Thanks to all who participated in the Parish Work party on July 17, 2021!
It was a wonderful community building event. The parish looks wonderful. Here are some pictures.
Annual Stewardship Report is available
Click here to access a PDF version of the 2019-2020 Annual Stewardship Report
Archbishop Cordileone’s Letter: Before I Formed You in the Womb I Knew You. Click Here to read it.
Parishioners: A Question for YOU about Flocknote…
To help improve communication with our parishioners, a year ago St Mary launched a trial program of Flocknote through the Archdiocese. We would like to know how you like it! Have you found it helpful? Useful? Timely? Would you like us to keep using this tool for communicating with parishioners? Are you able to make a financial contribution to help us keep this service active? Please contact the Parish Office and let us know your thoughts!
Moving the High Altar
Update:
The work has been accomplished. Here is a comparison of the old and the new.
And Archbishop came and blessed the altar. Here is that Mass with his homily on that occasion.
What was the rationale for this move? There are many reason that I could mention. I could talk about restoring this historic church back to the architectural focus as it was designed; however, in my mind, the strongest reason is that we live in an age when the faith is in decline. We are moving toward, or more likely are in, a post-Christendom age. Polls have come out highlighting a declining belief in the Real Presence–meaning that the Eucharist is the Real Presence of Christ, the Body, Blood, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord is fully and substantially present under the appearance of bread and wine in the Sacred species. And more and more people no longer believe in that Real Presence because we live in a scientific and materialistic age that says, “If a thing looks like bread, tastes like bread, it must just be bread.” One can focus on teaching more emphatically that the Eucharist is the True Presence, but it will never have the same impact as actually moving our Lord to the very center of the church, where all the architecture guides your eyes as the focal point. As our own Archbishop, Alexander King Sample, has said, “We need to keep our eyes on the prize.” This is why he encourages his priests to move the tabernacle back to the center of the church in the place of prominence. St. Mary Catholic Church was constructed originally with this goal in mind, and I am confident that this change will have a profound effect
Our living God resides there in the tabernacle and we want to keep him the focus of our worship.
New Archdiocesan Guidelines concerning ‘Communion Services’, starting June 3, 2018
Fr. Ron provides a letter detailing the Archbishop’s directive that Communion Services will no longer be permitted in the absence of a priest to offer weekday Mass. Instead, the Office of Divine Worship has put together a Weekday Prayer Service booklet for the faithful who wish to gather to pray together. Click here to read the the details in English & Spanish.
New Archdiocesan Guidelines for Mass, starting June 3, 2018
Archbishop Sample has determined that a more reverent celebration of the Eucharist will be aided by the faithful kneeling after the Lamb of God. By kneeling at that time, the faithful prepare for for the moment in which the priest presents to them the Sacrificed Lamb. Though it officially goes into effect June 3, Fr. Ron would like us to start the practice the weekend of May 5th. See Fr. Ron’s letter in the April 29 Bulletin for more details.
New Guidelines for Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion go into effect June 3, 2018
New Archdiocesan guidelines for Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion (EMHC) will go into effect June 3rd and the names of all EMHCs need to be submitted to the Archdiocese before that date. All EMHCs, old and new, need to be trained in the new guidelines and sign an EHMC Agreement. If you are currently an EMHC or are interested in becoming an EMHC but have not yet been trained and/or signed, please call Marybeth Schombert in the Parish Office. Training sessions are currently scheduled for:
- May 6, 2:00pm (after the 1:00pm Spanish )- Bilingual, in the Church
- May 8, 4:00 pm, in the Church
People not trained will no longer be able to participate in this ministry. This is a very important ministry in the Parish and we want to be sure that each EMHC is ready to follow the Archbishop’s lead.