3/11/2022 Awake, to see God’s Glory!Dear Parish Family,
If you are anything like me, it’s so easy to get sidetracked on our many tasks and can lose track of time. Even more so when we may be doing something you really enjoy, such as reading a good book, binging on Netflix or sleeping in the morning. My alarm clock is my best tool to make sure I am up in the morning and where I need to be on time. To help me manage my time on my busy days when I have time sensitive tasks, I recently started to use the alarms on my cell. Since I have begun this new habit, I get my most important tasks done on time, and on occasions I surprise myself that I may have some time to spare. I bring this up only because I think that at times we need tools to help us, to make sure we are awake and alert to what comes next. In our Gospel today, Peter and John and James went with Jesus to the mountain to pray. Yet while Jesus prayed, his disciples fell asleep. Had they not woken up on time, they would have missed seeing Jesus in his Glory. They would not have heard God’s voice say, “This is my chosen Son; Listen to him.” It was through God’s grace they did wake up on time, and were able to experience Jesus’ Transfiguration. They were given the opportunity to see his divinity. Our lives can be like this, where we too fall asleep, letting everything else distract us and not keep us from recognizing Jesus is always with us. God desires us to see him, but we must be willing to see. During the season of Lent, through the practices of Fasting from food and habits, Prayer and Almsgiving, can be like our alarm clocks to “wake up.” Through these practices they can lead us to see and feel Jesus more clearly and to listen to what he tells us. As we fast, and experience hunger, it awakens our awareness of the hunger and needs of others. As we pray, especially with the scriptures, we learn to hear God’s voice and his desires for us. We learn to see Jesus in our brothers and sisters; through almsgiving we seek to meet their needs. “What you do for the least of your brothers, you do for me.” God gave us the Transfiguration to let us know what we have to look forward to at the end of our lives. We know that after we’ve done our best down here on earth — at the bottom of the mountain — and if we die in a state of grace, we can look forward to seeing Christ in all His glory, as He was at the Transfiguration. Only after we go through this difficult life, can we enjoy the glory of Easter. My Dear Parish Family, Welcome to Lent! You may have already decided what you are doing for the next 40 days in the way of prayer, self-denial, and charitable works (the three “pillars” of Lent) to prepare for the great feast of Easter. Some of us are still deciding, but I am going to suggest that whatever we do for Lent, we put it all into the context of baptismal spirituality. Let me explain by way of a little historical background. In the early centuries of the Church, becoming a Christian was a gradual process of apprenticeship in a counter-cultural way of life. The season we now call Lent was the final and intense period when the seekers were prepared to be immersed into the waters of baptism at the Easter Vigil. When infant baptism became the norm by the fifth century, Lent became only a penitential time for the baptized to prepare for the celebration of Easter. The pre-baptismal character of Lent was forgotten until it was revived by the Second Vatican Council in the twentieth century. Today Lent has two strands, baptismal and penitential, woven together. It is again a time when we journey with the Elect (see “Becoming Catholic” on page 9) to the baptismal font at the Easter Vigil. As we encourage and pray for them during Lent, we reflect on the meaning of our own baptism when we ourselves "put on Christ.” Our Lenten penitential practices can help us to examine our lives in the context of baptismal mission: are we living as disciples of Jesus, being His heart and hands in the world today? For 40 days we ponder this, through our Lenten practices, so we can authentically renew our own baptismal promises at Easter. I'd like to suggest that you and your families do something at the beginning of Lent that I did recently with the adult Confirmation candidates. Single people could do this with a small group of friends. Gather mementos of each person's baptism: the certificate, candle, white garment, photos, and stories remembered by those who attended. Share all these memories with the group. What should emerge, as it did with our Confirmation candidates, is a sense of the importance placed on this day by our families. Hopefully this will lead to a discussion of the meaning of baptism and the difference it makes in our lives and in the life of the world. May Lent 2022 be fruitful for all of us, marked by an increased awareness and understanding of the great gift of baptism. Lenten Blessings, Catherine Shadduck Initiation Coordinator 2/26/2022 Blooming (and bearing fruit)I have a new tree in my backyard. It has multiple fruits grafted onto it, including plums, apricots, peaches and one other stone fruit that I have forgotten, perhaps nectarines, all selected for their ability to self-pollinate and grow in our warmer climate. We’ll see if this works. I was told that if the major trunk comes to dominate on the tree, the other varieties will die off, so I have to prune it carefully. After it was planted, it was clear that two of the varieties had begun to dominate in growth already. I have no idea, which ones yet, as the tree came without leaf or fruit on it. So, I read everything I could find on the internet on pruning this tree correctly, and watched YouTube videos on the subject, both done in Australia, curiously. With trepidation, I took pruners in hand and did my best to restore some balance, and prepare the tree for spring growth. I admit that I am fearful that I cut off too much.
Within just the last couple of days of my writing this, though, the first white blossoms have opened on some of the branches. I’m getting hopeful that there might be fruit in my future. Again, we’ll see, but it’s hopeful. And that is the point of my story. You do your best, and then you hope. You try, and try hard, and then you hope. You fail, even, and you pick yourself back up, and you continue to hope. You’ve all made the best health choices you could in these last two difficult years. We’ve all had our hopes disappointed with ongoing waves and total and partial shutdowns. And yet there are signs, early and yet still hopeful signs, with falling infections rates, easier symptoms, fewer hospitalizations, etc. Perhaps this time things will work out. Might there be reason to hope? we were to recycle right back into a new wave of infections, perhaps pi, or rho, or sigma? Both Delta and Omicron were surprises. It could happen, dear Lord forfend! What would we do? We’d hope for the future, and carry on. On the other hand, this could be the beginning of something better, even if not entirely as things were before, but much more open and less constrained. Truth to tell, none of us know. But we have dealt with hard times, and we have endured. We have had losses, real and painful, but we have survived. In essence, like my fruit tree, we’ve been pruned. There could be hard times ahead, but we are hardened. We aren’t weak. We can do this. We can hope. I encourage you, in light of today’s Gospel, that we need to bear fruit under both good and bad circumstances. Whatever happens, please do not become disheartened. Be a person of faith and hope. As 1 Peter 1:6-7 says, “In this you rejoice, although now for a little while you may have to suffer through various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire, may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 2/26/2022 Sharon Garcia1957 - 2022Memorial Mass
Tuesday, March 8 10:00 am Padre Serra Parish Committal Preceding Memorial Mass Friday, March 4, 2:30 pm Conejo Mountain |
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