We welcome Bishop Keehner to our parish this Sunday afternoon, (on the far side of our Sioux City Diocese). He will preside at the Mass for the Sacrament of Confirmation for those students who will “be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

“Lord, it is good that we are here.” Peter’s words spoken to Jesus at the moment of the Transfiguration, speaks of the visible presence that overwhelms his faith.

“At that timeJesus was led bythe Spirit intothe desert to be tempted bythedevil. He fastedfor fortydaysandforty nights. . .” Each Lenten Season the Church places the gospel passage describing Jesus’forty days in the desert on the first Sunday of this‘forty dayjourney.’

As a long time“educator,”in the classroom and school administration for our Sacred Heart School, Sue Eldridge has devoted her faith, energies, time, and abilities for the hope and wellbeing of each student.

St. John, St. Malachy, and Sacred Heart churches will each receive a new Paschal Candle during Holy Week

Our gospel passage this weekend provides us the ‘pinnacle’if you will of Jesus’first recorded sermon: the Sermon on the Mount.

Catholic SchoolsWeek begins this Sunday.Weare privileged to have the opportunity of Catholic Education within our parish;and likewise, two very good Religious Education programs within our three churches.

Two years ago our diocese began the process of evaluating a different format for marriage preparation, seeking a viable approach that would guide and more readily involve an engaged couple’s understanding of this Sacrament, and their personal faith shared within the Church.

“As our liturgical“Season of Christmas”comes to an end, we graciously remember the dignified environment of our church sanctuaries at St. Malachy, St. John, and Sacred Heart.

“Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage

“So the shepherds went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant Jesus lying in a manger.”(Christmas morning reading)

As you may have heard, our Sacred Heart School Principal, Sue Eldridge, has announced her retirement at the end of this 25/26 school year. For thirteen plus years she has served our school and parish as the administrator, guiding the teachers and staff, students and families, seeking a Catholic-Christian learning environment.

welcome Fr. Jerry this weekend, who will share his experience with Unbound Ministries; how this Catholic outreach actively brings hope to individuals and families in various communities throughout the world

Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths,”John the Baptist exhorts us in today’s gospel passage from Matthew.

Bishop Keehner was greatly appreciative of our hospitality and‘spirit’of faith he encountered at last weekend’s Masses.

“When you hear of wars and insurrections do not be terrified. . . .There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place. . . .but I myself will give you wisdom.”

November is our tradition Month of Remembrance, honoring the souls of ancestors, family members, relatives, friends and neighbors who have died

Since his ordination last May as our shepherd guiding Sioux City Diocese, Bishop John Keehner has expressed a desire to visit the parishes and parishioners as his busy schedule allows

“'O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity -- greedy, dishonest, adulterous -- or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.

“And Jesus said,‘There was a judge in a certain town who neither feared God nor respected any human being.’”(Luke 18:1)