Jesus, I Trust In
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SAINT BONAVENTURE CHURCH DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY | APRIL 19, 2020 As Christian stewards, our mission is to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all people through word, sacrament, service and community life. JESUS,JESUS, II TRUSTTRUST ININ YOUYOU Page two Divine Mercy Sunday PASTOR’S CORNER Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, It has been a week since Easter Sunday when we celebrated the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. However, the Resurrection of our Lord is so great an event that the Church actually spends 50 days celebrating. The Easter Season will continue until the Solemnity of Pentecost on May 31. This Sunday is called Divine Mercy Sunday. In the 1930’s, Jesus chose a humble Polish nun, St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, to receive private revelations about his Divine Mercy. She put these revelations in her Diary. The Lord wanted a Feast Day dedicated to Divine Mercy. Shortly after the canonization of Sister Faustina, the Vatican decreed that the Second Sunday of Easter was to be known as the Sunday of Divine Mercy. This afternoon at 3:00 p.m. Father Ruben will lead the livestreamed Divine Mercy Liturgy. You can watch this either by going on our website: stbonaventure.org and clicking on the “Live Mass” Button or on our YouTube channel: youtube.com/stbonaventurehb. Today’s Gospel truly centers on the Divine Mercy of Jesus Christ. On the evening of the first day of the week Jesus appeared to his disciples. His first words to them were, “Peace be with you.” They were overjoyed to hear these words. Remember, most of these disciples had abandoned Jesus when he was arrested. Was Jesus angry that they had deserted him at the time of his suffering and death? Instead Jesus says again, “Peace be with you.” Jesus bestows his Divine Mercy on them. But it doesn’t stop there. Next Jesus breathes on them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained” (John 20:19-31. The Resurrected Lord forgives them their sins and then sends them forth on a mission of forgiving sins. Priests have carried on this mission of our Lord down through the ages. I and my fellow priests are called to free people from their sins through the Sacrament of Penance (Reconciliation/Confession). This is a Sacrament of Healing, a Sacrament of New Life. It is so painful not to be able to offer the Sacrament of Reconciliation. However, the greater good right now is to not spread COVID-19. I share with you the message from our Vicar General, Monsignor Stephen Doktorczyk: We are in very extraordinary times, and Church in her mercy offers alternatives to the norm of confessing to a priest due to the gravity of the situation faced in practically all parts of the world. Therefore, the norm regarding confessions should be the following: “Where the individual faithful find themselves in the painful impossibility of receiving sacramental absolution, it should be remembered that perfect contrition, coming from the love of God, beloved above all things, expressed by a sincere request for forgiveness and accompanied by the will or firm desire to confess, that is, by the firm resolution to have recourse, as soon as possible, to sacramental confession, obtains forgiveness of sins, even mortal ones. (Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1452).” An act of perfect contrition requires: 1. The love of God above all things. 2. The sincere desire for forgiveness. 3. The ardent commitment to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation when available. Put your complete faith in our forgiving Risen Savior. Beg him to bring an end to this Pandemic so we can once again come together for the Sacraments of Penance and Holy Eucharist. Sincerely yours in Christ, To our parishioners who are continuing to support St Bonaventure by • Trekking to the mail slot at the parish center and dropping off their envelopes at all hours of the day • Mailing in their donations through the post office • Handing their cash or checks to Fr. Joe in the parking lot • Continuing their EFT’s through their checking/savings accounts and credit/ debit cards • Giving office staff their donations personally THANK YOU for the many cards, homemade masks and Easter gifts for the priests, and most especially for your appreciation of the livestreamed Masses we bring to your homes every day. April 19, 2020 Page three FAITH FORMATION CELEBRATION OF All Faith Formation will continue to be closed until further DIVINE notice. Contact Faith Formation by email at debbie@ stbonaventure.org or danielle@ MERCY stbonaventure.org. Also refer to SUNDAY, APRIL 19 parish website for updates. 3:00 PM SUPPORT FOR LIVESTREAM INDIVIDUALS AND stbonaventure.org or FAMILIES AT HOME youtube.com/stbonaventurehb From the Diocese of Orange • Website with resources and activities for adults, children and ORIGIN OF DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY families to foster the Domestic Mankind’s need for the message of Divine Mercy took on dire Church, family faith formation urgency in the 20th Century when civilization began to experience an and adult faith formation: “eclipse of the sense of God” and therefore to lose the understanding evangelizeoc.com of the sanctity and inherent dignity of human life. In the 1930’s, Jesus • Facebook page for Orange chose a humble Polish nun, St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, to receive Catholic Parents: facebook.com/ private revelations concerning Divine Mercy that were recorded in groups/DofOParents her Diary. • Facebook page for Diocese of facebook.com/ Saint John Paul II explains: Orange Catechists: groups/DofOCatechists This was precisely the time when those ideologies of evil, nazism and communism, were taking shape. Sister Faustina became the herald of the one message capable of off-setting the evil of those Save the Date ideologies, the fact that God is mercy — the truth of the merciful Faith Formation Christ. And for this reason, when I was called to the See of Peter, VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL I felt impelled to pass on those experiences of a fellow Pole that July 27-July 31 deserve a place in the treasury of the universal Church. 9:15 a.m.-12:30 p.m. —Memory and Identity, 2005 VBS Registration Tuesday, June 30 St. Faustina’s Diary records 14 occasions when Jesus requested that 12:00 noon-5:00 p.m. a Feast of Mercy (Divine Mercy Sunday) be observed, for example: Faith Formation Office My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. First-come, first-served. Must I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, fill out paper work in person to and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of secure your spot. Incoming K-6th My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces grades. $150 per child. We need upon those souls who approach the Fount of My Mercy. The soul teen leaders, 7th-12th graders. that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall Sign at www.stbonaventure.org. obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. … Let no soul fear to draw near to Me. … It is My desire that it be solemnly NEW HOPE CRISIS HOTLINE celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have Provides telephone intervention peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy. —Diary, no. 699 and telephone suicide prevention On May 5, 2000, five days after the canonization of St. Faustina, the counseling. Services free and Vatican decreed that the Second Sunday of Easter would henceforth available 24 hours a day/7 days be known as Divine Mercy Sunday. —www.usccb.org a week. Call 714-New Hope or 714-639-4673. Page four Divine Mercy Sunday CHURCH RENOVATION UPDATE MASS INTENTIONS It may be hard to believe, but when our In line with the norms of the church was designed several years ago, Universal Church, Bishop Vann it wasn’t designed for livestreaming of earnestly recommends that each Masses. But, here we are today—we are priest in our Diocese celebrate only using our renovated church for Holy Mass daily, “since, even if livestreaming of Masses. the faithful cannot be present, it is the act of Christ and the Church in I hope you have been enjoying the streamed Masses from our church, and which priests fulfill their principal the beauty of our church. We started streaming from the church on the function” (canon 904). Mass Easter Vigil, after streaming in the hall since March 21. We realized that intentions accepted at the parish even though the church is very bright inside, it looked dark during the are to be offered by the priests so as streaming. So we modified the brightness of the inside of the church by to keep continuity. making a change in the computer program that supports our streaming. We are still working to make some minor changes in our lighting. We Monday, April 20 have even asked our priests to stop glowing. Fr. Quan Tran, INT Jaime Farrales, RIP On the audio side, as we did in the hall, all the priests and the lectors and Tuesday, April 21 the cantors are using microphones that can easily capture their voices. Martha Panerio, RIP But how do we hang a microphone on our beautiful organ? We had to Paul & Susie Qaqundah, INT place two microphones in the main body of the church (the nave). But when the cantor sings with the organ, we have to turn off the speakers Wednesday, April 22 inside the church to avoid some unpleasant sounds.