Pastor's letter for this week
March 20, 2026,
Dear Parishioners of St. Andrew,
I hope you are all doing well and staying strong! The heatwave in March has been quite surprising, and I certainly hope it cools off soon. I dread the idea of Holy Week in the 90’s!
Last Sunday we had the concert of the Los Angeles Master Chorale and it was simply wonderful. All the pieces were beautiful, and the energy of the young director was infectious. An excellent evening! It was a fitting end to Laetare Sunday. A special thank you to Mrs. Jerilyn Mc Aniff and all the members of our Concert Committee for their excellent work.
This week we celebrated two great saints: St. Patrick on Tuesday and St. Joseph yesterday. On St. Patrick’s Day we had a student body Mass with all the students of St. Andrew School and took the occasion to baptize 3 of our children. It was a very special Mass and a wonderful occasion for our students to witness the Sacrament of Baptism. Yesterday we celebrated the great Solemnity of St. Joseph, Husband of Mary and patron of the universal Church. St. Joseph is a wonderful model and intercessor for all of us.
Yesterday we also had a fascinating presentation on the Shroud of Turin which was a perfect and fitting way to prepare to enter the most solemn part of Lent: Passiontide. Today being a Friday of Lent we will have the Stations of the Cross 3 times: English after the morning Mass and again at 5:30 p.m. and Spanish after the evening Mass. The Lenten Soup Suppers follow both evening sessions of Stations.
I’m looking forward to next month’s St. Andrew School Gala which is honoring the Christ Child Society of Pasadena this year. I’m delighted with this as I serve as the Spiritual Advisor to this wonderful group of ladies who serve so well our community.
Here is the rest of the news from the parish:
“PASSIONTIDE” AND HOLY WEEK -This Sunday is the Fifth Sunday of Lent. Traditionally, it is the beginning of Passiontide which consists of the last two weeks of Lent and runs from today to Holy Thursday. These last few days of Lent call for a more intense period of prayer and preparation as we await Holy Week and especially the Sacred Triduum: Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter.
You will notice, for instance, that the images in the church are veiled. The rubrics of the Church call for all images to be veiled from the Vigil of the 5th Sunday of Lent until the beginning of the Easter Vigil. Crosses are veiled from the Vigil of the 5th Sunday of Lent until the Liturgy of Good Friday. The purpose is to help us focus more clearly upon the mysteries of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ. It also brings about a more solemn atmosphere in the church calling to mind the darkness of the Passion and Death of Jesus. At the Easter Vigil, a dramatic transformation takes place as the church itself is transformed from darkness to light and sadness to joy. The Sacred Liturgy is always a great teacher, and this is especially true during the liturgies of Holy Week.
Palm Sunday – Next Sunday is Palm Sunday which marks the beginning of Holy Week and Our Lord’s triumphant entrance into Jerusalem. Palms will be blessed at all Masses. We will open the Palm Sunday celebration at the Anticipated Mass on Saturday evening by having the blessing and distribution of palms starting at the Piazza (weather allowing). We will then process into the church for the Solemn Liturgy.
We will do that on the Sunday 5:00 p.m. Mass as well. At the rest of the Masses on Sunday, we will use the Solemn Entrance with the blessing of palms taking place at the beginning of Mass in the vestibule of the church. Please plan to arrive early as parking is always a challenge. We will have additional parking available underground in the Operating Engineers building across the street from the church.
Penance Service – Our Parish Penance Service will take place on Tuesday of Holy Week, March 31st at 7:15 p.m. It will include the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Benediction. There will also be additional Confession times provided throughout Holy Week for those who can't come to the Penance Service, but I urge you to try to make it to the Tuesday Penance Service as there will be numerous priests to hear Confessions.
Tenebrae Service – this beautiful devotional service consisting of a service of sung penitential psalms and prayers alongside a dramatic candle ceremony will be sung on Wednesday of Holy Week, April 1st at 7:30 p.m. We did it for the first time a couple of years ago and learned from the experience. It was just too long! I’m glad we did it in the monastic fashion for that first time. However, beginning last year and going forward we use a “parish version” which is under 90 minutes long and features the most important and beautifully sung psalms. Come you will enjoy it! It’s a very unique service.
Sacred Triduum – keep your calendar open for Holy Thursday evening (4/2/26) and Good Friday afternoon (4/3/26) so you can participate fully in the beautiful Liturgies of Holy Week. The entire Holy Week schedule is in this week's bulletin and attached so you can plan early. The schedule is also on our website: www.standrewpasadena.org And don’t’ forget to read carefully our Music Director’s column which gives great detail about our liturgical celebrations.
SPECIAL CHORAL STATIONS OF THE CROSS NEXT WEEK- As you know, we have Stations of the Cross each Friday of Lent both in English and in Spanish. However, on the last of the Lenten Fridays (prior to Holy Week) on Friday, March 27, instead of having a session in English and another in Spanish in the afternoon, we will have only one combined Stations at 7:15 p.m. These will be the beautiful choral Pergolesi Stabat Mater sung by our Pueri Cantores children’s choir. Everyone is invited to these sung Stations. Due to the later hour, we will not have the usual Lenten Soup Supper that night. English Stations in the morning will be as usual.
SCHOOL GALA “AN EVENING IN BLOOM” COMING UP! – I want to extend a warm invitation to all of our parishioners to attend the annual St. Andrew School Gala which will be held at the Westin Pasadena on April 17, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. It promises to be a wonderful night of friendship, music, dancing and good food. This is the 23rd annual Gala and this year we are honoring the Christ Child Society of Pasadena which does so much for our community. Please see the attached flyer. I hope to see you all there!
Here is the link to purchase tickets, book with our room block, and learn more about the event:
https://secure.qgiv.com/event/standrew2026galaauction/
FLOWER DECORATIONS - HELP NEEDED!- I’m sure all of our parishioners are very much aware of the marvelous work that our altar decorations committee does with flowers and other decorations in the church. They are incredibly talented ladies who work very hard. However, they need help. It is a big job especially to change all the various flowers from week to week depending on the demands of the liturgical cycle.
Would you be willing to help? They will provide the guidance, but we need some more workers who can help. These can be people who would like to help with the actual flower arrangements, but we also need some who can physically carry the arrangements into the church and place them in their proper place. I’m looking especially for people who do not work during the day and can help out. Both men and women. If you can help, please contact me at: FrGonzalez@aol.com as soon as possible so I can put you in touch with the altar decorations team. Thank you!
In Christ and St. Andrew,
Fr. Gonzalez
St. Andrew School Gala - April 17th
LENTEN PRACTICES
LENTEN REGULATIONS
ETIQUETTE AND MANNERS IN CHURCH
HOW TO RECITE THE HOLY ROSARY
PROCEDURE FOR THE RECEPTION OF HOLY COMMUNION