The famous Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky said, “Love in action is a harsh and dreadful thing.” In the Gospel reading this week, Jesus does something harsh and dreadful — he watches his own disciples abandon him. What could possibly be loving about that?
Well, we notice the context is Jesus’ teaching about eating and drinking his body and blood. His followers hear this and say, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” (John 6:60). We shouldn’t imagine we’d do anything different, because not even the ones who stay, like Peter, seem to understand what Jesus is saying. Then we hear this devastating line, “Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him” (John 6:66). Besides the night of the Last Supper, only now do Jesus’ disciples abandon him. And, painfully, Jesus just lets them go.
The best way to make sense out of this is love. Jesus is God’s love in action. He wants to become one with those whom He loves. He wants to love them as His own body. Yes, the oneness manifested in the Eucharist sounds harsh and dreadful because it is rooted in love which is willing to risk abandonment and separation to attain its goal: to be one body with the beloved. It is both terrifying and wonderful that Jesus will risk losing us in order to be one with us. Our response? Lord, we cannot grasp a love so great, but please help us never to abandon it, either. — Father John Muir ©LPi
Welcome
Welcome to our Eucharistic Celebration on this Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time.
The intentions of this Mass are for all those in our special intention basket and...
Please stand for our procession.
Mass Intentions
Saturday, August 24
5:00 PM
Loraine Stolaroff • †
Maria Tolentino • †
Lilian Ileto • †
Fe Ea • †
Rigoberto Brambila • †
Caesar Chan • †
Casey Galang • †
Maria Magdalena Barranco • †
Ingrid Chica • Health
Wilbert Arias • Health
Ruben Delgadillo • Health
Maria Ortiz • Health
Sunday, August 25
6:00 AM
Pilar Maldonado • †
Familia Ramos-Garcia • Thanksgiving
10:45 PM
Mariano Novenario • †
Renato Lorenzana • †
12:30 PM
Alejandro Lopez • †
Fernando Lopez • †
Maria Figueroa • †
Alma Camillia • Salud
Universal Prayer (Petitions)
A. For the Church, that we may be one as Christ is one, that Christians of every tribe may work to unite as a single body of Christ, let us pray to the Lord.
B. For leaders in government, business, and labor, that they may work to build consensus among the people they represent in their efforts to make the world a better place for all, let us pray to the Lord.
C. For married couples, that their loving bond may be a sign to all of the value of a lasting commitment, let us pray to the Lord.
D. For family, friends, and neighbors who find it difficult to put God’s word into practice and to accompany Jesus to the cross, that they will be inspired by our word and example, let us pray to the Lord.
Fr. Arturo Mass
E. For all the prayers that we hold in the silence of our hearts; for all our intentions spoken and unspoken, let us pray to the Lord.
Fr. Kamil’s & Fr. Everardo’s Mass
E. For all the prayers that we hold in the silence of our hearts; for all our intentions spoken and unspoken, and for (read all intentions from 1st page), let us pray to the Lord.
Announcements
1. Thanks to you, we have exceeded our Called to Renew goal and currently have $286,000 in donations. We received $20,000 in donations during the month of July. We are thankful for your generosity.
2. Our Parish Religious Education program would like to share good news with you. This fall, more than 600 children and teenagers are enrolled to our program with the desire to learn more about Jesus and the Catholic faith. By becoming a faith formation catechist, you can help them learn and grow in faith. If you feel the call in your heart to serve and help, please stop by the Parish Center and leave your information, and our team will contact you this week.
3. We thank Lighthouse Mortuary for sponsoring our bulletin; their information can be found on the last page of our bulletin. If you have a business and would like to sponsor our weekly bulletin, you can call the phone number at the bottom of the last page.
