6/1/2024 The Real Presence of JesusHello Friends, It is a common theme of my faith journey that many of the rich Catholic practices I now cherish were late discoveries for me but are, in fact, well-established practices in our Catholic faith. Visiting the Blessed Sacrament has only been a part of my prayer life for the last ten years or so. I have always been Catholic, but I was not always attentive to God’s prompting to draw me closer. Once I finally responded to God’s calling to spend time with Him, I found my appointments to meet our Lord in Eucharist adoration to be the most fruitful time of prayer. At first, carving out a few minutes to pray before the Blessed Sacrament was almost a survival tactic. During rough patches of living out career and family life, I sought refuge with the Blessed Sacrament. I became very familiar with several parishes across the LA area as I was usually far from home during the workday. A fifteen-minute stop to visit the Blessed Sacrament would turn into thirty minutes – time flew. Once outside of the church or chapel, life’s problems were still there waiting for me, but prayer before the Blessed Sacrament had changed me, and my reaction to those same problems was different. This is the great gift that God gives us of His presence in the Blessed Sacrament. Jesus said, “I will be with you always until the end of the age” (Mt 28:20), and in the Blessed Sacrament, through faith, we are in the presence of our Lord. After receiving many graces during those moments of prayer, I wanted to go back and just spend time with Him and be attentive to what God wanted to tell me. Whether out of desperation or in gratitude, God always responds with His grace. Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, and our attention turns to the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. The long-awaited (it has been 83 years since the last one) 10th National Eucharistic Congress will take place in July in Indianapolis. Last year, Pope Francis wrote to the organizing committee of the National Eucharistic Congress, “It is my hope, then, that the Eucharistic Congress will inspire Catholics throughout the country to discover anew the sense of wonder and awe at the Lord’s great gift of himself and to spend time with him in the celebration of the Holy Mass and in personal prayer and adoration before the Blessed Sacrament.” The real presence of Christ in the Eucharist has been central to the Church’s teaching since the beginning. From Paul’s first letter to the Church in Corinth (1 Cor:10-16) to Pope Francis, the Eucharist remains the Source and Summit of the Christian life (L.G. 11). In his book “Visits to the Blessed Sacrament” St. Alphonsus Liguori wrote, “Realize that you may gain more in a quarter of an hour of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament than in all other practices of the day” Those words ring true in my spiritual life. ![]() I encourage my friends to try this most fruitful devotion. Let us come and adore the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Manuel Leon Business Manager 5/30/2024 Susan Houlihan1953 - 2024Funeral Liturgy
Thursday, May 30 10:00 am Padre Serra Parish Burial Thursday, May 30 11:30 am Conejo Mountain Mortuary Conejo Mountain 5/24/2024 Beauty and Truth Beyond ComprehensionDear Friends, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” This is how we begin all our communal prayer as Catholics and much of our private prayer as well. We make the Sign of the Cross while saying it, putting ourselves under its protection. We bless those we love with the same sign, and we are blessed at our baptism, at our funeral, and many times in between with the Sign of the Cross, invoking the Holy Trinity. It would be arrogant and foolish of me to think that I could explain to you the doctrine of the Trinity, or even to think that I understand it myself. Yet it is something we believe as Catholics. It’s one of the Big Basics — One God, Three Persons. It is a Mystery — a truth we can meditate on, contemplate, pray about, yet never fully grasp, never understand. I have no original thoughts on this, God knows, but I will share some thoughts with you that I remember from what I have heard over the years in homilies given by people whose wisdom I respect, right here at Padre Serra. Here they are, in no particular order, and paraphrased: • One God, Three Persons — and each of the three is God in all God’s fullness • The Trinity as a way to imagine with our finite mind what is infinite • Father, Son and Holy Spirit as the ideal familial relationship • The Holy Spirit as the “embodiment” of the love between the Father and the Son • Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer — this one is problematic, though, because it implies distinct attributes to each of the three Persons of the Holy Trinity who all accomplish all of these things Maybe God gave us the doctrine, the truth of the Trinity to help us turn to him more readily when we feel particular kinds of needs. For example: • When we are awestruck by the beauty of creation, and need to address thanksgiving and praise to God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth • When we are acutely conscious of our sins and failings, and our great need for forgiveness and healing, and need to address sorrow, love and repentance to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our Redeemer • When we seek courage, strength and inspiration to continue responding to God’s call in the face of challenges, and need to address our neediness and thirst to the Holy Spirit, the mighty wind, the breath of life, the giver of wisdom ![]() “Let all things their Creator bless, and worship Him in humbleness, Alleluia, Alleluia! Praise God the Father, God the Son, and Holy Spirit Three in One. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!” Siempre Adelante, Dominic MacAller Director of Liturgy and Music 5/22/2024 George Francis Ford1926 - 2024Funeral Liturgy
Wednesday, May 22 11:00 am Padre Serra Parish Mortuary Pierce Brothers, Westlake |
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