When I was a student in college, our rhetoric teacher, Msgr. Paul Juenker, told us that one of his goals for our course was to teach us how to read the newspaper. (Mind you, this was long before anyone thought of the internet and all that came with it.) By this, he meant that he wanted us to recognize the editorial bias that is a part of any publication. Every author has a bias. He wanted us to read “with our antennae up,” as he put it. He meant that we should be on the lookout for a lack of balance in reporting.
Fast forwarding to our present day, we also need to recognize the bias that is present today whether it be print media, websites, blogs, and certainly social media (to name a few). The internet is a treasure trove of great information, but not all of it is true and not much of it is impartial.
In teaching graduate students in theology, I tried to teach them to be carefully discriminating about the online sources they used for their class assignments and theses. I remember asking a student in the middle of his comprehensive exam, “Where did you get this information?” (It was clearly not orthodox Catholic theology.) He responded, “It must be true. I got it from the internet.”
Many Catholics today assume that because a website calls itself Catholic, everything it says is true. Just as in the secular media there are extremist views to the left or to the right, so also on the Catholic web. These websites or blogs can create confusion, misinformation and even mistrust among Catholics. We need to be able to recognize them for what they are: biased and unscrupulous in pursuing their effort to mislead people looking for the truth.
I encourage you to train yourself to be media literate. “Media literacy, put simply, is the ability to identify different types of media and the messages they are sending.” If something sounds extreme or is presented in a virulent manner, dig a little deeper to discover the bias that is likely present.
Although I could tell you which “so-called Catholic” websites and blogs are at either extreme, I will give you a simple rule of thumb: if a website, journalist, radio or television announcer, or even a bishop or cardinal is criticizing our Holy Father the pope, challenging his legitimacy or teaching, or questioning the validity of the Second Vatican Council or other authentic Catholic teaching, it is not a truly Catholic source. Beware!
Social media is an especially contentious place. People express all kinds of erroneous opinions that they claim are true. Some of them make outlandish claims that they offer as faithful teaching but it is not. Parishioners often ask me if some particular thing they saw on the internet is true. A recent example is the furor in social media surrounding Fr. Altman. The bottom line is that he is a renegade priest who is disobedient to his bishop. Period.
Like I said earlier, the internet is a wonderful place to find useful information and a great place to communicate with family and friends. But it is also important to be careful about the wealth of misinformation that is out there.
May the Holy Spirit guide us in our search for the truth and may Christ be the light that guides us along the path of Christian discipleship.
If you missed our special reopening newsletter on Tuesday, take a look at it for all the information you may need to know. You may also call the parish office for further information 760-729-2866.
Click on the button below to read the special newsletter
Bishop McElroy has decided that it is no longer necessary to have a general dispensation from the obligation to participate in the Mass each weekend. Like many other dioceses in the country, the Diocese of San Diego will end the dispensation on July 1. Read the bishop’s letter in which he explains his decision and the exceptions.
During the height of the pandemic in California, our Bishop gave us permission to use Form 3 of the Sacrament of Reconciliation (aka General Confession and General Absolution). We have made generous use of this option at St. Patrick’s. In recent months, we have also reintroduced Individual Confession with Individual Absolution.
Now that most restrictions have been lifted, we will no longer offer General Absolution on weekends and Friday mornings. The last Friday for General Absolution will be July 2. We will continue to offer regular confessions every Wednesday at 8:30 am and 6:00 pm. However, individual confessions will take place in open spaces of the church. We will not open our confessional/reconciliation rooms at this time.
For a hopeful and inspiring message, read Triumph of Good Over Evil, a reflection by Fr. Ronald Rolheiser, OMI.
This gospel hymn is sung by Jehovah Shalom a capella. The title itself is an invitation to prayer. It’s lively tempo, great harmonies and inspiring words bring both comfort and challenge. As one line says: “Just a little talk with Jesus makes me whole.”
Congratulations!
Our Showers of Blessings at the Fr. Moore Center provides a medical clinic as well as food, clothes and showers. The medical services are provided through the generosity of a group of dedicated nursing students under the direction of Mary Baker.
This clinic recently received a 2021 Gold Rating from the National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics (NAFC) Quality Standards Program. The mission of the National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics is to ensure the medically underserved have access to affordable health care. The NAFC and its members are dedicated to ensuring that patients receive quality health care.
Congratulations to Mary Baker and her team.
Six Week Summer Bible Study Freein Christ
Explore St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians and discover what advice Paul has for us on topics like:
Getting Right to the Point
Crucial Events
Faith and Blessing
Freedom the Law Could Not Give
The Power of Love
Making it Practical
Choose from two times and meeting venues:
6 Monday evenings, 6:45 – 8:30 pm, on the Covered Court of the school field,
July 12, 19, 26, August 2, 9, 16
6 Wednesday evenings, 6:45 – 8:30 pm, Via zoom call
July 14, 21, 28, August 4, 11, 18
No bible study experience needed.
Registration and books available in the parish office beginning June 21.
"Catholic Trivia”... not because they are trivial but because these might be things that not everyone knows. Test your knowledge by reading the five questions, remember your answers (or jot them down), then click the link below to find the answers.
According to the gospel of Luke, how many days after his birth was Jesus circumcised?
In which gospel does Jesus change water into wine at Cana?
How many people did Jesus raise from the dead in the gospels?
How many “signs” are there in John’s gospel?
How many gospels speak about Jesus washing the feet of his disciples?
If you have other members of your family or your friends who would like to be on our email list, just let me know or write to Mary McLain at mmclain@stpatrickcarlsbad.comWe will be pleased to add them.
We have opened a YouTube channel where we have daily and Sunday Masses as well as Fr. Ron's new Bible Study posted for the parish called St Patrick Church Carlsbad that you can subscribe to.
Death entered the world through the work of the devil.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 30:2,4,5-6,11,12,13
A prayer of thanksgiving to God for having rescued us
Second Reading
2 Corinthians 8:7,9,13-15
As Christ became poor for our sake, so must we share with those in need from our abundance.
Gospel Reading
Mark 5:21-43
Jesus heals a woman afflicted with a hemorrhage and raises Jairus’s daughter from death.
Background on the Gospel Reading
For today’s Gospel, we continue to read from the Gospel of Mark. Last Sunday we heard about Jesus calming the storm, the first of four miracles that Jesus performs in the vicinity of the Sea of Galilee. Each of these four miracle stories offers us a glimpse at Jesus’ power. This week we hear about the third and fourth miracles, skipping the second miracle, the healing of a man from Gerasene who was possessed by a demon.
Today’s Gospel reports two stories of healing. One story tells us about a father’s great love for his dying daughter. The other story tells us about a desperate woman who risks much as she seeks healing from Jesus. In each story, the request for healing is itself a courageous act of faith, and yet very different circumstances are represented by the lives of each suffering person.
Jairus is described as a synagogue official, a man of considerable standing in the Jewish community. Distraught over his daughter’s poor health, he approaches Jesus and asks him to heal her. Although Mark doesn’t provide many details, we can imagine that his daughter has been ill for some time and that her condition is deteriorating.
As Jesus leaves with Jairus, Mark describes a second person who seeks healing from Jesus, a woman with a hemorrhage. This woman secretly touches Jesus from behind and is immediately cured. In response, Jesus turns and asks who touched him. Jesus’ disciples, always a little clueless in Mark’s Gospel, help us envision the scene. The crowds are pushing in on Jesus, and yet he, knowing that power has gone out of him, asks who touched him. The woman could have remained anonymous, yet at Jesus’ question she steps forward and acknowledges what she has done. Jesus responds by acknowledging her as a model of faith and sends her away in peace.
At this point, we can imagine Jairus’s impatience with Jesus; his daughter is dying and Jesus hasn’t helped him yet. As if to build a sense of urgency, messengers suddenly arrive and confirm Jairus’s worst fear: his daughter has died. Jesus curiously ignores their message and reassures Jairus. When they arrive at Jairus’s home, they find family and friends mourning the girl’s death. Jesus enters the room of the dead girl, takes her by the hand, and instructs her to arise. Jairus’s faith in Jesus has not been in vain; his daughter is restored to life.
The contrasts between Jairus and the woman with the hemorrhage are stark and revealing. One is a man, the other is a woman. One is a public official, an important person in the community. The other is a woman who has lost everything to find a cure to a condition that separated her from the community. One approaches Jesus publicly. The other approaches Jesus secretly. Yet in each case, faith leads them to seek out Jesus in their time of need.
The Gospel concludes with Jesus’ instructions to remain silent about this miracle. This is typical of Mark’s Gospel and is sometimes referred to as the messianic secret. Repeatedly, those who witness Jesus’ power and authority are instructed to not speak of what they have witnessed. These instructions appear impossible to obey, and it is difficult to understand the purpose of these instructions. But in each case, they seem to emphasize the fact that each individual, including the reader of Mark’s Gospel, must, in the end, make his or her own judgment about Jesus’ identity. Each individual must make his or her own act of faith in affirming Jesus as God’s Son.
The annual Peter’s Pence collection gives us the opportunity to support the Holy Father’s works of mercy throughout the world. This year the collection is scheduled for the weekend of June 26-27. This is a way for us to reach out to the neediest and most marginalized people across the world. Please place your donation in our one collection.
Diacono Miguel Enriquez
“No temas. Basta que tengas fe.” Hemos escuchado esta frase por dos semanas consecutivas. La semana pasada los discípulos estaban atemorizados por la tormenta fuerte en que se encontraban. Van con Jesús a despertarlo para que haga algo. Jesús calmo la tormenta y les pregunta, “Porque tienen miedo? ¿No tiene fe?” Esta semana escuchamos sobre la muerte de la hija del jefe de la sinagoga, Jesús le dice, “No temas. Basta que tengas fe.”¿Pero fe en qué? Conocemos bien de tener que enfrentar crisis fuertes en nuestra vida. Quizás la muerte de un ser querido por una enfermedad o adición. O mirar a alguien vivir con una enfermedad que la va quitando su vida poquito a poquito. Todas estas situaciones traen dolor en nuestro corazón. Aceptemos estas palabras de Jesús y aplicarlas en nuestra vida y acciones. Porque nuestra fe es en Jesucristo, que dio su vida en la cruz para que tengamos vida, vida eterna. Pero a veces las crisis que vivimos causan trauma y la trauma toma posesión de nosotros, que nos lleva a vivir con temor, con duda, encadenados. Tengamos la fe de la mujer del Evangelio que padecía del flujo de sangre por mucho tiempo. Ella había escuchado de Jesús, y sabía que él podía sanarla, y fue a buscarlo. Vayamos a buscar a Jesús con la misma confianza, dejar que nos toque y nos sane.
Por favor haga clic en los enlaces indicados. Espero que les ayude en sus momentos de reflexión.
Detente
Hablemos de la Hija de Jairo
Religious Education & Family Ministry
Margit Dornisch Director of Religious Education
Registration Information for the 2021 -2022 School Year
Dear Parents and Guardians,
We are here to support you in forming your children in the Catholic Faith and to help you connect with other families in our parish community. In the new school year, we offer in-person classes and a home study option for students in kindergarten through 8th grade. Sacramental preparation (Baptism, First Confession, First Communion age 6 and older) is a two-year process.
Choices for school year 2021-2022
For each child choose one of the following on the registration form
Sunday 9:00 am – 10:00 am: Kindergarten, and grade 1/2 (Year One Communion class)
Sunday 10:00 am – 11:00am: Classes for grades 3-8 (including Communion classes)
Wednesday 3:15 am – 4:15pm: Classes for grades K-8 (including Communion classes)
Teach at Home & Family catechesis: Lessons are done at home.
Family catechesis session:
First Sunday/month: 10:15am – 11:15am: for families who choose the home study option for year two of the sacramental preparation.
Second Monday/month: 6:00pm-7:15pm: for home study families with children of all ages
Opening Days for the program: Sunday, Sept 19 and Wednesday, Sept 22
You may register online – the Registration form is on our church website www.stpatrickcarlsbad.com or you may make an appointment to register in person in the Religious Education office.
Fee is $80 per student. Payment plans are available.
Our parish offices are now open, Monday through Friday, 8:30am to 12:30pm and 1:30 to 4:30pm
During this time of inactivity, we will use our parish email system to communicate with parishioners to offer spiritual reflections and make announcements.
In case of an emergency, you can always reach us by phone. We will be checking regularly for messages and respond as soon as possible. If need be, the answering service can get in touch with one of our priests quickly- 760-729-2866.
If you know someone who does not receive our emails, please forward this to them, or have them reply to this message.
To email a priest at St. Patrick Church click the link below:
