We Are In The Novena Of The Virgin
2nd Sunday of Advent
“Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.”Ps. 85
Every year, we celebrate our patronal feast of the Immaculate, also the patroness of many of our countries, while we are in the midst of the novena of the Virgin of Guadalupe, empress of the Americas, pioneer of the evangelization of this continent; And also in the midst of Advent, ideal to help us prepare for her second coming, as she has been doing in her various manifestations throughout the world. It is a privilege to know ourselves as children of our heavenly mother, the Virgin Mary, in her numerous advocations through which she has appeared and approached us in many ways to show us her company and maternal love.
Let us always count on her in our daily pilgrimage towards the Father’s house, and let us pray to her daily, so that we may not live as orphans but as the children of God that we are. Christ gave her to us as a mother and entrusted us to her maternal care.
O Immaculate Virgin, Mother of the true God and Mother of the Church! You, who manifest your mercy and compassion to all who seek your protection from this place; hear the prayer that we address to you with filial confidence and present it to your Son Jesus, our only redeemer.
Mother of mercy, Teacher of hidden and silent sacrifice, to you who come to meet us, sinners, on this day, we consecrate our entire being and all our love. We also consecrate to you our life, our work, our joys, our illnesses, and our pains.
Grant peace, justice, and prosperity to our peoples; as everything we have and are, we place under your care, Lady and our mother. We want to be entirely yours and walk with you on the path of complete fidelity to Jesus Christ in His Church: do not let go of our loving hand.
Virgin of Guadalupe, Mother of the Americas, we ask you for all the bishops, that they may lead the faithful along paths of intense Christian life, of love, and humble service to God and souls.
Behold this vast harvest and intercede so that the Lord may instill a hunger for holiness in all the People of God, and grant abundant vocations of priests and religious, strong in faith, and zealous dispensers of the mysteries of God.
VIRGIN MARY MOTHER OF GOD AND OUR MOTHER, PRAY FOR US.
Readings for the Week
Sunday: Is 40:1-5, 9-11/Ps 85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14 (8)/2 Pt 3:8-14/Mk 1:1-8
Monday: Is 35:1-10/Ps 85:9ab and 10, 11-12, 13-14/Lk 5:17-26
Tuesday: Zec 2:14-17 or Rv 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab/Jdt 13:18bcde, 19/Lk 1:26-38 or Lk 1:39-47
Wednesday: Is 40:25-31/Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 8 and 10/Mt 11:28-30
Thursday: Is 41:13-20/Ps 145:1 and 9, 10-11, 12-13ab/Mt 11:11-15
Friday: Is 48:17-19/Ps 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6/Mt 11:16-19
Saturday: Sir 48:1-4, 9-11/Ps 80:2ac and 3b, 15-16, 8-19/Mt 17:9a, 10-13
Next Sunday: Is 61:1-2a, 10-11/Lk 1:46-48, 49-50, 53-54 (Is 61:10b)/1 Thes 5:16-24/Jn 1:6-8, 19-28
Observances for the Week
Sunday: 2nd Sunday of Advent
Tuesday: Our Lady of Guadalupe
Wednesday: St. Lucy, Virgin and Martyr
Thursday: St. John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church
Next Sunday: 3rd Sunday of Advent
News for December
Masses This Week
Monday, 11th of December
- 10:00 P.M. Mass with Mariachi
Tuesday, 12th of December
- 6:00 A.M. Mass Mañanitas with Mariachi
- 7:00 A.M. Mass
- 6:30 P.M. Mass with Mariachi
Raffle Winner Tickets
- 1st. 60297 | ROBINSON M. | $2000.00
- 2nd. 47325 | A. REYES | $2000.00
- 3rd. 61901 | HILDA CORTEZ | $2000.00
- 4th. 26019 | AMADO MARTINEZ | $2000.00
- 5th. 64489 | ATILANO C. | T.V
- 6th. 60886 | JEREMY VELASQUEZ | T.V
- 7th. 51777 | ANGEL REYES | T.V
- 8th. 52580 | MIGUEL LEON | T.V
- 9th. 60773 | LETY DIAZ | MARY IMMACULATE STATUE
- 10th. 8049 | MARTHA CARRILLO | MARY IMMACULATE STATUE
Did You Know?
Recognizing the signs of physical abuse
Safe adults should be on the lookout for signs of physical abuse in children in their care. Some signs include frequent bruises or cuts, frequent and unexplained absences or injuries. Physical abuse can include hitting, kicking, shaking, or other forceful actions, resulting in harm or even death. Children who are suffering from physical abuse may be distrustful or reluctant to receive physical contact, and may dress inappropriately for the season, wearing long pants or long-sleeved shirts to hide injuries. For more information, read the VIRTUS® article “Recognizing Child Maltreatment” at https://lacatholics.org/did-you-know/.
Your Soul Needs You
1st Sunday of Advent
“Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.”Ps. 80
We don’t need motivation to take care of our bodies or to beautify them; we all do it naturally because we value them, see and feel them. We want to be healthy and presentable. We groom ourselves, dress well, take vitamins, and minerals to stay healthy, etc. That’s why Jesus didn’t come to talk to us about what we naturally see. Jesus came to reveal what we don’t see or naturally value: the health of the soul.
Consider this: if we take such good care of our bodies, we should do even more for our souls because they are for eternity. How much do we worry about the health and beauty of our souls? Many don’t lift a finger for their souls, and as a result, some are truly ill, to the point of being unbearable for those around them and sometimes even for themselves. They mistreat others, impose, complain, use bad language, have addictions, or worse, engage in doing evil.
If we could see the ugliness of neglected souls through the eyes of God and those in heaven, we wouldn’t remain so tranquil in this state. ‘BE READY!’ the Gospel asks of us because without holiness, we cannot enter the Kingdom, as Jesus warns us repeatedly.
We should nourish our souls daily with the word of God, sacraments, to have health and charity, and thus be a blessing to all instead of a heavy burden in their lives. Only then will we be ready for the great encounter with Him, whenever it may come.
God wants us to be a gift to one another. We should enjoy each other, the gifts, and charisms that we should all be offering to others. Instead, sometimes we have to endure and bear with others because we haven’t worked on taming the wild horse within and haven’t educated with divine wisdom our heads, the ‘madwoman of the house.’
TO BE READY, in addition to retreats, spiritual exercises, prayer, sacraments, and groups, it’s very beneficial to pray every night with an examination of the day, reviewing how we lived in the light of faith or where we failed as children of God. We can meditate in God’s presence on what place we gave to Jesus in our day, if we let Him be the King and Lord, if we saddened the Holy Spirit with any of our attitudes or words, if we reflected Jesus well or disfigured Him with egocentric and prideful attitudes, etc.
If we want to have the beauty of children of God, we must daily seek the health of the soul that will benefit us and others so much. It’s the key to living here and now in the Kingdom of God, living a truly Christian life, and thus being ready to enter Life when our time comes.
“He will keep you firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ’s coming. God is faithful; by him, you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”1 Corinthians 1:9
Readings for the Week
Sunday: Is 63:16b-17, 196; 64:2-7/Ps 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19 (4)/1 Cor 1:3-9/Mk 13:33-37
Monday: Is 2:1-5/Ps 122:1-2, 3-4b, 4cd-5, 6-7, 8-9/Mt 8:5-11
Tuesday: Is 11:1-10/Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17/Lk 10:21-24
Wednesday: Is 25:6-10a/Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6/Mt 15:29-37
Thursday: Is 26:1-6/Ps 118:1 and 8-9, 19-21, 25-27a/Mt 7:21, 24-27
Friday: Gn 3:9-15, 20/Ps 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4/Eph 1:3-6, 11-12/Lk 1:26-38
Saturday: Is 30:19-21, 23-26/Ps 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6/Mt 9:35—10:1, 5a, 6-8
Next Sunday: Is 40:1-5, 9-11/Ps 85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14 (8)/2 Pt 3:8-14/Mk 1:1-8
Observances for the Week
Sunday: 1st Sunday of Advent
Monday: St. John Damascene, Priest and Doctor of the Church
Wednesday: St. Nicholas, Bishop
Thursday: St. Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Friday: The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Saturday: St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin
Next Sunday: 2nd Sunday of Advent
Leave The Helm To Jesus
Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
“The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.”Ps. 23
If we do not heed Jesus, we are collaborating with the enemy.
“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters”Matthew 12:30
If I am not on Jesus’ side, paying attention to His teachings, I am on the opposite side, even if I attend Mass and believe I am doing well. The first of His commandments is precisely this:
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves…”Luke 9:23
We must detach of ourselves because we are in a fallen nature, a consequence of sin. Our nature loves sin, desires sin, prefers darkness to light, tends to exalt itself, and ignores God and anyone else but itself. Therefore, we must go against our ego that leads us to sin and submit ourselves to God, letting Him take control of our lives, as our Lord and king. If we do not deny ourselves to obey God, we are against Him, allowing ourselves to be led by our tendency to sin.
Sin is the leprosy of the soul, a mental disorder that makes people lie, kill, steal, rejoice in the harm of others, sow discord through slander, and be an instrument of the enemy in many ways. The problem is that this can happen to many who come to Mass, even daily, if they do not let themselves be guided by the Spirit to love what He loves, reject what He rejects, and do what He wants.
If we open ourselves to the light of God, which comes through His Word and His Spirit, we can regain our sight to see less distortedly. Only then can we desire what God wants and become His collaborators, overcoming the mediocrity of our ego, which seeks to give as little as possible because it is a centripetal force that, like gravity, wants everything for itself: first me, second me, and third me. Our ego sees only for itself and only looks out for its own pleasure, desires, and interests, regardless of what others think or want. It is blind and deaf to them, and cares even less about God.
This is the lamentable situation of a large part of humanity that turned its back on God and thus lost its head because only Christ is the head with wisdom and understanding. This is why good is confused with evil, right with wrong, truths are called falsehoods, and what is a lie is considered the truth. Many people are at this level, like sheep without a shepherd, in darkness and in sin.
Jesus said to those who believed in Him,
“If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free”John 8:31
Keeping His word is key to having a true experiential knowledge of God, without which we do not truly know Him, nor can we be free from sin. It is not just about theoretical knowledge or memorizing the Bible; it is about letting Him enter the control tower, the head, the soul, and the heart to give Him control of our lives, for otherwise, He cannot benefit and enrich us. Jesus said,
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart…”Matthew 22:37
LET HIM BE YOUR KING AND LORD.
Readings for the Week
Sunday: Ez 34:11-12, 15-17/Ps 23:1-2, 2-3, 5-6 (1)/1 Cor 15:20-26, 28/Mt 25:31-46
Monday: Dn 1:1-6, 8-20/Dn 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56/Lk 21:1-4
Tuesday: Dn 2:31-45/Dn 3:57, 58, 59, 60, 61/Lk 21:5-11
Wednesday: Dn 5:1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28/Dn 3:62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67/Lk 21:12-19
Thursday: Rom 10:9-18/Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11/Mt 4:18-22
Friday: Dn 7:2-14/Dn 3:75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81/Lk 21:29-33
Saturday: Dn 7:15-27/Dn 3:82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87/Lk 21:34-36
Next Sunday: Is 63:166-17, 196; 64:2-7/Ps 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19 (4)/1 Cor 1:3-9/Mk 13:33-37
Observances for the Week
Sunday: Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
Thursday: St. Andrew, Apostle
Next Sunday: 1st Sunday of Advent
I Do Not Live For Myself
33rd Sunday in Ordinary-Time
“Blessed are those who fear the Lord.”Ps. 128
This is essential in a Christian, as we follow the Master by imitating His example, for He did not live for Himself but for others, to do good, and He made His life a gift from God to all, just as His disciples should be. If we do this, there is no room for personal whims, envy, jealousy, stubbornness, and obstinacy, as all of these come from selfish disorder, from living for oneself, from trusting in one’s own thoughts more than in God and His teachings.
“For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself; for if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.”Romans 14:7ss
“And He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.”2 Corinthians 5:15
Living out these words that God asks of us is the greatest liberation you can experience from the worst rival of Christ on Earth, which is not the demons or atheists but one’s own selfish disorder. That’s why Jesus makes it a necessary condition to be His disciple:
“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”Matthew 16:24ff.
In other words, we need to set our ego aside, for if we don’t, we won’t be able to follow Jesus. Instead, we’ll be following ourselves, and our desires, clumsiness, self-interest, and will shall prevail over God’s. The ego prevents us from following Jesus and aligns us with the enemy, sowing discord and division. It stops us from being a gift from God and a blessing to others because we’d rather rely on our own self-will than on God. In this way, God remains outside, unable to help us, as the ego does not allow Him in. The ego is the one that buries talents and is headed for destruction, disobeying God’s command.
A Christian does not live for him or herself; they do not seek their own interests or whims. They always prioritize what they believe to be God’s will. Therefore, they are worthy of our respect, as they seek to please God in everything they say and do. By heeding God, they put their talents at the service of others and bear abundant fruit.
“Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord.”Matthew 25:14ss
That’s why a Christian is a gift from God and a light to others, unlike those who do not set themselves aside and continue to seek power, prestige, wealth, etc. Instead of promoting and building communion, they cause division, for the ego is the enemy’s accomplice, and without God, it is blind.
Readings for the Week
Sunday: Prv 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31/Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5 (see 1a)/1 Thes 5:1-6/Mt 25:14-30 or 25:14-15, 19-21
Monday: 1 Мс 1:10-15, 41-43, 54-57, 62-63/Ps 119:53, 61, 134, 150, 155, 158/Lk 18:35-43
Tuesday: 2 Mc 6:18-31/Ps 3:2-3, 4-5, 6-7/Lk 19:1-10
Wednesday: 2 Mc 7:1, 20-31/Ps 17:1bcd, 5-6, 8b and 15/Lk 19:11-28
Thursday: 1 Mc 2:15-29/Ps 50:1b-2, 5-6, 14-15/Lk 19:41-44
Friday: 1 Mc 4:36-37, 52-59/1 Chr 29:10bcd, 11abc, 11d-12a, 12bcd/Lk 19:45-48
Saturday: 1 Mc 6:1-13/Ps 9:2-3, 4 and 6, 16 and 19/Lk 20:27-40
Next Sunday: Ez 34:11-12, 15-17/Ps 23:1-2, 2-3, 5-6 (1)/1 Cor 15:20-26, 28/Mt 25:31-46
Observances for the Week
Sunday: 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Tuesday: The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Wednesday: St. Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr
Thursday: St. Clement I, Pope and Martyr; St. Columban, Abbot; Bl. Miguel Agustin Pro, Priest and Martyr; Thanksgiving Day
Friday: St. Andrew Dũng-Lạc, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs
Saturday: St. Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr
Next Sunday: Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
Characteristics of a Disciple of Christ
32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
“My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.”Ps. 63
Disciples are called.Luke 5:11 illustrates this perfectly. God always takes the first step! Jesus approached the fishermen and invited them.
“You did not choose me; I chose you…”John 15
Only after this invitation to discipleship does our decision come into play.
Disciples consciously respond to Jesus’ call. We are called, but a disciple responds positively to the call. If Peter hadn’t left his nets and followed Jesus, he wouldn’t be a disciple. You can’t follow if you don’t make a choice! Leave behind any idolatry to follow Jesus.
The disciple loves. This is the primary sign of a disciple. Love for God and love for others. Jesus says that others will know we are His disciples by our love for one another (John 13:35). It is God’s greatest commandment.
Disciples bear fruit. In fact, Jesus says that bearing fruit shows you are His disciple.
“By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples”John 15:8
The fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness…
Disciples are obedient. Go a bit further in John 15 and you will find verse 14:
“You are my friends if you do what I command you.”John 15:14
Pay attention: we cannot be intimate friends with Jesus and be disobedient. This obedience to God includes obedience to His Church, with which He became one: “Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me.”
Disciples listen and learn. In the Scriptures, we continually find Jesus’ disciples learning from Him. They listen and then apply His teachings in their lives (or at least they try). The life of a Christian disciple is a life of listening and learning. We listen to Him in prayer; we need to live in an intimate relationship with God.
Disciples follow Him. Our life of discipleship begins by following Jesus. We must do what He did. Love as He loved. Choose what He chose. Be His imitators, as St. Paul asks of us.
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”John 10
ONLY THEN ARE WE PREPARED, WITH THE LAMPS OF FAITH LIT.
Disciples set their sights on Heaven. Our current life is not our ultimate home. We have been created to live with God for eternal happiness. Our decisions in this life determine our heavenly home. The reward of Heaven is a gift we should keep our eyes on. “No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Disciples carry their cross daily. Jesus put it this way:
“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me”Luke 9:23
The cross of not being gods, of having a God and Lord to listen to and follow, to love and obey.
Disciples make other disciples. Finally, we must do what Jesus did, which means “making disciples.” It was His final command, and the only one we cannot personally evade fulfilling. Good news, a liberating experience, cannot be kept silent; it needs to be shared and passed on to others.
Readings for the Week
Sunday: Wis 6:12-16/Ps 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 (2b)/1 Thes 4:13-18 or 4:13-14/Mt 25:1-13
Monday: Wis 1:1-7/Ps 139:16-3, 4-6, 7-8, 9-10/Lk 17:1-6
Tuesday: Wis 2:23—3:9/Ps 34:2-3, 16-17, 18-19/Lk 17:7-10
Wednesday: Wis 6:1-11/Ps 82:3-4, 6-7/Lk 17:11-19
Thursday: Wis 7:226 8:1/Ps 119:89, 90, 91, 130, 135, 175/Lk 17:20-25
Friday: Wis 13:1-9/Ps 19:2-3, 4-5ab/Lk 17:26-37
Saturday: Wis 18:14-16; 19:6-9/Ps 105:2-3, 36-37, 42-43/Lk 18:1-8
Next Sunday: Prv 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31/Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5 (see la)/1Observances for the Week
Sunday: 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Monday: Memorial of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Virgin; Veterans Day
Friday: Memorial of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious
Next Sunday: 33rd Sunday in Ordinary TimeNews for November
Closed for Thanksgiving
Thursday, November 23 and Friday, November 24
Blessed Thanksgiving to you and yours!Raffle Winner Tickets
- 1st. 60297 | ROBINSON M. | $2000.00
- 2nd. 47325 | A. REYES | $2000.00
- 3rd. 61901 | HILDA CORTEZ | $2000.00
- 4th. 26019 | AMADO MARTINEZ | $2000.00
- 5th. 64489 | ATILANO C. | T.V
- 6th. 60886 | JEREMY VELASQUEZ | T.V
- 7th. 51777 | ANGEL REYES | T.V
- 8th. 52580 | MIGUEL LEON | T.V
- 9th. 60773 | LETY DIAZ | MARY IMMACULATE STATUE
- 10th. 8049 | MARTHA CARRILLO | MARY IMMACULATE STATUE
Thanksgiving Mass Times
- 7:00A.M. Spanish Mass
- 10:00A.M. Bilingual Mass
- 6:30P.M. Spanish Mass
Office Closed
Office will be closed on Monday 13th for Veterans Day.
Raffle Tickets sent Home
We ask that if you have finished selling your raffle tickets, please bring the stubs of these together with the proceeds to the parish office before November 8. Thank you for your support!
Feast of St. Jude
Our Feast of Saint Jude is approaching. We ask those who can support with non-perishable food items that can be used for food sales, such as sugar, chocolate, Maseca, rice, beans, napkins, Homily etc. Thank you.
Did You Know?
How do groomers work?
Groomers start by picking out a potential victim, often a child who is emotionally vulnerable or isolated, or with low self-esteem. Then, groomers will start to slowly build a relationship — bonding over an alleged shared interest and expanding relationships out to build trust with the victim’s family and friends. Groomers work hard to make themselves appear trustworthy and safe, to gain better access to their victims. From there, they can isolate their victims and perpetrate abuse. For more information, read the VIRTUS® article “The Many Stages of Grooming” at https://lacatholics.org/did-you-know/.
Guided by The Flesh or by The Spirit
31st Sunday in Ordinary Time
“In you, Lord, I have found my peace.”Ps. 131
What does it mean to be guided by the Holy Spirit? These are the children of God, those guided by the Spirit of God. How is this done? By trying not to make decisions based on our own passions and tendencies and by discerning the will of God to act according to the Spirit, which will always be best for us and for others.
In many ways, we can be guided by the flesh. For example, when one doesn’t try to please God or discern His will but simply follows their disordered and selfish desires, which are sinful as they go against God’s explicit will. When instincts and whims take precedence over human reason. Many can be so carried away by their subjectivity, desires, and narrow-mindedness that they ignore common sense, reasoning, intelligence, science, reality, faith, and truth when making decisions in their lives.
The ego wants to selfishly impose its will on others, regardless of what others want and express, seeking to forcefully condition them to submit to its own tyranny of ego. This can even occur in romantic relationships, which is why domestic violence and even crimes are so common. We cannot underestimate the level of chaos caused by an ego without the control of simple human reason and the Spirit that provides control and balance.
“They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. Everything they do is done for people to see.”Matthew 23
Another example would be those who decide to mutilate themselves and undergo hormonal changes to be something different from what they are, ignoring or not accepting reality. Part of what Jesus asks of us when He says, “Deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow me” refers to this: we need to let go of carnal tendencies that can lead us away from God’s will and harm ourselves and others.
“Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh…. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”Galatians 5:16ss
In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things, there is no law.
Therefore, the Word instructs us not to live in the flesh but in the Spirit, as we should no longer be as carnal
as we are spiritual.“Although I live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God…”Galatians 2:19
“Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind to seek God’s will, which is good, pleasing, and perfect”Romans 12
“The first among you will be your servant. Whoever exalts themselves will be humbled, and whoever humbles themselves will be exalted”Matthew 23:12
Readings for the Week
Sunday: Mal 1:146 2:26, 8-10/Ps 131:1, 2, 3/1 Thes 2:7b-9, 13/Mt 23:1-12
Monday: Rom 11:29-36/Ps 69:30-31, 33-34, 36/Lk 14:12-14
Tuesday: Rom 12:5-16b/Ps 131:1bcde, 2, 3/Lk 14:15-24
Wednesday: Rom 13:8-10/Ps 112:1b-2, 4-5, 9/Lk 14:25-33
Thursday: Ez 47:1-2, 8-9, 12/Ps 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9/1 Cor 3:9c-11, 16-17/Jn 2:13-22
Friday: Rom 15:14-21/Ps 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4/Lk 16:1-8
Saturday: Rom 16:3-9, 16, 22-27/Ps 145:2-3, 4-5, 10-11/Lk 16:9-15
Next Sunday: Wis 6: 12-16/Ps 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 (26)/1 Thes 4:13-18 or 4:13-14/Mt 25:1-13Observances for the Week
Sunday: 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time; Daylight Saving Time Ends; National Vocation Awareness Week
Tuesday: Election Day
Thursday: The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
Friday: St. Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church
Saturday: St. Martin of Tours, Bishop; Veterans Day
Next Sunday: 32nd Sunday in Ordinary TimeThe World Approves Of What God Forbids
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time
“I love you, Lord, my strength.”Ps. 18
This world can be very deceptive for believers, as it often labels what is bad as good and what is good as bad. We will see some examples of what the world views as good, approves of, and legalizes, even though God has revealed to us that it is harmful because the world, like the devil, considers God a liar and turns its back on Him, preferring darkness to light. That’s why James 4:4 tells us, (cf. 1 John 2:15):
“You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”James 4:4
The world invites us to live only for this earth, it doesn’t want us to have hope for eternal life, it wants our horizon to be no further than the grave, keeping us locked in the here and now, so that we fall into the idolatry of this world and all that is in it. This is why many fall into the obsession with money, an insatiable, excessive ambition to possess, to the point of theft or even murder, as in kidnapping or human trafficking networks, etc. Jesus teaches us to live in the world but not be of the world (John 17:14s) because we are citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:12). However, we are in the world, and we must submit to many social rules, just as Jesus submitted and taught us:
“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”Matthew 22:21
Others fall into the idolatry of pleasure and think only of satisfying their instincts, as Saint Paul says,
“For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame —who set their mind on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ…”Philippians 3:18ss
The ambition for power leads many to be driven by their colossal ego and to want to impose their will on those around them, thus missing the opportunity to live as children of God, being a source of love and blessing from God, due to their egocentric disease.
The law does not prohibit anyone from lying, which does not mean that it is right. Clearly, lying is illegitimate and does much harm. The world does not prohibit any of the 7 deadly sins that God forbids; on the contrary, the world encourages and promotes them in movies and proposals. The media and social networks normalize and propagate sin.
The law accepts abortion, and in many countries, it even defends it as a right, despite it being killing, which should be ILLEGAL as it always was, as well as euthanasia and assisted suicide. It also approves and legalizes drugs, all kinds of sexual disorders, and everything that clearly destroys human dignity. These are just small examples of how what the world tells us is often very different, often opposed to what God tells us and asks of us.
“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! WE ARE CALLED TO LIVE AS CHRISTIANS AND NOT AS WORLDLINGS. TO GIVE TO GOD WHAT IS GOD’S AND WHAT HE ASKS OF US, FOR WE BELONG TO HIM.”Isaiah 5:20
Readings for the Week
Sunday: Ex 22:20-26/Ps 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51 (2)/1 Thes 1:5c-10/Mt 22:34-40
Monday: Rom 8:12-17/Ps 68:2 and 4, 6-7ab, 20-21/Lk 13:10-17
Tuesday: Rom 8:18-25/Ps 126:1b-2ab, 2cd-3, 4-5, 6/Lk 13:18-21
Wednesday: Rv 7:2-4, 9-14/Ps 24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6/1 Jn 3:1-3/Mt 5:1-12a
Thursday: Wis 4:7-14/Ps 25:6, and 7b, 17-18, 20-21/Rom 5:17-21/Mt 11:25-30
Friday: Rom 9:1-5/Ps 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20/Lk 14:1-6
Saturday: Rom 11:1-2a, 11-12, 25-29/Ps 94:12-13a, 14-15, 17-18/Lk 14:1, 7-11
Next Sunday: Mal 1:14b—2:2b, 8-10/Ps 131:1, 2, 3/1 Thes 2:7b-9, 13/Mt 23:1-12Observances for the Week
Sunday: 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Tuesday: All Hallow’s Eve
Wednesday: All Saints
Thursday: All Souls’ Day
Friday: St. Martin de Porres, Religious
Saturday: St. Charles Borromeo, Bishop
Next Sunday: 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time; Daylight Saving Time Ends; National Vocation Awareness WeekIs Jesus Your Lord?
29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
“Give the Lord glory and honor.”Ps. 96
Being a Christian is not just about calling Jesus Lord but allowing Jesus to be your Lord. What does this mean? It means that Jesus is your owner, the one who steers your life, your head, the one who makes decisions. Therefore, a Christian should not dare to be led by their own locomotive or wild head of the house, as Saint Teresa used to say, because in our fallen nature and narrowmindedness, we would make many errors of all kinds.
Jesus is the head of the mystical body of Christ, of the Church, and of every Christian. Those led by the Spirit of God, they are the children of God; that’s why a Christian cannot afford or, better said, do the harm of taking control of their life and taking it away from Jesus, or trusting their judgments, which are always made from their narrow perspective, as they don’t see even 1% of anything or anyone, judging and condemning left and right as if they were God.
The Christian is aware that their own human judgments can be erroneous and far from the truth with a high probability because they are based on subjective, partial, and distorted perceptions influenced by subjectivity, emotions, feelings, and limited knowledge. That’s why Jesus asks us to be His disciples:
“Let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me”Matthew 16:24
“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven”Luke 6:37
I cannot say that I follow Jesus, nor should I dare to call Him Lord if I don’t allow Him to be in His place as Lord and King and if I set myself up as the king and lord of my life, like the pagans do. This leads me to live in the real and concrete world as a pagan, without God, allowing myself to be led by my own subjective judgments, desires, grievances, etc.
In this case, faith would be reduced to an affinity with the ideas of Jesus, like others follow an ideology, a politician, or a philosopher; religion would be reduced to a kind of club of religious enthusiasts, but their concrete life would not be much different from that of pagans without God because they let their own ego reign, condemning, mistreating, and making decisions on their own.
Those who let Jesus be Lord love everyone, just as Jesus loves everyone. They do not trust their own partial and ignorant judgment to discriminate or love only those who sympathize with them. By allowing Jesus to be their head, they love always and love everyone. Otherwise, they have left Jesus out of their lives and do not deserve the name of Christian, even if they call themselves that.
“Whoever says, ‘I know him’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked… Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”1 John 2:4ss
Readings for the Week
Sunday: Is 45:1, 4-6/Ps 96:1, 3, 4-5, 7-8, 9-10 (7)/1 Thes 1:1-5b/Mt 22:15-21
Monday: Rom 4:20-25/Lk 1:69-70, 71-72, 73-75/Lk 12:13-21
Tuesday: Rom 5:12, 15b, 17-19, 20b-21/Ps 40:7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 17/Lk 12:35-38
Wednesday: Rom 6:12-18/Ps 124:1b-3, 4-6, 7-8/Lk 12:39-48
Thursday: Rom 6:19-23/Ps 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6/Lk 12:49-53
Friday: Rom 7:18-25a/Ps 119:66, 68, 76, 77, 93, 94/Lk 12:54-59
Saturday: Eph 2:19-22/Ps 19:2-3, 4-5/Lk 6:12-16
Next Sunday: Ex 22:20-26/Ps 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51 (2)/1 Thes 1:5c-10/Mt 22:34-40Observances for the Week
Sunday: 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time; World Mission Sunday
Monday: St. John of Capistrano, Priest
Tuesday: St. Anthony Mary Claret, Bishop
Saturday: Sts. Simon and Jude, Apostles
Next Sunday: 30th Sunday in Ordinary TimeThe World Prefers Darkness to Light
28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
“I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.”Ps. 23
We live in an atheistic world that has turned its back on God, and this atheism greatly influences us, both in terms of ideas and in everyday life. As a result, it’s sometimes hard to distinguish believers from non-believers, as they pursue the same earthly values and don’t seem to appreciate or seek heavenly values, apart from sporadic church attendance. This shouldn’t be the case (cf. Mt 20:26).
Let’s think, HOW SHOULD A CHRISTIAN DISTINGUISH THEMSELVES FROM AN ATHEIST? Can we think like those in the faithless world without God? In what should we differentiate ourselves? How can we make the difference visible and noticeable? We must follow Jesus Christ and live His Kingdom; only that is accepting his call.
“This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.”John 3:19-20
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” Just as Jesus told Peter when giving him the keys to the Kingdom and founding the Church, the powers of hell will not prevail against it.”John 1:5
PEOPLE CHOOSE TO REMAIN IN SPIRITUAL DARKNESS instead of approaching the light of Christ due to ignorance that leads to bad preferences and actions. Jesus is portrayed as the light that came into the world, but some people reject that light because they don’t know Him, don’t love Him, don’t trust Him, and engage in sinful or wicked deeds as a result. THEY REJECTED THE INVITATION TO THE BANQUET, TO THE NEW LIFE OF HIS KINGDOM.
The world without faith and without God influences all of us, which is why we run the risk of seeing sin as normal and expressions of faith as senseless exaggerations, just as faithless people do. Be careful! Let’s always strive to see with God’s eyes and think as God does, as Jesus asked of Peter (Mt 18:22).
To do this, we must know that we are immersed in a pagan world that rejects God, his ways, and his divine revelation. We must acknowledge that because of this, all kinds of immorality and sin exist, even to the point of idolizing it as their golden calf, because they don’t want to seek the true God or think about anything beyond the here and now. They don’t want to know about God because they’ve chosen to go their own way and be their own gods. THIS CANNOT BE THE CASE AMONG US; it is the opposite.
We must live according to the model of Christ, clothed in Him, WITH THE WHITE GARMENT given to us in baptism and the light of faith illuminating our lives, so that we have the freedom of children, as seen in St. Paul: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Readings for the Week
Sunday: Is 25:6-10a/Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6 (6cd)/Phil 4:12-14, 19-20/Mt 22:1-14 or 22:1-10
Monday: Rom 1:1-7/Ps 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4/Lk 11:29-32
Tuesday: Rom 1:16-25/Ps 19:2-3, 4-5/Lk 11:37-41
Wednesday: 2 Tm 4:10-17b/Ps 145:10-11, 12-13, 17-18/Lk 10:1-9
Thursday: Rom 3:21-30/Ps 130:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6ab/Lk 11:47-54
Friday: Rom 4:1-8/Ps 32:1b-2, 5, 11/Lk 12:1-7
Saturday: Rom 4:13, 16-18/Ps 105:6-7, 8-9, 42-43/Lk 12:8-12
Next Sunday: Is 45:1, 4-6/Ps 96:1, 3, 4-5, 7-8, 9-10 (7)/1 Thes 1:1-5b/Mt 22:15-21Observances for the Week
Sunday: 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Monday: St. Hedwig, Religious; St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, Virgin
Tuesday: St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr
Wednesday: St. Luke, Evangelist
Thursday: Sts. John de Brébeuf and Isaac Jogues, Priests, and Companions, Martyrs
Friday: St. Paul of the Cross, Priest
Next Sunday: 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time; World Mission SundayYour Life is for Loving
27th Sunday in Ordinary Time
“The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.”Ps. 80
This is a clear lesson in the word of God, LOVING is the fruit He requires from us because that is the purpose of our life. Only in this way do we manifest having His Spirit of love, which impels us to bear fruit by doing good to others, becoming a blessing, and only in this way can we be sure of having true communion with Him and therefore divine and eternal life, His salvation.
“A branch cannot bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”John 15:4
Verse 8 adds,
“This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”John 15:8
Let us remember the fig tree that bore no fruit; it was cursed and withered. He gave us life to love and do good, for this is how we fulfill our roles as His children and citizens of Heaven. By putting our talents in the service of others, only they enter the joy of the Lord (Matthew 25:21ff). By sharing our gifts and possessions with those in need, we create treasures in Heaven. Only this demonstrates and guarantees our true union with Him, which gives life to our souls.
What kind of fruit does the Lord expect from us? Jesus told us,
“Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these.”John 14:12
He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil (Acts 10:38). Sent by God to open the eyes of the blind, to set the captives free, and to proclaim salvation, as the prophet said, He will tell us,
“As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you. Receive the Holy Spirit”John 20:21
With the strength of His Spirit, we are sent to continue Christ’s mission, to make His Kingdom of love, joy, peace, and other fruits of the Spirit present. Therefore, the Christian life consists of living and spreading His Kingdom, the fruits of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22). The Church teaches us very clearly the fruits we are called to bear in the 14 forms of love it offers us based on the words of Jesus, 7 ways to attend to the bodily needs of our neighbor, and 7 ways to do good to their souls, known as works of mercy.
He does everything so that we bear fruit. He gives us His Spirit, He gives us the Church, with which He became one to continue guiding us as a good shepherd, teaching us, and giving Himself to us through the sacraments. He gives us life every day and everything necessary to bear fruit. The Lord laments our mediocrity and sin, our limited cooperation with Him. He asks,
“What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? Why, when I looked for good grapes, did it yield only bad?”Isaiah 5
Or as He says at the end of today’s Gospel,
“Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit”Matthew 21:43
Let us ask the Lord for the grace to remain united to Him so that we can bear the fruits He asks of us, for
“Apart from me, you can do nothing”John 15:5
Readings for the Week
Sunday: Is 5:1-7/Ps 80:9, 12, 13-14, 15-16, 19-20 (Isaiah 5:7a)/Phil 4:6-9/Mt 21:33-43
Monday: Jon 1:1—2:2, 11/Jon 2:3, 4, 5, 8/Lk 10:25-37
Tuesday: Jon 3:1-10/ Ps 130:1b-2, 3-4ab, 7-8/Lk 10:38-42
Wednesday: Jon 4:1-11/Ps 86:3-4, 5-6, 9-10/Lk 11:1-4
Thursday: Mal 3:13-20b/Ps 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6/Lk 11:5-13
Friday: JI 1:13-15; 2:1-2/Ps 9:2-3, 6 and 16, 8-9/Lk 11:15-26
Saturday: JI 4:12-21/Ps 97:1-2, 5-6, 11-12/Lk 11:27-28
Next Sunday: Is 25:6-10a/Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6 (6cd)/Phil 4:12-14, 19-20/Mt 22:1-14 or 22:1-10Observances for the Week
Sunday: 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Monday: Columbus Day; St. Denis, Bishop, and Companions, Martyrs; St. John Leonardi, Priest
Wednesday: St. John XXIII, Pope
Saturday: St. Callistus I, Pope and Martyr
Next Sunday: 28th Sunday in Ordinary TimeNews for October
Raffle Tickets sent Home
We ask that if you have finished selling your raffle tickets, please bring the stubs of these together with the proceeds to the parish office before November 8. Thank you for your support!
Called to Renew
We thank all families who have pledged their support for our Called to Renew campaign. Your support towards the construction of our pastoral center is appreciated. If you would like to make a payment or pledge, please contact the parish office.
Called to Renew September Report 2023
Goal: $920,000.00
Total Pledged: $596,391.05
Total Paid: $150,050.05Feast of St. Jude
Our Feast of Saint Jude is approaching. We ask those who can support with non-perishable food items that can be used for food sales, such as sugar, chocolate, Maseca, rice, beans, napkins, Homily etc. Thank you.
Together in Mission
Report October 17, 2023
Goal: $90,167.00
Total Pledge: $64,766.02
Total Paid: $60,960.18World Mission Sunday
Today, we celebrate World Mission Sunday, heeding Pope Francis’s call
Embrace the Pope’s Missions with “Hearts on Fire, Feet on the Move” this World Mission Sunday! Today, Pope Francis echoes the universal call of our Baptism – to be Christ’s witnesses to the world. As we gather with global Catholics on this World Mission Sunday, our prayers and contributions to the Society for the Propagation of the Faith bolster the Pope’s missions,
- enabling: Over 844,000 catechists to share the faith
- 258,540 Religious Sisters to tend to families and children
- 38,140 seminarians to journey towards the priesthood
- Education for 26 million children
- Medical assistance in 12,000 clinics
- Comfort in 8,750 homes for the orphaned and elderly.
By supporting this cause, we truly live out the call to be the spark that transforms lives. May your prayers and gifts create ripples of love and transformation. Thank you for your missionary zeal!
St. Luke | October 18
Saint Luke, sometimes called The Evangelist, is the author of the third Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles and a physician. There is some debate about how he came to Christianity, though many believe he was a gentile convert. Tradition holds him to be a native of Antioch, Syria, possibly a slave. Most of what we know of Luke comes from Scripture, he was an eloquent and proficient writer, penning with accuracy the events he recounted. He is viewed as one of the best historical sources of the time.
Luke was a close companion of Paul’s, joining him at Troas about year 51 and going with him to Macedonia and Philippi. Their paths diverged and met again as they journeyed to spread the Good News. Luke remained with Paul until the latter was martyred in Rome.
Saint Luke’s Gospel is viewed as one of social justice, giving special attention to the poor. He also emphasizes gentiles hearing the message of Christ. It is the only Gospel with Mary’s Magnificat, and spends the most time illuminating the lives of the other women around Jesus.
Accounts of Luke’s death are conflicting, some say he was martyred shortly after Paul others that he lived a long life completing his Gospel in Greece and dying at 84. He is the patron saint of physicians.
Did You Know?
What are the rules about minors serving as volunteers?
It is the job of adults — not minors — to protect children from harm and abuse. However, many minors are also volunteers at school and at church, which sometimes makes it difficult to know what roles minors should play. Within programs or ministries, there should always be an adult in an official supervisory role. Minors should be helping, but never directly in charge of younger children. Meeting this standard can be challenging but it is important in keeping all children, including minor volunteers, safe. For more information, read the VIRTUS® article “Minors Who Are Serving or Assisting in Volunteer-Type Activities” at https://lacatholics.org/did-you-know.
Non-Practicing Christians
26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
“Remember your mercies, O Lord.”Ps. 25
We often hear the term “non-practicing Christians or Catholics” to imply that they don’t attend Mass on Sundays, as if being practicing means only going to church. Unfortunately, many seem to have reduced their experience of faith to just that, and it’s the only way they appear to distinguish themselves from atheists and pagans of this world.
However, this is a great mistake because being a true Christian means following Christ, living His teachings and values, and this will be evident in a life radically different from that of an atheist, through the abundant manifestation of the fruits of the Spirit that result from a 24/7 faith experience: an abundance of love, joy, peace, goodness, gentleness, and self-control. The Christian does not live for themselves but is guided by the Spirit to practice charity in its many physical and spiritual forms. They face death with faith and hope, accept the cross of each day with resignation and love, and are uplifting and a blessing to those around them.
Hence, we can say that being a practicing Christian is much more than going to Mass; it is having an abundant life: “From the heart of those who believe in me, rivers of living water will flow,” referring to the fruits of the Spirit. Therefore, being a non-practicing Christian is much worse than simply not attending Mass; it is not living in the light of faith, illuminated by the word of God, guided by Jesus’ teachings, and overflowing with the good fruits of God.
Unfortunately, one can be a non-practicing Christian even if they attend Mass every day. Being a practicing Christian is not just about going to Mass on Sundays; we may know many who do so and yet do not live out what they hear, as if they were completely deaf or did not understand anything. It’s like someone who passes through university classrooms to complete their degree but never studies or revisits what they hear or doesn’t pay attention at all. Obviously, they will not become a true architect, lawyer, or doctor, even though they spent five years in the classrooms.
Many go to church, perhaps in body, but their hearts are far away, and they do not seek the truth or love God as He desires. Therefore, everything falls on deaf ears, and not putting into practice what they hear, Jesus himself tells them that they are building their lives on sand, which will end in complete destruction, no matter how often they say “Lord” daily, at home or in the church.
“…whoever hears me and doesn’t do what / say is like a foolish person who built their house on sand. The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew, and the house collapsed. It was a great disaster!”Matthew 7:24
They are like the son who says, “Yes, I will go to the vineyard,” but does not go. On the other hand, the other son who said “no” but went, thereby doing the will of his Father.
Readings for the Week
Sunday: Ez 18:25-28/Ps 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9, (6a)/Phil 2:1-11 or 2:1-5/Mt 21:28-32
Monday: Zec 8:1-8/Ps 102:16-18, 19-21, 29 and 22-23/Mt 18:1-5, 10
Tuesday: Zec 8:20-23/Ps 87:1b-3, 4-5, 6-7/Lk 9:51-56
Wednesday: Neh 2:1-8/Ps 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6/Lk 9:57-62
Thursday: Neh 8:1-4a, 5-6, 7b-12/Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11/Lk 10:1-12
Friday: Bar 1:15-22/Ps 79:1b-2, 3-5, 8, 9/Lk 10:13-16
Saturday: Bar 4:5-12, 27-29/Ps 69:33-35, 36-37/Lk 10:17-24
Next Sunday: Is 5:1-7/Ps 80:9, 12, 13-14, 15-16, 19-20 (Isaiah 5:7a)/Phil 4:6-9/Mt 21:33-43Observances for the Week
Sunday: 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time; Respect Life Sunday
Monday: The Holy Guardian Angels
Wednesday: St. Francis of Assisi
Thursday: Saint Faustina Kowalska, Virgin; Bl. Francis Xavier Seelos, Priest
Friday: St. Bruno, Priest; Bl. Marie Rose Durocher, Virgin
Saturday: Our Lady of the Rosary
Next Sunday: 27th Sunday in Ordinary TimeThe Purpose Of Life
Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
“The Lord is near to all who call upon him.”Ps. 145
They say that the number of people suffering from depression, has significantly increased, and consequently suicides, those neither studying nor working, addictions etc. Many have no reason to live or do anything, they are demotivated, self-absorbed, literally killing time on the internet, video games, or worse things, becoming addicted to drugs, pornography, and so many other things that destroy their lives. Or they are simply distracted, seeking apparent well-being, pursuing artificial pleasure, or focusing solely on their bodies, pursuing health or beauty.
As Einstein said, the ship is safe anchored in the harbor, but it was not made for that. What good is it for a person to gain the whole world if they lose their soul? What use is it to have health and beauty if there is no purpose to live and to give the life? Who does the ship enrich if it never leaves the harbor? If it is only concerned with self-care, narcissistically self-centered?
We have not been given life to gaze at our own navels, nor to kill time, nor to remain anchored, endlessly sweeping over and over, searching for imperfections in our skin and beautifying what is already beautiful. Life has no reason to be if it is only for maintaining health; anyway, it will age and die, and what would it have served?
“Why have you spent the whole day doing nothing?”… And He said to them: “You also go and work in my vineyard.”Matthew 20:6s
The Lord, because He loves us, asks us to be active in His divine work, responding with love to all that we receive.
What is the purpose of human life, created by God in His image and likeness? It is to live as an image
of God, reflecting His fruits and gifts of love, joy, peace, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, strength,
wisdom, knowledge… (Isaiah 11 gifts and Galatians 5:22 fruits).Human being has been created to know, love, and serve God, and thus save his soul (St. Ignatius of Loyola). On the other hand, if one allows themselves to be carried away by their carnal tendencies, they will end up living only instinctively, as if without a soul, driven by their pride, greed, anger, envy, lust, and laziness, forever unsatisfied, in sin, becoming useless because they don’t have motivation to love or strive for anything.
Sin always carries its own penance, such as unhappiness, emptiness, frustration, victimhood, boredom, and worse evils of sin, as happens when one is driven by greed to even steal or seek easy money. Or driven by lust, they engage in all sorts of disordered pleasure-seeking, destroying themselves and many others.
Each person chooses what they want for their life: either an empty and worthless life (which does not even deserve to be called life, for it is a walking corpse, spiritually dead) or opening up to receive the abundant life that Jesus came to give us (John 10:10); the life we see in Paul, who would not exchange it for anything, full of meaning to live and to die, as an entry into eternal Life (Philippians 1:21).
Readings for the Week
Sunday: Is 55:6-9/Ps 145:2-3, 8-9, 17-18 (18a)/Phil 1:20c-24, 27a/Mt 20:1-16a
Monday: Ezr 1:1-6/Ps 126:1b-2ab, 2cd-3, 4-5, 6/Lk 8:16-18
Tuesday: Ezr 6:7-8, 12b, 14-20/Ps 122:1-2, 3-4ab, 4cd-5/Lk 8:19-21
Wednesday: Ezr 9:5-9/Tb 13:2, 3-4a, 4befghn, 7-8/Lk 9:1-6
Thursday: Hg 1:1-8/Ps 149:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6a and 9b/Lk 9:7-9
Friday: Dn 7:9-10, 13-14 or Rv 12:7-12a/Ps 138:1-2ab, 2cde-3, 4-5/Jn 1:47-51
Saturday: Zec 2:5-9, 14-15a/Jer 31:10, 11-12ab, 13/Lk 9:43b-45
Next Sunday: Ez 18:25-28/Ps 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9, (6a)/Phil 2:1-11 or 2:1-5/Mt 21:28-32Observances for the Week
Sunday: 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time; Priesthood Sunday
Tuesday: Sts. Cosmas and Damian, Martyrs
Wednesday: St. Vincent de Paul, Priest
Thursday: St. Wenceslaus, Martyr; St. Lawrence Ruiz and Companions, Martyrs
Friday: Sts. Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, Archangels
Saturday: St. Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church
Next Sunday: 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time; Respect Life SundayTrue Love is the Fruit of the Spirit
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
“The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.”Ps. 103
He who does not forgive is because he has not yet opened himself enough to God through faith, and still lives in the flesh, in the ego, and not in the Spirit. Forgiveness is divine love, it is the opportunity we have to make God present in our hearts and in our lives, it is the love that is the fruit of the Spirit, to which we must open ourselves through faith, for otherwise we could not love in this way, Christian and divinely, but only like pagans, who also love those they sympathize with, but many are excluded.
When you do not forgive a person or do not know how to love them because you do not like them, you are not rejecting just one person but millions and millions who, if you knew them, would also not pass the filter of your ego. It is Jesus whom you despise because you are not paying attention to Him, since the code of the new and eternal covenant that we renew in every Eucharist is to love as Jesus loves us, that is, everyone, the righteous and the sinners.
He who despises one of these little ones despises me and the Father who sent me. Mt 18:10; Lk 10:16. We would deceive ourselves thinking we are right with God if we do not love our brother. Whoever says he loves God must show it in his love for his brother.
“We love because He loved us first. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must also love his brother.”1 John 4:18ff
Love everyone; the Word of God makes no exceptions there, nor does it specify that you have to like them or that they have to meet certain requirements. Love is for everyone or it is nothing more than selfishness and personal whim. 1 corinthians 13:4-8, He who does not love everyone still lives in the flesh and not in the spirit. Understand that Chistian love does not refer to a feeling you cannot control or decide, but to doing good, which you can decide and do to anyone, even to those you do not like.
“I could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal (egocentric) as to babes in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, for you were not yet able to receive it. In fact, even now you are not yet able, for you are still carnal. Are there not rivalries and envy among you? Then you are carnal and behave like other people.”1 Corinthians 3:1ff
Let us nourish the soul with His word, which is Spirit and life, for it is the way we will free ourselves from darkness and sin. From Him comes the ability to love and forgive that we could not have without Him, for it is the fruit of the spirit, and it is only His divine love that makes it possible. Let Him free you by receiving His word with faith and trusting in Him more than in yourself.
“He who says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness.”1 John 2:9
“If we say we have communion with Him, but walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.”1 John 1:6
Readings for the Week
Sunday: Sir 27:30-28:7/Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12 (8)/Rom 14:7-9/Mt 18:21-35
Monday: 1 Tm 2:1-8/Ps 28:2, 7, 8-9/Lk 7:1-10
Tuesday: 1 Tm 3:1-13/Ps 101:1b-2ab, 2cd-3ab, 5, 6/Lk 7:11-17
Wednesday: 1 Tm 3:14-16/Ps 111:1-2, 3-4, 5-6/Lk 7:31-35
Thursday: Eph 4:1-7, 11-13/Ps 19:2-3, 4-5/Mt 9:9-13
Friday: 1 Tm 6:2c-12/Ps 49:6-7, 8-10, 17-18, 19-20/Lk 8:1-3
Saturday: 1 Tm 6:13-16/Ps 100:1b-2, 3, 4, 5/Lk 8:4-15
Next Sunday: Is 55:6-9/Ps 145:2-3, 8-9, 17-18 (18a)/Phil 1:20c-24, 27 a/Mt 20:1-16aObservances for the Week
Sunday: 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time; Catechetical Sunday
Tuesday: St. Januarius, Bishop and Martyr
Wednesday: Sts. Andrew Kim Tae-gön, Priest, and Paul Chöng Ha-sang and Companions, Martyrs
Thursday: St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist
Saturday: St. Pius of Pietrelcina, Priest
Next Sunday: 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time; Priesthood SundayFraternal Correction
Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
“If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts”Ps. 95
The Lord exhorts us to correct one another with love and charity, for it is one of the acts of mercy that we must practice and accept when others exercise it with us. We should be aware that we often see the speck in our brother’s eye more easily than the beam in our own eye. Therefore, if we love the truth and earnestly seek holiness, we should encourage and be grateful when others correct us. Four eyes always see more than two, and the perspective of others allows us to see what we cannot see on our own because we see things partially. Just as we cannot see our own face, but others can. Let’s look at some Bible verses where God exhorts us to practice this work of spiritual charity:
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.”Matthew 18:15-17
“As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.”Titus 3:10-11
“Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.”Galatians 6:1
“Do not regard him as an enemy but warn him as a brother.”2 Thessalonians 3:15
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”2 Timothy 3:16-17
We should not judge with a human but a spiritual judgment, discerning God’s will, which should be the aspiration for all, not our own. We should not attempt to shape a church according to our human logic, as our logic is not the standard to follow and is not reliable. Our logic is fallen by nature, despite its good intentions. Man, guided by his own logic, makes many erroneous judgments daily, for we see things partially (1 Corinthians 13). By our logic, we might even deny God because we cannot see Him. We all have our unique and imperfect subjective ways of seeing things, millions of them, none of them perfect. When we make corrections, let them come from Christ and His love.
“Let no damaging talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may edify to those who hear.”Ephesians 4:29
Readings for the Week
Sunday: Ez 33:7-9/Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 (8)/Rom 13:8-10/Mt 18:15-20
Monday: Col 1:24-2:3/Ps 62:6-7, 9/Lk 6:6-11
Tuesday: Col 2:6-15/Ps 145:1b-2, 8-9, 10-11/Lk 6:12-19
Wednesday: Col 3:1-11/Ps 145:2-3, 10-11, 12-13ab/Lk 6:20-26
Thursday: Nm 21:4b-9/Ps 78:1bc-2, 34-35, 36-37, 38/Phil 2:6-11/Jn 3:13-17
Friday: 1 Tm 1:1-2, 12-14/Ps 16:1b-2a and 5, 7-8, 11/In 19:25-27 or Lk 2:33-35
Saturday: 1 Tm 1:15-17/Ps 113:1b-2, 3-4, 5a and 6-7/Lk 6:43-49
Next Sunday: Sir 27:30-28:7/Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12 (8)/Rom 14:7-9/Mt 18:21-35Observances for the Week
Sunday: 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time; Grandparents’ Day
Monday: Patriot Day
Tuesday: The Most Holy Name of Mary
Wednesday: St. John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Thursday: The Exaltation of the Holy Cross
Friday: Our Lady of Sorrows
Saturday: Sts. Cornelius, Pope, and Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs
Next Sunday: 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time; Catechetical SundayNews for September
St. Juditas Fair
BANDS, MUSICAL GROUPS, MARIACHIS, FOLKLORICOS, SOLOISTS IF YOU WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SAN JUDITAS FAIR ON NOVEMBER 10, 11, 12
PLEASE CALL AT 818 577 8957 THANK YOU!!Labor Day
Parish Offices closed for Labor Day
VIRTUS Training Programs
Protecting God’s Children for Adults
3 hr. English Trainings at following locations:
- Our Lady of the Holy Rosary (Sun Valley)
Thursday, September 14, 2023 at 6pm
Must call 818 765 4897 to reserve a place.- St. Jane Frances de Chantel Catholic Church (North Hollywood)
Saturday, September 16, 2023 at 5pm
Must call 818 766 1714 to reserve a placeKeeping the Promise Alive, Recertification (Only)
1hr. 30min English Training
- Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church
Wednesday, September 20, 2023 at 7pm
Must call 818 342 4686 to reserve a placeSan Fernando Pastoral Region
Fingerprints at St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish on September 30, 2023.
225088 Cooper Hill Dr.
Santa Carita 91350
(Slatter Halls-Rooms 4/5)
For appointments please call 661) 296 6945 Ext. 7902Did You Know?
Why is it important not to dismiss a child’s everyday emotions?
A key part of creating a safe environment is being a trusted adult to the children in your care. Children who have been abused are more likely to confide in a trusted adult whom they know will listen to and believe them. For this reason, it is important to affirm a child’s everyday emotions, including anger or fear. Far too often, adults tell children “you’re fine,” or “get over it,” in response to what a child perceives as a true emotional problem, but an adult may see as an inconvenience or insignificant event. Affirming a child’s feelings while still helping them work through their issue productively will help create a bond of trust. For more information, read the VIRTUS® article “Overcoming the confusing paradox we teach children about emotions and safety” at https://lacatholics.org/did-you-know.
Sacrifice is Gift and Love
Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
“My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.”Ps. 63
“Whoever wants to come with me, to deny himself, take up your cross and follow me. If you want to save your life, you will lose it; but whoever loses it for me will find it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, if he ruins his life?”
Sacrifice is give and love. Sometimes it can lead to suffering, but it is not the main sacrifice. Christ gives himself in sacrifice as a gift. And he wants us to do it too; to give ourselves as a gift. Offer ourselves, because all that we are and have we have received as a free gift, and should be given. Being a gift makes us be a Eucharist, and it can entail sacrifice, but the main thing is love.
We receive to give. Like the father who gives his son money so he can buy him a gift on Father’s Day, or Mother’s day. He will receive with much affection whatever we offer Him, as we give Him from what we have received from Him.
God wants us to offer Him everything we receive.
“If anyone comes to me, and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. He who does not carry his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.”Luke 14:26ff
Trusting God, and loving Him above all things, has to do with being willing to give everything to Him, even one’s own life, guided and illuminated by His word, driven by trust and love for Him. We can give ourselves to others and we can give of our goods and our time to others. We do not live for ourselves, but to give ourselves.
But it has also made it easier for us; wanting to be loved in others. We can give to God in reciprocity, of what we receive from Him, giving to our brothers, even if they are not worthy, even if they are sinners, because God loves us being sinners.
Task of identifying ourselves with Christ, in his being and in his action. The law, the commandments, the word, is the GIFT of God. And we must not reject it as the rebellious people since Adam, a hardheaded people who killed the prophets and rejected the covenant. Never stand in the way of God’s plan of salvation, even if we do not understand it like Peter, we must never be scandalized by Christ or his will, which is what we should always love and seek.
“I beg you, therefore, brothers, by the great tenderness of God, to offer him your own person as a living and holy sacrifice capable of pleasing him; this worship suits creatures who have judgment. Do not follow the current of the world in which we live, but rather transform yourselves from an interior renewal, so you will know how to distinguish what is God’s will, what is good, what pleases Him, what is perfect.”Romans 12
His whole life and his cross is redeeming love and self-giving; let us respond to his love with gratitude, let us please God, living in Christ as a gift of love, reflecting Christ, being a host of love, a Eucharist for others.
Readings for the Week
Sunday: Jer 20:7-9/Ps 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9 (2b)/Rom 12:1-2/Mt 16:21-27
Monday: 1 The 4:13-18/Ps 96:1 and 3, 4-5, 11-12, 13/Lk 4:16-30
Tuesday: 1 Thes 5:1-6, 9-11/Ps 27:1, 4, 13-14/Lk 4:31-37
Wednesday: Col 1:1-8/Ps 52:10, 11/Lk 4:38-44
Thursday: Col 1:9-14/Ps 98:2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6/Lk 5:1-11
Friday: Mi 5:1-4a or Rom 8:28-30/Ps 13:6ab, 6c/Mt 1:1-16, 18-23 or 1:18-23
Saturday: Col 1:21-23/Ps 54:3-4, 6 and 8/Lk 6:1-5
Next Sunday: Ez 33:7-9/Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 (8)/Rom 13:8-10/Mt 18:15-20Observances for the Week
Sunday: 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Monday: Labor Day
Friday: The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Saturday: St. Peter Claver, Priest
Next Sunday: 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time; Grandparents’ DayWhat Is Faith?
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
“Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands.”Ps. 138
Faith is what you believe by the testimony of others, and each one decides what he believes. We have direct access to know very little firsthand, everything else we get to know by what we call faith, believing in the testimony of others. We can distinguish natural faith, to refer to the faith by which we access the knowledge of things of this world, always believing in the testimony of others, and religious faith to refer to that which gives us knowledge of the spiritual and eternal.
From what he hears, each one decides what he believes and what he does not. Both of the things of this life, or of history, and of spiritual things. Some decide to believe the version of the story that comes from the black legends invented by those of a contrary political tendency, others prefer to believe what the sorcerer or the fortune teller tells them, others choose to believe some doctors or experts in metabolism, others in the opposite, etc.
Faith is put in what each one decides. BE VERY CAREFUL WITH THAT DECISION, because your wellbeing and the health or illness of your body and also of your soul will depend on it. THE DEVIL IS THE FATHER OF LIES, THE ONE WHO SOWS TARES. GOD IS THE TRUTH, the one who sows the best seed for our good, the one who wants our happiness, freedom and eternal life. Each one decides whether to put his faith in God, revealed in Christ, who became one with his Church, or if he prefers to put his faith in what some men say who deny it gratuitously, that is, without proof, tendentiously, moved by their interests and ideologies. THAT DECISION WILL DEPEND ON THE DIRECTION WE GIVE TO OUR LIVES, if we live in the truth that liberates us or in the lie that embitter us and makes us victims.
God tells us in his Word that faith in him opens us to his divine Life, to his Holy Spirit with all his gifts. Faith in Him is the door through which God enters our lives, with all His blessings; like those received by many in the gospel: let it be done according to your faith. And they were cured. Elsewhere, he couldn’t do many miracles because of his lack of faith, the gospel says.
FAITH IS LIKE A SIXTH SENSE that gives us access to a knowledge of the spiritual and eternal, for it opens us to accept the truth revealed by God Himself. That is why he insists in his word that IT IS BY FAITH THAT WE OPEN OUR HEARTS TO JESUS, THAT WE OPEN OURSELVES TO THE GIFT OF HIS DIVINE LIFE. But faith comes by ear. Only by listening to his word can we know it and only then can we value, appreciate and enjoy it; It only benefits him and is really known by those who have it.
“How then will they call upon him in whom they have not believed? And how will they believe in him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without anyone preaching to them?”Romans 10,14f
FAITH COMES BY PREACHING,.. and is also strengthened by it. Being the access to the knowledge of God, it is by it that we are freed from many erroneous and deceptive beliefs, idola. tries and sins. ITS BENEFITS ARE COUNTLESS AND INVALUABLE, because it saves us from being victims of many deceptions and suffering that we have for ignoring God, and reveals to us the way that leads to salvation.
Readings for the Week
Sunday: Is 22:19-23/Ps 138:1-2, 2-3, 6, 8 (8bc)/Rom 11:33-36 Mt 16:13-20
Monday: 1 Thes 1:1-5, 8b-10/Ps 149:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6a and 9b/Mt 23:13-22
Tuesday: 1 Thes 2:1-8/Ps 139:1-3, 4-6/Mk 6:17-29
Wednesday: 1 Thes 2:9-13/Ps 139:7-8, 9-10, 11-12ab/Mt 23:27-32
Thursday: 1 Thes 3:7-13/Ps 90:3-5a, 12-13, 14 and 17/Mt 24:42-51
Friday: 1 Thes 4:1-8/Ps 97:1 and 2b, 5-6, 10, 11-12/Mt 25:1-13
Saturday: 1 Thes 4:9-11/Ps 98:1, 7-8, 9/Mt 25:14-30
Next Sunday: Jer 20:7-9/Ps 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9 (2b)/Rom 12:1-2/Mt 16:21-27Observances for the Week
Sunday: 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
Monday: St. Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Tuesday: The Passion of St. John the Baptist
Next Sunday: 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time