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April 2021
ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST CATHOLIC PARISH
Costa Mesa, California

served by the Norbertine Fathers of St. Michael's Abbey

THE HERALD
Dear Friends in Christ,
 
Easter greetings from the Norbertine Fathers and Sisters, and the staff, of St. John the Baptist Catholic Parish.
 
This issue of THE HERALD highlights our beautiful celebrations during Holy Week, includes a thank you from our SJB school, contains special announcements from our Knights of Columbus, and lists upcoming activities and events. 
 
The month of April is dedicated to the Holy Spirit. Below is an article about the devotion.
CHRISTUS RESURREXIT!
CHRIST IS RISEN!
REFLECTING, REJOICING, THANKING . . .

ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST PARISH
60TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR

This month, as we rejoice at our Lord's resurrection, we celebrate the beauty and pageantry of Holy Week, past and present, at St. John the Baptist, Costa Mesa.
Holy Week at St. John the Baptist in 2003, 2010, and 2011
HOLY WEEK 2021!
At the Easter Vigil - our community joyfully welcomed 25 people who were baptized, and an additional 10 people who made Professions of Faith, into the Catholic Church! All of these men, women, and children, plus 5 more, then received the Sacrament of Confirmation!
Praise God!
RESURREXIT VERE!

INDEED HE IS RISEN!
UPCOMING EVENTS
FRIDAYS,
APR 9, MAY 7

6:30 to 8:30 pm

Bible Sharing
with our
Norbertine Sisters

St. John the Baptist Convent
2960 Mendoza Drive
Costa Mesa, CA 92626


Our Norbertine Sisters invite young women to a
Monthly Bible Sharing every 2nd Friday of the month.

Please RSVP TO norbertinesrscm@gmail.com
EVERY SATURDAY
11:20 AM
(Pacific Time)
Pray the Rosary with our Norbertine Sisters

The holy Rosary is a powerful weapon.
Use it with confidence and you'll be amazed at the results.
-St. Josemaria Escriva

Register for Zoom Link:


NEWS FROM THE KNIGHTS
2 important events in April

April 17 and 18
after all Masses

Supporting and assisting people with intellectual disabilities has been an ongoing mission of our Knights of Columbus council for many years… and this year is no different.

Please drop by our table outside church, after each Mass, on Saturday April 17 and Sunday April 18 to leave your donation.

100% of donations go to the Columbian Foundation, which provides quality care and support to our intellectually disabled friends and families.

P.S. You'll get a Tootsie Roll as a "thank you" for your generosity!
Sunday, April 25
after the 8, 9:30 & 11 AM Masses


Our parish Knights of Columbus will be selling freshly made breakfast burritos after each morning mass. With 3 types of burritos to choose from, there will be something for everybody!

Show your support and get burritos for the whole family (coffee, juice and water also available for purchase). All proceeds from this event will support pro-life organizations and needs. 

Last year our Knights purchased two ultrasound machines for Obria through your generosity.
MAY 1st
at 12 NOON

Consecration of California to St. Joseph

with Fr. Donald Calloway


St. John the Baptist Parish is honored to be hosting this event, which will include
Holy Mass, a procession, and a talk by Fr. Calloway.

For information CLICK HERE

Join our pastor,
Fr. Augustine Puchner,
on his radio podcast on

FR. AUGUSTINE & FRIENDS
airs several times each week;
days and times vary,
so check the schedule at
Spirit Filled Media. 



SCHOOL NEWS





SJB School's 2021 Jog-A-Thon took place Friday, Mar 19th. The great effort from kids, parents, and friends raised much needed funds for improvements to the PE Program, including upgrading the basketball/volleyball courts, field upgrades and maintenance, and the purchase of new PE equipment.
THANK YOU
FOR YOUR ENCOURAGEMENT and SUPPORT!
Living Stations of the Cross in
Tableau Vivant!
St John the Baptist School 8th Grade Students
Create Outdoor Pageant
Resoluteness, resourcefulness, and creativity were on display at St. John the Baptist Catholic School as the 8th grade students staged Living Stations of the Cross that were quite different from those of past years, but which still powerfully conveyed the story of our Lord’s journey down the Via Dolorosa

Rather than indoor “living stations,” the two classes, under the direction of Vice Principal Jeff Urbaniec, Music Teacher Yvette Itano, and teachers Janice Babcock and Sandie Mendes, staged four presentations of the Stations of the Cross in Tableau Vivant format - with accompanying narration and music. 
They created a “living picture” of each of the 14 Stations – costumed, stationary, silent, and carefully posed. Each scene was presented individually, then the curtain was closed and, while the tableau changed “backstage,” a student cantor led a hymn. The curtain then opened to reveal the next “station,” which was described by a narrator.   
The presentations took place outdoors, in tents that were used as classrooms for the junior high students earlier this year. The tableaus were presented in one tent and the rest of the school’s classes took turns sitting in surrounding tents, thus necessitating the four presentations. 
Kudos to our St. John the Baptist 8th Graders for a great job communicating this beautiful devotion to our student body in a powerful and memorable manner.  


INDEED . . .

Wonderful things continue to happen at
SJB School!
Parents who would like to learn more about our school are encouraged to click the link below:

or call (714) 557-5060


SIGN UP TO HAVE OUR
VOCATION CRUCIFIX
IN YOUR HOME FOR ONE WEEK!



Be a vocation prayer warrior!

Help our parish pray for more vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

Sign up to take home a beautiful Crucifix from the Holy Land for one week. This commits your family to use it in a daily prayer for vocations.

The Crucifix is received by the family at one of the Vigil or Sunday Masses, and is returned to the parish rectory office by 3PM the following Friday.  
You may sign up HERE
LIKE & FOLLOW ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST CATHOLIC CHURCH & SCHOOL
ON FACEBOOK
Keep up with the latest news, and help us spread the word about our magnificent Catholic Faith and important events.

Click the Facebook logo on the right and then LIKE and FOLLOW us!
Our goal is to reach 2,500 Page "Likes"!


FOLLOW SJB ON INSTAGRAM AS WELL!
Click on the logo on the right.

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YouTube CHANNEL
Let's get to 800 subscribers in April!

April is dedicated to the Holy Spirit
The month of April is dedicated to the Holy Spirit. To believe in the Holy Spirit is to profess that the Holy Spirit is one of the persons of the Holy Trinity, consubstantial with the Father and the Son: "with the Father and the Son He is worshipped and glorified." 

"Holy Spirit" is the proper name of the One whom we adore and glorify with the Father and the Son. The Church has received this name from the Lord and professes it in the Baptism of her new children.

The term "Spirit" translates the Hebrew word  ruah , which in its primary sense means breath, air, wind. Jesus indeed uses the sensory image of the wind to suggest to Nicodemus the transcendent newness of Him Who is personally God's breath, the divine Spirit.

When He proclaims and promises the coming of the Holy Spirit, Jesus calls Him the "Paraclete," literally, "he who is called to one's side,"  ad-vocatus . "Paraclete" is commonly translated by "consoler," and Jesus is the first consoler. The Lord also called the Holy Spirit "the Spirit of truth."

On the day of Pentecost the Divine Spirit communicated such an abundance of life to the whole Church that to symbolize it "there came a sound from heaven, as of a violent wind coming, and it filled the whole house where they (the Apostles) were sitting."

But it is also for us that the Holy Spirit has come, because the group in the Cenacle represented the whole Church. The Holy Spirit came to remain with the Church forever. This is the promise of Jesus Himself. He dwells in the Church permanently and unfailingly, performing in it without ceasing His action of life-giving and sanctification. He establishes the Church infallibly in the truth. It is He Who makes the Church blossom forth with a marvelous supernatural fruitfulness, for He brings to life and full fruition in Virgins, Martyrs, and Confessors those heroic virtues which are one of the marks of true sanctity.

Symbols of the Holy Spirit:

Water. The symbolism of water signifies the Holy Spirit's action in Baptism.

Anointing . The symbolism of anointing with oil also signifies the Holy Spirit, to the point of becoming a synonym for the Holy Spirit.

Fire . While water signifies birth and the fruitfulness of life given in the Holy Spirit, fire symbolizes the transforming energy of the Holy Spirit's actions.

Cloud and light.  These two images occur together in the manifestations of the Holy Spirit.

The seal  is a symbol close to that of anointing. "The Father has set his seal" on Christ and also seals us in Him.

The hand.  Jesus heals the sick and blesses little children by laying hands on them. In His name the apostles will do the same. Even more pointedly, it is by the Apostles' imposition of hands that the Holy Spirit is given.

The finger.  "It is by the finger of God that [Jesus] cast out demons." If God's law was written on tablets of stone "by the finger of God," then the "letter from Christ" entrusted to the care of the apostles, is written "with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts." The hymn Veni Creator Spiritus invokes the Holy Spirit as the "finger of the Father's right hand."

The dove.  At the end of the flood, whose symbolism refers to Baptism, a dove released by Noah returns with a fresh olive-tree branch in its beak as a sign that the earth was again habitable. When Christ comes up from the water of His baptism, the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, comes down upon Him and remains with Him. The Spirit comes down and remains in the purified hearts of the baptized.

The Holy Spirit and Our Spiritual Life
Everything depends on the Holy Spirit's operation in us. The more fully we allow ourselves to be drawn and guided by the Holy Spirit, the closer we come to Jesus and His mysteries and graces. The Holy Spirit must draw us to every good thought, word and deed. Every act of faith, of hope and of love for God requires the inspiration and help of the Holy Spirit. If our virtues and our deeds are to be truly perfect and worthy of God, they need the special and continual touch of the Holy Spirit. Even though we are endowed with all the supernatural virtues, we still remain mere apprentices in the spiritual life. We know what we must do; and yet lack the virtue and the faculty to perform these things with ease. The Holy Spirit must guide us. He must seize our intellect and our wills and guide us in prayer, in work, in the decisions we have to make, and in the difficulties we encounter every day. He must share with us His manner of seeing, of loving, of thinking, and of working.

Our works and our conduct will be perfect only when the Holy Spirit has taken complete possession of us. Therefore, in addition to the supernatural virtues of faith, hope, charity, justice, fortitude, temperance and wisdom, He gives us also His seven gifts. Thus He equips the tiny boat of our soul with sails upon which He Himself, the Spirit of God, blows. Our progress across the sea of life is then no longer slow and painful. We are propelled and guided by the Spirit. If the Spirit of God breathes upon the sails of our boat, then our journey will be a happy one. Then through the work and the help of the Holy Spirit, who lives in our soul, we shall come to the Father.
Excerpted from:
The Catechism of the Catholic Church
The Light of the World  by Benedict Baur, O.S.B.
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