Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

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1 First Sunday in Lent March 5, 2017 Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned Thornburn Street Los Angeles, CA St. Jerome Youth Group at the Religious Education Congress! SCHEDULED SERVICES Daily (Mon-Sat) Mass - 8am Saturday Evening Vigil Mass - 5:30pm Sunday Masses - 7:30am, 9am, 11am, 5:30pm Confessions Friday 9-10am; Saturday 4pm-5pm Holy Hour - Wednesday 6:30pm with Our Lady of Perpetual Help prayers at 7pm Rosary - following 8am daily and Sunday evening 5:30 Mass First Friday-Eucharistic Adoration follows Mass, Benediction at 10am. RECTORY OFFICE HOURS Monday Thursday: 8:30am noon; 1:00pm-4:30pm Friday: 10:00am-1:30pm RECTORY STAFF ( ) Our Priest: Fr. Bill Bolton x 304 Fr. Valentine Ibe Our Deacon: Senior Deacon Guy and Helene Wauthy JustFaith, Engaging Spirituality, Social Justice/CLUE Business Manager: Juanita Rivera-Wiemken X 303 For calendar request juanitarw@gmail.com Youth Ministry: Kristina Provence x 313 Secretary/Bulletin Editor: Roxanne Shaw x 301 SCHEDULING SERVICES ( ) Anointing of the Sick: call the rectory Baptisms: Must call rectory 6 weeks in advance to schedule Communion to the Sick and Homebound: call the rectory Funerals: contact the rectory to set date and time Anniversaries, Quinceañera, Memorials: call the rectory Weddings - Call the rectory 6 months in advance to set the date. LIFE, JUSTICE & PEACE MINISTRIES Creation Sustainability Jacqueline Welsh Detention Ministry (Restorative Justice): Mr. & Mrs. Muoneke Food Pantry LAX: Johnny Albano Immigration: Noreta Jose Respect Life: Louise Meehan Safeguard the Children: Adrienne Toth Our mission is to SHARE God s message with all people, to OFFER support to those in need, to PROMOTE Christian values and commitment to the family, to FOSTER a loving and welcoming environment enriched by culture and age diversity, and to DEEPEN spiritual growth through sacraments, prayer and service.

2 From Father Bill I am excited about this year s Lent because of the community opportunities we will be having here at Saint Jerome s to give God more time to heal our hearts, change our lives and strengthen our connections with Jesus and our brothers and sisters in the Lord. You may not know that some religious orders such as the Salesians of Don Bosco (a religious order of men who educated and helped form me as a priest) have a custom of a Common Community Lenten Practice. This practice would be something we would all be working on a resolution to better our community life or the effectiveness of our ministry. As we were all working toward the same objective, with similar action steps we helped each other stay on task which often became a permanent part of our lifestyle. With this as my background I hope you accept my invitation for you to join with me in our First Parish Community Lenten Practice: Each of us are called to be ministers of hospitality in our Father s house. Jesus arms are stretched out on the cross to embrace the world therefore Catholic Churches are called to be a welcoming Home. We as His Body and as members of our Father s family are challenged to be that Home where all are welcomed: saint and sinner, rich and poor, Trojan and Bruin, democrat and republican. What matters is we belong to God and have accepted or are thinking about accepting and hopefully continuing to accept God s mercy and grace. This is Our Father s house. Our brother, Jesus, is present. As God s children we have an essential role in helping people feel welcomed, appreciated, received and safe. The impact and value of hospitality cannot be underestimated. Through hospitality others are able to witness and experience the love we are called to have for one another. This practice isn t just for you or for me. It is for US. It is also a good reminder of our responsibility as baptized and confirmed Catholics. These are five action steps I am proposing for us, but you are welcomed to do more or less as you are able but I hope we can all do at least some of these to help our beautiful church also become a more welcoming home. 1. I will smile, wave and greet people as I move to and from my car. 2. At church I am encouraged to print my first name on a provided name-tag and wear it while on the property. 3. I will greet at least two people whose names I don t know, introduce myself and ask if there is anyone or anything they may wish prayers for this day. 4. I will pray for those newly met and their intentions during the service. 5. At the conclusion of the service I will thank at least two people for being with us at today s service. It is OK to add I hope to see you next week. Some of you may say that these five things are just common courtesy (which they are) but when some approach our St. Jerome s Church they tend to act more like strangers getting on the same elevator ( the frozen chosen ) than fellow Catholics coming to our Father s home. If you need permission to treat each other as loving and caring sisters and brothers of course we have permission as it is HIS commandment. HOWEVER, respect and reverence at all times honor people s need for quiet time and personal prayer and if someone is not ready to respond in kind perhaps they are hurting or in a very difficult place so please be gentle and do pray for them as this too is hospitality. So remember, we who are the baptized and confirmed are chosen to be ministers of hospitality in Our Father s house. Our teens have had a blessed February with a retreat for our confirmation candidates on Superbowl weekend and a group going to the Youth Day at the Religious Education Congress last Thursday. Please continue to keep our young people and those who work with them in your prayers. Here are some of our teen s comments on Youth Day. It felt special knowing that all the youth in attendance were Catholics and shared my same faith. (Emmanuel) I liked the first part because it was really cool seeing every one of different backgrounds perform together as one. (David) I loved the mass with all the singing and music (also because I knew a lot of people singing on stage). I really like youth day and would go again! (Adrian) My favorite part was the part before the mass when we were singing as a big group because I enjoy singing at the top my lungs with my friends not worrying about if I'm hitting the note or not. I learned that you have to ask questions when you are confused about the Bible because one person s interpretation isn't always true. (Virginia) I loved the prayer strategies Fr. Bob gave us! I'm thinking of actually using it, so I can be more connected with God. My all-time favorite was Mike. He really opened my eyes to the fact that we rush into many things we want without actually realizing what we are doing. I'm now going to try bringing God into my relationships. Most likely it'll be a hard task but with prayer God will give me the strength. (Yelitza ) It taught me how I should pick my friends wisely and how I should bring God in with my friends. It helped me grow and show me what I should do in the future. (Marrah)

3 Christian Imitation of Adults (RCIA) This Sunday we have the Rite of Election at the 11am Mass. The Rite of Election is when Godparents, sponsors and catechist step forward to testify they see the presence of Christ's sprit alive in these catechumens and candidates. The reality of their consciously living in God s love and growing to embrace the faith are the evidence that God has chosen (elected) them for the Easter Sacraments. These elected by God are sent and presented this evening to Bishop Jose who is the head of our local church community, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Liturgy of the Hours-Morning Prayer During the Lenten Season you re invited to join us for morning prayers on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 7am to 7:20am.. Stations of the Cross and Confession The Stations occur every Friday During Lent at 7:00pm in the church. Different groups will present special themes for each of these Fridays. Confessions will be available during the Stations. Catholic Relief Serves Rice Bowl Encounter Innovation We encounter the Singh Family in India, where a mother and father are using innovative farming techniques to feed their family amidst of flood. How is God inviting us to think outside the box in service to others this Lent? Visit crsricebowl.org for more. Lenten Supper Socials! It s time for St. Jerome Lenten Wednesday Soup Nights! We will be serving soup from 5:00pm, until 7pm. The purpose of Soup Nights is to bring our parishioners together for a social gathering. We would appreciate any money donation to help defray the costs. Any money over our expenses will be donated to LAX Food Pantry. Introducing: Rice Dish Dinner Fridays! This week our dish will be a Nigerian Rice dish. The suggested donation for this meal is $5 but more for the poor is always appreciated. Food is served from 5:45pm to 6:45pm. Proceeds go to Operation Rice Bowl. Each week we will have a different rice dish to experience different cultures and flavors of the world. The Catholic Daughters are hosting a White Elephant Sales each Soup Night. If you have any unused new items, please contact Kathy at (310) Senior Center Mon., Mar. 6: 12-4pm- Rosary, cards and social. Wed., Mar. 8: 12-4pm-Birthday celebration! Cards and social. For more info call the Senior Center at Bundle Sunday Thank You! Thank you from the members of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul St. Jerome Conference! We would like to express our deepest appreciation and gratitude for your wonderful support of our recent Bundle Sunday. It was truly a blessing to have so many people participate in this event! Thanks to your generosity, the truck was filled to capacity! We are pleased and very proud to continue to provide service and assistance to our parish and community members in need. St. Jerome s School Collection Today the second collection basket will help support our school. Each month please remember to use the yellow School Support envelopes to help our catholic families and their children have access to a great education which should be their right..not just for the privileged few. Thank you for Your consideration and generosity. Our children are our future. Rosary Invitation You are invited to pray the Holy Rosary after each 8am Mass, and Sunday 5:30pm Mass. Listen to a 24 hour Catholic Radio Station AM Station 930 Immaculate Heart Radio Phone: TOGETHER IN MISSION 2017 Together in Mission is the one appeal we make each year to help our poorest parishes and schools. We are in this together the mission of helping our fellow brothers and sisters and we are all asked to share the light of Christ with others. For those of you that have made gifts in the past, be on the lookout for a special mailing from our Archdiocesan leaders asking you to renew your gift. Please mail in you gift directly to the Together in in Mission Office to ensure that you re counted among those that have answered this vital call. Every gift, regardless of the size matters so long as we give what we can and answer the calling of our faith. For those of you that have already committed to a gift, we heart fully thank you. We have a Parish Goal that reflects the great needs of so many parishes, and we hope you will all help us to reach our goal. Our goal is $78,200. With every family willing to help, we hope to reach this goal in your generous missionary care and zeal. God bless you for your generosity!

4 Mass Intentions Sat. 03/04 5:30pm (M) Esther & Jose Ochoa Sun. 03/05 7:30am (M) Victoria Ezeocha 9:00am (M) Cecile Bordenave 11:00am (M) Bernadette Fernandes 5:30pm (M) St. Jerome Parishioners Week Day Masses Mon. 03/06 8am (M) Sam Pisano Tues. 03/07 8am (SI) Kathy Fitzpatrick Wed. 03/08 8am (SI) Jamie Martinez Thurs. 03/09 8am (M) Michael J. Davidson Frid. 03/10 8am (SI) Pam Cunningham Sat. 03/11 8am (M) Taryn Johnson Memorial (M) Special Intention (SI) Thanksgiving (T) Prayers for the Sick Joe Adams Bill Bolton Sr. Glenn Bordenave Bonnie Brass Ian Castillo Jr. Julia Cooksey James E. Clark Mary Grace Charron Jacqueline Dawson Diondre Fleming Diamond Johnson Gaynor Johnson Alma King Kate Miguel Mary Lou Lansberry Jesse Mendoza Maria Rodriguez Carolyn Sheppard Baby Brooklyn Dvi-Vardhana Vivian Woo Deceased Our condolences are extended to the family and friends of Nelfaye, Cynthia Dupree, Forrest Bailey and Noella Simpson. May they rest in peace. Did You Know? Denial as a defense mechanism It may be difficult to understand why an abuse victim does not come forward immediately to report an assault. For those who have suffered sexual assault or abuse, denial can be a powerful defense mechanism, one allows them to cope with the trauma and its aftermath. Often, an abuser is someone the victim knows and trust, whch makes it even harder to understand why the abuse is happing, and harder to come forward and ask for help and protection. For a copy of the VIRTUS article The Many Faces of Denial Part 2 contact jvienna@la-archdiocese.org Mary & Joseph Retreat Center Events Located at 5300 Crest Road, Rancho Palos Verdes, Call Marlene Velazques at x 234 Registration & event costs at Saturday, March 11th 9am to 4pm, Healing Presence in the Workplace. Monday, March 13th thru Mar. 17th (Retreat) The changing Seasons of Our Spirituality. Liturgical Ministries Altar Server: Randy Billups randybillups@gmail.com Eucharistic Min.: Tina Gustavson Hospitality: Joyce Holt Lectors: Cathy Fitzpatrick Music: Jim Drollinger Ushers: Tina Gustavson

5 St. Jerome School News St. Jerome School is accepting applications for Pre-K, Transitional K and Grades K thru Grade 8. Applications may be downloaded from our website or you may visit the school office to pick one up. Call We are excited about what is happening in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades here at Saint Jerome School. Aside from enhancing our Language Arts program we have also placed an emphasis on Math this year. Students receive an extra class a day, using Simple Solutions as our guide to focus on improving essential Math skills. We are excited to see the effects of this extra effort. The October STAR testing results showed growth across the board for all 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders in Math. Great job students! In addition to this, we are introducing our students to the field of engineering and programming by offering STEM Fridays. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Each Friday our students in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades spend time in the computer lab using code.org. This program is an introduction, designed for students, to teach them the basics of computer science. It has become a worldwide effort to welcome students to the field of computer science. We are proud to be a part of this innovative program. Students also are involved in different STEM activities each Friday. These projects are designed to encourage students to think like an engineer as they are challenged to create Knights of Columbus Fish Fry We invite everyone to our next Fish Fry Dinner on March 10th. Enjoy Alaskan Cod, deep fried with either a baked potato or french fries, cole slaw and a roll. Adults are $11.00 & children $8.00. Dinner served between 5:30 pm & 7:30 pm. Takeouts are available. The Knights of Columbus Hall is at 8049 W. Manchester Blvd. Playa Del Rey. St. Jerome Monthly Soup Kitchen Our next meal will be served on Saturday, March 18th, from 10:30am to 12 noon If you would like to contribute by donating funds, kindly leave your donation at the Rectory, or send a check to St. Jerome, 5550 Thornburn St. Los Angeles, CA Please note Soup Kitchen Funds in the memo section of your check. Thank you!