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Weekly Witness:
Nov. 13, 2020

https://us10.forward-to-friend.com/forward?u=0b2c9d82ffc9203469cf5638b&id=b83fc82dae&e=[UNIQID]

St. Monica Weekly Witness

News from your spiritual home.

Welcome Fr. Mike Russo and team from Sunday to Sunday, as they film a documentary episode about our parish.
#StillStMonica #StMonicaFamily #servesupportsustain

Outdoor Mass Schedule
Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 8:00 a.m.
NEW TIMES: Saturday Vigil: 4:30 p.m.  |  Sunday: 4:30 p.m.

Outdoor Communion Procession

Sunday: 11 a.m.–Noon

Livestream Masses:
Sundays, 9:30 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.  |  Daily, 12:10 p.m.

Click HERE to Register for Outdoor Sunday & Daily Masses

The Gift of Thanks

This weekend, we welcome Fr. Mike Russo and the production team from his documentary series: Sunday to Sunday. Their project is a recipient of the 2020 Emmy Award for Best Interview/Discussion Program. Fr. Mike has interview 12 great parishes for his online program. He selected St. Monica because of your great ministry, liturgy, and prayer. God has been so good to us, so this is an opportunity to say ‘thank you’ and take a moment to share our community with many others. Thank you for offering a big St. Monica welcome this weekend, despite these very challenging times.
 
This past Tuesday, our former Parish Administrator, Mike Mottola, presented a beautiful statement and reflection on our parish’s last 35 years. It’s an inspiring curation of the most significant events and strategic plans that have formed this community into what it is today. We have been through so much, and it’s a wonderful remembrance, especially in this time of pandemic. We are with you now in a special way. Download and enjoy at stmonica.net/mottola.
 
These are precious weeks when we give thanks. I hope we will find a source of gratitude as we celebrate Thanksgiving, wherever we are. We are all in this together—even if physically distanced. We will be sharing our Thanksgiving and Christmas schedule very soon. The Masses and experience promise to be #StillStMonica.
 
This coming Monday, Nov. 16, 6:30 p.m., I’m thrilled once again to invite a handful of our St. Monica Diaspora—to gather with me for Discover St. Monica. If you are new to the parish or joining us from a distance, it’s a privilege for me to hear your story and find out how we can serve, support, and sustain each other. Register at stmonica.net/discover.
 
Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, we will offer both Baptism and Marriage preparation nights this coming Wednesday, Nov. 17. Visit stmonica.net/worship for times, details, and to register.
 
Lastly, our Thanksgiving Dinner & Boutique celebrates its 41st year. We have reached nearly half of our goal to fund individually packaged meals, care packages of clothing, and toiletries. Although we cannot welcome the almost 800 volunteers that traditionally spend two days on our campus in service and love, your support to make these meals and care packages still happen is vital—“volunteer to donate” at stmonica.net/thanksgiving.

Msgr. Lloyd Torgerson

WORSHIP

The Gift of Eucharist


The gift of the Eucharist is one of Jesus’ lasting gifts to the Church: us, as the body of Christ. The ability to receive Holy Communion during this time of pandemic created some challenges: managing everyone's safety, as well as providing for a secure and reverent environment. Our parish has endeavored to provide ample opportunities using innovative solutions to continue to adapt to changing circumstances.
 
Every Sunday, we open the gates of our campus for you to receive the precious gift of the Eucharist through our Communion Procession. Our priests and ministers remain steadfast in their commitment to dispensing this most precious gift - straight through your car window! You may even get the chance to greet Msgr. Torgerson, who is always ready to give a blessing and say hello, from a safe, social distance!
 
We have heard from many of you in attendance, that the act of receiving Communion has helped you get through the long days, and restless nights. It is this spiritual food, literally the lifeblood and core of our community: Communion with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The Communion Process continues every Sunday at 10:45 a.m. Enter from the Washington Blvd. Entrance - No reservation required. We hope to see you there with masks and love in your hearts!
 
Click for WORSHIP Highlights

FAITH FORMATION

Getting to Know Jesus Through and With Others

Thank you so much to all of those women who attended the Oasis of Grace Women’s Retreat! What a beautiful experience: being called into relationship with God’s mercy, forgiveness and love!  It was a powerful and moving weekend. The containment provided by the retreat team allowed for much deep and profound sharing. I am truly grateful.” Women of St. Monica gather every Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. and share a weekly rosary on Saturdays - click here to read more and to register!

How about getting to know Jesus better? Advent Small Groups begin next week with an aim of leading us closer to Christ. In one of the reflections, the author writes: “What is it I long for? Like the psalmist, I yearn to dwell in the house of the Lord, if not for all my days, at least for a few minutes."  Taking a few minutes every day to pray, mediate, and reflect will refresh us and lead us to share together. Pick up the booklet at Holy Grounds with your next coffee! Click here to read more and to register for one of our weekly reflection small groups, starting Nov. 17.

On Nov. 19, Laurie Wright Garry, from Mount St. Mary’s, and Dale Sieverding, will be discussing Through the Looking Glass into the Sacred. Click here to read more and register for Catholic Conversations.
 
Moms, did you miss out on the Mothers of Monica (MOMs) Launch? Not to worry, you can gather with us every Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. Click here to read more and register!

Click for FAITH FORMATION Highlights

OUTREACH & PASTORAL CARE

Gratitude: How We Give Thanks

Gratitude—it's how we thank God for all the gifts, love & goodness in our lives. Indeed, the German mystic & theologian Meister Eckhart once wrote: "If the only prayer you ever said was 'thank you,' that would be enough."  Here in our community, we have much to be thankful for!

In gratitude, we honor our deceased loved ones at the Mass of Remembrance this Sunday at 5:30 p.m. Livestream. There will be a Virtual Reception afterward; come share your stories of love with prayers & reflections, and learn more about grief support at St. Monica. 

There is also much to celebrate this month, including Black Catholic History Month, with a celebration hosted by our Black Lives Matter Committee! Our Thanksgiving Dinner & Boutique is coming up and we need your support to make it happen! TTF launches their Ten Days of ThanksgivingYMA Vespers gears up for holiday festivities with Breaking Bread: Theology of Food, and the Green Team discusses the film Kiss the Ground on Nov. 19 for their monthly meeting.

Virtual Holy Grounds is open Monday through Friday directly proceeding 12:10 p.m. Daily Mass.  It's a chance to connect with other parishioners, clergy & staff. We hope to see you there!

 

Click for OUTREACH Highlights

ST. MONICA SCHOOLS

Showing your Faith by Helping Others
 


"My name is Madison; my family and I had been fostering children for several years, but we stopped last December due to my father becoming severely ill. Even when he recovered, we had to put fostering on hold. However, this did not stop me from wanting to continue in helping foster children. Looking back, every child that had come into our home, came with a disposable trash bag with their belongings or nothing at all. Imagine carrying your whole world in something meant for unwanted things to be thrown away. I wanted to change this flaw, and  to give foster children something that they can rely on and call their own. 

This past May, I created C.A.A.R.E. (Children Are Appreciated, Respected, and Empowered) bags for foster kids of Los Angeles County. I fundraised and put together 100 travel-friendly duffel bags, filled with a king/queen-sized blanket, toothbrush, teddy bear, art therapy book, and a blank journal with age-appropriate resources. In August, I was able to deliver the C.A.A.R.E. Bags to the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) in Torrance, California, where they would then be distributed to foster youth in need of home placements. This project brings me great joy, and I plan on continuing to build and develop C.A.A.R.E. Bags and branch out to homeless youth as well." - Maddison, St. Monica Catholic High School Senior

 

Stewardship

Buried in Your Backyard

"I remember watching a television show about a high school that dug up a time capsule that students had buried 25 years earlier. They had buried it with the purpose of showing others many years later the trends of the day and how student life was at that time. It was a fun exercise and everyone — the current students as well as those now grown — laughed at the clothing styles, corny photos, and lack of technology from years ago.
 
I wonder how the former students felt about how they had grown in those 25 years. How many of them realized their high school dreams? Did they find their purpose in this world and feel fulfilled in life? Did they use the talents and gifts God gave them to really make a difference in the world?
 
We have all been given talents and gifts by God to be cultivated and offered back to Him and those around us for His glory. As time has passed, hopefully we have taken seriously our stewardship of these gifts. But sometimes out of fear, misunderstanding, or even apathy, we have taken one or more of our gifts and buried them, hiding them away from others and stifling all growth. This is no way to honor God and certainly not a path to fulfillment in life. If we have anything buried in our backyard, we might do well to dig it back up, clean it up, and begin building upon it. Like a time capsule, those things will not be buried forever. One day the giver of that gift will ask what you have done with it. When that day comes, I pray you don’t need to find a shovel."
— Tracy Earl Welliver, MTS
 

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