My parents’ garage is full of old junk that no longer serves any purpose in my life. As a 46-year-old man, I admit that’s pretty lame. Either due to my sentimentality or laziness (or both, probably), I just couldn’t get myself to throw things away. But a few days ago, by a grace of God, I thought: “I’ll hire my nephew Ryan to throw a bunch of my stuff away — he couldn’t care less about my junk!” And you know what? It worked. In one day, Ryan chucked the majority of his uncle’s useless stuff. I feel so free, ready for a new junk-free chapter in my life.
This kind of thing happens in this Sunday’s Gospel. Peter’s net is full of useless junk. Luke says he and the others are cleaning their nets after catching no fish. Imagine them dejectedly and impatiently removing a nasty assortment of seaweed, sticks and muck. The Lord teaches and calls them once their nets are cleared out. So it goes with us. Spiritual life begins by removing that which is useless and merely taking up space in our hearts, minds and lives. Then Jesus teaches and acts in a marvelous way in our lives, too.
So what’s junking up your net? What habits, attachments, possessions, preoccupations? If, like me, you struggle to clean your nets by yourself, ask the Lord to send you someone like my nephew to be your “Peter” and help you clean it out. It is well worth it. Once Peter’s net is clean, he is free to make a wonderful catch. — Father John Muir ©LPi
General Mass Notes
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Welcome
Welcome to our Eucharistic Celebration on this Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.
The intentions of this Mass are for all those in our special intention basket and...
Please stand for our procession.
Mass Intentions
Saturday, February 8
5:00 PM
Fausta Santua • †
Angelita Bernardo • †
Rosa Sawal • †
Charity Villarina • †
Fayez Kafieh • †
Sunday, February 9
6:00 AM
Pilar Maldonado • †
10:45 AM
Francisco & Patricia Lopez • †
Lorena Amesola • †
12:30 PM
Alma Camellia • Health
Lizeth Leaños • Birthday
Diego Lidzbarski • Birthday
Universal Prayer (Petitions)
A. For the Church, that we may faithfully carry out the mission Jesus left us, preaching the Good News to those in need, calling sinners to repentance, and inviting people of good will to respond to Jesus’ call, let us pray to the Lord.
B. For world leaders, that they may embrace the ideals of justice and peace within their nations and with their neighbors, let us pray to the Lord.
C. For married couples, that they may be ever strengthened in their commitment to each other, let us pray to the Lord.
D. For those suffering from relationships that are damaged or have broken down, that they may find the support and understanding they need, let us pray to the Lord.
Announcements
1. Thanks to you, we have exceeded our Called to Renew goal and currently have $384,000 in donations. We received 11,000 dollars in donations during the month of January. Half of all donations are sent to the Archdiocese where they will invest in lower income Parishes. We are thankful for your generosity.
2. We thank Jose Luis Bedolla and his company Thunder Electric 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.
