| | | | St. Monica Weekly Witness News from your spiritual home. | | |  | Today is World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests and the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. We pray for our priests and all spiritual fathers!
#StillStMonica #SacredHeartofJesus #FathersDay #belovedinthisplace | |
Mass Schedule
Saturday Vigil: 5:30 p.m.
Sunday: 9:30 a.m., Noon, 2:30 p.m. & 5:30 p.m.
| | | | From Where We Have Come This message reaches you on “Juneteenth”—which admittedly was mostly unknown to me. It commemorates the day of June 19, 1865, when the enslaved in Galveston, Texas received word of their emancipation two months after the Civil War ended, and two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect on January 1, 1863. I can’t help but recall Exodus, an entire book of our sacred scripture—a core teaching in our Lord’s own tradition—where it took ten catastrophic plagues for the enslaved to finally be “let go.” Their story has survived millennia and continues as part of salvation history. I hope we are ready to listen and hear how that struggle continues today. Let us search our hearts to take action, walking in the path of justice.
This weekend we celebrate Father’s Day and honor and pray for our fathers and father-figures—living and deceased. They model exceptional service and care for their families and the world. Since we cannot provide a small token of our gratitude and love to each father this year, we are donating to Catholic Big Brothers Big Sisters on behalf of these great men in our lives. That great organization provides professionally supported one-on-one relationships to youth lacking a fatherly mentor. As we thank our Fathers, a novena of Masses will be offered. You’re invited to submit names online HERE.
Next Tuesday, June 23, 7 p.m. I am hosting a discussion online. Leadership will join me and we would like to meet those who are recently joining us, who have been separated from us and now returning, who have found our parish from afar. We want to hear your story! Register at stmonica.net/connect.
This week we also have Marriage Information Night and invite all newly engaged couples to join us. Next Sunday, we say farewell to Fr. Ian at Sunday 9:30 a.m Mass and a parade of cars after Mass in our parking lot for all who wish to express their gratitude. He will also say 5:30 Mass that afternoon. For details, visit stmonica.net/ianfarewell
Prayers and love to you! Msgr. Lloyd Torgerson | | SAVE THE DATE  Farewell Parade for Fr. Ian
Sunday, June 28, 11 a.m. Parishioners are invited to decorate their cars for Fr. Ian's Farewell Parade.
Classic cars and motorcyles are especially welcome—stay tuned for details! Enter from Washington Blvd, to drive by Fr. Ian and wish him well while still maintaining social distance. | | |  The darkness of the COVID-19 pandemic has released many of peoples’ worst fears. Losing your job. Finding food for your family. Bills going unpaid. No health insurance. Advance wedding plans ruined. Schools and universities closed with uncertain futures.
In the Gospel passage today, as well as the current moment of reopening our church for Liturgy, is a foreshadowing of Matthew 15:11. Jesus declares that it’s not what a person eats , or what goes into the mouth, but what comes out of the mouth, (gossip, slander, libelous talk) that destroys a person. So to with us and with this pandemic. The medical and research communities declare that wearing a mask protects us from what we breathe in, but, more importantly, it protects those around us from what we expel through speaking, singing, coughing, sneezing.
The Cosmic Law of Love is enshrined in creation and incarnated in the life of Jesus. This love created and formed the human family in God’s image and likeness, and love now gives the human family an alarm: “Wake up!” Wake up: love each other and love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Read more by clicking below for the Worship Highlights page!
You are invited to enroll your fathers, grandfathers and those who have been father to you in our Father’s Day Novena which begins at the Mass this Sunday. Meet us on the Duval Patio (virtual of course) after Sunday Mass for a cup of coffee and a doughnut. Register here!. Marriage information Night is this Wednesday at 7:15 p.m. for all engaged couples planning for a wedding at St. Monica, or needing preparation for marriage elsewhere.
| | |  Living Faith in ordinary moments of our lives!
In Sunday’s Gospel, Matthew 10: 26-33, “The Lord still tells people today to never be afraid, the Pope Francis said, and to “proclaim on the housetops” what has been revealed to them in a whisper. Christians must never forget that; especially “when we have some ordeal, persecution, something that makes us suffer, let us listen to Jesus’ voice in our heart.” - Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service June 26, 2017
Earlier this year, Monsignor gave a memorable homily on the doubting Thomas and on how we all ‘live with a wound’. At the time, no one could have guessed just how much all of our trust would be shaken to the core this year: our trust in others, our safety and the systems around us. Speaking to this moment of uncertainty, parishioners Ann Shoen and Will Peters will offer their insights on Trusting Others: Bridging the Gap Between Seeing and Believing in the Catholic Conversation on June 25 at 7:00 p.m.
This week: year 2 Sacrament Preparation enjoy Faith Formation Resources together as a family. Our Sunday Children’s Liturgy of the Word offers wonderful family prayer time. Come pray with other women, Women of St. Monica every Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.
| | | A summer tradition, Theology on Tap, an Archdiocesan speaker series designed for young adults (ages of 21-39) will start up again in July.
Our Summer of Support in our Pastoral Care ministries is kicking into full gear next month! We're launching our Unemployed Together small groups. The groups provide spiritual support for those experiencing a change in job status. Registration is now open! Our Healthy Living Speaker Series, starting July 12, will focus on how to live healthy, full lives during this time of COVID-19. If you are home because of COVID-19 and need help with shopping or a friendly phone call, our COVID-19 Response Ministry is here to help! Hope at the Door Ministry provides referrals to community agencies that can help with challenges like housing, food or employment.
Update from our Holy Cross Africa Ministry (HCAM): With the pandemic, Holy Cross Dandora Parish and St. James School have been closed, with just a few essential staff members on site and limited funding. To help staff members with urgent needs (food & rent), HCAM recently approved sending $5,000 from the team's General Fund. We are called upon to remember and reflect on how the Coronavirus has had a Global impact, especially in communities like our sister parish. | | | 
Holy Grounds will reopen starting this Saturday, June 20!
Open Daily: 7:00 a.m.–Noon.
Our limited menu is available for carry out or pick-up by calling (310) 566-1565.
| | Your generosity humbles us! Thank you for uniting together as one body in Christ to lift those who need it most. We are serving and connecting in news ways. We are committed to all those longing to grow in their faith and who are gathering to worship wherever they are. None of this would be possible without the offertory gifts you provide.
Support St. Monica through either a one-time gift -or- recurring giving. You may also click the 'Donate' button in the Livestream player. Thank you! | | | | | | | | | | |
