10/6/2022 Joe Cicciari1933 - 2022Memorial Mass
Saturday, November 5 10:00 am Padre Serra Parish Burial Mass Saturday, October 29 1:00 pm Mission San Fernando 9/30/2022 A Lifetime of Mustard SeedsDear friends on the journey, Recently I was inspired to reflect on Vincent Van Gogh’s 1888 painting, Sower at Sunset, as a metaphorical image for my walk of faith and vocation that has led me to this very special day. Today at the 11:00 am Mass Bishop Marc Trudeau will commission me as a Pastoral Associate for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles for the service of Padre Serra Parish. In looking back on my journey, I can see where God, our good and gracious sower, has been planting mustard seeds of faith. After my infant baptism, the first seed I recall was at age four and, throughout my childhood, teen years and adult life, God has been planting, watering, tending, and guiding my faith. Along the way, there have been some significant encounters and moments, like today. In general, though, the deepening of my faith and progression of my vocation has grown in the simple and unexpected, in the humble witness of God’s hand at work around me, because of people’s generosity and influence, in suffering and healing, and in formation and my academics at St. John’s Seminary. My ecclesial roles have included altar server, Eucharistic minister, volunteer, administrative staff, catechist, master catechist, business manager, and faith life minister. For 31 years, I have been living out my vocation of motherhood and marriage. Today all of these roles, experiences, growth, skills, talents, gifts and charisms come together. Today God’s call to the vocation as Pastoral Associate comes to fruition. By no means did I do this on my own. I simply could not. This journey has been filled with God’s grace, the Holy Spirit, the love and encouragement of family and friends, the influence of lay teachers and mentors, religious, and clergy who showed mercy and empowered me, most especially Fr. Patrick who has given me more than I deserve. And all of you parishioners and leaders who have inspired, encouraged and celebrated me.
9/24/2022 Be PersuadedDear Faith Family, This weekend’s Gospel is obviously very challenging. It always is when there is a discussion of the afterlife. Lazarus, the poor man, was more open to the idea of heaven than the rich man who lived an extravagant life. While this is a message that we often hear about in scripture, there is one line that really stuck out to me regarding our lives as Catholics. At the end of our Sunday’s Gospel, the rich man implores Abraham to send a message to his brothers to avoid “this place of torment.” He claims that if a ghost appears to them, it will scare them straight and convince them to live holy and humble lives. Abraham’s reply is quite powerful: “If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded should someone rise from the dead.” Is Abraham’s statement true for us at times? I think so. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I have the urge to rely on a personal miracle for me to change or understand God’s will for me. When we rely only on personal miracles, we forget about the most important message. Jesus is the Resurrected God and we need to let people know. Through the hustle and bustle of our busy lives, we sometimes forget to be persuaded by God’s rising from the dead. Yes, we can experience miracles and intercession from the heavens, but they mean nothing unless we get to know who Jesus is. This is why our parish motto of “Encounter Jesus, Be Disciples” is so powerful. Without that encounter of Jesus, even the most groundbreaking miracle can mean nothing to a person’s life. This rings true on the other hand, as well. Our goal of discipleship is not to meet a quota. While it would be nice to have an official number of souls that we have impacted, we will never know the number of people we have evangelized. We have to remember that we are simply planting seeds and those seeds are the message of the Resurrection. While we may be prophets, our work means nothing until they are persuaded by it.
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