March 7, 2010: From The Desk of The Pastor

Dear Parishioners of OLM & OLS,

WELCOME, FATHER RICKY MANALO! We are so grateful Father Rickey has made the journey from California to assist us in our Lenten Journey.

Once more, I plead with every family to be a part of our Parish Mission on MONDAY, TUESDAY and WEDNESDAY. Hopefully, you can participate in the Mission in its entirety. If you can’t and can only participate on one or two evenings, please do not use this as an excuse to stay home. I know that God is going to use Father Ricky in a powerful way to reach each participant. The graces that await you are transformative.

In particular, I wish to point out that TUESDAY EVENING, will serve a dual purpose, both the Second Night of our Parish Mission AND our Annual Lenten Communal Penance Service. I have invited priests and people from the Parishes of our Deanery to join us.

Please make every effort to participate.

My love and prayers,

Father Jack

Mark Your Calendars Now: IMPORTANT!!! URGENT!!!! PAY ATTENTION!!! On Monday, March 8th, Tuesday, March 9th and Wednesday, March 10th we will hold a PARISH MISSION. It will be in the midst of Lent, a time to recharge your spiritual batteries. Our Mission Director is FATHER RICKEY MANALO, CSP. You may recognize his name as we often sing hymns Father Rickey has composed at our Sunday Liturgies.

Here what Father Rickey envisions sharing with us: “Lent is a season for spiritual renewal: our life in the Spirit deepens our participation in the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ.  Lent  is also a season of sacramental preparation: those to be baptized and confirmed during the Easter Vigil are called to deepen their response to the God  who  calls them to gather around the Eucharistic table.  Join us each evening as we gather together, reflect on God’s Word, sing and pray! 

WHO DID YOU SAY HE WAS????

Rev. Ricky Manalo, CSP, is a liturgical composer and member of the Paulist community (The Paulist Fathers).  He was born in Brooklyn, NY, and grew up in Marlboro, NJ (Monmouth County).  His music, which includes “Ang Katawan Ni Kristo”, is published through Oregon Catholic Press.  He serves as a board member of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians (NPM) and is an advisor to the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on the Liturgy and the Secretariat on Cultural Diversity in the Church.  Currently he is a doctoral candidate at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA, and is an adjunct professor at Santa Clara University.  He resides at Old St. Mary’s Cathedral, in Chinatown, San Francisco.