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Scholars believe that the last Old Testament prophet was Malachi. He lived and preached after the return of Israel to Jerusalem from Babylon, perhaps around 400 BC. The people were discouraged and were falling away from faith, asking what was the point of faith when there was so much hardship and injustice.

Malachi’s prophecies are filled with warnings about the consequences of bad behavior. He insists that a Messiah will come to make all things right.

At the end of this short book, Malachi says that Elijah will come again to prepare the people for the “day of the Lord”.

Lo, I will send you Elijah the prophet, Before the day of the Lord comes, The great and terrible day, To turn the hearts of the fathers to their chil dren and the hearts of the children to their fathers.

Malachi’s fascinating assessment of what is needed in a world gone wrong is that fathers should turn in love to their children and children likewise turn in love to their fathers. What was wrong with the world in the time of Malachi? Broken father-child relationships. What’s the remedy for the world’s ills? The bonding of fathers and children to one another in love. Good fathers are the key to a troubled world. Is 2025 so different from 400 BC?

Many of us have wonderful memories of growing up with good fathers, men who worked hard, loved us and showed us how to be people of prayer. But in too many cases, children grow up without fathers or with fathers who were disinterested.

Pope Francis said this of what is needed from fathers: “The first thing needed is that the father be present in the family. That he be close to his wife, to share everything, joys and sorrows, hardships and hopes. A father needs to be close to the children as they grow up; when they are playing and when they are working on a task; when they are carefree and when they are troubled.”

When Jesus wanted to tell us what God is like, he used fatherhood as the principal metaphor. God is our Father.

On Fathers’ Day, I cannot say enough about how important fathers are to society and the Church. Thank you to good fathers! Pray for all fathers.

Capital Campaign Update as of June 2

Large gifts: $625,000
Estate: 100,000
Historic Preservation Fund: 50,000
Smaller gifts: 233,064
Pledges 20,000
TOTAL $1,028,064

The amount of pledges decreases as pledges are paid. The project may cost as much as $1.4 million, so we are still in need of your help!

Archbishop Perez’s Pastoral Letter

Our Archbishop has written an important letter asking everyone in the Archdiocese to think about and plan for evangelization. We need to study and talk about his initiative.

1. Read the Archbishop’s letter. It can be found at trustandhope.org.
2. Attend a study/discussion session on the letter on Sunday, June 29, after the 10:30 AM Mass in our Saint John’s Parish Center. It will be led by Deacon James O’Neill.

Catholic Charities Appeal

We are a little late this year to kick off our parish Catholic Charities Appeal because of our capital campaign. Yet we still need to support the Church’s work among the poor. In a few weeks, we will have a speaker and a collection. In the meantime, there are donation envelopes in the back of the upper and lower churches. This is the local Catholic Church’s most important annual collection. Please be generous.

Peter’s Pence Collection

Every June, every Catholic Church takes up a collection to support the work of the Pope. We have a new Pope, Leo XIV. Supporting this collection is a way of showing support for our new Pope. Please be generous.

This week ...

From the Pastor' Desk