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RCIA—Rite of Election

Kathy Uncategorized

This past Saturday, the Candidates from St. Valentine and their Sponsors took part in the Rite of Election at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament which was presided over by Bishop Donald Hanchon.

 Best Lenten Practices

· The entire season of Lent is a penitential season.

The liturgical color for Lent is purple (just like Advent) to show that it is a special time of penance. Taking up additional practices, such as self-imposed fasting outside of the obligatory times, Lenten devotions and spiritual reading, Stations of the Dross, a daily rosary, serving the poor, etc. all enhance the penitential and spiritual aspect of Lent.

· Make the Sacrament of Reconciliation (confession)

an important part of your Lenten penitential practice. Many parishes have special times of confession during Lent. One traditional devotion towards this sacrament is to make a general confession of your whole life using an examination of conscience.

· Attend Mass on Ash Wednesday. While it is not a Holy Day of Obligation, all are encouraged to attend to receive ashes on the forehead.

· Attend Mass on Holy Thursday to commemorate the institution of the Eucharist, called the “Mass of the Lord’s Supper.”

· At 3 o’clock on Good Friday, pause and make a special effort to keep this hour sacred. This is the our of Christ’s death on the cross, after which redemption for mankind was completed. Praying the Divine Mercy chaplet is ideal at this time (it just takes five minutes.)

· If possible, try to clear your schedule in order to participate in the traditional Veneration of the Cross service on Good Friday.

· Continue your Good Friday fast up to the start of the Easter Vigil to correspond to the entire time from Christ’s death on the cross until his resurrection on Easter Sunday.

· Attend the Easter Vigil at sundown on Holy Saturday to welcome the Easter Sunday feast. Pray for those being received into full communion with the Catholic Church at this Mass, that they will remain faithful to Christ and his Church, grow in holiness, and become saints.

· On Easter Sunday and through out the Easter season, fully celebrate the joy of Christ’s Resurrection and the conquering of sin and death he merited for us. Greet one another with the Paschal Greeting/Easter Acclamation, “Christ is risen! And the response,  “He is risen indeed!”    

First Sunday of Advent

Kathy Uncategorized, Weekly message

A quiz for you. You are sleeping. You are dreaming. A big lion is chasing you. You try to run away and you see a tiger coming in front of you. You turn sideways, but every side you turn to, you find a ferocious animal coming after you. How can you escape? The answer is: Wake up. By waking up one enters a whole new world of reality, different from that of the dream world. What was a huge problem in the dream state becomes a non-issue in the waking state.

Today is the First Sunday of Advent. The word advent is coming from the Latin word, “Adventum”, meaning, “coming”, but who will come? Many of us would answer that it is the coming of the birth of Jesus on Christmas day. But Jesus had already been born two thousand years ago in Bethlehem. This advent is not only the coming of Jesus during Christmas day but also his coming at the last day, we call it Parousia or His second coming by which He will no longer save us but judge us.

When we are expecting a very important person to come, a particular reality called waiting is very imminent. When we wait, we feel anxious, uneasy, impatient and unsure if that person will come. Waiting is one of the large realities of life. And there are so many waiting in life. 

The gospel of the day says, “Stay awake….You do not know when the appointed time will come.” In other words, be prepared always and to stay awake while waiting for His coming at an unknown time.

So, while waiting, let us prepare ourselves for His coming. How?

First, let us renew the way we speak, by using our God given tongue to uplift those people in distress.

Second, let us renew the way we act. A saying goes: “Action speaks louder than words”. Actions are very much important. Pope Paul VI, in his encyclical letter, said that “today we don’t need good teachers, what we need are witnessing teachers.”

Third, let us renew our attitude. We have so many attitudes that need to be renewed.

Lastly, let us renew our deeds.

 

Immaculate Conception

 

December 8th we celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This is a Holy Day of Obligation and Masses will take place at 8:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. in the church.

Stewardship Thoughts

Today’s Scripture readings express the Advent themes of hope, vigilance, and repentance. The Prophet Isaiah desires his people to atone for their sinful ways and turn their hardened hearts back to the Lord, who has done great deeds for them. In St. Mark’s Gospel, Jesus urges us to be watchful and alert, for we do not know when He will return. St. Paul reminds the Corinthian community, and us, that fellowship with our Lord strengthens us with many spiritual gifts — a timely reminder as we begin our journey into this Advent season. May we, as faithful stewards, put our hope in the Lord, acknowledge our sins, and seek with contrite hearts, His mercy and forgiveness. Advent is an excellent time to confess our sins by participating in the sacrament of Reconciliation.

Thanksgiving Day Blessing

Kathy Uncategorized

O God of all things in heaven and on earth, you give all your people in the world the gift of life,
the gift of family, the gift of work, and the gift of rest.

On this, our national day of Thanksgiving, we turn all our thoughts to you, from whom all blessings flow.

Bless all our work, our friends, and our families both near and far. We humbly ask for the ability to continue our work for your kingdom and the ability to gather freely to worship you without fear.

We ask you to give our years ahead your blessing and protection.

We ask all this through Christ the Lord, your Son and our brother. Amen.

 

Thanksgiving Day Mass

 

This Thursday, our nation will pause to celebrate Thanksgiving. As is our custom, we will offer an opportunity to come to mass and join fellow parishioners in gratitude to God for the blessings we so often take for granted. We will celebrate Thanksgiving Mass on Thursday, November 23rd at 9:00 in the morning in Church. Please make gratitude to God a priority, and make plans to join us.

 

Christ the King Celebration

At the end of each “liturgical year”, on the final Sunday in Ordinary time, Catholics celebrate “The Solemnity of Christ The King”, or as it’s known today – “The Feast Of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe”.

This Feast day was instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1925, in response to the growing “secularism” around the world, a condition that continues to exist and is even more prevalent today.

On Sunday, November 26, our parish will celebrate this Feast day with an adoration of the Blessed Sacrament from 10:00am until 10:30am in church.

On behalf of Fr. Socorro, Fr. Henry and the parish Worship Commission, you and your family are invited to participate in this opportunity for a few minutes of quiet prayer and meditation. We encourage you to use the adoration as the start of your family’s preparation for the upcoming, Advent season.

 

  Thank You

I, along with Fr. Henry and the Staff, would like to take this opportunity to thank each one of you for what you have been to us and to the parish. May we continue to grow stronger and walk closely with the Lord. Let us be thankful every day, and especially this season of the year. When we gather as families on Thanksgiving Day, let us be truly thankful for His many blessings and love God has lavishly poured out on us. I do invite you to come and join us for Mass on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday at 9 am in the Church.  

Wishing you and every family member a Happy Thanksgiving. 

God Bless you all.

 Fr. Socorro

Volunteers Needed

Our parish needs volunteers to light candles on the Advent wreath at the start of all weekend Masses during Advent. We invite you and your family to help at one of the Masses. A “sign-up” poster is located in the main vestibule of the church.