August

We go to Church because it's Sunday. We go Church because everybody goes to Church. People say, Sunday is a family day! And one of the "activities" of the day is to go to Church.

We rush ourselves (with our children) to go to Church. Sometimes, we're late. And when we walked in a Church, we unthinkingly dip our hands into the holy water to cross ourselves. We do what everybody does! We sit, stand, kneel, and line up if we feel like receiving Communion. It is easy for us to get lost in the details or caught up in the repetition of following a law or ritual. Every Sunday, same old same old! And so, we easily get lost because we don't know the profound meaning of the rituals, gestures, signs and symbols in the Mass. The reality is: we go to Church to fulfill our obligation.

That is why, Jesus declared the Pharisees hypocrites because what they say does not reflect how they live. In their life, there is a wide disparity between the internal disposition and merely external observance. Therefore, there should be consistency between internal forum and the external forum in our Christian life!

I am happy to announce 7 Points to you all:

St. Philomene School: The school started their classes last Monday with the Mass of the Holy Spirit. We have room for your children if you want them to study in our Catholic School. We can offer some financial aid and scholarships. If you are interested, please call me at (916) 481-6757 or Ms. Ann Marie Faires, the Principal, at (916) 489-1506.

Health Fair: Let us avail of the free medical and dental checkups.

Two Important Parish Councils: The members of the two important Councils are: (1) Pastoral Council Members. Michele Hamilton, Chair, Jose Antonio Ascencio, James Dickinson, Lucia Beltran and Grace Sicat and Kelly Bernier-Mun. (2) Finance Council Members: Bob Murta, Chair, Natasha Bartley, Joe Anchors, Marina Serrano, Hinson Thomas, Tom Grant.

Donations: We now accept and process your donations through your Debit and Credit Cards in the Office. Visit us in the Office.

Pancake Breakfast: The Knights of Columbus will resume their Pancake Breakfast on the Third Sunday of the month. Please plan to join us for breakfast with other brothers and sisters.

Parish Festival: (1) Committee: The Committee are working hard for this parish fundraising. We thank them. (2) Raffle Tickets: I am glad that ticket stubs are coming back with their donations. Buy more tickets...a win win!

Parish Bulletin: Starting September, we will be printing our own Bulletin in house. I ask all of you to spread the word and invite business owners to advertise in our Bulletin.

THE BREAD OF LIFE IS BROKEN FOR SPIRITUAL NOURISHMENT

Communion of Brothers and Sisters! We continued to gather after the 9:00AM and 12:00NN Masses. The Parish Picnic was a success. Thanks to all of you especially the Hispanic Committee (El Comité Hispano) that organized, and the Parish Pastoral Council's and Knights of Columbus' help. It was truly a day of friendship, community, sharing, sacrifice and thanksgiving.

Stewardship! Because of your generosity in terms of treasure and time and talent, thanks to the Finance Council for the Annual Parish Financial Report!

Feast of St. Philomena! We celebrated her feast on August 11th, Tuesday, followed by a reception. Thanks to the St. Philomene Prayer Group for organizing the Novena, Thanksgiving Mass and Reception.

Congratulations! Deacon Alfredo Anguiano and Deacon David Leatherby baptized around 30 children last Saturday, August 8th. Join me to welcome them, their parents and their godparents.

Warm Welcome to St. Philomene School! Welcome back to the returning students, teachers and staff. Welcome also to the new students and their families. And finally, welcome to the new teachers and staff to our Catholic School. To open the new school year, there will be a Mass of the Holy Spirit on Monday, August 17th at 8:00 AM in the Main Church.

We gather! We celebrate! We share! Because Jesus is the Bread of Life!

Jesus is the Bread of Life that came down from Heaven!

Parish Picnic! We gather today at the Howe Park in honor of St. Philomena, our patroness. We celebrate and give thanks to God for giving us St. Philomena to protect us and intercede for us. Let us enjoy the day with fun, friendship, community, sharing and thanksgiving!

Warm Welcome! I just sent Letter of Welcome to the two new members of our Parish. Thank you for officially joining us to journey together in faith, hope and love. We encourage you to register in our parish!

Safety and Security! In an ongoing effort to secure, and make our facility safe, we will be installing additional CCTV cameras in the campus. We need volunteers to help us install the cameras!

Be Healthy! Just as we are nourished spiritually by our Lord Jesus, the Bread of Life that came down from Heaven, we must also take care of our physical body. Therefore, there will be a Parish Health Fair at the August 30, 2015 at the School Gym.

Patronal Feast Day! The feast day of St. Philomena, our patroness, is on August 11. Through the intercession of St. Philomena, pray for us!

Blessings of Peace and Wellbeing!

The month of July just passed us without noticing it. But anyways, I have several things to remember during the first month of the fiscal year:

1. New Parish Pastoral Council Membership. With recommendations and prayers, I would like to thank the members accepting the duty and the task.
2. 2015-2016 Parish Budget and Review of the Past Fiscal Year. The new fiscal year Budget was submitted to the Diocese and the Finance Council met to have a Review and Analysis of the Budget 2014-2015. Thanks to the members who have been there for me to keep track of our expenses and encourage everyone to be active stewards and generous givers.
3. Fire Code Compliance. Special thanks to those who have worked so hard, spending their days off and free time to make our facility compliant.
4. New School Principal, Ann Marie Faires. After series of interviews, we finally found and hired a new School Principal. Thanks for accepting the responsibility to lead our Catholic School. And so, join me to welcome her into our Parish!

With all of these, we have a reason to give thanks to our Lord Jesus, Who is the Bread of Life!