A friend invited me to an invitation-only wine-tasting event. There were over two hundred varieties of wine. Having no idea how to approach such a massive selection, I wandered aimlessly among the tables, sipping this and that. At the end of the evening my friend asked if I had tried some of the exceptionally expensive wines. I hadn’t. “The really good stuff disappears first,” he said. “My man, you missed out on some amazing vino.” I was so disappointed. I wasted my chance for amazing once-in-a-lifetime wine. The wine I tasted was, well, blah.
Don’t we often feel a similar disappointment in life? I missed this or that opportunity. If only I had known. Optimism sputters and fades. The glory days are gone. The chances, it seems, for the really great things in life come and go so quickly. Then they are gone forever. The good stuff goes first. Then life is just blah.
Not so with the Lord Jesus. In Jesus’ miracle at the wedding at Cana, the steward of the feast says, “Everyone serves good wine first, and then…an inferior one” (John 2:10). That’s the natural downward progression of life. The good stuff disappears quickly. But he says of the groom (who symbolizes Jesus), “But you have kept the good wine until now.” This is the ever-improving trajectory of the realm of God’s grace. With Jesus, the “good wine” of divine love, hope and peace gets better as our journey of faith progresses. Where are your greatest disappointments? Don’t give in to the lie that the really good stuff is gone. Tell Jesus you’ve run out. Then learn how to taste that amazingly good wine, because he saves the best until now. — Father John Muir ©LPi
Welcome
Welcome to our Eucharistic Celebration on this Second 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, January 18
5:00 PM
Hector Orozco • †
David Wallin • †
Conception Velasquez • †
John Henry Comitz • †
Ruperta Esguerra • †
Leroy Scranton • †
Antonio y Alfonso Orozco• †
10:45 AM
Chiamaka Igwebuike • Prayer
Ugonna Igwebuike • Prayer
John Henry Comitz • †
Leo Dan • †
Roberto Mayorga Sr. • †
Luis Ruben Hernandez • †
Clarita Cabrera • †
Rosalia Sanchez Aquino • †
12:30 PM
Annamma Thomas • †
Rucky Hsiao • †
Universal Prayer (Petitions)
A. For the Church, that we may all discern the gifts the Holy Spirit has blessed us with and use those gifts in service of our brothers and sisters, manifesting the Spirit through our actions, let us pray to the Lord.
B. For our country, as we remember Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr., that we may ever work to bend the arc of the moral universe toward justice, let us pray to the Lord.
C. May we strive to embody Jesus’ promise of comfort for those who mourn for all who are grieving the loss of loved ones, homes, and livelihoods because of the wildfires, let us pray to the Lord.
D. For those who have recently married or are now preparing for marriage, that their love may be a sign of the love God has for us, let us pray to the Lord.
Announcements
1. Today we have a second collection in support the Church in Africa and Latin America. The Solidarity Fund supports pastoral projects to build the capacity of the Church and foster lasting peace and reconciliation across a continent often marked by division and tension.
2. Thanks to you, we have exceeded our Called to Renew goal and currently have $373,000 in donations. We received 9,000 dollars in donations during the month of December. Half of all donations are sent to the Archdiocese where they will invest in lower income Parishes. We are thankful for your generosity.
3. Father Gus and the Amor Por Teco foundation is having a clothes and shoe drive today Sunday, January 19 from 8am and 4pm in our school parking lot.
4. The Parish office will be closed on Monday, January 20 in observance of Martin Luther King. We will celebrate our daily masses at 8am and 5pm, but there will be no confessions or exposition of the Blessed Sacrament.
5. We thank general contractor Edgar Amaral and his company 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.
