Saturday, May 30, 2009
Parish Home Visitation Project
Dear Friends in Christ,
Our Parish Home Visitation project has been reaping good fruit this month. We visited a Spanish speaking home on May 15 and an English speaking home on May 26. There were interesting conversations and questions; I was able to meet parishioners whom I had only seen briefly at Mass. If you live in the north Costa Mesa area you may want to schedule a visit at your home.
The next home visit will take place on June 12 in the north central area of our parish. There is a subdivision with streets named after places in Ireland. It is bounded by the Baker St. on the south, Harbor Blvd on the west, Gisler Ave. on the north and Fairview Rd. on the east. The streets included are:
Gisler Ave.
Chemin de Fer, Deauville Pl.
Dublin St
Shamrock Ln.
Watson Ave.
Shannon Ln.
College Ave.
Galway Ln.
Killybrooke Ln.
Royce Ln.
Warren Ln.
Donnybrook Ln. Fernheath Ln.
Murray Ln.
Loren Ln.
Dorset Ln.
Stonefield Ct. McCormack Ln. Garlingford St.
Belfast Ave.
Conway Ave. Londonderry St.
Sharon Ln.
Limerick Ln.
Killarney Ln.
Kerry Ln.
Cork Ln.
Bray Ln.
Parnell Pl. Donegal Pl.
If you live on any of these streets, please call the rectory (714-540-2214) to find out the address of the host family and plan to join us for prayer, conversation, and light refreshments. You’ll be surprised how many fellow parishioners are your own neighbors!
Have you signed up for a holy hour with the Lord in our Blessed Sacrament Chapel? What are you waiting for? An invitation? Consider this a personal invitation. The rewards are out of this world!
Have a good week.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fr. Hildebrand
Our Parish Home Visitation project has been reaping good fruit this month. We visited a Spanish speaking home on May 15 and an English speaking home on May 26. There were interesting conversations and questions; I was able to meet parishioners whom I had only seen briefly at Mass. If you live in the north Costa Mesa area you may want to schedule a visit at your home.The next home visit will take place on June 12 in the north central area of our parish. There is a subdivision with streets named after places in Ireland. It is bounded by the Baker St. on the south, Harbor Blvd on the west, Gisler Ave. on the north and Fairview Rd. on the east. The streets included are:
Gisler Ave.
Chemin de Fer, Deauville Pl.
Dublin St
Shamrock Ln.
Watson Ave.
Shannon Ln.
College Ave.
Galway Ln.
Killybrooke Ln.
Royce Ln.
Warren Ln.
Donnybrook Ln. Fernheath Ln.
Murray Ln.
Loren Ln.
Dorset Ln.
Stonefield Ct. McCormack Ln. Garlingford St.
Belfast Ave.
Conway Ave. Londonderry St.
Sharon Ln.
Limerick Ln.
Killarney Ln.
Kerry Ln.
Cork Ln.
Bray Ln.
Parnell Pl. Donegal Pl.
If you live on any of these streets, please call the rectory (714-540-2214) to find out the address of the host family and plan to join us for prayer, conversation, and light refreshments. You’ll be surprised how many fellow parishioners are your own neighbors!
Have you signed up for a holy hour with the Lord in our Blessed Sacrament Chapel? What are you waiting for? An invitation? Consider this a personal invitation. The rewards are out of this world!
Have a good week.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fr. Hildebrand
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Holy days of obligation
Dear Friends in Christ,
Holy days of obligation are really equal to Sunday in terms of the requirement to attend Mass. Unfortunately not everyone understands this. Of course we all go to Mass on Christmas, which is one of these holy days. Nevertheless, there are other days which have very high rank as solemn feast days and which are also days when we must attend Mass.
Over the past several years there have been some changes in laws regarding these holy days of obligation. I am providing you with this information so that you will have it for future reference.
The following brief description of Holy Days of Obligation in the dioceses of the United States of America is designed to provide some clarification:
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fr. Hildebrand
Holy days of obligation are really equal to Sunday in terms of the requirement to attend Mass. Unfortunately not everyone understands this. Of course we all go to Mass on Christmas, which is one of these holy days. Nevertheless, there are other days which have very high rank as solemn feast days and which are also days when we must attend Mass.Over the past several years there have been some changes in laws regarding these holy days of obligation. I am providing you with this information so that you will have it for future reference.
The following brief description of Holy Days of Obligation in the dioceses of the United States of America is designed to provide some clarification:
- January 1 (Mary, the Mother of God) is a day of obligation only when it falls on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, or Sunday. It is often dispensed in the Diocese of Orange.
- Ascension Thursday (for most of the United States) is observed on the Thursday of the sixth week of Easter, and is a day of obligation. In the western states, however, the solemnity is observed on the seventh Sunday of Easter, and the previous Thursday is not a day of obligation.
- August 15 (the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary) is a day of obligation only when it falls on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, or Sunday.
- November 1 (All Saints) is a day of obligation only when it falls on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, or Sunday.
- December 8 (Immaculate Conception) is always a day of obligation, except in years when December 8 falls on Sunday and the solemnity is observed on December 9.
- Christmas is always a day of obligation.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fr. Hildebrand
Saturday, May 09, 2009
"I am the vine, you are the branches"
Dear Friends in Christ,
Today is Thursday, May 7, 2009. In today’s Orange County Register the article about the swine flu is still not very optimistic. There has been progress in determining the origins of the virus, but the number of those infected has increased. As a result, we are continuing to suspend Communion from the cup until the danger to our children and parishioners is clearly past. However, the question arises: Are we being deprived of the fullness of Communion by receiving under the form of bread alone?
Most of us remember about 30 years ago when few if any parishes provided Com
munion from the cup. This was the common practice for centuries, especially after the Protestant Reformation. Many of the Protestants had begun to teach that Communion had to be distributed under both forms for it to be valid. The Church responded by explaining that the presence of Christ in the Eucharist did not depend upon the outward appearance but on the inward reality. This is true of all sacraments, which are outward signs instituted by Christ to give grace. The outward sign of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist is the bread and wine. When the priest says the words of consecration, This is my Body….This is the cup of my Blood, he is speaking on behalf of Christ Himself, in persona Christi, is the theological term. During the Eucharistic Prayer the bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of Christ. This change is very mysterious, but still very real. Many miracles of the Eucharist down through the centuries have confirmed the Church’s teaching that this is indeed the Body and Blood of Christ. The Church also explains how Christ is present in this Sacrament.
The creed tells us that after his resurrection Christ “ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father”. He is living in His glorified state, body, blood, soul, and divinity, the whole Christ perfectly sound. Therefore, his presence in the Eucharist cannot be divided. Therefore, when we say the Eucharistic bread has become the Body of Christ, His blood, soul, and divinity are also present by concomitance, that is by the very fact that He is one integral person in heaven’s glory. When we receive the Body of Christ we receive the whole Christ. When we receive the Blood of Christ we receive the whole Christ. When we receive under both species we receive the whole Christ.
At this time let us pray for those who are sick with the flu virus. Let us pray for an end to the spread of the disease. Above all, let us thank the Lord for the gift of the Eucharist, the bread of angels.
A very happy Mother’s Day to all of our mothers, both living and deceased. How grateful we are that they gave us life and the possibility of eternal life!
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fr. Hildebrand
Today is Thursday, May 7, 2009. In today’s Orange County Register the article about the swine flu is still not very optimistic. There has been progress in determining the origins of the virus, but the number of those infected has increased. As a result, we are continuing to suspend Communion from the cup until the danger to our children and parishioners is clearly past. However, the question arises: Are we being deprived of the fullness of Communion by receiving under the form of bread alone?
Most of us remember about 30 years ago when few if any parishes provided Com
munion from the cup. This was the common practice for centuries, especially after the Protestant Reformation. Many of the Protestants had begun to teach that Communion had to be distributed under both forms for it to be valid. The Church responded by explaining that the presence of Christ in the Eucharist did not depend upon the outward appearance but on the inward reality. This is true of all sacraments, which are outward signs instituted by Christ to give grace. The outward sign of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist is the bread and wine. When the priest says the words of consecration, This is my Body….This is the cup of my Blood, he is speaking on behalf of Christ Himself, in persona Christi, is the theological term. During the Eucharistic Prayer the bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of Christ. This change is very mysterious, but still very real. Many miracles of the Eucharist down through the centuries have confirmed the Church’s teaching that this is indeed the Body and Blood of Christ. The Church also explains how Christ is present in this Sacrament.The creed tells us that after his resurrection Christ “ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father”. He is living in His glorified state, body, blood, soul, and divinity, the whole Christ perfectly sound. Therefore, his presence in the Eucharist cannot be divided. Therefore, when we say the Eucharistic bread has become the Body of Christ, His blood, soul, and divinity are also present by concomitance, that is by the very fact that He is one integral person in heaven’s glory. When we receive the Body of Christ we receive the whole Christ. When we receive the Blood of Christ we receive the whole Christ. When we receive under both species we receive the whole Christ.
At this time let us pray for those who are sick with the flu virus. Let us pray for an end to the spread of the disease. Above all, let us thank the Lord for the gift of the Eucharist, the bread of angels.
A very happy Mother’s Day to all of our mothers, both living and deceased. How grateful we are that they gave us life and the possibility of eternal life!
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fr. Hildebrand
Sunday, May 03, 2009
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel
Dear Friends in Christ,Recently I visited Grade 2 in our school. I usually visit them before their First Communion to give them the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. I have found that many people don’t know about the scapular and so I thought I would dedicate this first letter of May to explain its meaning in our relationship to Mary. Like holy water, rosaries, and other religious objects, a scapular is a sacramental. The Catechism defines sacramentals as “sacred signs instituted by the Church. They prepare men to receive the fruit of the sacraments and sanctify different circumstances of life.”(§1677). Unlike Sacraments, which give grace just by the fact of being administered, sacramentals give grace according to the devotion of the person who uses them.
Scapulars are pieces of cloth worn around the neck and hanging down the front and back. They form part of the religious habit of different religious orders and come in different colors. For example, the scapular of the Norbertines is white, that of the Benedictines is black. The brown scapular belongs to the Carmelite Order and has an interesting history.
The Carmelites are especially devoted to the Virgin Mary under her title Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. In 1251 St. Simon Stock, an English Carmelite, received the brown scapular from Our Lady. She encouraged all those devoted to her to wear it and so the religious men and women of the Carmelite Order have the large brown scapular as part of their habit. However, for those lay persons who wish to benefit from the devotion to Our Lady by wearing her scapular, a much smaller version was developed that can be worn under ordinary clothing. This smaller version consists of two small squares of brown cloth with an image of Our Lady on one of them. These two squares are joined by two cords or string that make it easily worn around the neck.
A person who wears the brown scapular must first be enrolled and receive the blessed scapular from a priest. Any priest has the faculty to bless and impose the brown scapular.
Once enrolled, a person enjoys the spiritual benefits of the Carmelite Order and wears the scapular as a sign of his/her devotion to Our Lady. If the scapular is lost or wears out the person need not go through another enrollment but may simply replace the scapular.
In 1917 when Our Lady appeared to the three children at Fatima she especially encouraged people to wear the brown scapular. She promised that those who wear it faithfully and with true devotion would not suffer eternal punishment. This great promise holds as long as a person truly remains devoted to Our Lady and lives a good Catholic Christian life.
May God bless you and Our Lady protect you always.
Fr. Hildebrand
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