PARISH LENTEN MISSION

Fr. Raymond Bueno, O.C.D., will give a Lenten Parish Mission in St. Therese from Monday, March 31, through Thursday, April 3.  His topic will be “St. Therese: The Centennial of Her Canonization."  The schedule for the four nights is:

7:00 p.m.: Celebration of Mass

7:45 p.m.: Fr. Raymond's Talk

8:30 to 9:30 p.m.: Holy Hour

On Wednesday, April 2, confessions will be heard at 7:45 p.m. during Fr. Raymond's talk.  Be sure to take advantage of this opportunity of grace. 

    

THE MYSTERY OF THE CHURCH" CLASSES

Fr. Stephen’s next class in this series will be on Tuesday, March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation.  The topic will be “MARY, MOTHER OF THE CHURCH.” “By reason of the gift and role of divine maternity, by which she is united with her Son, the Redeemer, and with His singular graces and functions, the Blessed Virgin is also intimately united with the Church. As St. Ambrose taught, the Mother of God is a type of the Church in the order of faith, charity and perfect union with Christ. For, in the mystery of the Church, which is itself rightly called mother and virgin, the Blessed Virgin stands out in eminent and singular fashion as exemplar both of virgin and mother” (Lumen Gentium 63). 

  

 MAKE REPARATION TO THE SACRED HEART! 

   

You are invited to come to the church for a weekly Holy Hour of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus  EVERY FRIDAY from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. in the church. (Click on the first image above to enlarge it for easy reading; click on the second image to take you to a site where you can purchase the booklet that will be used during the holy hour. However, there are probably enough available copies for you to use one from the church).

 

 A PASTOR'S RESPONSE TO FIDUCIA SUPPLICANS

 

My Dear Parishioners of St. Therese:  

I want to address the recent document from The Holy See on the blessing of couples in irregular or same-sex relationships. Before proceeding, let it be said that it’s good for all of us to read the actual document and then read good commentaries on the document so that we’re not forming our opinions on false or misleading reporting. Doing so will also give us greater peace of mind and conviction to pray for our Church leaders. Below, I have provided links to the Vatican document along with three commentaries to aid you in this endeavor. They are all very thoughtful, fair, and critical—yet not mean-spirited.

DOCUMENT:

https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_ddf_doc_20231218_fiducia-supplicans_en.html

1) https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2023/12/the-cost-of-making-a-mess

2) https://catholicherald.co.uk/fiducia-supplicans-an-exercise-in-smoke-and-mirrors-where-spin-becomes-substance-and-appearance-reality/

3) https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2023/12/23/fiducia-supplicans-appears-to-have-failed-spectacularly/

The first commentary is from Archbishop Emeritus Charles Chaput, the former Ordinary of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. One especially insightful excerpt from his essay reads: “The document is a doubleminded exercise in simultaneously affirming and undercutting Catholic teaching on the nature of blessings and their application to ‘irregular’ relationships. And it was quickly interpreted as a significant change in Church practice.”

The second article makes an important distinction between doctrine and practice: “The Vatican….has set out to appear to change the Church’s teaching without in fact changing it. The distinction is achieved by changing the practice but not the principle. Orthodoxy remains untarnished, but orthopraxy—correct practice and worship—has been subverted.”

I encourage you to read these articles along with The Holy See document so that you can formulate for yourselves an educated opinion. My personal synthesis of what I’ve read on this topic leads me to conclude that no matter how much Fiducia Supplicans reaffirms the teaching of the Church on marriage and the inability to bless sin, the actual practice of giving blessings to couples in irregular or same-sex relationships by its very action sends the opposite message, thus leading to more confusion and pastoral abuse. In spite of this, I want to encourage each of us not to allow this poorly conceived and executed document to rattle our faith as it does not change the perennial teaching of the Church on the sanctity of marriage between one man and one woman. More than anything, it should impel us even more to pray for our leaders. 

—Fr. Peter Mary, O.C.D. 

HEALING PRAYER MINISTRY 

  

“O Lord, my God, I cried out to you for help and you healed me!”    -Psalm 30:3  

The Healing Prayer Ministry of St. Therese Church provides personal prayer for the Parish community.  You can find them after the Monday evening Mass (7:15 p.m.) in the church. They also offer private in-person sessions, phone sessions, and are available for outside events. Come and join! Thank you for your support! For more info, email hpmStc1@gmail.com.  

FIVE FIRST SATURDAYS 

Mark your calendar for the next First Saturday: March 1, 2025, to honor Our Lady of Fatima. On that day, join us to pray the Rosary and meditate for 15 minutes after the 8:00 a.m. Mass! For any questions, please contact Maria Alejandra at (626) 993-4236.

 

FORMED: CATHOLIC FAITH ON DEMAND

  

St. Therese Church has purchased a parish subscription to the Catholic media website, FORMED.ORG, for the benefit of ALL of you!  Discover all the best Catholic content in one place:  Entertaining movies, enlightening programs, inspiring talks, audio dramas, and a great selection of popular e-books--all just a link away!  To register, click on the image above.  Then, enter St. Therese Church, Alhambra, CA, click on it when you see it, and then enter your name and your email address--and get started enjoying all they have to offer! Click HERE to sign up.

 

CALLED TO RENEW 

 

Thank you to everyone who made a five-year pledge or a one-time donation to the Called to Renew campaign. (To go to the website, click HERE.)

For those who pledged, depending upon what time period you selected, you will receive notices in the mail every month, every quarter, or every year reminding you of your pledge.  The monies collected will allow St. Therese Parish to renovate our facilities. Fifty percent (50%) of all funds raised up to our goal will remain with our parish to address the following needs:  

• Church interior renovations  

• Painting the church Interior  

•Repairing the stained glass windows  

•Repairing the church’s tile roof  

•Repairing / updating the lighting/wiring  

•Repairing our school classrooms and parish offices (built over 70 years ago!)  

 

VIDEOS OF THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

FR. ED BROOM, OMV,  gave four talks at St. Therese on The Acts of the Apostles. Click the picture above to watch them on our YouTube channel. The first one was recorded on May 5, 2022. 

VIDEOS OF THE SPIRITUAL EXERCISES OF ST. IGNATIUS

During February through April, 2022, Fr. Ed Broom, OMV, was here at St. Therese to give ten talks on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius.  The talks were all recorded, and you may view them by clicking the above picture.  You will be taken to the page with the links to each talk and to the accompanying handouts for each talk.  (Note: Once you are on that page, you may have to scroll down until you find the same picture you see above.)  

 

 

"24 HOURS FOR THE LORD"

Adoration, Prayer, Confession

 

From FRIDAY morning, March 28, to SATURDAY morning, March 29, this special devotion will be held in St. Therese Church. It will begin on that Friday at approximately 9:15 a.m. (immediately following the Stations of the Cross--which follow the 8:00 a.m. Mass). At that time, we will expose the Blessed Sacrament and begin Adoration and Confessions until the 8:00 a.m. Mass on Saturday, March 29. It will be taking place at churches throughout the world.  

St. Therese Church has been selected as the church for all the parishioners from all the churches in Deanery 10 of the Archdiocese of L.A. Parishioners from the other 18 churches in our deanery will be joining us throughout that 24-hour period on the above days. Priests from the different churches will also be here to hear confessions. Please welcome all of the priests and people! 

PARISH LENTEN MISSION

Fr. Raymond Bueno, O.C.D., will give a Lenten Parish Mission in St. Therese from Monday, March 31, through Thursday, April 3.  His topic will be “St. Therese: The Centennial of Her Canonization. 

On each of those four evenings, Fr. Raymond will celebrate Mass at 7:00 p.m., give his talk at 7:45 p.m., and hold a Holy Hour from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. Be sure to take advantage of this opportunity of grace. 

SOUP NIGHTS & STATIONS:

Soup Nights are held every Friday of Lent from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. in the Hall.  The remaining sponsors are:  March 21: Lay Missionaries of Charity/the Margaret Blackwell Family/Guadalupe Pregnancy Services; March 28: the Flame of Love; April 4: Deus Vocat|40 Days for Life|Vox Vitae; April 11: Retrouvaille Marriage Ministry. SThat you to our previous nights' sponsors: Saint Therese Carmelite School and the Knights of Columbus.  Soup Night is followed each Friday by Stations of the Cross in the Church at 7:00 p.m. On the next First Friday on April 4, Mass will follow the Stations. A free-will offering will be accepted each of the evenings to support that evening's sponsoring ministry or group.

 

VOCATION APOSTOLATE

Deus Vocat  invites you to help us in supporting TWELVE CANDIDATES who are discerning God’s call to a religious vocation. It is such as these our Apostolate supports. You are also invited to join Deus Vocat every Thursday at 8:00 p.m. in the Lisieux Room (in the Parish Office building, 510 North El Molino Street) to pray for vocations.

For more info, please contact: Francisco Alcala at (323) 497-4951 or Marcela Alcala at (626) 940-4899 | marcelafigalcala@gmail.com. God Bless You!

 

NEW! CARMELITE VOCATIONS NEWSLETTER FOR FALL 2024

 

Click on the picture above to read Fr. Matthias Lambrecht's latest newsletter (Fall 2024) about those discerning a vocation with the Carmelites (Fr. Matthias is the Vocation Director).  These vocations need your prayers as they continue their formation and discernment!  Offer your Masses and Holy Communions for them and pray for them before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.  God bless you!

 

 FOR SALE: CENTENNIAL T-SHIRTS, HOODIES, ETC. 

Click the picture above to place an order.  

 INTERVIEW BY TERRY BARBER ABOUT SAINT THERESE CARMELITE SCHOOL

Alma Cornejo, Principal of St. Therese Carmelite School, and former pastor, Fr. Thomas Koller, join Terry to discuss the definition and importance of a “classical” Catholic education in these most trying of times when our children are targets of an increasingly secular and amoral society. If you have school-aged children, take a look!  Just click on the picture above to access the video.

 

 PRAYER BEFORE RECEIVING HOLY COMMUNION

O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, who according to the will of the Father and with the cooperation of the Holy Spirit hast by Thy death given life unto the world, I adore and revere this Thy holy Body and this Thy holy Blood which was given over and poured forth for the many unto the remission of sins. O merciful Lord, I beg of Thy mercy that through the power of this sacrament Thou wilt make me one of that many. Through faith and love make me feel the power of these sacraments so I may experience their saving power. Absolve and free from all sin and punishment of sin Thy servants, Thy handmaidens, myself, all who have confessed their sins to me, those whom I have promised or am obliged to pray for, and so too those who themselves hope or beg to be helped by my prayers with Thee. Make our Church rejoice in Thy constant protection and consolation. Amen.    

ONLINE GIVING  

  Enroll Today!   

Through Faith Direct you can make all of your contributions to St. Therese Church via automatic payment from your checking account or credit card--just as you may do now with your mortgage, household bills, and other monthly payments.  This is a great way to simplify your giving--as well as being very cost-effective and environmentally-friendly.  Of course, it's voluntary!  The first step is to enroll in the program.  To do so, click on the picture logo above.  You will then be taken to the Faith Direct website.  During your enrollment, you may choose from weekly donations, monthly donations, school donations, special collection donations, or one-time gifts.  To watch an instructional video, go to the Online Giving link (next to the HOME page link at the top of the page).  Thank you for your donations to St. Therese! May God bless you!

 SAINT THERESE CARMELITE SCHOOL VIDEOS

Watch the video, "THE BEST SCHOOL IN THE WORLD"--ONE OF ONLY TWO SCHOOLS IN THE L.A. ARCHDIOCES USING A CLASSICAL CURRICULUM (click on the photo below to view it): 

WATCH "LITTLE THINGS," by clicking on the photo below:  

Watch "CLASSICAL NEVER GOES OUT OF STYLE," by clicking on the photo below:  

 

Watch a short film, "THE VEIL REMOVED" (When Heaven Meets Earth), by clicking on the photo below:

Watch this CARMELITE VOCATION VIDEO by clicking on the photo below (features friars you know and love!)