SJB Eucharistic Adoration

Dear Friends in Christ,

In our parish mission statement we say that St. John the Baptist parish “centers its life on the worship and celebration of the Eucharist”. Certainly we regularly experience the celebration of the Eucharist in our renovated church with 25 Masses every week. In addition, we have our holy hours of adoration Monday through Friday and our monthly day of adoration.

Since we are a Eucharistic people, our plans for the renovation of our church included a Blessed Sacrament Chapel. The chapel has been duly inaugurated and blessed by the presence of our Lord. As you know, we had some difficulties recently with the disappearance of the tabernacle key. Now we have replaced the lock, and the chapel is open again for adoration and prayer. However, in order to maintain a spirit of reverence and quiet, we are asking that you enter and leave the chapel by the outside entrance rather than through the church. We have installed dead bolt locks on the two doors that lead to the sanctuary to increase security. You may also have noticed that the chapel door now has a keypad. This new locking system will be used when we inaugurate perpetual adoration. Now, let me tell you how we are progressing in this direction.

For the past several weeks the Perpetual Adoration Committee has been meeting to prepare for our parish to inaugurate perpetual adoration. They have prepared posters and bulletin announcements. They have printed a form that you can find at the rear of the church for you to sign up for a time of adoration. Signing in for adoration is essential because we need to know that every hour is covered.

Two weeks from today Fr. Victor Warkulwiz of the Missionary Priests of the Blessed Sacrament will speak at all the Sunday Masses. Fr. Victor’s community has a special apostolate to promote perpetual Eucharistic Adoration. His purpose in coming to St. John’s is to help us start perpetual adoration in our Blessed Sacrament Chapel. After the last Mass on Sunday evening June 10, Fr. Victor will conduct an organization meeting. I hope many of you will attend.

What is “perpetual” adoration? As the word indicates, it is 24/7. Jesus asked his disciples to “spend one hour” with Him. Every hour of the day and night will be covered by a team of adorers who will be headed by a captain. During the day the chapel is open as usual from 6AM to 9PM. After 9PM adorers will need a number code to enter the chapel using the keypad on the door. Once you sign up for a late night hour, you can obtain your own private PIN number from the front office.

I know that you will want to be a part of this great movement. Let us all pray for the success of perpetual adoration at St. John’s.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr. Hildebrand

Jesus in New York Video

The Ascension

Dear Friends in Christ,

On this Ascension Day we rejoice in the complete victory of Christ over death, the devil, and sin as He takes His place “at the right hand of the Father” in heaven. Every Christian has heaven as a goal, and we long to be with the Lord who loves us with an everlasting love.Still, He asks us to continue for a time on this earth.Here we have no lasting home, but we must suffer here for a time until He calls us from this life.

Many of us have doubts and anxieties about the future. Will we have enough water? Who will take care of us? Will we run out of money? I would like to share with you some thoughts of a fellow parishioner who has suffered the loss of her husband recently. The message is full of hope and confidence:

I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to Fr. Hildebrand for the unbounded love and support he extended to me, my son Francis, and our family upon the sudden passing of my husband, Victor dela Torre. The prayers and friendship of Fr. Martin and the Norbertine priests at St. John the Baptist serve as an anchor during our time of loss and grief. I also thank the members of our prayer groups, the other church ministries my husband and I had been a part of, and all the beautiful parishioners of St. John’s who came to the services for my husband at the church, at home, and at the mortuary. My dear friends, your expressions of appreciation for all that Victor had been to you fill my heart with consolation and peace. Your faith and prayers hold me up to carry on – believing in God’s promise, “I will be with you always”, as my husband repeated to me four times (on) the day he died, to which he said I should always respond, “Jesus, I trust in You!”

On behalf of my son and our family, thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

Zari dela Torre

What better motto for our life here on earth! We are all in His hands. When we are troubled or worried, like the apostles when Jesus ascended into heaven, Let’s not forget His promise, “I will be with you always” and respond with St. Faustina, “Jesus, I trust in you!”.

May God bless you all.

Rejoicing

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

There are three reasons for rejoicing as we continue our Easter season. Yesterday more than 100 young people of our community received their First Holy Communion. What a joy to see the innocent children approaching the altar to receive Jesus into their hearts for the first time! I find it one of the greatest consolations of being a priest. Thanks to Sr. Sharon, Sr. Vianney, Mrs. Robertson, and Mrs. Strachan for preparing the children for this great moment.

This Friday Bishop Dominic Luong will be hear for another sacramental celebration, the confirmation of our parish youth. About 90 teens will receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit at Mass in order to be strengthened in their Catholic faith. Thank you to Arnis Dela and his team of teachers and assistants for their dedication to our young people.

Finally, as you know St. John’s and Mater Dei High School have enjoyed a close relationship over the years. Similarly, the Norbertine Fathers have been teaching at Mater Dei for about 50 years. Our own Fr. Norbert taught there as well as our retired Abbot Ladislas Parker and our current Abbot Eugene Hayes. Fr. Luke Laslavich who offers Mass here on Sundays, teaches biology.

The Norbertine Fathers were welcomed by Mater Dei High School on Thursday, May 10 as the newest members of the Ring of Honor. The Ring of Honor began during the 50th Anniversary celebration of Mater Dei High School in 2001. Since its inception, The Ring of Honor has welcomedSchool who have achieved local, state, national, or international recognition through their church, school, community, or professional life. The Norbertine Fathers join 19 individuals and one group, the Sisters of St. Joseph, as members of the Mater Dei High School Ring of Honor. alumni, former faculty members, past parents and friends of Mater Dei High
May the risen Christ continue to bless all of you.

PHYSICIAN-ASSISTED SUICIDE AB 374 California Compassionate Choice Act

California Legislators are TRYING AGAIN to legalize PHYSICIAN-ASSISTED SUICIDE AB 374 California Compassionate Choice Act. The bill passed its first Assembly Committee hearing on March 27, 2007.

Call, FAX or email you Assembly member and tell him/her that AB 374 is BAD PUBLIC POLICY because:

♦ California law already allows the refusal of extraordinary end-of-life treatment. AB 374
isn’t about improving care for the terminally or chronically ill; it is about legalizing as-
sisted suicide.

♦ AB 374 is strongly opposed by the American Medical Association the California Medical Association the California Hospice and Palliative Care Association, various disability rights, Latino civil rights and low-income worker advocates.

♦ Legalizing assisted suicide could seriously damage the relationship between patients and healthcare workers.

♦ The Legislative needs to work on real problems. There are 7.5 million Californians who do not have health insurance. The attempt to legalize assisted suicide has already failed three times
in California!

♦ AB 374 poses a danger to people with new disabilities or chronic diseases who often experience initial despondency but who late adapt well and enjoy life

Prepared and distributed by the California Catholic Conference.
For more information go to: http://www.cccatholic.org/

We urge you to be “faithful citizens” and participate in this important issue.

To find your Assemblymember, go to www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html

As Catholics we oppose euthanasia or assisted suicide because we believe that human life is a
gift from God, that we are stewards – not owners – of that life. This, of course, informs and underlines our policy perspectives.

California Legislators are TRYING AGAIN to legalize

California Legislators are TRYING AGAIN to legalize PHYSICIAN-ASSISTED SUICIDE AB 374 California Compassionate Choice Act

The bill passed its first Assembly Committee hearing on March 27, 2007.

Call, FAX or email you Assembly member and tell him/her that AB 374 is BAD PUBLIC POLICY because:

♦ California law already allows the refusal of extraordinary end-of-life treatment. AB 374
isn’t about improving care for the terminally or chronically ill; it is about legalizing as-
sisted suicide.

♦ AB 374 is strongly opposed by the American Medical Association the California Medical Association the California Hospice and Palliative Care Association, various disability rights, Latino civil rights and low-income worker advocates.

♦ Legalizing assisted suicide could seriously damage the relationship between patients and healthcare workers.

♦ The Legislative needs to work on real problems. There are 7.5 million Californians who do not have health insurance. The attempt to legalize assisted suicide has already failed three times
in California!

♦ AB 374 poses a danger to people with new disabilities or chronic diseases who often experience initial despondency but who late adapt well and enjoy life

Prepared and distributed by the California Catholic Conference.
For more information go to: www.cccatholic.org

We urge you to be “faithful citizens” and participate in this important issue.

To find your Assemblymember, go to www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html

As Catholics we oppose euthanasia or assisted suicide because we believe that human life is a
gift from God, that we are stewards – not owners – of that life. This, of course, informs and underlines our policy perspectives.