Pastor's letter for this week
June 12, 2026,
Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
Dear Parishioners of St. Andrew,
I hope you are all doing well and staying strong! Today is the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is always a beautiful feast day but this year it is particularly special as the Bishops of the United States yesterday (on the Vigil of the Feast) consecrated our nation to the Most Sacred Heart in commemoration of the 250th anniversary of our nation which we will celebrate this coming 4th of July. Yesterday at 3:00 p.m. local time, church bells were rung throughout our nation to commemorate this consecration. Here at St. Andrew’s we rang our chimes beautifully and loudly at 3:00 p.m. and this Sunday we will all pray the Prayer of Consecration at all our Masses. I’m also attaching to this email the Presidential Message regarding the Consecration of our nation to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Today I also share some very sad news. Last week our good friend, Anthony “Tony” Santilena passed away. This came as an extreme shock to everyone as it was completely sudden and unexpected. He was 71 years old. Tony was very well known to the parishioners of St. Andrew as over the years he served in a variety of positions in the City of Pasadena as well as the various Pasadena parishes. Here at St. Andrew’s he served as a Catechist, Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, and most recently as co-Chair of our School Board.
Tony was tremendously generous with his time and talent and was a great advocate of our youth. He was always a most pleasant and kind person in his interactions with all. When I returned to St. Andrew’s in 2019, I was so pleased that he was co-Chair of the Board, together with Dr. Vera Vignes, and they were an incredible team who were instrumental in the transition of Principals and the recovery post-pandemic. I’ve known Tony for over 28 years since my first assignment at St. Andrew’s in the late 90’s. He was one of the kindest persons I’ve known. We will all greatly miss him. In your kindness, please remember him in your prayers. His funeral will be as follows:
Rosary Vigil: Wednesday, June 17 – 7:00 p.m. at Cabot’s Mortuary Funeral Mass: Thursday, June 18 – 10:00 a.m. at St. Philip the Apostle Church
It seems that soccer fever has broken out all through the world and especially here locally. I’m sure you’ve all been getting plenty of news about the FIFA cup from the various media outlets. However, there will be an interesting connection to us here at St. Andrews. Several months ago I was contacted by a Foundation in Germany associated with FIFA requesting us to host a special display about the famed soccer player, Andres Escobar. That display will be in our south vestibule from June 22 to July 5 coinciding with the World Cup. Please read the information in this week’s bulletin and the flyer included. It is a beautiful but tragic story which has a connection to the Rose Bowl here in Pasadena.
It has been a busy week here at the parish with the last week of school and the beginning of a lot of physical improvements to the parish plant: right now the new roof is being installed on the portions of the church which were not included when we replaced the large upper roof two years ago. This current project will complete all the roofs on our church just in time what is supposed to be a particularly strong rainy season this winter.
Work has also begun on the removal of the large, covered frames in our choir loft in preparation for the installation of the pipes of our new pipe organ later this year.
Here is the rest of the news from the parish:
BACK TO THE “GREEN SUNDAYS” – Now that the Easter Season has been completed with the celebration of Pentecost four weeks ago and having celebrated the beautiful feasts of the Most Holy Trinity and Corpus Christi, we return to the “green Sundays” of Ordinary Time. As you know, Ordinary Time is divided into two parts: the first is the portion of the season following the completion of the Christmas season and prior to Lent. The second, longer period is that which follows the Easter season and continues throughout the summer and early Fall and concludes just prior to Advent. We have now entered into that second portion of the season of Ordinary Time.
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. The liturgical color of Ordinary Time is green which is a symbol of hope.
END OF SCHOOL YEAR - the end of the academic year 2025-26 came to an end this week so now is the time to register your children for the next academic year. Please check the Parish School website: www.saspasadena.com for information. Remember that a Catholic education is an "advantage for life."
SUMMER ACADEMY! – Once again this year, our Parish School is offering Summer School. This is a wonderful opportunity for parents to be able to take advantage of additional instruction of their children during the summer months. There will also be child-care available after school. Enrollment is open to all children regardless of what school they currently attend. Please contact the school office. www.saspasadena.com
RETIREMENT FUND FOR PRIESTS -This Sunday throughout the Archdiocese we have the annual second collection for the Retirement Fund for Priests and we thank you for your generosity to this collection for the welfare of our elderly and retired priests. May God bless you!
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.
ETIQUETTE IN CHURCH – Several years ago I read an article which I found both humorous and upsetting. It concerns a new fad on college campuses. This is for students to come to class in their pajamas. Yes, you read that right: pajamas. In other words, you get out of bed, perhaps perform some grooming functions (emphasis on perhaps) and then drag yourself in your pajamas to class. I thought this was utterly ridiculous until I read the part about colleges not wanting to put any dress code in place lest they “inhibit individual freedom.” Really? Since then I’ve seen people running around in pajamas at the airport and in all sorts of other public places. Is this the level to which we have descended that it is now acceptable to appear in public in our pajamas? How absurd! Now apparently it is also becoming an acceptable norm in public transportation including airplanes. I realize that I’m old, but it wasn’t that long ago that I recall we would dress in coat and tie to board an airplane. That’s quite long way from wearing pajamas onboard!
And yet, sometimes when I look out at Mass I wonder if we’re not any different. Maybe we don’t wear pajamas to Mass (so far), but I see people in clothing better suited to the beach, park or ball field or simply clothes more suitable to washing one’s car than to come to meet the Lord at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. It is especially common in the summer. Can we do better? Please read carefully the insert in this bulletin regarding “Etiquette and Manners in Church.” Let’s raise the bar a little bit!
INDEPENDENCE DAY – SEMIQUINCENTENNIAL OF THE U.S.! - 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.
FAKE EMAILS – There is now an absolute flood of fake emails inundating our email boxes. Every day I check in my “spam” folder because occasionally important emails get put in there by mistake. But when I check that mailbox I see at least 10-15 emails pretending to be from me or from a fake “FrGonzalez@” or from a fake "St. Andrew" email address. Some are simply selling junk. Others are obscene. In some of the emails the recipient is asked to send in gift cards or to contact me about something.
Of course, all these emails are fake. They are called “phishing” and try to get you to respond to get your personal email. It is a big scam to steal money from people. Please do not fall for it! Never respond to those emails. Simply click on “spam” so they can be reported and blocked.
We will never ask you to send in information from gift cards or any other scam like that. All donations should be given in the usual way at Mass, via regular mail, online on the parish website or electronically via the donation kiosks in the vestibule of the church. It is very sad that some people waste so much time stealing from the innocent. If you have any doubt about an email you can always call the parish office to verify or simply email me at my regular email address: FrGonzalez@aol.com
In Christ and St. Andrew,
Fr. Gonzalez
Presidential Message on U.S. Catholic Bishops Honoring the 250th Anniversary of American Independence – The White House
EUCHARISTIC CONCOMITANCE
ETIQUETTE AND MANNERS IN CHURCH
HOW TO RECITE THE HOLY ROSARY
PROCEDURE FOR THE RECEPTION OF HOLY COMMUNION