down on the ground and cover my eyes. I'm awestruck not so much by the immensity of the promises made to a childless seventy-five-year-old man or by the voice coming from the cloud - as overwhelming as these may be but by God's tenderness in these encounters.

God's strength and power cannot help but shake us to our foundation. Yet in both these encounters he seeks not to intimidate, instead proffering kindness and compassion in the midst of overpowering experiences. God blesses Abram again and again, so much so, he assures Abram, that these blessings will spill over to every community on earth. Jesus comes over to the apostles sprawled and trembling on the ground and touches them, reassuring them. We place our trust not in a God who terrifies us, but in a God whose kindness and mercy are ever present.

In her Showings, St. Julian of Norwich calls God our clothing, who wraps and enfolds us in a tender love. God, she says, never promised that we wouldn't be tempest-tossed and frightened. He did promise he will never let us go.

We, too, are called to a tender attentiveness to each other in challenging times. We are called to realize that we are blessed no less than Abram was, so that God's blessings might continue to overflow, that we might be blessings to all the world. We are called to do as Christ did on the mountaintop and reach out to our sisters and brothers living in fear and trembling-to never let them go.

Meditation: When has God reached out to you with a tender attentiveness? How do you see the ways in which God has blessed you spilling over and reaching out to the larger community you live in?

Prayer: Lord, be tender with us, enfolding us in your love. Help us to be tender with each other, reaching out to those who live in fear and carrying your blessings to the ends of the earth.

Thank you Knights
This afternoon I received a check for $16,000 from the Msgr. Donald H. Hughes Assembly of the Knights of Columbus to support our Seminarian Education Fund. The monies came as a result of the Knights’ Annual Fundraiser, Mass and Dinner with the Bishop.

I am very grateful for this dedicated support which is most helpful in assisting the Diocese with offsetting the cost of seminarian education.

I am pictured at left with event chairman Bart Pemberton (left) and Faithful Navigator Stephen Hackney. A bishop’s best friend is the Knights of Columbus!

US Census reminder
Please review the information below from the Census Bureau. I hope you will participate in the Census; so many public services receive funding based on the information gathered through the collection of data provided by the Census. It is vital that all of us participate. April 1 is Census Day. Here is the information provided to us by the Census Bureau:

“Households are encouraged to respond when they receive their (Census) invitation. Depending on how likely the area is to respond online, households will receive either an invitation encouraging them to respond online or by phone (about 112 million households), or an invitation along with a paper questionnaire (about 31 million households).
“
All invitations will include a short phrase in English and 12 additional languages inviting people to respond online or by phone in their language. In areas where 20% or more of the households need Spanish assistance, the invitations will be in both English and Spanish.
“All households receiving an invitation in the mail will receive a second letter in the mail shortly after reminding them to respond. Then, households that still haven’t responded will receive a series of additional reminders, including a paper questionnaire in mid-April. Census takers will follow up with households that don’t respond to collect responses in person.”

Priest training sessions
Please pray for priests of our diocese who participated in a training session this week at the Redemptorist Renewal Center.

St. John Paul II Youth Awards, Tucson
It will be my pleasure to celebrate Mass with the 64 teens and their families at St. Augustine Cathedral this Saturday (March 14) and then present the teens with their St. John Paul II Youth Awards.
The awards are bestowed on teens who have shown dedication in one or more areas: Missionary Disciples, Missionaries of Mercy or Liturgical Leadership. My prayer is that these teens will continue on their paths of faith and service throughout their adult lives.

Congratulations to all!

Kino Border Initiative Dinner
I will attend this dinner Saturday evening at Brophy College Preparatory - Harper Great Hall in Phoenix. The dinner benefits the work of KBI. Part of the evening includes presentation of the 2020 Pope Francis Award to Lucy Howell. Howell is a senior adviser / Director of Partnerships at Angel Capital Association.

According to its website, “KBI is a binational organization in Nogales, Arizona and Nogales Sonora, Mexico, that works in migration. The organization was inaugurated in January of 2009 by six organizations from the United States and Mexico: The California Province of the Society of Jesus, Jesuit Refugee Service/USA, the Missionary Sisters of the Eucharist, the Mexican Province of the Society of Jesus, the Diocese of Tucson and the Diocese of Nogales. KBI’s vision is to help make humane, just, workable migration between the United States and Mexico a reality. Its mission is to promote US/Mexico border and immigration policies that affirm the dignity of the human person and a spirit of bi-national solidarity through:

Direct humanitarian assistance and accompaniment with migrants.
Social and pastoral education with communities on both sides of the border.
Participation in collaborative networks that engage in research and advocacy to transform local, regional, and national immigration policies.”

KBI just recently opened their new center across the street from the organization’s original Comedor. The Comedor, and now the larger center provide meals and support for immigrants either headed to the US/Mexico International Border, or to those who had to return to Mexico to await the outcome of US proceedings regarding their immigration futures. The new center is much larger than the original center and provides additional services for immigrants.

Upcoming
Barrio Viejo Home Tour to benefit repairs at the Lalo Guerrero Apartments of the Pio Decimo Center
Saturday, April 4
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Advance tickets are $25. Purchase online at Facebook.com/Pio Decimo Center.
Tickets will cost $30 (cash or check) on the day of the tour. Purchase tickets at 18^th Street and South Convent Avenue.

Tour nine homes built between 1880 and 2019 in this National Historic District. Activities include an exhibit sponsored by the Tucson Barrio Painter’s group including works created in the neighborhood and a fiesta at the Lalo Guerrero Complex.

Vol. 3, No. 9
Wednesday, March 11, 2020
An Act of Charity
Follow diocesan Liturgical Protocols
and common sense to help prevent spreading illnesses
Last Thursday, I published our diocesan protocols to help prevent the spread of illnesses in our diocese. My hope is that by now you have read our protocols or have had the protocols read to you. As you may also know, many dioceses and archdioceses nationwide, and churches and governments in other countries have put similar guidelines into practice. The Catholic Church in Italy has suspended all Masses to assist in ending the spread of colds, flu and viruses.
As of yesterday, the Pima County Health Department verified one case of the coronavirus in our area. Maricopa County and the Phoenix area officials also announced that there are cases in those areas.
There is no need to panic; we just need to be aware and conscientious in our behaviors. Here is part of a story I read yesterday that I found very useful. The story was published in the Arizona Daily Star.
“Take everyday precautions, such as avoiding people who are sick, washing your hands often, and cleaning and disinfecting high-touch areas like your doorknobs, light switches, toilets, faucets and phones,” said Cara Christ, the director of the Arizona Health Department, in the Star’s report.
The Star also reported that Christ said there are no plans to ask organizations to cancel events designed to attract crowds.
If you would like to review our diocesan protocols, please visit www.diocesetucson.org
At the top of the home page there is a slide with a link to the protocols. Please know that our Catholic schools manage cold and flu seasons every year and are well-versed in making sure that they and their students all are taking the proper prevention steps. Our Catholic schools do have an influenza protocol to follow, and now have added the protocols of the Pima County Health Department to their operations. You may want to check out the Pima County Health Department for the current information at https://webcms.pima.gov/government/health_department
Thank you and stay well!
.
Second week of Lent
Here in our Pastoral Center, we are fortunate to have two fine resources to use as daily meditations for Lent. The first, provided to each diocesan employee downtown by our Pastoral Services Department, is a lovely little book with daily reflections written by Michelle Francl-Donnay, who is described as a writer, teacher, wife, and mother of two. She writes a weekly column for the Philadelphia Archdiocese at CatholicPhilly.com and also writes a blog about faith and science at http://mfrancldonnay.blogspot.com. The other resource, lovingly given to Pastoral Center employees by Msgr. Domenico Pinti, is “The Little Black Book, Six-minute Meditations on the Sunday Gospels of Lent (Cycle A).” I know there are parishes that send these books to parishioners as well.
Here is Francl-Donnay’s reflection for the second of Sunday of Lent
(March 8). It is a nice meditation on God's tenderness toward us.

Sunday Readings: Gen 12:1-4a; 2 Tim 1:8b-10; Matt 17:1-9
Scripture: But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Rise, and do not be afraid." (Matt 17:7)

Reflection: When I listen to these familiar stories of our salvation, of the founding of Israel with Abram, of the transfiguration, I sometimes want to do as Peter, James, and John did and throw myself face down on the ground and cover my eyes. I'm awestruck not so much by the immensity of the promises made to a childless seventy-five-year-old man or by the voice coming from the cloud - as overwhelming as these may be but by God's tenderness in these encounters.

God's strength and power cannot help but shake us to our foundation. Yet in both these encounters he seeks not to intimidate, instead proffering kindness and compassion in the midst of overpowering experiences. God blesses Abram again and again, so much so, he assures Abram, that these blessings will spill over to every community on earth. Jesus comes over to the apostles sprawled and trembling on the ground and touches them, reassuring them. We place our trust not in a God who terrifies us, but in a God whose kindness and mercy are ever present.

In her Showings, St. Julian of Norwich calls God our clothing, who wraps and enfolds us in a tender love. God, she says, never promised that we wouldn't be tempest-tossed and frightened. He did promise he will never let us go.

We, too, are called to a tender attentiveness to each other in challenging times. We are called to realize that we are blessed no less than Abram was, so that God's blessings might continue to overflow, that we might be blessings to all the world. We are called to do as Christ did on the mountaintop and reach out to our sisters and brothers living in fear and trembling-to never let them go.

Meditation: When has God reached out to you with a tender attentiveness? How do you see the ways in which God has blessed you spilling over and reaching out to the larger community you live in?

Prayer: Lord, be tender with us, enfolding us in your love. Help us to be tender with each other, reaching out to those who live in fear and carrying your blessings to the ends of the earth.

Thank you Knights
This afternoon I received a check for $16,000 from the Msgr. Donald H. Hughes Assembly of the Knights of Columbus to support our Seminarian Education Fund. The monies came as a result of the Knights’ Annual Fundraiser, Mass and Dinner with the Bishop.

I am very grateful for this dedicated support which is most helpful in assisting the Diocese with offsetting the cost of seminarian education.

I am pictured at left with event chairman Bart Pemberton (left) and Faithful Navigator Stephen Hackney. A bishop’s best friend is the Knights of Columbus!

US Census reminder
Please review the information below from the Census Bureau. I hope you will participate in the Census; so many public services receive funding based on the information gathered through the collection of data provided by the Census. It is vital that all of us participate. April 1 is Census Day. Here is the information provided to us by the Census Bureau:
“Households are encouraged to respond when they receive their (Census) invitation. Depending on how likely the area is to respond online, households will receive either an invitation encouraging them to respond online or by phone (about 112 million households), or an invitation along with a paper questionnaire (about 31 million households).

“All invitations will include a short phrase in English and 12 additional languages inviting people to respond online or by phone in their language. In areas where 20% or more of the households need Spanish assistance, the invitations will be in both English and Spanish.

“All households receiving an invitation in the mail will receive a second letter in the mail shortly after reminding them to respond. Then, households that still haven’t responded will receive a series of additional reminders, including a paper questionnaire in mid-April. Census takers will follow up with households that don’t respond to collect responses in person.”

Priest training sessions
Please pray for priests of our diocese who participated in a training session this week at the Redemptorist Renewal Center.

St. John Paul II Youth Awards, Tucson
It will be my pleasure to celebrate Mass with the 64 teens and their families at St. Augustine Cathedral this Saturday (March 14) and then present the teens with their St. John Paul II Youth Awards.
The awards are bestowed on teens who have shown dedication in one or more areas: Missionary Disciples, Missionaries of Mercy or Liturgical Leadership. My prayer is that these teens will continue on their paths of faith and service throughout their adult lives.

Congratulations to all!

Kino Border Initiative Dinner
I will attend this dinner Saturday evening at Brophy College Preparatory - Harper Great Hall in Phoenix. The dinner benefits the work of KBI. Part of the evening includes presentation of the 2020 Pope Francis Award to Lucy Howell. Howell is a senior adviser / Director of Partnerships at Angel Capital Association.

According to its website, “KBI is a binational organization in Nogales, Arizona and Nogales Sonora, Mexico, that works in migration. The organization was inaugurated in January of 2009 by six organizations from the United States and Mexico: The California Province of the Society of Jesus, Jesuit Refugee Service/USA, the Missionary Sisters of the Eucharist, the Mexican Province of the Society of Jesus, the Diocese of Tucson and the Diocese of Nogales. KBI’s vision is to help make humane, just, workable migration between the United States and Mexico a reality. Its mission is to promote US/Mexico border and immigration policies that affirm the dignity of the human person and a spirit of bi-national solidarity through:

Direct humanitarian assistance and accompaniment with migrants.
Social and pastoral education with communities on both sides of the border.
Participation in collaborative networks that engage in research and advocacy to transform local, regional, and national immigration policies.”