As we continue to celebrate the Octave of Easter, we continue to rejoice in the resurrection of the Lord and give thanks for the abiding presence of our risen Savior in our midst. This is a good time for us to spend time thanking the Lord for our blessings. It is a great antidote to grousing about all the things that we cannot do.
Among the things for which the Eudist Fathers are grateful is our newest member, George Perez. Many of you have come to know George as he spent time at St. Patrick’s during his seminary formation. On Thursday, April 16, the Eudist Fathers and some friends gathered on Zoom to celebrate George’s “Incorporation” into the Congregation of Jesus and Mary (the official name of our congregation founded by St. John Eudes). Since we are a Society of Apostolic Life (a specific type of consecrated life in the Church), we do not have vows like most religious orders. “Incorporation” is our name for our definitive, permanent and lifelong commitment to the Congregation. In other words, George is now fully a Eudist!
This now opens the way for him to be ordained a transitional deacon. That event will have to wait until we can gather together with a bishop, George’s family, the Eudists and their friends. I will let you know when that is scheduled. And then, after some time for experience as a deacon, George will be ordained a priest.
We thank God for calling George to “serve Christ and His Church” as a Eudist and I ask you to continue to pray for him and his faithfulness to the Lord’s call. Please continue to pray for all the Eudists serving in the Diocese of San Diego. Pray also that the Lord may send us more vocations.
In the Jubilee Year 2000, Pope St. John Paul II proclaimed that from that year forward the Second Sunday of Easter would be celebrated as Divine Mercy Sunday. This was proclaimed at the canonization Mass of St. Faustina Kawalska, who worked throughout her life to make all aware of the merciful love of God. St. Faustina (1905–1938) was born and raised in Poland. Following a vocation to religious life, she was accepted by the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. As a member of the Congregation, she worked as a cook, gardener, and porter. In her spiritual life, her contemplation on the Mercy of God led her to develop a childlike trust in God and deep love for her neighbor.
In her years in the convent, St. Faustina heard a call from God to make God’s mercy known to the world so that the world may more fully receive God’s healing grace. St. Faustina promoted the Chaplet of Divine Mercy which consists of the recitation of prayers to the Eternal Father with the use of the rosary for the sake of Christ’s sorrowful passion.
The Chaplet is prayed as follows:
1. Begin with the Sign of the Cross, one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Apostles’ Creed.
2. On the Our Father beads, recite the following:
“Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of your dearly beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.”
3. On the ten Hail Mary beads, say the following:
“For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”
4. Repeat step two and three for all five decades.
5. Conclude by reciting three times:
“Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”
When celebrating Divine Mercy Sunday, the faithful are called to reflect more personally on the graces won through the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. In this way their hearts may be more fully aware of the mercy of God for them personally and for the sake of the world.
Easter Is More Than a Day
Easter Sunday is the greatest of all Sundays, and every Sunday of the year is a “little Easter.” Likewise, Easter Time is the most important of all liturgical seasons. Easter is the celebration of the Lord's resurrection from the dead, culminating in his Ascension to the Father and sending of the Holy Spirit upon the Church. There are 50 days of Eastertide extending from Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday. It is characterized, above all, by the joy of glorified life and the victory over death, expressed most fully in the great resounding cry of the Christian: Alleluia! All faith flows from faith in the resurrection: St Paul says, “If Christ has not been raised, then empty is our preaching; empty, too, is your faith.” (1 Cor 15:14)
Two solemnities of the Church’s liturgical year are extended to a full octave (eight days). These are Christmas (December 25 to January 1) and Easter. The octave of Easter comprises the eight days which stretch from Easter Day to the second Sunday of Easter. It is a way of prolonging the joy of the initial day. In a sense, every day of the Octave is like a little Sunday.
The word "Easter" comes from Old English, meaning simply the "East." The sun which rises in the East, bringing light, warmth and hope, is a symbol for the Christian of the rising Christ, who is the true Light of the world. The Paschal Candle is a central symbol of this divine light, which is Christ. It is kept near the ambo throughout Easter Time, and it is lit for all liturgical celebrations.
An online Bible Study that offers a commentary on the Gospel accounts of the Resurrection of the Lord is available on our parish YouTube channel. It can also be accessed by the link on our parish website or below.
Fr. Ron gives a presentation which explains the background and context of each gospel’s account of the stories surrounding the resurrection of Jesus. He offers a few comparisons between the ways the evangelists share the good news. Rather than a very professional presentation, Fr. Ron just sits in his office and shares what he has come to learn about these important passages from the gospels.
You can already watch the two sessions on chapter 16 of Mark’s gospel. Commentary on the other gospels will be posted on the YouTube channel in the weeks to come.
A message from Fr. Carlos en español
EL TIEMPO PASCUAL AVANZA, Y…
Ya estamos llegando al segundo domingo de Pascua. El Señor ha rescatado y nosotros diariamente renovamos nuestro gozo, proclamando con hechos y palabras la Buena Noticia de la Salvación. Mientras meditamos los Hechos de los Apóstoles y las Apariciones del Señor resucitado, descubrimos, por una parte, que la comunidad crece; que los Apóstoles realizan los mismos hechos que Jesús realizó, porque su misión, y la nuestra son las mismas; enfrentan a las autoridades, sin miedo alguno; obedecen a Dios primero que a los hombres; ya están listos para la misión. Por otra parte, casi todas las apariciones del resucitado acontecen en el contexto de una comida, y ello nos lleva a deducir el inmenso valor que tenía la Eucaristía para las primeras comunidades. Nosotros hemos de valorarla cada vez más, sobre todo ahora que no tenemos la dicha de celebrarla en nuestras parroquias. ¡Cuánta falta nos hace!
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 [email protected]We 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.
US Census
In the midst of everything else going on, don’t forget about the US Census. If you are at home looking for something to do, take 10 minutes to fill out the census form for your household (all who live in your house go on one form).
If you haven’t responded to the 2020 Census, it’s not too late. Households that have not yet responded to their census invitation should have started to receive a paper questionnaire in the mail as of April 8.
That means, while Californians are at home social distancing, they can now respond to the census by mail, online or by phone.
Completing the census only takes about 10 minutes and will help your community for the next 10 years! Census participation determines each community's share of federal funding for healthcare, schools, roads, and more for the next decade.
Second Sunday of Easter
Sunday of Divine Mercy
April 19, 2020
First Reading
Acts of the Apostles 2:42-47
The first community of Christians grows as its members meet to pray and break bread.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 118:2-4,13-15,22-24
God’s love is everlasting.
Second Reading
1 Peter 1:3-9
We have new hope because of Jesus’ Resurrection.
Gospel Reading
John 20:19-31
Thomas believes because he sees Jesus.
Background on the Gospel Reading
The Gospels tell us that Jesus appeared to the disciples on several occasions after they discovered that his tomb was empty. Part of the mystery of Jesus’ Resurrection is that he appeared to his disciples not as a spirit but in bodily form. The bodily form was not one that the disciples recognized though. In John’s Gospel, Mary of Magdala does not recognize that the figure standing before her is Jesus until he speaks to her. In Luke’s Gospel the disciples who meet Jesus on the road to Emmaus do not recognize him until he breaks bread with them. The resurrected Jesus had a physical presence, but the disciples couldn’t recognize Jesus unless he allowed them to. His resurrected body, nonetheless, showed the marks of his crucifixion.
From readings such as today’s Gospel, we also see that in his resurrected body, Jesus seems to be free of physical constraints. He appears to the disciples despite the fact that the doors were locked.
Jesus greets his disciples with the gift of peace and the gift of the Holy Spirit. In doing so, Jesus commissions his disciples to continue the work that he has begun: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” During the meeting, Jesus also shows the integral connection between forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The story of Thomas illustrates our Christian experience today: We are called to believe without seeing. In fact, all Christians after the first witnesses have been called to believe without seeing. Thomas’s doubt is hardly surprising; the news of Jesus’ appearance was incredible to the disciples who had seen him crucified and buried. Thomas’s human nature compelled him to want hard evidence that the Jesus who appeared to the disciples after his death was indeed the same Jesus who had been crucified. Thomas is given the opportunity to act on that desire. He is our witness that Jesus is really risen.
Our faith is based on the witness of the Church that has preceded us, beginning with Thomas and the first disciples. Through Baptism we receive the same Holy Spirit that Jesus brought to the first disciples. We are among those who are “blessed” because we believe without having seen.
come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You.
Comunión Espiritual
Creo, Jesús mío,
que estás real
y verdaderamente
en el Santísimo Sacramento del Altar.
Te amo sobre todas las cosas
y deseo vivamente recibirte
dentro de mi alma,
pero no pudiendo hacerlo
ahora sacramentalmente,
ven al menos
espiritualmente a mi corazón.
Y como si ya te hubiese recibido,
te abrazo y me uno del todo a Ti.
Señor, no permitas que jamás me aparte de Ti. Amen
Hello Families,
Pat Clasby from our youth ministry office here. We’ve been trying to have some inspirational items up every day on our Instagrampage, mostly for our high school youth. But as a Dad myself, I recognize the importance for us parents (that’s parents of young and parents of adult youth too! We all need words of wisdom.) to have a little bit of inspiration and hope during these very unique times. I’ll be trying to get them into our e-newsletter on a weekly basis. Please feel free to reach out to me at my parish email address:
[email protected] for more video reflections, prayer resources, and much more in the coming weeks.
Our youth core team will be working on some prayer reflections as well that we hope to have up in the near future. In the meantime, I invite you to click on the below link to a YouTube video from the National Federation of Catholic Youth Ministry. In it, you’ll listen to a three minute presentation on “Message of Hope: Transformation & Renewal” by Kathryn Whitaker. Kathryn is a Catholic author, blogger, speaker, and freelance graphic designer and writes for/with Ave Maria Press. May her story inspire all of us during these unprecedented times.
Many Blessings,
Pat Clasby
Director of Youth Ministry
St. Patrick Parish
Some Changes...
Due to tighter restrictions put into place by the County of San Diego, we will have to make some changes in the way the parish operates.
Since a parish office is not considered an essential service, we will have to close the parish office effective immediately.
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.
Even though we are not an essential service, churches have been given an exemption to record or livestream Masses with only the essential ministers present. So our popular daily and Sunday Masses will continue.
Since our staff are continuing to work from home, we will continue to produce our newsletter twice a week and keep our website up to date. Our religious education, youth ministry, school, RCIA and other ministries will continue to operate through various technological links and social media.
I don’t want to close the church but the requirements for sanitation of the interior of our very large building are putting a strain on our maintenance staff. So instead of closing the church, I find it necessary to reduce the number of hours a day that our church can remain open.
Effective immediately, our church will be open 7:00-11:00 am, seven days a week. However the Chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe is closed.
Missalettes Available
We have several boxes of missalettes that are not being used because of the restrictions on gathering in church for Mass. The Masses included in the books go up to Pentecost week-May 31.
If you like to use them at home, they will be available on the patio of the church this Sunday morning beginning at 7:00 am.
You may take a few for your family but be considerate of others. The boxes have been closed since they arrived some weeks ago, so they are not contaminated. Please use gloves and touch only those you are taking with you. First come, first serve.
I realize that some of you are experiencing budget problems of your own at this time and I am not asking to cut yourself short. But please keep in mind the needs of our parish during these uncertain times.
Those of you who use weekly offertory envelopes, please enclose your giving into the special mailing envelope that comes in your packet
Many of you pay your bills using online banking bill pay, you can choose St. Patrick Church to receive donations to Sunday Collection this way
This may also be a time to consider using Online Giving as a way of contributing to the parish during this time. https://www.osvonlinegiving.com/58
During this time of inactivity, we will use our parish email system to communicate with parishioners to offer spiritual reflections and make announcements.
If you know someone who does not receive our emails, please forward this to them, or have them reply to this message.
The church is open for private prayer every day from 7:00am - 11:00am
The Parish Office will be closed until further notice, but you can call to leave a message: 760.729.2866
To email a priest at St. Patrick Church click the link below:
