Pastor's letter for this week
June 5, 2026,
Dear Parishioners of St. Andrew,
I hope you are all doing well and staying strong! Well, just as I had anticipated would happen last week when it was rather quiet, this week has been quite a busy one and even with some drama thrown in. I’m sending this to you a little later than usual due to today’s Graduation Mass and afternoon ceremony plus a wedding thrown in as well. It has been a very full day! Graduation was beautiful and I am delighted that we have a wonderful group of 8th graders moving on after their years at St. Andrew’s. On Sunday I will be at the Mayfield Senior School Graduation.
The drama was on Tuesday when one of the roofers working on the lower roofs of the church had a medical emergency and had to be taken down by the wonderful personnel of the Pasadena Fire Department. It was quite impressive to see them being able to extend a ladder all the way from the fire truck on Raymond Avenue and cross the piazza to reach the gentleman and take him down. He was taken to the ER at Huntington and is now home and doing fine. You may recall that a couple of years ago we replaced the upper roof of the church and sanctuary. It was a huge project and quite expensive. As a result, we did not do the lower roofs nor those of the baptistery and sacristy. Fortunately, we received the wonderful news that the entire cost of this new roof for the remaining portions would be entirely covered by the Archdiocesan “Called to Renew” campaign. So no cost to the parish!
Yesterday was the 32nd anniversary of the Ordination to the Priesthood. I was able to celebrate it in what I think was a very appropriate way: having morning Mass with the community, including the children of our junior high classes, hosting a picnic for the Honors Students of the School, having several appointments to prepare couples for marriage, and concluding the day with the Confessions of the Confirmation students. It was a marvelous day.
My annual picnic at the Pastoral Center for the students of St. Andrew School who made the honors list this year was wonderful. This is always a fun event, and it is very important that we recognize their achievement and encourage them in their studies. I have to admit however that, as I get older, they tire me out a lot faster! But I always enjoy it.
Tomorrow we have another wonderful event: our annual Confirmation Mass at 2:00 p.m. with Bishop Brian Nunez as the Confirming Prelate. Everyone is invited to that as it is always a special event when we have a Bishop visiting our parish.
This Sunday is the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, one of the most beautiful feasts of the year. More information on that below. Please carefully review the attachments to this email regarding the proper reception of Holy Communion as well as a document regarding the Church’s teaching on the Holy Eucharist.
Here is the rest of the news from the parish.
SOLEMNITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI – This Sunday we celebrate the beautiful solemnity of Corpus Christi (the Body and Blood of Christ). On this feast we focus especially on the Lord’s Real Presence in the Most Holy Eucharist, the Blessed Sacrament.
This is also a good feast to remind us of the need to pray before the Blessed Sacrament. We are blessed in our parish to have weekly Exposition and Benediction. This Holy Hour takes place each Tuesday evening at 7:00 p.m. Everyone is invited to come and spend an hour with the Lord in prayer. In addition, on First Fridays we also have a Holy Hour at 9:00 a.m. and then Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament again in the evening after the 6:30 p.m. Mass. Then adoration goes all night until the morning Mass on Saturday morning.
Our church is always open for prayer during the day from before the morning 8:15 a.m. Mass until after the daily 6:30 p.m. Mass. Over the years you would be surprised at how many people have converted to the Catholic faith at our parish simply because our church was open for prayer, and they were drawn in by the Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist.
This feast is also an opportune day to review proper procedures for the devout reception of Holy Communion. These procedures are included as an insert in the bulletin and attached to this email. Although we all made our First Communion years ago and think we know how to receive there are sometimes bad habits that we can easily fall into.
One of the things that is sometimes forgotten, yet is very important, is that we must always receive Holy Communion in a state of grace. Sometimes people ask me, “why don’t we invite everybody to Communion as is done at other (presumably non-Catholic) churches?” The answer to that is quite simple yet needs to be understood:
Holy Communion is the reception of the Body and Blood of the Lord. It is not a symbol but rather the actual Body and Blood under the appearance of bread and wine. The teaching on the worthy reception of the Sacrament has been constant and is first found in the First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians:
“Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself. (1 Cor. 11:27-32)
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states this regarding the reception of Holy Communion: “Anyone who desires to receive Christ in Eucharistic Communion must be in a state of grace. Anyone aware of having sinned mortally must not receive Communion without having received absolution in the sacrament of penance.” (#1415)
So, it is impossible for the priest to simply invite “everyone” to Communion. That would be dishonest and a disservice. Doing so could actually be an occasion of sin for people who are not in a state of grace since it would cause them to commit a sacrilege which is in itself a mortal sin and furthermore, they would receive no grace from the Sacrament. Please read carefully the attachments on this topic.
At the end of the 2:00 p.m. Spanish Mass and at the end of the 5:00 p.m. English Mass, we will have an Eucharistic procession and Benediction in the church.
JUNE IS THE MONTH OF THE SACRED HEART - This beautiful devotion to the Heart of Jesus seems to have been lost in our modern world. And, yet it is needed today more than ever. The actual feast day this year falls on June 12th this year, but the devotion is for the entire month. In light of all the darkness in our world, the emphasis on the love of Christ is ever more urgent. In our church we are blessed to have a magnificent chapel on the south ambulatory which depicts Our Lord as King of the Universe and shows his loving Heart. Remember: June is the month of the Sacred Heart. Let us renew our devotion to Him.
I want to thank the Catholic Daughters for the beautiful banner which is now hung on the fence of our school, facing Fair Oaks Avenue, which emphasizes the fact that June is the month of the Sacred Heart. I also thank the Halpin Family for donating the beautiful Sacred Heart holy cards which are available today in the vestibules of the church. Please take only one so everyone can have one.
FATHERS’ DAY – Fathers’ Day is June 21st so now is the time to enroll all fathers (or grandfathers or Godfathers or brothers, etc.) in the upcoming Novena of Masses. You may do so using the envelope mailed to you or stopping by the Pastoral Center or the church gift shop to obtain the cards.
ALTAR BOY TRAINING – Summer is a good time to train new servers. If you have a son in grade 3 and up, he is eligible to become an Altar Server. The boys who just made their First Holy Communion and are in at least 3rd grade are now eligible to be trained. We have ongoing training for new Altar Servers. If you are interested in enrolling your son, please stop by the Pastoral Center to fill out a registration form. You will be notified by our Altar Server Coordinator regarding the training dates.
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.”
Please stop by the Pastoral Center to fill out a registration form. You will then be contacted with the training dates.
GROUPS FOR GIRLS - We also invite the girls of the parish to join one of our two groups for girls:
"Girls with Goodness" for ages 8-12 and "Girls with Grace" for ages 13-18. Please call the pastoral center for more information at (626) 792-4183.
CONGRATULATIONS GRADUATES!- Our 8th graders from St. Andrew School had their Graduation today. We congratulate all of them on their achievement. They have all been accepted in the best high schools in our area. We also congratulate their parents for choosing the best possible education for them: a Catholic education!
SCHOOL OPEN ENROLLMENT – Now that Graduation has taken place it is also the time for Open Enrollment for the new academic year for St. Andrew School which begins on August 19. St. Andrew School provides the finest Catholic education in our community. If you are interested in enrolling your child, please stop by the school office as soon as possible. Visit the school website at: www.saspasadena.com
ANNUAL RECOGNITION OF GRADUATES – It is our practice to honor our young parishioners who are graduating from high school or college during the month of June. We will have 2 special Masses of recognition next Sunday, June 14th once all the graduations have taken place. At the 12:30 p.m. Mass in English and at the 2:00 p.m. Mass in Spanish we will recognize these wonderful young men and women and give them a special blessing as well as a small gift from the parish. If you have a member of your family who is graduating this year from high school or college, please let them know about these Masses and encourage them to come and attend dressed in their graduation gown and sit in the front pews. This is a wonderful way for us to thank God for these young men and women and to highlight the importance of education.
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