Usually after Easter Sunday, things wind down a little bit when it comes to our liturgical celebrations, but not for us this year. The week after Easter Sunday, we had two funerals for two long-time parishioners: Bob Eastvedt and Johnny Estrada. We had the funeral Mass for Bob on Easter Tuesday, while Johnny’s funeral was on Easter Friday. Both of these funerals that I presided brought close to home the promise of resurrection that the Easter joy loudly proclaims. Thanks to our “funeral ladies”, the St. Gerard Guild, who always do a great job connecting with the grieving families to provide a wonderful reception after the funeral. To say that the St. Gerard Guild is a blessing to our parish is an understatement. Their ministry is truly crucial and special for they provide great comfort and consolation to the grieving family. We have had quite a few funerals lately, which means that our funeral ladies have been quite busy. Every funeral reception is like putting up a catering service. Despite all the work, they do it with great joy and love. If you want to be involved in this very important ministry, I assure you that it is spiritually enriching on many levels.
Many have asked me about the cascading water garden in front of the Church. As was announced last weekend, the Hispanic Divine Mercy Prayer Group put it together for Divine Mercy Sunday. I was initially hesitant to give the green light considering that it’s a lot of work and manpower for a weekend celebration, but their testimonies of faith and how their devotion to Divine Mercy changed their lives, shaped their relationships and their marriages convinced me to support the plan. One of the leading organizers said “even if you just allow us for a day to have this garden here, we would still do it because all the work is nothing compared to how Divine Mercy has transformed our lives and our families”. It’s powerful to hear those kinds of testimonies. They did a great job in putting it together. One of the leading organizers (Sabino Martinez) of the Spanish Divine Mercy
celebration is with the landscape business, and he lent all the plants and materials for the stunning garden for free. It would be great to keep it there permanently, but I am not sure if we can afford it and if the current set up would withstand the change of seasons and weather. The current plan is to keep it there for the entire season of Easter. We’ll see if we can keep it there permanently.
We had our first batch of First Communion Masses this Saturday, April 18 at 10am (English) and 1pm (Spanish). Next Saturday, April 25 at 10am (Spanish), we will have the second batch of First Communion Masses. We have a total of 145 children for First Communion from the English and Spanish speaking communities. I am very proud of our children who have been preparing for this big day. Let us continue to pray for them so that they may remain steadfast in their faith as they fully participate in the Eucharistic celebration.
On April 23 (Thursday) at 6pm, Archbishop Alexander Sample will preside at a Candidacy Mass for two of our seminarians who will begin their theological studies in Rome this fall. Our very own homegrown seminarian, John Hesla, is one of them. Candidacy Mass is a ceremony that officially receives a seminarian as a candidate to ordination. It is an explicit call and exhortation on the part of the Church to call the candidate into a deeper and more serious consideration of the ordained life
compared when the seminarian was in his college formation. Please join John and the whole Archdiocese in this beautiful ceremony. How wonderful it is that the Candidacy Mass will be in our parish, especially that John’s vocation is nurtured within our parish family of St. Cecilia’s.
This week you will receive in your mail your offertory pledge statements to update parish families on where they are now in their financial stewardship and commitment to the mission of Christ. There is a bit of uneasiness on my part to send this kind of letter as it might be mistaken as a bill. Again, I would like to reiterate, IT IS NOT A BILL! If your financial commitment has changed because of life circumstances, please be assured that we do understand if those commitments are not faithfully fulfilled. We just have to know so that we can also adjust our budget projection for the year. Again, thank you so much for your generosity and for your active collaboration to the mission of Christ. – Fr. Cary