Dear Fellow Parishioners, Once again we approach the Thanksgiving holidays with much to be thankful for, and still more to pray for and seek. This week, the Pastorâs Desk will be a bit of an âomnium gatherum,â which is fake Latin for a âgrab-bag,â much like the little junk drawer in every kitchen that has […]
Dear Fellow Parishioners, I would like to share some recent developments regarding SVHS, our parish high school. The following applies only to our high school, not our elementary school. Our parish has had a school, in one form or another, since the late 1850’s, and has been graduating high school students at least since 1918. […]
Dear Fellow Parishioners, Iâd like to mention briefly a few parish matters that I hope will be of some interest, if not good news. 1)Â The October Mass Count will continue on Sundays through this month. Soon thereafter, average figures will be provided as to how many people attended each one of our October Sunday […]
Dear Fellow Parishioners, This weekend I am happy to announce that our former Parochial Vicar, Fr. Andrew Pacheco, will be covering the Saturday 7:00 p.m. Mass in Spanish and the Sunday 7:30 a.m. Mass in English. At the same time, Fr. Stuart will be covering for Fr. Pacheco in Fort Bragg. This will provide each […]
Dear Fellow Parishioners, October Mass Count:Â Â As I mentioned at some Masses last weekend, this is the month for the annual October Mass Count. The purpose is to count the number of regular attendees at Sunday Masses all over the United States. October was selected as a typical, normal month: school is in session, there […]
Dear Fellow Parishioners, We have now entered into the season of Autumn, from the Latin word, âautumnus,â but whose deeper roots are obscure â possibly Etruscan. While in the U.S. we tend to use âAutumnâ and âFallâ interchangeably, the name âFallâ is generally not used outside of North America. Depending on geography and culture, real-life […]
Dear Fellow Parishioners, As I walked to my car after a school meeting at about 8:30 pm last Wednesday, I could feel the slight chill of Fall approaching, my favorite season of the year. The feasts of the Church reflect the bittersweet impending Fall with a mix of liturgical memorials: The Triumph of the Cross […]
Dear Fellow Parishioners, The coming week contains the feast day â August 28th â of one of the most notable and important saints in the history of the Church: St. Augustine of Hippo. (âHippoâ is not a reference to the pachyderm, but to Hippo Regius, where he served as bishop, the modern-day Annaba, the third-largest […]
Dear Fellow Parishioners, Mid-August is here, school vacations are coming to an end, and the start of religious education and school are just around the corner. As I mentioned at Masses, I spent most of my vacation at my favorite resort, Rancho Back-yardo. While doing so, I watched or read many, many news stories about […]
Dear Fellow Parishioners, While Independence Day is the official title of our national holiday, it is now more commonly known as Fourth of July â a nickname which reveals nothing of its significance. This year, it is the 247th anniversary of the ratification of the Declaration of Independence by the First Session of the Second […]