Proclaim the Good News

The Diocese of Fresno's Weekly Newsletter, published every Monday morning.

March 20, 2023

Office of the Bishop

The Diocese of Fresno wishes Bishop Brennan a Happy and Blessed Birthday!

Happy Birthday Bishop Brennan! The Diocese of Fresno is happy to have such a charismatic, dynamic and passionate Bishop. May God Bless you on your birthday and may you have a day full of fun and relaxation.

Bishop Brennan Celebrates

St. Joseph's Table!

Bishop Brennan celebrated St. Joseph's Table with Mass at Holy Spirit Church in Fresno. After Mass, he blessed the food donated by the Faithful!

Thank you to our Parishes, Parishioners, Knights of Columbus and Catholic Charities for supporting St. Joseph's Table. Your efforts will help many food banks, pantries and charitable organizations located in the Diocese to provide food to those in most need.

Bishop Brennan Celebrates the Sacrament of Confirmation

at Holy Spirit Church, Fresno

Courtesy of Kate Mallam, Director of Religious Education at Holy Spirit Church

Bishop Brennan Congratulates All Clergy Who Celebrate Anniversaries

in the Month of March

Permanent Diaconate

Beginnings of the Diaconate Office in the Diocese of Fresno

Deacon Ed Harmon reflects on his Diaconate Ministry

In March of 1995, I was ordained to the diaconate by Bishop John T. Steinbock in St. Joseph's Church in Selma. I had served for 3 years assigned to the Selma parish, when Bishop Steinbock called me and asked if Theresa, my wife, and I would come and serve on the new Diaconate Committee. We agreed to serve on the committee and went to the first meeting to be held in the Chancery Office conference room. As we entered the front doors, Bishop Steinbock asked us to come into his office for a minute. In his office, he asked me to be the Director of the Diaconate Program. I said that I was not sure that I was qualified to serve in that position. Bishop John said that I should leave that to him so after a week, I agreed to assume the position.

Article by Deacon Ed Harmon

Read the full story

Eucharistic Revival

Eucharistic Rosary Procession at St. Patrick's Church in Merced

In Honor of the Eucharistic Revival

Bishop Brennan joined St. Patrick's Church for a Eucharistic Rosary Procession on the Feast Day of St. Patrick.

The multilingual Rosary was led by Bishop Brennan and parish leaders at the St. Patrick's Rosary Garden.

Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament at St. Joseph's Church in Firebaugh

Come and have a great experience before the Lord

St. Joseph's Church in Firebaugh invites you to join them on Thursday, March 30th for a full day of Adoration and Mercy! The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed in the church from 8:00 am - 7:00 pm.

Please see the flyer for Rosary, Confession and Mass times. If you would like to donate an hour of your time ensuring that the Blessed Sacrament will not be left alone, please sign up by calling the parish office at 659-2225.

Parish Focus

Pilgrimage to the Holy Land

with Good Shepherd Catholic Parish

A group of parishioners from Good Shepherd Catholic Parish in Visalia went on a Pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The tour was led by Jerry DeMelo of Good Shepherd Catholic Parish partnered with Christopher Cross, KHS.

Places they visited during their pilgrimage include Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Magdala, Nazareth and much more!

Courtesy of Victor Carrillo

Eagle Scout Project: Catholic Scout Troop 321

In Benefit of Bethlehem Center of Visalia

Donations are NEEDED! The Catholic Scout Troop 321 is collecting supplies and monetary donations for hygiene care packages to benefit the Bethlehem Center of Visalia.

The deadline to accept donation is March 31, 2023! Please see the flyer below for examples of what donations are needed.

Courtesy of Victor Carrillo

Catechetical Ministires

The Catechetical Corner

Conversion

The season of Lent is about renewal and conversion, and it is about welcoming new Christians to the church through the sacraments of Easter. Lent is a time for us to be spiritually renewed and refocused and a great opportunity for God to pour out His graces and love upon us and to speak to our hearts. This is a precious time to introspect and see what we can improve and what things we must change to be in line with the path that God has marked for us. It is a time of conversion. To achieve this, we must be open and willing to change, to correct what is going wrong and embrace that correction fully and of course be always ready for conversion of heart.

To change we must know that we must change. That is why we must get used to making an examination of conscience daily and give ourselves time to reflect on our daily actions.

To change we must do virtue exercises. We must begin to do small exercises of virtue to strengthen our spirit and be able to make the necessary changes to provoke the conversion of the heart and be conducive to conversion.

To change we must take it one day at a time. The calendars of Lent are excellent tools to support us on this path of conversion because they provide us with reflections on special aspects of our faith and ourselves and then propose a challenge, according to various reflections, which help us to improve day by day to be ready to live a different Holy Week and above all an incredible Easter.

Article by: Roman Flores, Catechetical Ministries Coordinator

Prayer of the Week

Events

Event Name	Location	Time	More Info
Shrine Pilgrimage	Shrine of St. Jude Thaddeus, Livingston	March 19 - 26, 2023	View the Flyer
Healing through the Eucharist	St. Anthony Retreat Center, Three Rivers	March 24 -26, 2023	View the Flyer
Eucharist Revival: Exposition of The Blessed Sacrament	St. Joseph's Church, Firebaugh	March 30, 2023	View the Flyer
Right to Life's Annual Educational Dessert	St. Paul Newman Center, Fresno	March 30, 2023	View the Flyer
Holy Week Retreat	St. Anthony Retreat Center, Three Rivers	April 6 - 9, 2023	View the Flyer
Shrine Pilgrimage	Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, Laton	April 16 - 23,2023	View the Flyer
Shrine Pilgrimage	Shrine of Our Lady of Miracles, Gustine	May 14 - 21, 2023	View the Flyer
Come Away Retreat	St. Anthony Retreat Center, Three Rivers	May 23 - 25, 2023	View the Flyer
6-Day Silent Directed Retreat	St. Anthony Retreat Center, Three Rivers	June 11 - 17, 2023	View the Flyer
Catholic Night at the Park	Chukchansi Park, Fresno	June 11, 2023 5:05 pm	View the Flyer
Healing Retreat for Victims of Crime	St. Anthony Retreat Center, Three Rivers	June 24, 2023 8:00 AM-5:00 PM	View the Flyer

Have Something Special to Share?

We want to know! Share what's happening around our Diocese.

Contact Samantha Mejia, Marketing & Public Relations Specialist at [email protected]

MISSION STATEMENT / DECLARACIÓN DE LA MISIÓN

"As God's beloved people we are called in and through the Spirit to live in unity and love and to proclaim the

Good News of Jesus, especially amongst the poor and marginal of our society."

“Como pueblo amado de Dios estamos llamados en y a través del Espíritu Santo a vivir en unidad y amor, y para anunciar la Buena Nueva de Jesús, especialmente entre los pobres y los marginados de nuestra sociedad.”

Address

1550 North Fresno Street

Fresno, CA 93703-3788

Phone: (559) 488-7400

Fax: (559) 488-7464

ONLINE GIVING