Dear Parish Family, This weekend we celebrate in a special way the individuals who have said “YES” to God’s call to serve his people, through the ministry of Catechist. They will be called forward, blessed and sent out to minister to the children, youth and adults of our parish community. Pope Francis describes the role of the Catechists as “witnesses who live from the celebration of the Eucharist and place themselves at the service of the Christian community, to support the deepening of faith in the concreteness of daily life.” They tirelessly proclaim the Gospel of mercy, create the necessary bonds of welcome and closeness to better appreciate the Word of God and to celebrate the Eucharistic mystery by offering the fruits of good works. Who did this for you? Who was instrumental in your encounter with Jesus? How do you do this for others? Our theme this year focuses on the Eucharist. The source and summit of our faith, the true presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. This year’s theme will help us focus on our Mission; to bring others to an encounter with the living God. Jesus gives himself to us at every liturgy. He patiently waits for us to come to the table and receive him. He is the Bread of Life. It is the only thing that will quench the hunger of our soul. In the gift of receiving Jesus in the Eucharist we come into a transforming intimacy with him. This is sanctifying Grace. As Faith Formation ministers this is the goal, to bring others to this encounter. The Children’s Faith Formation ministry is only possible by wonderful volunteers: Moms, Dads and other loving adults, just like you. This is a beautiful ministry, where it’s not always about having the answers to the kids’ questions but an opportunity to hear how God works and speaks through the mouths of the children as well. No experience is required. Our coordinators will prepare all the lesson plans and supplies needed. This year more than ever we are in need of Catechists, as many children are once again returning to in-person sessions. We are limited to the number of centers we can offer based on the number of volunteers we have. Do you feel God calling you to journey in faith with the children of our parish? Help us not to turn away any child seeking to encounter Jesus. Please reach out to me [email protected] Siempre Adelante! Blessings, Tere Delgado Faith Formation Minister 9/10/2022 We’ll be “Bach”After a well-deserved summer break (after singing a full year, and 2/3 of that timemasked!) the choirs are returning to ministry soon, and we are recruiting! What we’re looking for in choir members:
Do any of these describe you? • I play (played) in the band or orchestra in school We want you! • I sing (sang) in the choir at school or at church We want you! • I take (took) music lessons (vocal or instrumental) We want you! • I’ve never played or sung a note We might want you LOL I’m interested. What do I do next? Come in for a quick, private vocal checkup and we’ll see if it’s a good fit. Contact Dominic MacAller [email protected] 805-482-6417 ext. 327 and/or stop by the choir table at the Ministry Fair in the courtyard on Sunday 9/11. Today’s responsorial psalm says “O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.” Music ministry in a choir is a great way to do that! Siempre adelante, Dominic MacAller Worship Minister 9/3/2022 The Honest StruggleDear friends on the journey, Two weeks ago visiting priest Fr. Pat Travers shared about the Tijuana Mission Outreach program. Something he said about the readings struck me deeply. He said, “Salvation depends on the favor of God and the honest struggle to follow his ways.” Honest struggle. This got me thinking. Taking seriously our Christian life and discipleship involves honest struggle. Today’s gospel from Luke in which Jesus outlines the radical cost to be his disciple. Simply put, Jesus is telling us we are to put our relationship with him above all other earthly relationships, accept our crosses of human suffering as well persecution for our faith, and surrender our possessions. This is a lot to understand, process, and live out. Frankly, this is a lot to ask of us. We have two options upon receiving Jesus message: • Hear it and move on with our day and week, or • Listen and really absorb it, chew on it, pray on it, and struggle with it. The great thing about the parish family is that we can struggle together, not only with scripture but also with spirituality, our individual faith and life journeys, and our Catholic tradition. A gift of the pandemic was the increased use of technology to keep us connected. Born in July 2020 was Gospel Hangout: two weekly one-hour virtual hangouts on Zoom (Tuesday mornings and Wednesday evenings) where the previous Sunday’s gospel is proclaimed and then discussed. We are not scripture experts but each of us share our learnings, experiences, trust in the Holy Spirit’s guidance and honest struggle because we genuinely desire to be better disciples. We sign off with more insight, something new to reflect on, a challenge, and oftentimes a new viewpoint. I love these people and they have enriched my faith journey. Please join us or let me know how I can help you begin your own Gospel Hangout. Our parish is blessed to have other opportunities to understand scripture as food for our discipleship journey: Monday’s Bible Faith Share, Tuesday’s Living Liturgy with Paul Ford, Wednesday’s deanery Bible study. Plus many other ministries provide the space for honest struggle: spirituality groups for men and women, prayer opportunities, support groups, service ministries, fellowship activities, formation events and much more. The next three Sundays is our Ministry Fair. Stop by after Mass to discover all we have to offer you and all that can be enriched by your presence, your honest struggle. We are better together. Siempre Adelante, Teresa Runyon Faith Life Minister Our first reading has such a pithy ending, and is so pertinent for those of us who live in California. The double threat of wildfire and insufficient water constantly confront us. If only our careful husbanding of water in our homes, even if it’s only a small portion of the overall water use in the state, could preserve us from wild fires into the future. But that’s off message.
The real point here is the effect of water on burning flames, blotting out access to oxygen and extinguishing the fire, while dissipating its lingering heat. It’s a lovely metaphor for the parallel effects of the generous support of the poor blotting out, literally wiping away our offenses. What a gift it is to have God’s pardon. What could we possibly do to earn it? In Sirach’s time, sacrifices were possible if sins were committed unwittingly (Lev 4), but there was no confession or reconciliation, no rituals for the forgiveness of deliberate sin, except to stone the sinner. Even Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement (Lev 16), seems directed at ritual impurity, rather than moral offenses. So what is a poor sinner to do? – Well, give alms. So, as we now have the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the forgiveness of sins, should we still give alms? Absolutely! Many passages in the New Testament actively encourage almsgiving. When speaking on the value of doing good acts and praying in secret, Jesus simply presumes we are giving alms for the poor (Matt 6:2-4). When addressing the evils and bad inclinations that can pour forth from the heart, He directs us, “Give alms, and behold, everything will be clean for you” (Luke 11:41). When encouraging us to rely with greater trust on God, He instructs us to sell our belongings “and give alms” (Luke 12:33). In Acts 10:2, Luke recounts for us a story about a good man, Cornelius, a Gentile who is judged devout and God-fearing, in part because of his generous distribution of alms (Acts 10:2). Later in Acts (24:17), Paul defends himself to the governor, Felix, detailing his motive for returning to Jerusalem, which was to bring alms. There are so many ways to give alms. The parish’s special collections all aim at the care of different poor populations. Giving to the United Way also counts, as does supporting health care exploration – I’m thinking breast cancer research, in particular, but there are many other worthy efforts. |
Blessed Sacrament Chapel HoursSunday - Friday, 8:00 am - 9:00 pm
Saturday, 2:00 - 9:00 pm Office HoursMonday through Thursday 8:00 am – 7:00 pm
Friday 8:30 am - 4:30 pm Saturday 3:00 pm - 6:15 pm Sunday 8:00 am - 1:00 pm Vertical Divider
|
Telephone(805) 482 · 6417
(805) 987 · 8100 FAX For emergencies requiring
|
For eNews you can trust.
Staff Login
|