Dear Friends,

Recently, the country of Venezuela experienced two major earthquakes, which resulted in serious damage. There are a large number of people who do not have access to basic human supplies: food, shelter, water, and other important items. I want our parish community to join the many people across the country who are offering support through monetary donations. This Sunday, there will be a second basket placed at all the offertory sections marked Second Collection that will go directly toward helping the people in Venezuela. Your gift will help support Catholic Relief Services through the Diocesan Department of Catholic Social Teaching at the Diocesan Pastoral Center. One of the organizations that I personally support is Catholic Relief Services, which has a good reputation for helping people throughout the world, with a large percentage of every dollar given going to the important cause. There is a direct link to Catholic Relief Services (CRS) for giving to the people of Venezuela. Thank you for your support to help our brothers and sisters throughout the world in need.

EUCHARISTIC MINISTERS- I am very pleased with the increase in the number of Eucharistic Ministers. As we now have both species (Body and Blood of Christ) in the community, there are more parishioners involved in this important ministry. Even during the summer months, as people are away for vacation and travel, there is a good number of ministers at each Mass. So seeing new faces is important and brings new life into the parish community ministries.

In the fall, we will again invite more parishioners to consider this ministry to serve. There will also be an emphasis on young adults and confirmed teens joining this ministry.

No person who is a Eucharistic Minister is worthy; God makes us worthy. To say yes to serving by our baptismal call is living our faith and gives witness to the world. Secondly, the humility in saying yes is the willingness to be a "vessel" of God's love and mercy when we offer the Body and/or Blood of Christ. God uses us to offer healing, forgiveness, and grace. Humility is the key to saying yes to being a Eucharistic Minister.

Another ministry we would love to grow is Sanctuary Care, a ministry that cleans the altar linens and altar server robes and cares for items in the sanctuary. The commitment would be approximately once a month. Anyone is welcome to contact our Parish Liturgist, Eric Tamayo, at the parish office or by email at [email protected].

I am always pleased to see more and more parishioners using their gifts to serve the community.

LAST SUNDAY'S HOMILY- Our Gospel last Sunday was from Matthew 13, the parable of the sower. Notice the name is not the parable of the good and bad soil. The emphasis is on the farmer who indiscriminately spreads the seeds everywhere: on hard ground, rocky ground, ground with thorns and weeds, and ground that has rich soil. We sometimes focus on the need to make sure we have the right soil to receive God's word, the seed. Yet God is the one who spreads his seed to everyone, and he does not depend on the soil deserving the seed, his mercy and grace. In my homily, I speak about how God does not ration his mercy. Click below to listen to the homily.

POPE LEO LINKS- I offer to the parish these links to give access to the direct words and teaching of Pope Leo. We all know that today's news can be slanted to support a particular ideology, or focuses only on a controversial issue without reading or understanding the entire statement or teaching. If one is serious about knowing what is accurate in the Church's teaching, these links come directly from the Vatican, so you can receive the exact and direct message from the Pope. The links are below.

Today I enclose an article from Vatican News that gives a statement from Pope Leo and the Vatican, where the Pope speaks as a Shepherd rather than a Head of State. The article explains the main idea behind statements from the Pope regarding important matters of human life. He is independent of any state, free to speak the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The article gives some good information.