Pastor's letter for this week
June 26, 2026,
Dear Parishioners of St. Andrew,
I hope you are all doing well and staying strong! Today is the feast day of St. Josemaria Escriva, a Spanish priest of the 20th century whose spirituality could be summed up in “the path to holiness is for everyone!” His spirituality resonates a great deal with me since I don’t consider myself extraordinary in any way yet if I can manage to fulfill my daily duties well I’m doing my part. I strongly recommend his spirituality to you. You can learn more about him and his writings at: stjosemaria.org.
This week I think all of us have been affected by the terrible images on the news coming from the devastation following the two back-to-back strong earthquakes in Venezuela. The extent of the destruction is simply horrific. On the first day of the news I recall the interview with Dr. Lucy Jones from Cal Tech saying that it would be expected that there would be many thousands of deaths and it is clear she was correct. Simply tragic! Let us pray for those suffering people as well as for those who also suffered from earthquakes in the Philippines.
Work on the lower roofs of the church is still ongoing and will probably last for a couple more weeks. It is slow and tedious work, but they are doing a great job. The work removing the large frames in the choir loft in preparation for the installation of pipes for the organ is also ongoing. Great progress was made this week, and the scaffolding should be coming down by the end of next week.
Here is the rest of the news from the parish:
INDEPENDENCE DAY – SEMIQUINCENTENNIAL OF THE U.S.! – Next Saturday, July 4th, we will celebrate our nation's Independence Day with a special Mass at 10:00 a.m. Please join us for Mass to pray for our nation, its people, and leaders, and in gratitude for the gift of freedom in this great country. There will be only one Mass that day and the parish offices will be closed in observance of the civic holiday.
This year is the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. It is a monumental milestone in our nation’s history and a great cause for celebration. We plan on making our annual Independence Day Mass particularly special this year and I urge all our parishioners to come to that special 10:00 a.m. Mass and pray for our nation. Please block that morning for this special Mass this year. There will be no 8:15 a.m. Mass but the regular Anticipated 5:00 p.m. Mass and confessions are scheduled as usual.
SPECIAL DISPLAY IN THE VESTIBULE- Starting last week and going until July 5 there is a special memorial display in the vestibule of the church. It is in memory of the famous soccer player Andrés Escobar. The background to this is that I was contacted by this Foundation several months ago and asked if we would host it. Our parish was chosen because he played at the World Cup the last time it was hosted at the Rose Bowl. It was shortly after he returned to his native Colombia that he was assassinated. It is an inspiration story called “Life Does not End Here.” You can click on the QR code in the display for the inspirational story.
WHY REGISTER IN THE PARISH? - On a fairly regular basis, we get asked for letters to verify that someone is a parishioner. Usually these letters are used for tax purposes or for immigration purposes. Fortunately, for those that are registered, this is not a problem, and we are able to furnish the help they need. Unfortunately, rather often we find out that the people requesting the letter are not registered. As a result, we are unable to provide them with any proof that they are parishioners. This can be a very big problem when someone is trying to prove residency for immigration purposes or other reasons.
If you are not currently registered in the parish, please fill out the registration form which is found in every parish bulletin. We will also begin to send you regular donation envelopes so that there is a verifiable record of your donations to the parish. If you are registered then you receive my weekly email to all parishioners each Friday. If you’re not getting it, that means that you’re not currently registered.
VACATION TIME – Quite a few of our parishioners are already away on vacation and several others are leaving soon. Some have already returned. Fr. Villasano will be taking July for his vacation while I will break up my vacation time here and there in the next couple of months. In August we will have visits from Fr. Donal Cotter and Fr. Roberto Cillero, CMF. We still have Fr. Paul Okello for the month of July but he departs at the end of the month. So we have full coverage for the entire summer.
In Christ and St. Andrew,
Fr. Gonzalez
EUCHARISTIC CONCOMITANCE
ETIQUETTE AND MANNERS IN CHURCH
HOW TO RECITE THE HOLY ROSARY
PROCEDURE FOR THE RECEPTION OF HOLY COMMUNION