Pastor's letter for this week
January 24, 2025
Dear Parishioners of St. Andrew,
I hope you are all doing well and staying strong! Well, it’s been another extremely busy week at the parish as we continue to process hundreds of applications for assistance from the victims of the Eaton Fire. Although the fires themselves are now out, the magnitude of the disaster is becoming ever clearer.
This was a week of listening to families who have lost everything as well as receiving emails and messages from parishioners who have been displaced. Some are slowly returning to their homes after being evacuated. Others have lost their homes completely and are temporarily living all over the place. One school family I met with this week was finally allowed to return to their home only to discover that looters had ransacked everything and stolen numerous things. That really gets me angry! It is nothing but sheer evil to take advantage of people who have been victimized and suffered from their fires. But God sees all.
We are continuing to host the parish staff from Sacred Heart Church in our Pastoral Center and their congregation for a special Mass in our church at 3:30 p.m. on Sundays. We are happy to host them.
Our Parish School is also open full-time and is able to take in children from schools that are closed, whether temporarily or permanently. Please contact Mr. Kim, our Principal, for assistance.
Please note that we will have a special workshop entitled “From Ashes to Recovery: Practical Wisdom for Everyday People” this coming Sunday after the 5:00 p.m. Mass. So that’s Sunday, January 26th starting at 6:00 p.m. This workshop will also include a panel of experts in the fields of insurance, realty, FEMA assistance, choosing contractors on how to rebuild, etc. It should be extremely valuable and is also FREE!
Please continue to pray for all those affected by this terrible fire.
Here is the rest of the news from the parish:
ASSISTANCE FOR WILDFIRE VICTIMS – This past week was extremely busy for our office staff as they processed hundreds of applications for assistance for the victims of the recent wildfires. I would ask for your patience when you call the office as they are flooded with requests for help. We will try to process them as soon as possible. A special thank you to all of you who donated to the Fire Victims Assistance Fund as this is how we are able to help our brothers and sisters in their need. May God bless you!
THE NOON MASS FOR LENT IS COMING BACK! - After my questions to you a couple of weeks ago, I received dozens of emails letting me know that you all support having an additional Mass each weekday during Lent at 12:05 p.m. Actually, I was rather surprised at how many people supported it and how many offered to assist as lectors and altar servers, etc. Very encouraging! So it’s on! The noonday Masses will begin on the day after Ash Wednesday, Thursday, March 6th, 2025. Obviously, it is still early, and we will advertise it as we get closer to Lent but I wanted to let you know now so you can properly plan.
VOCATIONS PROMOTIONS TODAY- After Mass today we have a Vocations Awareness table outside the church to provide information regarding vocations to the Priesthood and Religious Life. Please stop by to see the materials and always continue to pray for more young men and women to answer the Lord’s call to service in His Church.
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS SUNDAY/WEEK – This Sunday we conclude Catholic Schools Week. We will have a special Mass with our parish school community at 9:30 a.m. There will also be a wonderful Pancake Breakfast provided in the Parish Hall for everyone in the morning. Please be sure to stop by for this delicious breakfast!
In Catholic Schools Week we highlight the importance of a Catholic education. Statistics and history prove that the surest and best way to bring a child out of poverty and equip him with the tools necessary to succeed is a Catholic education. In our parish we want to make the promise of this excellent education available to all our children. In particular, our parish school emphasis a strong commitment to our Catholic faith and the buildup of the family. Our children learn fundamental values which they will carry for the rest of their lives.
Sadly, the primary reason many parents do not send their children to a Catholic school is simply finances. Because we receive absolutely no funding from the government we must rely entirely upon tuition. Nevertheless, money is never a reason for us to turn away a child from our school. In fact, we have tremendous scholarships for new students to our school.
If needed, now is the time to apply for tuition grants from the Catholic Education Foundation. Each applicant may receive assistance if the family qualifies. This is a tremendous help for those parents who cannot afford the full tuition or who have multiple children, which would make it difficult.
We will always work with any family who desires to send their children to our school. Please contact our Principal, Mr. Jae Kim, for further information. Request the enrollment form as well as the application for the tuition grant and complete it as soon as possible. Remember we want each child to have a Catholic education and thus “an advantage for life.” Check out the website: www.saspasadena.com
ALTAR SERVERS - If you have a son in grades 3 and up, he is eligible to become an Altar Server. We will soon be starting new training for the next group. If you are interested in enrolling your son, please stop by the Pastoral Center to fill out a registration form.
Serving at the altar is a tremendous privilege for a child. It allows him to:
- develop a closer relationship with God
- have a better understanding of the Mass
- learn reverence and discipline
- learn to have a spirit of cooperation with others
- get to know the parish priests and consider a priestly or Religious vocation
- overcome shyness and fear of being “in front of others”
The way I like to think of service at the altar is to remember the Last Supper. Our Lord was there with the Apostles. However, there were others who were there as well and who assisted: those who prepared the meal, those who served it and those who cleaned up. What a privilege it must have been for them to be so close to Our Lord and the Apostles and serve them on such a momentous night! In a similar way, our Altar Servers are those who serve Our Lord in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and are so close to the Holy of Holies. Let us encourage our children to take part in this “most beautiful thing this side of Heaven.”
In Christ and St. Andrew,
Father Gonzalez
January 17, 2025
Dear Parishioners of St. Andrew,
I hope you are all doing well and staying strong! We are still dealing with this extraordinary situation of the effects of the wildfires in our area. Now the fires are out (at least in our area) but the devastation left behind is now ever clearer and sadder. Over the course of the last week I met quite a few families who have lost their homes or are still evacuated.
Last Sunday we hosted the congregation of Sacred Heart Church for a special 3:30 pm Mass since they had no access to their church. It was a huge, bittersweet gathering. It was joyful because they could all see each other again and be with their pastor, Fr. Gilbert Guzman, to pray together as a parish. But also sad as they shared the stories of their losses. At the end of Mass, our Regional Bishop Brian Nunez addressed everyone with a message of hope, support and solidarity from Archbishop Gomez. We will host them again this Sunday at 3:30 p.m. They now have access to the church property but the building itself has not been cleared for use so it may be another week or so.
We are also lending the Sacred Heart staff two offices at our Pastoral Center so they can continue service to their parishioners. It is an honor to help our neighbors in need.
Please note that our St. Vincent de Paul Society is distributing food, water, and variety of other necessary items to all in need every Wednesday and Saturday morning. For more information, just all the Parish Center at (626) 792-4183.
VERY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Tomorrow, Saturday, January 18 at 2:00 p.m. we will have a special workshop in the Parish Hall (School Auditorium) “Insurance Claim Community Assistance” with a panel of attorneys to assist fire victims regarding insurance coverage on their fire policies, etc. This is entirely FREE and is being offered as a service to our parish, but everyone is invited. Attached is the flyer.
A second workshop entitled “From Ashes to Recovery: Practical Wisdom for Everyday People” will take place after the 5:00 p.m. Mass on Sunday, January 26th starting at 6:00 p.m. This workshop will also include a panel of experts in the fields of insurance, realty, FEMA assistance, choosing contractors on how to rebuild, etc. It should be extremely valuable and is also FREE! Attached is the flyer and information on how to register.
BEWARE OF SCAMS! – Tragedies such as the one we are going through right now seem to bring out the best in some people and the worst in others. Our Parish Secretary just advised me of an email purporting to be from me and signed “Pastor, Fr. Marcos Gonzalez” with our office address and asking for money. Obviously, it’s not from me. In fact, the return electronic address is from the UK. If you receive any such emails, always check the return address. If it is legit then it will come from my personal address or from the parish address such as this email every Friday. So sad that people want to take advantage of the misery of others.
Here is the rest of the news from the parish:
PRAYER FOR VICTIMS OF FIRE- All of us have been impacted by the terrible wildfires in the Altadena-Pasadena area. Our neighbors to the west have also had to deal with the disaster of the other fires in Southern California as well. Several of our parishioners have lost their homes and places of business. It is a true tragedy! Please pray for them all as they rebuild their lives.
“ORDINARY TIME” - Having finished the Christmas Season with last week’s celebration of the Baptism of the Lord, we begin the liturgical season called “Ordinary Time.” All the beautiful Christmas decorations have been removed.
The term "Ordinary Time" may be misleading. In the context of the liturgical year the term "ordinary" does not mean "usual or average." Ordinary here means "not seasonal." Ordinary Time is that part of the Liturgical Year that lies outside the seasons of Lent-Easter and Advent-Christmas. In Ordinary Time, the Church celebrates the mystery of Christ not in one specific aspect but in all its aspects. The readings during the liturgies of Ordinary Time help to instruct us on how to live out our Christian faith in our daily lives.
Ordinary Time in the Church's year occurs in two sections. The first part begins on the Monday following the Christmas season and lasts through the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, which begins Lent. Ordinary Time then resumes after the Easter Season, on the Monday after Pentecost, and continues through the summer until the beginning of Advent. The liturgical color of Ordinary Time is green which is a symbol of hope.
SICK CALLS - As you can imagine with a large hospital such as Huntington Memorial within our parish boundaries, we get a lot of sick calls. The priests of the parish are happy to minister to the sick and it is one of the most important things that we do. One of the simple ways to help is to make sure to call the parish for a sick call as soon as the person becomes seriously sick or enters the hospital. Rather often, people will wait until "the last minute" then call for the Last Rites. It is much better to call early so that we can properly plan on making the visit. It is also important for the person to receive the grace of the Sacrament of the Sick as soon as possible in order to be aided by the grace of the Sacrament for both physical and spiritual healing.
VERY GENEROUS MATCHING OFFER FOR OUR NEW PIPE ORGAN! – A very generous family in our parish has offered to match donations toward the organ project up to $100,000. This is an incredible offer and can help us to raise funds necessary to refurbish, transport and reinstall the new pipe organ.
As I announced to you in November, we purchased an E.M. Skinner organ from a Presbyterian church in Pennsylvania which closed. This organ is in excellent condition and perfectly fits our church. We were most fortunate to find it and even more fortunate that a single donor paid for it. Now comes the removal, transportation, refurbishment and installation of it. It will take a couple of years and almost a million dollars. That may seem high but a new pipe organ for a church our size would run between 3.5 and 4 million dollars. So, we got a bargain!
As a result of the generosity of this parish family, any donation you make will be doubled up to $100,000 total. Simply make your check out to “St. Andrew Church” and put “pipe organ” on the memo line.
God willing, with your generosity, we can get this project completed as quickly as we did last year with the new church roof.
FAREWELL FR. SSENGENDO - This Tuesday, Jan. 21st, Fr. Francis Ssengendo flies back home to Uganda. We wish him a safe trip. It has been a joy to have him with us this past month and we hope he will return next year. Thank you, Fr. Francis!
In Christ and St. Andrew,
Father Gonzalez
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