Saint Angela Merici A Stewardship Parish Rev. David Klunk Administrator Rev. Francis Ng Parochial Vicar Deacon Benjamin Flores Deacon Mike Shaffer Deacons Rev. Dan Mc Sweeney Sunday Ministry Celebration of the Eucharist Monday-Friday 6:30 am & 8:00 am Saturday 8:00 am & 5:00 pm Vigil, Sunday 7:45 am, 9:30 am, 11:15 am 12:45 Spanish, 5:00 pm Adoration Chapel Monday-Saturday 9:00 am - 12:00 midnight Sacrament of Reconciliation Saturday 3:30 - 4:30 pm Or by Appointment Office Hours Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 2:00 pm Twenty-fifth Sunday in Monday - Thursday 4:00 pm - 8:00 pm Ordinary Time Saturday & Sunday 8:30 am - 12:00 Noon September 23, 2018 Reflection In the book of Wisdom today, God is preparing us to understand that a person has to suffer in this life. He prepares us to understand how Jesus was persecuted and handed over to be killed. In the letter to St. James, he reminds us, where jealous and selfishness exist, there is disorder, but the wisdom from God is pure, peaceful, gentle, compliant and full of mercy and good fruit. In order for us to sow peace and good fruit in our hearts and in our daily lives, we have to cultivate that peace. The hard part is figuring out how to do that daily. We have to allow ourselves to be guided by him and not by this world. In today’s Gospel, Jesus shows us how he traveled with his disciples. Sometimes the best way to get to know someone is to travel with them and walk with them every step of the way. He was trying to teach them, not one but all are im- portant. All they were thinking about was who is going to be first in the kingdom. They still didn’t understand, they kept discussing amongst themselves who was going to be the best. They were physically close to Jesus but not spiritually. They had a long way to go before they really understood. Then he reached out for a child, and told them they had to be like a little child. A child doesn’t have expectations. Children trust and have unconditional love. That is what they had to do. This is what we have to do also, trust and have unconditional love for each other. Jesus doesn’t ignore any one of us. We all eat at His table, consuming the word of God and bread of life. The world of a child is full of small things which we do not consider important, but maybe we should. Jesus lets us know the greatest and the most important, is the one who is willing to serve with humility and gen- erosity. May God bless all of you as we travel together on this journey that God has giv- en. May we be willing to love and serve on another as He serves and loves us. Deacon Ben Flores 2 Commitment to Providing a Safe Environment for our Children and Youth These past several weeks I've preached about the reports of abuse in the Church and I'm sure we've all gone through many of the same emotions from shock, disgust and anger to grief and disappointment. So much hurt and pain that caused so many to suffer because of the horrible actions some priest's committed mostly from the 1960's to 1990's. And so on be- half of priesthood of Jesus Christ, I am truly sorry. Back then the Church believed that these predators could be healed. But unfortunately today we realize that such long term healing is almost impossible. Since the early 2000's the Church put into place safe guards to keep our children and youth safe from predators. This includes, but is not limited to requiring that all priests, deacons, employees, volunteers, and everyone who works with children and youth: ♦ Be fingerprinted according to our diocesan procedures by the Department of Justice; ♦ Be background checked by the Department of Justice; ♦ Undergo Safe Environment training and certification; with renewal every three years; ♦ Are mandated by law as mandatory reporters. Additionally seminarians, (priests and deacons) undergo a comprehensive psychological evaluation before entering the seminary and undergo yearly human formation training and education throughout their ordained lives. Should an accusation of sexual abuse of any kind be reported, the accusation is sent to and investigated by law enforcement as well as the Diocese. Victims of sexual abuse by church staff in our Diocese are urged to report the abuse by calling the toll free number: (800) 364-3064. The Diocese of Orange has a zero tol- erance policy as it applies to sexual abuse cases regardless of the position of the offender. The safety of our children and our youth is a commitment we must all undertake. As an ex- ample of our commitment and vigilance, this past year, windows were installed on our con- fessional doors. Let there be no doubt that our obligation to protect children and young people is our highest priority and flows from the mission and example given to us by Jesus Christ himself, in whose name we serve. As a side, during my career in the Fire Service I served as the PIO, Public Information Officer, on many an incident and I hate to say that the incident we worked on scene and the story we read or heard about in the media were often 2 different stories. So we must be vigilant in our pursuit of truth. The Catholic League and Spirit Daily both have compelling reports and blogs which add a reassuring element to where the Church is today as compared to the 1960's to 90's. I have also personally found Bishop Robert Barron's comments and reflections on this issue to be of great value. You can watch his latest video at: http://bit.ly/2wADHHo and http:// bit.ly/2MUFQrP I'm a believer.... not because of Judas but because of Jesus. What some priests and bishops did was terribly evil, but for me leaving the Church Jesus started because of them would be like saying that evil wins.....evil finally caused me to leave Jesus in the Eucharist. All my life I've been fighting for good and so now today, how could I allow myself to leave Jesus in the Eucharist because of the horribly evil actions of a few? Yes, those who have broken laws, broken trust and broken innocent lives need to be held responsible for their crimes so that all the victims may have their day of justice and hopefully this never happens again. But for me, I just can't give into believing that the gates of hell and evil get to win. So please keep the faith and make sure that our Parish is a Safe Environment for all people, young and old! Blessings in Christ Jesus, Fr Dave 7 Parish Life PALS Has Begun Come on a Cursillo! Our Parish women’s group Say 'Yes" to more joy in your life PALS (Praise, Adoration, by making a Cursillo week- Learning & Sharing) is pre- end! Attendees will experience paring to begin a new ses- more hope, peace, fulfillment sion. We invite all of the and healing in their lives. Come enjoy a women of the Parish to join us for prayer grace-filled weekend, make new friends, and fellowship. PALS meet weekly. Our and deepen your relationship with Je- Morning PALS meets from 9:15 to 11:30 and sus. Applications are being accepted now evening PALS from 6:45 to 9:00PM every for the October Cursillo weekends ( Men: Tuesday. Classes will begin for the Sept 11th October 4-7; Women's October 18-21). morning and Sept 18th evening. We would For more information, or to signup, contact love to have you join our group of faith Dave Engels 714/992-1306 or 714/992-1306. filled women. For more information please You'll be very glad you did!! contact: Darlene Chavira – AM 714/928- 0421 or Donna Schafer – PM 714/990-8414. Christ’s Healing Presence Fr. Ben Tran will celebrate the Healing Eu- Women’s Silent Retreat charist on Monday, September 24, 7:15 PM. This year’s Women’s Silent Retreat will After a time of prayer and discernment, Fr. be held November 9-11 at the Sacred Ben applied to St. John’s Seminary College Heart Retreat House in Alhambra. in Camarillo, CA, where he completed his Space is limited and has almost undergraduate studies and his theological reached capacity so please sign-up soon if you degree at St. John’s Theology. He was or- are planning to participate. Flyers are availa- dained on June 10, 2006. Since then he has ble in the church or you may contact Mary served as a priest for the Diocese of Or- Palmer for more information at 714/269-7743. ange in various parishes and now is as- signed to St. Anne in Seal Beach. He is a speaker at the SCRC convention as well as In the Company of a presider. Invite a friend or neighbor to join Heaven’s Prayer Warriors you. All are welcome. Call Jan, 7/525- Please join us for an enriching teaching on 2277, for additional information. intercessory prayer by the SCRC Ministry on October 6th, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM at St. Angela Merici. Fr. George Reynolds and Dominic Berardino, President of SCRC will be teaching this class. Registration for this How are we doing? st event is through scrc.org.