Soles4Souls is Back | This Weekend!

Do you have lightly worn shoes piling up? Well, here’s your chance to give them a second life and help others in need. Bring your clean gently worn shoes to the entry of church on the weekend of June 21-22, there will be collection boxes located there for your shoes. All sizes welcome. Please tie the shoes together by the shoestrings or rubber band them in pairs. Thank you to Barb Frodin for heading up this outreach. For questions you can contact Barb at bfrodin@gmail.com. There are also flyers in the back of church.

Here to Serve | Tuesday, July 1| Regis University

Now, more than ever, our most vulnerable neighbors are in need of the daily necessities such as good food.  Looking for a way to serve those in need? Volunteer to help at the Regis University Mobile Food Pantry. This is a wonderful experience to connect to our marginalized neighbors along with other Holy Family parishioners. This monthly outreach is now in it’s 2^nd year of service. We will be working outside so dress for the weather. Come and serve Tuesday, July 1 from 8-11am. If interested in carpooling from Holy Family, contact Ann.  To sign up and obtain more information: https://tinyurl.com/RegisFoodPantry

Pads 4 Dignity Outreach is Back! | Starting the weekend of June 21-22

There is a crisis for women in poverty of not having feminine hygiene products available. This situation is universal and is known as, “Period Poverty”. It is an alarming problem for those who are on the margins, especially for our newcomers. You can help by donating feminine pads.

Last year, through the leadership of Carol Holly, we collected over 2,000 hygiene pads to help women have the products they need. We distributed them at Bienvenidos Food Bank, Regis Mobile Food Bank and other sites. The need continues to be great and Cathy Hanisits has stepped up to take the lead on this outreach. Thank you Cathy!

We will continue to collect feminine hygiene pads in the back of church for the next month. If you have the time, it is helpful to package pads, 18 in a zip- lock bag, as this is the way they are distributed and the amount most women need in a month.

We will package pads on Wednesday, July 16 @ 10am in the office classroom. If you have questions or want to volunteer to help package pads in July: please contact Ann Zimmer in the office. Thank you for your continued generosity.

Synodal Hope| The Vision of Pope Francis and the Future with Pope Leo

 A  Pre-recordedConversation with Timothy Cardinal Radcliffe, OP |

Monday June 30 , 10-11:30 AM Parish OFFICE Classroom

Pope Francis was famous for saying “Todos, todos, todos,” leaving us with a legacy of radical inclusion by listening to all, especially to those on the margins. His clear hope for the church, that Pope Leo XIV seems eager to carry forward, was that every member of the baptized would see themselves as full participants in the church’s mission, embracing a way of listening to and journeying with one another. This pastoral vision was enacted in a historic way through the processes for the Synod on Synodality which included listening sessions around the world, general Synod assemblies in Rome, and a roadmap for implementation. But what does our current moment call us to and what can we hope for?
Journey together with spiritual advisor and retreat master of the Synod’s 2023 and 2024 pre-Synod assemblies, Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe, OP, for a timely conversation about how we can continue to carry out Pope Francis’s hope for a missionary synodal church and what this moment means for us as we all move forward together in hope.

Time for discussion will follow this pre-recorded conversation. No need to RSVP | Snacks Provided!

We are Called as Catholics to Stand in Solidarity for the Poor and Most Vulnerable

Today there are many who are most vulnerable in our world. At the forefront are our immigrant brothers and sisters. We are called to support and respect the dignity of all life, including these neighbors. “What is happening in our world right now is overwhelming, but Catholics need to stay informed about the legal challenges. Understanding the problems and the laws will help provide hope for relief for the most vulnerable. We are all protagonists in this story, and each of us is called to active love of immigrants.” Dr Cecilia Gonzalez-Andrieu

Being informed is important. During the next few weeks, we’ll look at “Truths about Immigrants”, researched and compiled by Interfaith Immigration Network.

2 Truths About Immigration:

• Immigrants Pay Taxes.2 Immigrants annually pay more in taxes than the entire GDP of 41 states. 3 These taxes fund critical programs like education, Social Security, public safety, and infrastructure. 4 In Colorado, undocumented immigrants paid $436.5 million in taxes in 2022. If these taxpayers were granted work authorizations, this number would rise to $537.8 million. 5
• Immigrants fill critical labor shortages. 6 Colorado has a labor shortage. Many immigrants do jobs US citizens are not interested in (house cleaning, yard care, agriculture, meat packing). Other immigrants are highly educated and skilled in fields like engineering or health care, filling critical labor shortages in these industries. Industries like construction are highly dependent on immigrant labor.

2 https://map.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/locations/colorado/

3 In 2023 immigrants $652 billion in taxes in 2023,

https://www.axios.com/2025/03/10/immigrants-taxes-map. In 2023 41 states had a annul GDP of less

than $652 billion, https://www.statista.com/statistics/248023/us-gross-domestic-product-gdp-by-state/.

4 https://gwbushcenter.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/gwbi-immigration-whitepapers-undocumented.pdf

5 https://coloradofiscal.org/national-study-undocumented-immigrants-co

6 https://map.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/locations/colorado/

A second informative resource is the article “Pope Francis’ Wisdom for Our Current Migrant Crisis”  written by Dr. Cecilia González-Andrieu from Loyola Marymount University. There are copies in the back of church or you can access it here: https://tinyurl.com/PopeFrancisWisdom

June is Gun Violence Prevention Month | Extreme Risk Laws | Red Flag Laws

When a person is in crisis and considering harming themselves or others, family members and law enforcement are often the first people to see the warning signs. Extreme Risk laws, sometimes referred to as “Red Flag” laws, allow loved ones or law enforcement to intervene by petitioning a court for an order to temporarily prevent someone in crisis from accessing guns. Colorado has Extreme Risk Laws/Red Flag Laws in effect

This law allows law enforcement (and often family members) to petition for a court order to temporarily prevent someone in crisis from accessing guns.

These laws can help de-escalate emergency situations. Extreme Risk laws are a proven way to intervene before gun violence—such as a gun suicide or mass shooting—takes more lives.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org/chat to chat with a counselor from the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, previously known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline provides 24/7, free, and confidential support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress anywhere in the US.

Lock Up Firearms

Do you have a firearm in your home? Is it locked away safely? This is especially important if there are children in the home. 2 out of 3 children with guns in their homes, claim they know where they are hidden. 36% of them have handled these guns.

Colorado Faith Communities United Against Gun Violence (CFCU) along with CU’s Firearm Injury Prevention Initiative have provided a flyer providing a comprehensive detailing of storage best practices for individual and family protection. You can get a copy in the back of church or access the document here: https://tinyurl.com/SafeGunStorage23

Pope Leo XIV continues the work of Leo XIII | Catholic Social Teaching

By taking the name Leo, our new Pope seems to want to continue the tradition of developing Catholic social teaching in a way that breaks new ground on important global matters.

So, what is Catholic Social Teaching? In the upcoming weeks, we will focus on a Catholic Social Teaching theme. These are central to our faith and are based on — and inseparable from — our understanding of human life and dignity. These teachings are derived from: the Gospels and the words of Christ; papal statements and encyclicals; and Catholic bishops’ statements and pastoral letters. Catholic social teaching calls us all to work for the common good, help build a just society, uphold the dignity of human life and lift up our poor and vulnerable brothers and sisters.

This week’s theme is : Rights and Responsibilities
Every person has a fundamental right to life — the right that makes all other rights possible. Each person also has a right to the conditions for living a decent life — food, health care, housing, education and employment. We have a corresponding duty to secure and respect these rights for others and to fulfill our responsibilities to our families, to each other and to our larger society.                                                                                                                                                      Source: Minnesota Catholic Conference. This information has been adapted from: “Catholic Teaching and Principles,”  U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Reflect on Tradition

“We must speak of man’s rights. Man has the right to live. He has the right to bodily integrity and to the means necessary for the proper development of life, particularly food, clothing, shelter, medical care, rest, and, finally, the necessary social services. In consequence, he has the right to be looked after in the event of ill health; disability stemming from his work; widowhood; old age; enforced unemployment; or whenever through no fault of his own he is deprived of the means of livelihood.” —St. John XXIII, Peace on Earth (Pacem in Terris), no. 11

For Your Reflection:

• Do I recognize and respect the economic, social, political, and cultural rights of others?
• Do I live in material comfort and excess while remaining insensitive to the needs of others whose rights are unfulfilled?
• Do I take seriously my responsibility to ensure that the rights of persons in need are realized?
• Do I urge those in power to implement programs and policies that give priority to the human dignity and rights of all, especially the vulnerable? S. Conference of Catholic Bishops 2010

Watch  short video clips on each of the 7 themes: https://www.crs.org/resource-center/CST-101

Thomas Merton Conference | Regis University | June 19-22

The International Thomas Merton Society invites all to its 19^th biennial Conference at Regis University in Denver this coming June 19-22, 2025. Scholars and presenters will offer insights into Thomas Merton’s contributions on such topics as prayer, ecology, social commitment, Indigenous wisdom, photography and art. The theme of the conference is “Thomas Merton and the Spirit of Place: The Calligraphy of Snow, Rock and Sky.”  Pope Francis in his 2015 address to Congress said that “Merton was above all a man of prayer, a thinker who challenged the certitudes of his time and opened new horizons for souls and for the Church. He was a man of dialogue, a promoter of peace between peoples and religions”. Further information on the program and registration can be found on the web at merton.org/2025.