Catholic Cemeteries & Mortuaries (CCM) will host a Vigil Prayer Service at San Fernando Mission Cemetery & Mission Hills Mortuary in Mission Hills on Tuesday, Nov. 1, All Saints Day. (To offer Mass intentions for your beloved family members or friends at St. Clement, please use the special envelopes at the front of the church, write their names and return the envelopes to us. Fr. Joseph will place those special envelopes on the altar and all Masses in November will be offered for them.) The CCM celebration will also be returning in-person at Santa Clara Cemetery & Mortuary in Oxnard on Saturday, Nov. 5. This year’s celebrations will offer a unique opportunity for families to enjoy a Catholic tradition that unites faith, prayer and cultural heritage to honor the faithful departed. The celebration on Nov. 5 at Santa Clara Cemetery in Oxnard. (2370 North H St. 93036) will begin at noon with a Mass presided by Fr. Leon Hutton, Episcopal Vicar for the Santa Barbara Pastoral Region. Both events will include a procession plus children’s crafts, snacks and entertainment, including a special performance by Ballet Folklorico Ollin and the award-winning all-female mariachi ensemble Las Colibrí. Sacred art specialist Lalo Garcia and a group of artists from Southern California will exhibit their art pieces. The pilgrim images of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Juan Diego will be present at the celebration at Santa Clara Cemetery. San Fernando Mission Cemetery & Mission Hills Catholic Mortuary in Mission Hills (11160 Stranwood Ave., Mission Hills, CA 91345) will open its doors at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 1, All Saints Day. Festivities will begin with a welcome at 6:45 p.m. followed by a 7:00 p.m. Prayer Vigil Service presided by Bishop Marc Trudeau, Auxiliary Bishop for the San Pedro Pastoral Region. The service will include traditional altars in honor of the departed, one especially built by 8th graders of North Hollywood’s St. Charles Borromeo School to honor the students and teachers killed in the Uvalde massacre. The evening celebration will also feature large-scale projections, and a special performance by Mariachi Charros de Oro de Adrian Cruz, by the Aztec dancers group Azteca Águilas del Tepeyac, and the Ballet Folklorico Ollin. Dia de Los Muertos art will also be on display. The celebrations are free, open to the public, and fun for the entire family. They will also include blessing of the altars in honor of the departed, built with a special message by different parish groups and ministries, and the cemeteries’ patrons. This year, Santa Clara Cemetery staff will include a large-scale altar to celebrate the life of their patrons, deceased personnel and members of their communities. Free food samples and refreshments will be provided by Catholic Cemeteries & Mortuaries.

“But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things; and you overlook sins for the sake of repentance.” (Wisdom 11:23) The major theme for this 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time focuses on the benevolent and forgiving mercy of God for sinners and the response of repentance and conversion that God expects from us. God’s mercy is infinitely superabundance to all. He is always ready to reach out to us to save us, to rescue or redeem us, to repair our broken relationship with Him and with one another, to bring us back to the original state of grace, joy, peace, goodness and love that we first enjoyed in the paradise, the garden of Eden. Such is the desire and plan of God with humanity, his creation, the economy of our salvation. Our true wisdom then, is to recognize and appreciate God’s infinite compassion and mercy, to acknowledge and to repent for our sins, to have faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, to cooperate with God’s grace in the Holy Spirit, to re-establish a rightful relationship with Him, to obtain the eternal life. Such a teaching is also mentioned in St. Teresa of Avila’s “Interior Castle.” She indicates that the first step of our prayer life and the practice of our Christian discipleship is to gain self-knowledge. In other words, she wants us to acknowledge the reality of our sinful state and the marvelous grandeur of God who resides at the center of the “castle” (i.e. the soul). There is no need for us to .... [Click to continue]

“Te compadeces de todos, y aunque puedes destruirlo todo, aparentas no ver los pecados de los hombres, para darles ocasión de arrepentirse." (Sabiduría 11:23). El tema principal de este 31 domingo del Tiempo Ordinario se centra en la misericordia benevolente y perdonadora de Dios por los pecadores y la respuesta de arrepentimiento y conversión que Dios espera de nosotros. La misericordia de Dios es sobreabundante e infinita para todos. Él siempre está listo para acercarse a nosotros para salvarnos, rescatarnos o redimirnos, para reparar nuestra relación rota con Él y entre nosotros, para traernos de vuelta al estado original de gracia, gozo, paz, bondad y amor que disfrutamos primero en el paraíso, el jardín del Edén. Tal es el deseo y el plan de Dios con la humanidad, su creación, la economía de nuestra salvación. Nuestra verdadera sabiduría, entonces, es reconocer y apreciar la infinita compasión y misericordia de Dios, reconocer y arrepentirnos de nuestros pecados, tener fe en Jesucristo como Señor y Salvador, cooperar con la gracia de Dios en el Espíritu Santo, restablecer una relación legítima con Él, para obtener la vida eterna. Tal enseñanza también se menciona en el “Castillo Interior” de Santa Teresa de Ávila. Ella indica que el primer paso de nuestra vida de oración y la práctica de nuestro discipulado cristiano es ganar conocimiento propio. En otras palabras, quiere que reconozcamos la realidad de nuestro estado pecaminoso y la maravillosa grandeza de .... [Haz click para continuar]

“En aquel tiempo, Jesús dijo esta parábola sobre algunos que s tenían por justos y despreciaban a los demás" (Lucas 18:9). El tema principal de este 30 domingo del tiempo ordinario se centra en la virtud de la humildad y el arrepentimiento como condiciones necesarias y características de todas nuestras oraciones, motivadas y guiadas por la gracia infinita y compasiva de Dios que nos ha sido dada para nuestra salvación, sin la cual no podremos ser salvo y perdonado por Dios. Todas las Sagradas Escrituras nos advierten de los pecados de la justicia propia, que también se llama santurronería, sentenciosidad y actitudes de “más santas que tú.” Es un sentimiento o demostración de superioridad moral (generalmente petulante), vanagloria derivada de la sensación de que las creencias, acciones o afiliaciones de uno son de mayor virtud que las de la persona promedio, y que podemos ganar nuestra salvación por nuestras buenas obras. sacrificios, autosuficiencia y esfuerzo, crítica y falta de respeto hacia los demás, especialmente descuidando o ignorando la situación de los pobres y necesitados. Las personas farisaicas suelen ser hipócritas e intolerantes con las opiniones y los comportamientos de los demás y no están interesadas en buscar un estándar desinteresado u objetivo del bien y el mal, independientemente de cómo interactúan con otras personas. Ciertamente, las personas con una actitud y un pensamiento .... [Haz click para continuar]

“Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else.” (Luke 18:9) The major theme for this 30th Sunday in ordinary time focuses on the virtue of humility and repentance as the necessary conditions and hallmarks of all our prayers, motivated and guided by God’s compassionate and infinite grace given to us for our salvation, without which we will not be saved and forgiven by God. All Holy Scriptures warn us the sins of self-righteousness, which is also called sanctimoniousness, sententiousness and holier-than-thou attitudes. It is a feeling or display of (usually smug) moral superiority, vainglory derived from a sense that one's beliefs, actions, or affiliations are of greater virtue than those of the average person, and that we can gain our salvation by our good deeds, sacrifices, self-sufficiency and efforts, critical of and disrespecting others, especially neglecting or disregarding the plight of the poor and the needy. Self-righteous individuals are often hypocritical and intolerant of the opinions and behaviors of others and being uninterested in seeking an unselfish or objective standard of right and wrong, independently of how they interact with other people. Certainly, people with such a wrongful attitude and thinking will not .... [Click to Continue]

The St. Thomas More Society of Los Angeles will host the 40th Annual Red Mass of Los Angeles on Wednesday, Oct. 26, at 5:30 p.m. Archbishop José H. Gomez will be the celebrant and Wilton Cardinal Gregory, Archbishop of Washington, will be the homilist at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels., 555 W. Temple St. Los Angeles. The Honorable Philip S. Gutierrez, who serves as the Chief Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, will deliver closing remarks after the Mass, followed by a hosted reception with members of the clergy, bench, and bar. Lector for the Mass will be the Honorable Rozella A. Oliver, U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Central District of California. First celebrated in Paris in 1245, the Red Mass is a tradition celebrated annually at the opening of the Judicial Year, significantly that of the U.S. Supreme Court each October. Judges and lawyers attend in a body, joined by public officials and law faculty members. The Red Mass received its name from the Celebrant's vestments in red, and the Lord High Justices robes of brilliant scarlet. In Los Angeles, this annual tradition is sponsored by STMSLA. Federal and State judges, as well as local public officials, normally attend the Mass and lead the entrance procession.

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles invites healthcare professionals to celebrate the caring service you provide to our community. The Mass will be celebrated by Archbishop José H. Gomez at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angeles on October 23, 2022, at 3:30 p.m. Catholic healthcare professionals and all who provide the beautiful ministry of care, are our reasons to celebrate this annual Mass each October. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has reminded us how vital our Catholic healthcare providers are, as they provide healing in mind, body and spirit in their work and ministry. This year the Archdiocese of Los Angeles will honor all healthcare professionals: physicians, nurses, chaplains, physical therapists, mental health caregivers, chiropractors, receptionists, dietary staff, lab workers, and administrators. All healthcare professionals and those involved in the care ministry, such as visiting the sick and homebound, are invited to have their hands blessed during this special Mass. Please RSVP to [email protected] or 213-637-7655.

“Jesus told his disciples a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.” (Luke 18:1) The major theme for this 29th Sunday in ordinary time focuses on the necessary virtue of persistence or constancy in prayer, trusting God completely as we pray. The virtue of persistence in prayer is challenging to many people today because many people have a mistaken idea about what prayer is and how to pray. Many people have the misconception that prayer is to say a “magical spell” or a “preset of words” like an incantation that, once those words are pronounced, the magic will happen immediately. And if events or things in our lives have not changed according to our expectations, then, we did not “pray” correctly or failed to “follow” the correct procedure, and have jeopardized the desired outcome. Prayer comes from the Latin word “precaria” or “oratio” which means 'petition.' It is an invocation, supplication, intercession that seeks to communicate with God for the purpose of petition, thanksgiving or praise. St. Teresa of Avila explains that prayer is “nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends; taking time frequently to be alone with Him who we know loves us.” For St. Teresa of Avila, prayer is not about saying magical words or phrases, but it is about relationship. In other words, how do we deepen our personal relationship, faithful trust, confidence in God and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in all aspects of our lives. Persistent prayer means .... [Click to Continue]

“En aquel tiempo, para enseñar a sus discípulos la necesidad de orar siempre y sin desfallecer, Jesús les propuso esta parábola" (Lucas 18:1). El tema principal de este 29 domingo del tiempo ordinario se centra en la virtud necesaria de la persistencia o constancia en la oración, confiando plenamente en Dios mientras oramos. La virtud de la persistencia en la oración es un desafío para muchas personas hoy en día porque muchas personas tienen una idea equivocada sobre qué es la oración y cómo orar. Mucha gente tiene la idea errónea de que la oración es decir un "hechizo mágico" o un "preajuste de palabras" como un encantamiento que una vez que se pronuncian esas palabras, la magia sucederá de inmediato. Y si los eventos o cosas en nuestras vidas no han cambiado de acuerdo con nuestras expectativas, entonces, no “oramos” correctamente o fallamos en “seguir” el procedimiento correcto que ha puesto en peligro el resultado deseado. Oración proviene de la palabra latina “precaria” u “oratio” que significa ‘petición'. Es una invocación, súplica, intercesión que busca comunicarse con Dios con el propósito de petición, acción de gracias o alabanza. Santa Teresa de Ávila explica que la oración “no es más que un íntimo compartir entre amigos; tomar tiempo con frecuencia para estar a solas con Aquel que sabemos que nos ama”. Para Santa Teresa de Ávila, la oración no se trata de decir palabras o frases mágicas, sino de relación. En otras palabras, cómo profundizamos nuestra relación personal, confianza fiel en Dios y nuestro Señor y Salvador Jesucristo en todos los aspectos de nuestras vidas. La oración persistente significa .... [Haz click para continuar]

“Entonces dijo Jesús: “¿No eran diez los que quedaron limpios? ¿Dónde están los otros nueve? ¿No ha habido nadie, fuera de este extranjero, que volviera para dar gloria a Dios?" (Lucas 17:17-18). El tema principal de este 28 domingo del tiempo ordinario se centra en la expresión de gratitud que Dios desea y espera de nosotros por las muchas bendiciones que hemos recibido de Él. Dios ciertamente siente la tristeza y la ira de nuestra ingratitud por dar las cosas por sentadas, ingratas por todo lo que Él ha hecho por nosotros. Gratitud proviene de la palabra latina “gratus”, que significa “agradable” o “agradecido”. Es una apreciación por parte de un destinatario de la bondad, los obsequios, la ayuda, los favores u otra forma de generosidad de otra persona hacia el dador de dichos obsequios. La gratitud es una parte esencial de nuestro culto cristiano y de todos los aspectos de nuestra vida porque todo lo bueno proviene de Dios, la fuente de todas las bendiciones. La Biblia está llena de la idea de la gratitud. Por ejemplo: Salmo 30:13 "Oh Señor Dios mío, te daré gracias por siempre", y Salmo 9:2 "Daré gracias al Señor con todo mi corazón". Por lo tanto, la gratitud es la actitud cristiana básica y el corazón del Evangelio. San Pablo dice: “Dad gracias en todas las circunstancias; porque esta es la voluntad de Dios para con vosotros en Cristo Jesús” (1 Tesalonicenses 5:18). La gratitud es una virtud que moldea no solo nuestras emociones y pensamientos, sino también nuestras acciones y hechos. Es una de las formas más precisas de encontrar la presencia de Dios en la vida de una persona. Es tan necesario en nuestro discipulado y espiritualidad cristiana que .... [Haz click para continuar]

“Jesus said in reply, “Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?” (Luke 17:17-18) The major theme for this 28th Sunday in ordinary time focus on the expression of gratitude that God desires and expects from us for the many blessings we have received from Him. God indeed feels the sadness and anger at our ingratitude for taking things for granted, ungrateful for all He has done for us. Gratitude comes from the Latin word “gratus,” which means "pleasing," "thankful" or “gratefulness.” It is an appreciation by a recipient of another's kindness, gifts, help, favors or other form of generosity to the giver of such gifts. Gratitude is an essential part of our Christian worship and of every aspect of our life because every good thing comes from God, the source of all blessings. The Bible is filled with the idea of gratitude. For example: Psalm 30:13 "O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever," and Psalm 9:2 "I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart." Therefore, gratitude is the basic Christian attitude and the heart of the Gospel. St. Paul says: “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Gratitude is a virtue that shapes not only our emotions and thoughts, but also our actions and deeds. It is one of the most accurate ways of finding the presence of God in a person’s life. It is so necessary in our Christian discipleship and spirituality that .... [Click to Continue]