HAPPY HOLY WEEK

HOLY WEEK SCHEDULE 2019

Holy Thursday, April 18th

NO 8am Mass

11am – Way of the Cross with the school

7pm – Last Supper and Adoration

(Trilingual Mass: English/Spanish/French)

Good Friday, April 19th

NO 8am Mass

12pm – Way of the Cross (English/Spanish)

3pm – Passion of the Lord (English)

7pm – Passion of the Lord (Spanish)

Holy Saturday, April 20^th– Paschal Vigil 

NO 5pm MASS

7pm – Trilingual Mass (English/Spanish/French)

Blessing of the light and procession

will begin at the school parking lot before mass.

Easter Sunday, April 21st   

English mass at 9am

NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL OF PARIS

 

On Monday, April 15th (the day after Palm Sunday), we all witnessed a great catastrophe.

When I saw the flames consuming Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, I cried, because this monument not only means a lot to me, but to all Christians, to all French people, and to the whole world.

Notre Dame is a symbol of medieval architecture and art, but above all, it is God’s home and everyone’s home. People of all ages, from all countries, all cultures and all religions (or no religion) have visited Notre Dame to see the beauty of its walls, the relics and treasures it houses, and the light coming through it stained glass windows. Many come to Notre Dame to pray, to reflect, to listen to the silence of this house inhabited by God, to share with Our Lady and her Son their sadness, their questions, the worries and joys of humanity. Many entered Notre Dame as tourists and came out as pilgrims.

Notre Dame is a witness to humanity’s history. It did not collapse under the bombs of both World Wars and it stood during the French Revolution. At the beginning of this Holly Week it almost completely disappeared from our history.

This fire reminds us how fragile our existence is.

I am touched by the movement of solidarity this unfortunate event has brought. Christians who had distanced themselves from the Church felt a calling to come back to their origins, their history, their belonging to this great family of Christians, their Faith. Believers and non-believers gathered to show their love and their attachment to Notre Dame of Paris. Today, all want it to be rebuilt.

Everywhere in the world we could see gestures of solidarity. The bells rang in all the cathedrals of the world. Here you can see and hear the 36 bells of the Cathedral of Los Angeles “Our Lady of the Angels” https://www.facebook.com/olacathedral/videos/845610479121941/.

The French Speaking Catholic Community of Los Angeles & Orange County and St. Sebastian Parish of Los Angeles want to join all those who will contribute to the reconstruction of Notre Dame. We will be praying for the reconstruction to happen as fast as possible and for its results to be as close as possible to how it was before the fire. We will also work so this event helps us rebuild the Church, which needs to be renewed. We also want to offer financial support, that we will personally deliver to the Archdiocese of Paris on a next trip to France. You can donate in various ways: by participating in the second collection at every mass this Easter Sunday; you can also send your participation by check (to : Aumônerie Catholique Francophone, 1453 Federal Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90025); you can also do so via Venmo: @StSebastian-Parish; via Internet directly on the parish’ website: https://www.myowngiving.com/Default.aspx?cid=1501. All donations $50 and above are tax deductible and we will send you the corresponding tax receipt. There are also other donation centers available online: www.SupportNotreDame.org created by the American Episcopal Conference and also http://www.notredamedeparis.fr/en/friends/ which was created for the restoration works to be done on the Cathedral before the fire, and through which you will also receive a US tax receipt.

Notre Dame belongs to the entire humanity and we all want to participate in its reconstruction. Thank you!

 

Fr. Germán Sánchez

Religious Education Congress

Youth day March 21st 2019

HAVE A WONDERFUL 

LENT SEASON

Christmas 2018

December 12^th, 2018

ON SATURDAY NOVEMBER 17TH WE HAD OUR THANKSGIVING MEAL WITH THE HOMELESS OF OUR NEIGHBORHOOD

150 PLAT WERE DISTRIBUTED

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS

HAPPY EASTER 2018 

Fr German’s message

COME TO SEE THE PASCHAL CANDLE 2018

Since I was ordained as a priest (1990) I have been fortunate enough to receive the decoration for the Paschal Candle from Germany.

Ludger Kintzinger studied with me in Rome. Each year, he continues to make use of his artistic talents to create a gorgeous decoration for the Paschal Candle at his parish, Mary of Peace (in Vechta, Germany), and at the same time to create another just like it for the parish where I am. 

The pastor of the German parish, Father Richard, who celebrated his 80^th birthday in March 2016 is very proud of his paschal candle. He is happy to see his parish, which is part of a town of 25,000 people, in communion with a parish from a large city, Los Angeles, thanks to a paschal candle

This year, Ludger took “Hands” as his theme.

There are hundreds of verses in the Bible that mention hands.

The hands are a symbol frequently used to talk about the community. They lead us to think about the community, about living together, about help, about work. The hands make us think of tenderness, a loving touch, a prayer, and the hands of God who seeks the hands of man to save him, to get him out of his suffering. But hands can also represent struggle, war, oppression, slavery, prison.

In the paschal candle of this year, we have hands that are directed up and placed on a golden background. They are directed towards the light of the candle and they are also a symbol of supplication, a cry of all men and women who suffer. The golden color reminds us of the Byzantine icons that use that color to represent holiness, divinity. On that background of sanctity and divinity is the humanity represented by those hands of different colors. Colors remember our diversity and lead us to think about the multiple concerns, intentions and activities of our humanity.

My friend Ludger says that in German the word hand is used in the formation of different words. (Action = Handlung; Negotiation = Verhandlung; Craftsman = Händler; Treatment = Behandlung ...).

I invite you to find at least 5 words in your language that use the word hand.

Ludger tells that in Münster / Westphalia in one of the largest Gothic churches, St Ludgeri, there was a huge Crucifix in wood that had lost his hands in the bombing of World War II. He was restored but no new hands were placed. The restorers put the following words: "I have no other hands than yours".

Our Paschal Candle reminds us that Christ was resurrected for all. The light of Easter illuminates and heats the hands of all those who approach it. In this year 2018 the feast of Easter invites us to open our hands to receive the light and strength of the risen Christ. To transform ourselves into the hands of Christ to work for peace and for the wellbeing of all our brothers and sisters.

Try to find yourselves the message that the Lord offers you through this beautiful paschal candle.

During this Easter season, let us take time to contemplate our parish’s Paschal Candle. Let us remember that somewhere in northern Germany, the same candle is shining. Let us consider those who, far from us, are praying before the same Paschal Candle. This is the catholicity of the Church.

Let us use the Paschal Candle to pray before the risen Christ and to confess our fears and suffering to Him. May we be illuminated by the light of the resurrection so that our lives would shine with Christ’s presence.

The Paschal Candle will be lit throughout the entire Easter Season and will shine during all baptisms, confirmations, ordinations, weddings, funerals and all major liturgical events of the Church so as to remind us that we belong to the Christ and that the Center of our Christian lives is Jesus Christ, our light.

Come and reflect on our Paschal Candle and keep in mind that in our darkness Christ kindles the fire that never dies away. Alleluia.

Happy Easter.   

Fr Germán April 1^st 2018

The annual Catholic Appeal was instituted to establish joyful stewardship among all parishes to promote the mission of the Church. As part of the Annual Catholic Appeal, Together in Mission supports 81 parishes and 63 schools in every region of the Archdiocese – and they’re the only Annual Appeal program in the country that dedicates every dollar to assisting parishes and schools that need it.

Thank You for your Generous Support of this Year’s Appeal!

http://ourmissionla.org/

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