March 22, 2015 – Fifth Sunday of Lent
CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY
A praying, learning and caring Catholic community
MISSION STATEMENT
We are a praying, learning and caring community
fulfilling the mission God gives us in baptism
by our worship in faith, by our witness in hope and by our service in love.
Praying through the Sacraments,
Learning through Religious Education,
Caring through Pastoral Care.
Father Lawrence M. Purcell, Pastor
[email protected]; 858-756-1911, ext. 4
Deacon Jim Walsh
[email protected]; 858-367-0114
Parish Office Mailing Address: Post Office Box 8770
Nativity School Mailing Address: Post Office Box 9180
6309 El Apajo Road
Rancho Santa Fe, California 92067
(858) 756-1911; FAX: (858) 756-9562; www.nativitycatholic.org
Page Two
Church of the Nativity
March 22, 2015
Fifth Sunday of Lent
I will place my law within them
and write it upon their hearts;
I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
-- Jeremiah 31:33
Ú3
: 4 H
Please join us in singing the Psalm Response:
Cre
-
G
ate
H
a
H
clean
heart
REFLECTING ON GOD’S WORD
One of the earliest pictures of Jesus I can remember
portrayed him at prayer in the garden of Gethsemane. I
still see his hands, clasped tight. They spoke to me of an
inner struggle long before I knew about his words,
“Father, all things are possible to you. Take this cup away
from me, but not what I will but what you will” (Mark
14:36). More than any other scene in the Gospels, this
one brought home what it meant to say Jesus was truly
man.
Today’s Gospel has been called John’s version of the
agony in the garden. The word agony (agonia in Greek)
means struggle, and we can hear the struggle in Jesus’
awareness that “the hour” he has spoken of before in
John’s Gospel, beginning at Cana, has finally arrived. It is
the hour of his being lifted up—the hour of both his glory
and his crucifixion. It is why he came into the world, and
yet we hear him say, “I am troubled.” We hear him
wrestling with himself, asking for release from the hour,
but then recognizing that it holds “the purpose for which I
came.”
Hebrews affirms this when it says “he offered prayers and
supplications with loud cries and tears to the one able to
save him from death, and he was heard because of his
reverence” (5:7). He was able to bear the suffering and
become the source of eternal salvation for all who listen
to him and follow in his steps.
—James A. Wallace, C.Ss.R.
Copyright © 2014, World Library Publications. All rights reserved.
H
H
G
in
me,
ÚH
O
G
God.
REFLEXIONEMOS SOBRE
LA PALABRA DE DIOS
Una de las imágenes más antiguas de Jesús que
recuerdo es donde está orando en el huerto de
Getsemaní. Aún veo sus manos juntas y apretadas, que
me expresaron una lucha interior mucho antes de que yo
conociera sus palabras: “Padre, todo te es posible.
Aparta de mí este cáliz de amargura. Pero no se haga
como yo quiero, sino como quieres tú” (Marcos 14:36).
Más que ninguna otra escena de los evangelios, ésta fue
la que mejor me dejó claro lo que significa decir que
Jesús fue verdaderamente hombre.
Al Evangelio de hoy se le ha llamado la versión de Juan
de la agonía en el huerto. La palabra agonía en griego
significa lucha, y bien claro podemos escuchar la lucha
de Jesús al estar consciente de que “la hora” de la cual él
había hablado antes en el Evangelio de Juan,
comenzando en Caná, había llegado por fin. Es la hora
en la que él sería elevado —la hora de su gloria y
también de su crucifixión. Para eso vino a este mundo y
sin embargo lo oímos decir: “Me muero de tristeza”. Lo
escuchamos luchar consigo mismo pidiendo que pase
esa hora, pero en seguida reconoció: “He venido
precisamente para aceptar esta hora”.
La carta a los hebreos afirma esto cuando dice que
“Cristo presentó oraciones y súplicas con grandes gritos y
lágrimas al que podía salvarlo de la muerte, fue
escuchado en atención a su actitud reverente” (5:7). Le
fue posible sobrellevar los sufrimientos y convertirse en la
fuente de la salvación eterna para todos los que le
escuchan y siguen sus pasos.
—James A. Wallace, C.Ss.R.
LIVING GOD’S WORD
Loving God, give us a new heart in these final days of Lent, a heart that carries within it
your loving imprint, that we may always know your will and yield to it, even when it calls for
a dying of some kind. In such dying, may we trust that you will bring forth new life.
Copyright © 2014, World Library Publications. All rights reserved.
Page Three
Church of the Nativity
March 22, 2015
Lenten Penance Service
Monday, March 23rd at 7 pm
Do you get the feeling while reading about or watching world events that the media both the left/liberal and the
right/conservative play on people’s instinctive attraction to bad news? That can lead to despair and fear.
Many people – maybe even most - feel the same about sin.
But God’s grace, by contrast, nourishes hope.
Faith in Christ trumps compulsions.
Think, for example, of the
triumph of hope over despair
in the sacrament of reconciliation.
As we prepare for the simple and peaceful penance liturgy this Monday,
I suggest that we reflect on the what and the why of the sacrament.
WHAT “Confession” Is
# 1 = Admitting sin. This is the toughest part. The first step toward a life change always is. We come before the
priest and say something like “bless me, father, for I have sinned.”
# 2 = Sorrow. The priest may ask you: “Are you sorry?” You respond: “Yes.” Sorrow for sin is not an emotional
feeling. Contrition is not feeling regret. We actually might not feel bad at all about what we’ve done! Contrition or
sorrow for sin follows from admitting wrong doing. It is the determination to change.
# 3 = Naming the sin. All successful steps of recovery from addictive behavior call for “telling it like it is.” The
very act of our coming to the penance service is telling the whole world that I need and want to change something in
my life. We all know from experience that getting the wrongdoing out of our system by actually telling someone –
in the sacrament, the priest, who represents Christ and the Church – works!
# 4 = Accepting forgiveness. You often hear me say “God forgives us just for the asking. That’s the easy part. The
hard part is our accepting God’s forgiveness.” In this sacrament, we hear the words of absolution.
# 5 = Doing the penance. We complete the sacrament by following through with our good intentions. The priest
may suggest prayers to say or acts of charity to do. In this way, we add action to our words of sorrow.
WHY Go To Confession?
Watch your thoughts, they become words.
Watch your words, they become actions.
Watch your actions, they become habits.
Watch your habits, they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.
God bless you – Fr. Lawrence Purcell, Pastor
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Church of the Nativity
March 22, 2015
MASS INTENTIONS
MARCH 21 — MARCH 27
SATURDAY
5:00 pm
Jer 31:31-34; Ps 51:3-4, 12-15; Heb 5:7-9;
Jn 12:20-33
For All Parishioners
SUNDAY
7:30 am
Lois Peterson, RIP
9:00 am
Uruburu Family, Special Intention
10:30 am
Nancy Colosi, RIP
MONDAY
8:00 am
Dn 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62 [41c-62];
Ps 23:1-6; Jn 8:1-11
Anthony J. Rippo, M.D., RIP
TUESDAY
8:00 am
Nm 21:4-9; Ps 102:2-3, 16-21; Jn 8:21-30
Josh Broyles, Special Intention
WEDNESDAY
8:00 am
Is 7:10-14; 8:10; Ps 40:7-11; Heb 10:4-10;
Lk 1:26-38
Sheila Schooler, RIP
THURSDAY
8:00 am
Gn 17:3-9; Ps 105:4-9: Jn 8:51-59
Helen “Heidi” Forchette, RIP
FRIDAY
8:00 am
Jer 20:10-13; Ps 18:2-7; Jn 10:31-42
Robert Trzos, RIP
LOVE AND DEATH
Unhappy is death
without the love of the Savior;
unhappy is love
without the death of the Savior.
—St. Francis de Sales
TODAY’S READINGS
First Reading — I will make a new covenant; I will write
my law upon their hearts (Jeremiah 31:31-34) or Ezekiel
37:12-14.
Psalm — Create a clean heart in me, O God (Psalm 51)
or Psalm 130.
Second Reading — Christ learned obedience and became the source of eternal salvation (Hebrews 5:7-9) or
Romans 8:8-11.
Gospel — If a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies,
it produces much fruit (John 12:20-33) or
John 11:1-45 [3-7, 17, 20-27, 33b-45].
During Lent, the church is prayerfully silent before
Mass, after which we begin with a Lenten Procession, in
which the response Be merciful, O Lord, for we have
sinned is repeated between verses of Psalm 51.
The Offertory is by Malcolm Archer: God be in my
head, and in my understanding. God be in my eyes, and
in my looking. God be in my mouth, and in my speaking;
God be in my heart, and in my thinking; God be at my
end, and at my departing. The text is from a Medieval
Book of Hours, an illuminated manuscript of prayers and
psalms for Catholic worship and devotion.
The Communion at 7:30 and 9 begins with a motet by
the Spanish composer Tomás Luis de Victoria, born at
Avila, in old Castile in 1549. In 1564 he went to Rome to
join the monastery founded by St. Ignatius Loyola as part
of the struggle against Lutheranism. In 1575 he was
ordained and returned to Spain in 1586 in the service of
Empress Maria, who was entering the convent of
Descalzas Reales (Convent of the Royal Barefoot Nuns)
in Madrid. Victoria remained there until the end of his life,
performing several roles - priest, composer, director of
the choir, and organist. He is considered the most
significant composer of the Counter-Reformation in
Spain, and one of the most well-regarded composers of
sacred music in the late Renaissance, a genre he
devoted himself to exclusively before his death in Madrid
in 1611. The text is: Truly, our failings he has taken upon
himself and our sorrows he has borne. By his wounds we
have been saved. O sweet wood, O sweet nails that bore
this sweet burden which alone were worthy to support the
King of Heaven and Lord.
The second piece at 9 is by the priest and musician
Franz Xaver Witt (1834-1888) who founded the Cecilia
Society to revive the use of Gregorian chant and promote
the composition of new liturgical music in an older style.
The text is: I will meditate on your commandments, which
I have loved exceedingly: and I will lift up my hands to
your commandments which I have loved.
The third piece is A New Blessing by Mark T. Deen.
The Communion at 10:30 begins with the Witt
Meditabor (above) and continues with a setting of Vexilla
regis by Anton Bruckner (1824-1896). The original text
was written by the poet and hymnodist of the Merovingian
Court, Bishop Venantius Fortunatus (530-609) for a
procession in honor of the arrival of a large relic of the
True Cross which had been sent to the Thuringian
princess and Frankish queen Radegunda by the Emperor
Justin II. Queen Radegunda had retired to a convent she
had built near Poitiers and was seeking out relics for the
church there. To help celebrate the arrival of the relic, the
Queen asked Fortunatus to write a hymn for its
procession to the church. The verse is usually translated
as ‘The Royal Banners forward go’ but the meaning is
closer to ‘The banners of the King advance, the cross
glimmers mysteriously; life endured death upon it that life
might be found."
Page Five
Church of the Nativity
21 Meal
Emergency Box
Program
“Senior Food-for-a-Week”
Saturday & Sunday Mass Collections
March 14 & 15 and March 21 & 22
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
Food Drive Items Needed:
13 oz. can Chicken Breast packed in Water
15 oz. can Chili with Meat or Beef Stew
6 oz. can Light Chunk Tuna packed in Water
18 oz. Creamy Peanut Butter Jars in Plastic Jar
24 oz. can Spaghetti Sauce with Meat
Please …. No expired food, no glass containers,
no sizes larger than listed above, no perishable food
items, no opened, dented or unlabeled items. All food
must be in sealed cans, boxes or plastic packages
and brought to the Parish Commons. Thank You!
For more information:
www.theangelsdepot.org (Food Page)
The Angel’s Depot: 760-599-7093
Sadly, 50,000 seniors live in poverty
in San Diego County.
Average Expenses Per Week:
$ 22,166
Last Weekend’s Offering:
$20,548*
March 22, 2015
Save the Date!
A Gathering in Appreciation
of Father Purcell
Friday, June 26th
Reception 5 — 8 pm
To be held at the
Holy Family Activity Center
Church of the Nativity
Details to Follow
For more information, please contact
Nicole Steele 858-756-1911
[email protected]
Adult Bible Study
Gospel of Mark
Join us for a 10 week Study on the
Gospel of Mark which leads us from
Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan to the
climatic announcement of his resurrection to the women
at the tomb. Mark asks everyone to answer Jesus'
question, "Who do you say that I am?"
Bring your bible and a friend and join us on:
Monday Mornings 9:15- 11:00 a.m. in the Commons
Active Parishioners
Inactive Parishioners
Envelope Usage
1186
53
801
March 30 to June 15, 2015
(No Study on Monday, April 6th)
Questions? Please call Kathy Klink 858-756-1328
Please pray for our benefactors who include
Nativity in their wills and remainder trusts.
* This amount includes those contributing through the
Faith Direct program.
You may now make a contribution to Nativity Parish online at www.faithdirect.net.
Those who enroll can log on to the secure website of Faith Direct at any time to
view their account, make changes and make special gifts. For assistance or
information email: [email protected].
FAITH DIRECT - A NOTE FROM THE PASTOR
THE NATIVITY SCHOOL
Do you often find yourself without your checkbook or envelope on
Sunday morning? Join the many parishioners who have already
enrolled in Faith Direct for automated giving to Church of the
Nativity. Faith Direct is secure and convenient, and will provide you with
an offertory card to place in the basket during the collections. There is
no cost to you, and the program provides a great benefit to our parish.
A Catholic education makes a difference in Faith
traditions and values practiced.
Sign up today by visiting www.faithdirect.net
Our parish code is CA288
Please consider using Faith Direct today
Come see how The Nativity School
embraces the Catholic tradition for excellence.
Applications for Preschool – 3rd grade welcomed!
For a private tour with principal, Mrs. Heveron,
please call (858) 756-6763
Page Eight
Church of the Nativity
LORD'S DAY MASS SCHEDULE
Saturday Vigil: 5:00 pm
Sunday: 7:30, 9:00 & 10:30 am
RCIA and Youth Minister: Mike James,
[email protected], 858-756-1911, ext. 5
Religious Education: Patti Smiley,
[email protected], 858-756-1911, ext. 6
Music Director: Paul Batchelor,
[email protected], 858-756-1911, ext. 102
The Nativity School: Margaret Heveron, Principal
[email protected], 858-756-6763
Bookkeeper: Jackie Marin,
[email protected], 858-756-6763
Administrative Assistant: Nicole Carlin Steele,
[email protected], 858-756-1911
Office Hours: Monday - Friday
8:30 am to 2:30 pm
Pastoral Council: Carl Bobkoski, Jane Boler, Kevin Flanagan,
Cindy Hesse, Mimi Johnson, Kathy Klink.
Finance Council: Jeff Brandon, Chair
Michael Conway, Chic Dohoney, Jim LaGrossa,
Catherine Lorenz, Earl Parker, Carolyn Wilkinson, Joe Wilkinson
Safe Environment Coordinator: John Marin
Call the Parish Office - 858-756-1911
PASTORAL CARE
Nativity Samaritans: Patti Smiley, 858-756-1911
Childcare: Attended care is provided in the play room off
the Commons during 9:00 and 10:30 am Sunday Masses.
Holy Communion for the sick:
For the homebound upon request, 858-756-1911
Widows and Widowers:
Mary Lou Matthews, 858-481-6255
Monthly Luncheons - September through June
Men of Nativity: Meet First Thursday of the month
6 - 8 pm in the Parish Commons
Craig Ryall, 760-445-3368
Small Christian Communities - Faith Sharing Groups
See Deacon Jim Walsh or contact Kathy Alameda at
858-756-9755 or ([email protected])
SACRAMENTS
Baptism: After last Sunday Mass
Darlene & Ross Larson, 858-780-8837 ([email protected])
Marriage: Saturdays, 10 am or 2 pm
Wedding Coordinator: Georgiana Strate, 858-755-7459
Anointing of the Sick: Encouraged for anyone critically ill,
for the elderly, or prior to major surgery
March 22, 2015
FAMILY FAITH FORMATION
Classes meet September through June
PRESCHOOL THROUGH 8TH GRADE
Contact: Patti Smiley, 858-756-1911, ext. 6
Preschool - 6th Grade:
Sundays, 8:50 - 10:05 am at The Nativity School
Junior High:
Sundays, 5:00 - 6:15 pm in the Commons
Today after attending class, all 2nd graders will join
their families at the 10:30 mass all to be presented at
the Mass for Candidacy.
HIGH SCHOOL
Contact: Mike James, 858-756-1911, ext 5
High School Youth Group (9th - 12th Grade)
Meet Sundays from 5:00 to 6:15 pm
Sunday’s topic will be “Holy Week”. We will talk about
all the different rituals and symbols in the Holy Week
Services. All freshmen-seniors meet from 5-6:15pm in
the Commons. Friends are always welcome.
There will be no class on Sunday, March 29 or April 5
due to the Easter break.
HIGH SCHOOL CONFIRMATION
Contact: Mike James, 858-756-1911, ext 5
Final Interviews are by appointment in the next few
weeks. The Confirmation Mass has been set for Noon
on Sunday, May 3. Candidates and their sponsors
should be here by 11am for a final rehearsal. We will
have a short reception after the mass and conclude by
2pm.
ADULT RELIGIOUS EDUCATION (RCIA)
Contact: Mike James, 858-756-1911, ext 5
Sunday March 22 we will attend the 10:30am mass as a
group and then have class from 10:50-11:50am. We will
also do a rehearsal for the Easter Vigil from 11:20am noon.
The Easter Vigil on Saturday, April 4, 2015 will begin at
8pm. Candidates and Catechumens should arrive by
7:30pm to be seated in the front pews.
ADULT FAITH FORMATION & BIBLE STUDY
Reconciliation: Saturday, 4:15 pm in the Chapel
Eucharist:
Weekday Mass: Monday - Friday, 8 am in the Chapel
Centering Prayer Group: Saturdays, 9 am in the Chapel
Contact: Dixie Welsh, 858-756-1911
Eucharistic Adoration: Every Friday after 8 am Mass
Perpetual Help Novena: Tuesdays, after 8 am Mass
Rosary: Weekdays, after 8 am Mass in the Chapel
Little Rock Scripture Study for Adults
Let the Word of God influence your Busy Life.
Monday Mornings 9:15-11:00 am
Develop a fuller experience of Christian community,
Contact: Kathy Klink 858-756-1328