St. Thomas Aquinas Church Iglesia Católica Romana 1501 South Atlantic Boulevard Monterey Park, California 91754 Fifth Sunday of Lent March 18, 2018 From the Desk of Our Pastor Lenten Reflection 2018 (five of six) The Tenth Station: Jesus is Stripped of His Garments Nakedness does not only refer to lack of clothing. We can be stripped of our dignity, our innocence, our sense of security. Today Jesus continues to be stripped of his dignity in those who have their intimate details exposed through media, gossip, and other ways. Jesus is stripped when women and children are used as images of exploitation through pornography and other undignified ways. Jesus is stripped when men are put in jail for crimes they did not commit. Can you identify any situation where someone s dignity is taken away? How can you or have you responded? The Eleventh Station: Jesus is nailed to the Cross It is hard to imagine God being nailed to a cross by His own creatures. The hands that touched a blind man and restored his sight, the hands that opened the seal of deafness, touched the leper, broke the bread and gave us the Eucharist are the same hands now attached to a piece of wood. The carpenter s hand is joined to the wood again. Jesus continues to be crucified through the pain we see around the world. Human hunger, poverty, discrimination, human trafficking, exploitation of the earth s resources, social injustice, and etc. How can we respond to this pain caused by our own hands and attitudes? The Twelfth Station: Jesus Dies on the Cross The final words of Jesus on the way of the cross are about forgiveness: Father forgive them They are about love: Mary take this to be your son, John take this to be your mother. They are about hope: The promise of eternal life is made to the thief: This night you will be with me in paradise. The moment Jesus dies, the earth quakes, the sun hides itself, the dead rise and Mary stands by in horror. Crosses that kill us are many including violence, war, neglect, poverty, corruption etc. A love of a spouse dies when that couple turns against each other. There are people you might know who feel that they are dead because life has been unkind to them. When we are at that point of death, or when we see signs of death in others what do we do? Save the Date! April 15th Our Spring BBQ will take place on Sunday, April 15 th, from 10:30 AM to 4:00 PM. The purpose is for us at STA to get together and celebrate our cultural diversity through food and entertainment. We will also be raising some money to keep our church operations moving forward. Please invite your neighbors and friends. Fr. John
Lent A time for Reconciliation Our Journey through Lent takes us to different places in our spiritual life. We make Lenten sacrifices and devotions. All of these practices enable us to reflect on and to better our relationship with God and with one another. One way to do this is through the sacrament of reconciliation. We have confessions every Saturday here from 4 PM to 5 PM. Our reconciliation service will be held Wednesday, March 21st at 7:00 PM in the church. All parishioners are encouraged to receive the sacrament of Reconciliation during the Lent season. In addition, our parishes in San Gabriel region have these special times that I invite you to consider if they fit into your schedule: Date Time Parish Language 3/19 7 PM Miraculous Medal E Phone # 323-725-7578 7 PM Sacred Heart E/S/T/V Phone # 626-794-2046 3/21 7 PM St. Thomas Aquinas E/S/C 7 PM St. Elizabeth E/S Phone # 626-797-1167 3/22 7 PM All Souls E/S Phone # 626-281-0466 3/23 7 PM St. Andrew E/S Phone # 626-831-8743 7 PM St. Anthony E/S/V Phone # 626/288-8912 3/27 7 PM Holy Family E Phone # 626-403-6116 7 PM St. Rita E/S Phone # 626-355-1292 3/28 4 PM St. Benedict E/S Phone # 323-721-1184 Lenten Schedule For Christians Lent is a time to review, even to relive, our experience as people of and created by God. Please join us at our planned Lent activities, schedule is listed below: 3/19-3/20 Retreat Spanish 7 PM in Hall 3/21 STA Penance Service 7 PM in Church 3/23 Passion Play 7 PM Rel. Ed./Conf. 3/26 Chrism Mass @ Cathedral 7 PM 3/27 STA School Welcome Matt 6:30 PM 3/29 Holy Thursday Washing of the Feet Trilingual @ 7:00 PM 3/30 Good Friday 3 PM English 5 PM Spanish* *Stations of the cross following service 7 PM Chinese 3/31 Easter Vigil Mass - 7:30 PM English/Chinese 4/1 Easter Sunday Alleluia! Alleluia! Return Rice Bowl donations Special Collection Easter Flowers and Environment Next Weekend Next weekend March 24th and 25th our parish will be taking up a second collection for our Easter flowers and environment. Your past generosity has made our church a place of beauty during the Easter season. We ask for and appreciate your continued support.
STA Senior Meeting March 21 st @ 10:30 AM Please plan on joining our St. Patrick s celebration by wearing green. A well-known local harpist, Angel Quiones, will provide Vera Cruz style entertainment with his Arpa Jarocha. A tasty luncheon will be served. Información para la comunidad Hispana Ejercicios cuaresmales 2018 con el P. Cirilo Bailón en STA Demos la bienvenida al P. Cirilo Bailón que vendrá nuevamente a nuestra parroquia para dirigir los ejercicios espirituales de cuaresma en español. Empezaran con la Misa del domingo 18 de marzo a la 1:30 PM. El retiro será el Lunes 19 y Martes 20 de marzo a las 7:00 pm en la salón parroquial. Sera de gran provecho para nuestra vida espiritual. Vengan con toda su familia, todos son bienvenidos! Spanish Lenten Retreat March 19 th March 20th Fr. Cirilo Bailon will be returning to lead our Spanish Lenten retreat. All who have attended his retreats have provided very positive feedback. They felt the retreats were very inspiring and upbeat. We look forward to welcoming Fr. Cirilo back. Retreat will be held in the hall at 7 PM. Blessing and Anointing of the Sick DATE CHANGE TO Saturday, March 24th @ 8 AM Mass Our Blessing and Anointing of the sick has been moved to the 4th Saturday of the month in observance of Easter Vigil. Blessing and Anointing of the sick will take place on Saturday, March 24th at 8 AM Mass. Anyone who is sick and would like to receive this sacrament, please come and join us. Parish School Second Collection March 17 th /18 th This weekend we will have our monthly second collection for our parish school. Please consider the impact your donation makes on providing a Catholic based education to our students. STA 8 th Grade Fundraiser This Sunday our school 8th grade will be selling delicious food after all Masses. Profits will go towards their 8 th grade expenses. Please stop by for a tasty meal or snack and to support our youth. School News You are invited! Two Special Performances St. Thomas Aquinas School invites you to join us for a live performance of the life of Jesus according to Matthew, which will be presented by our very own students from grades first through fourth. It will be a musical performance that will bring peace, love, and joy. This memorable evening will take place during Holy Week. Please join us on Tuesday, March 27th, at 6:30 PM in the church. Our 8th grade students will be performing the Passion Play on Holy Thursday, March 28th at 11:30 AM in the church. All are invited to attend both performances. We look forward to seeing you there!
READ & REFLECT ON THE SCRIPTURES MARCH 18 MARCH 25 Sunday: Jer 31:31-34; Ps 51:3-4, 12-15; Heb 5:7-9; Jn 12:20-33 Monday: 2 Sm 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16; Ps 89:2-5, 27, 29; Rom 4:13, 16-18, 22; Mt 1:16, 18-21,24a or Lk 2:41-51a Tuesday: Nm 21:4-9; Ps 102:2-3, 16-21; Jn 8:21-30 Wednesday: Dn 3:14-20, 91-92, 95; Thursday: Dn 3:52-56; Jn 8:31-42 Gn 17:3-9; Ps 105:4-9; Jn 8:51-59 Friday: Jer 20:10-13; Ps 18:2-7; Jn 10:31-42 Saturday: Ez 37:21-28; Jer 31:10, 11-13; Jn 11:45-56 Sunday: Mk 11:1-10 or Jn 12:12-16; (procession) Is 50:4-7; Ps 22: 8-9, 17-20, 23-24; Phil 2:6-11; Mk 14:1 15:47 [15:1-39] KEEP IN PRAYER Bertha Acuna Esther Aguilar Rafael Aguirre Oscar Alberto Anthony Arroyo Jacob Balcazar Adara Ballesteros Soledad Berumen Fred Bracco Jose Calderon Flor Cantara Rita Cardenas Elvira Chaidez George Chale Leroy Chavez Soya Chavez Lisa Sesti Michael Shaw Mary Tafaya Gary Tahara Scotty Tamkin Manuel Tapia Irene Taylor Beatriz Terminal George Tommy Beatriz Torres Juanita Trejo Antonio Ureno Frankie Uribe Al Valdez Lorenzo Valdez Emily Vallarta Miguel Vallarta Norma Vanegas Irene Veloz Eric Walters Sofia V. Yepez Wilson Young MASS INTENTIONS FOR THE WEEK SATURDAY, MARCH 17, 2018 5:30 PM In memory of Louis Cisneros by Leroy Cisneros In memory of Joseph Barrios by Barrios Family In memory of Alice Gust For Haiboh Wang s heath and peace SUNDAY, MARCH 18, 2018 8:00 AM For the health of Mariah Lopez by Teresa Lopez For Haiboh Wang s heath and peace In memory of Elisa Gonzalez, by Natalie Ramos 11:30 AM For the health of Patty De La Cruz For the health of Mariah Lopez by Teresa Lopez In memory of David Garcia by Lupe Garcia In memory of Josephina Flores by Garcia Family 1:30 PM For all souls in purgatory by Mayra Rodriguez For the health of Mariah Lopez by Teresa Lopez MONDAY, MARCH 19, 2018 (Chinese Mass) 7:00 PM In celebration of Bobby Garcia and Betty Ramos birthdays by Melendez Family TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2018 8:00 AM In memory of Celestino Nolasco by Celia Dominguez THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018 FRIDAY, MARCH 23, 2018 SATURDAY, MARCH 24, 2018 Sunday, March 18th 9 AM Confirmation Hall 9 AM FHC CL1,3,5 9 AM AFF CL 10 AM-RCIA-Dining Rm 11 AM-Chn. Choir-Dining Rm. 11 AM RCIA Hall Mtg Rm. 11 AM Chinese Rel-CLRMs 4 PM-Folk Dance-Hall Monday, March 19th 7 PM-Spanish Retreat-Hall Tuesday, March 20th 7 PM-Spanish Retreat-Hall WEEKLY SCHEDULE Wednesday, March 21st 10:30 am Senior Grp Hall 7 PM-Youth Legion of Mary- Hall Mtg Rm. 7 PM-Folk Dance-Hall 7 PM Penance Service-Church Thursday, March 22nd 8 AM Meeting Hall 6 PM Spn. Bible Study- Church 7 PM-Ping Pong-Hall 7:30 PM Cursillo Mtg Copy Rm. Friday, March 23rd 5:30 PM Girl Scout-Hall 7:30 PM-Live Spring-Copy rm. 7:30 PM Agape-Dining rm. 7:30 PM Family Fellowship- Hall mtg rm. Saturday, March 24th 8 AM Marriage Prep-Hall 9 AM Cantonese Legion of Mary-Copy rm 9:30 AM-Funeral Church 9:45 AM-Mandarin Legion of Mary Dining Rm.
SAFEGUARD THE CHILDREN DID YOU KNOW? How do you prepare to leave your kids at a party? It can be difficult for parents to gauge when they should stay at or leave another child s birthday party. Once kids reach a certain age, they may no longer want their parents tagging along with them, but others may have fears about being on their own. Find out what activities are planned will the kids be staying in one location or are they going multiple places? Who is the adult in charge? Assess your child s readiness does he or she understand the rules? For a copy of the complete VIRTUS article Before you drop your child off at a birthday party visithttp://www.la-archdiocese.org/org/protecting/ Pages/VIRTUS-Current-Online-Articles.aspx. Parish Information Parish Office: (323) 264-4447 Chinese Ministry Office: (323) 264-4448 General Email: sta91754@gmail.com Parish Website: STAMPK.ORG Fax: (323) 264-2524 Hall Rental: (323) 264-4447 ext. 102 Parish Staff Fr. John Kyebasuuta Pastor stapastor@gmail.com Ext. 108 Fr. Peter Wei Cao Associate Pastor sta.assocpastor@gmail.com Ext. 106 Lorraine Melendez General Manager stamanager1@gmail.com Ext. 103 Linda Almaguer Parish Secretary sta91754@gmail.com Ext. 102 Sherry Hsu Chinese Ministry Staff stachinese@gmail.com Ext. 104 IN GRATITUDE TO ALL WHO SUPPORTED OUR PARISH with your contributions on: March 10th/11th: $5,612.50 CRS: 1,133.00 Faith Direct-Online Giving Link: membership.faithdirect.net/ca779 Mass Schedule Saturday Vigil 5:30 PM (English) Sunday 8:00 AM (English) 9:30 AM (Chinese) 11:30 AM (English) Monday 1:30 PM 7:00 PM (Spanish) (Chinese) Tuesday 8:00 AM (English) Wednesday 8:00 AM (Chinese) Thursday 8:00 AM (English) Friday 8:00 AM (English) **1st Friday ONLY 7:00 PM** Saturday 8:00 AM (English) Reconciliation Saturday at 4:00 PM Jessie Wang Chinese Ministry Staff stachinese@gmail.com Ext. 105 Safeguard The Children Carmen Austria 626-993-4933 School Information School Office: (323) 261-6583 Gloria Castillo Principal Email: principal@stampkschool.org General Email: info@stampkschool.org Website: stampkschool.org Religious Education Information Office: (323) 264-1338 Sr. Rocio Nieto DRE Email: stareligioused@gmail.com