Pastor's letter for this week
April 25, 2025
Feast of St. Mark
Dear Parishioners of St. Andrew,
I hope you are all doing well and staying strong! I hope you are all still enjoying the Easter spirit through this Octave of Easter which will end this Sunday with Divine Mercy Sunday (more below).
Last Sunday night I found it difficult to go to sleep after all the Holy Week and Easter activities, so I was up very late. As a result, I saw on live TV the announcement of the death of Pope Francis. Obviously that kept me up for some time and I finally fell asleep around 3:00 a.m. Several of my priest friends were also up so we were talking and texting late into the night. Fortunately, I did not have the morning Mass on Monday, so I slept in.
I have to say that, although I was not shocked by the news of the death since we had all seen the physical decline, it still surprised me because I did not expect it would happen so soon. I had just seen the Pope greetings pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square that afternoon and giving his blessing from the balcony. So it did surprise me.
It is actually very beautiful that he entered eternal life after just having celebrated the Solemnity of Easter and the triumph of Christ over sin and death.
While we are still in the Octave of Easter we will also begin the 9 days of mourning over his death after his funeral tomorrow. In the sanctuary of our church is a portrait of Pope Francis next to the Easter candle that recalls the resurrection of Christ. We will pray for him throughout these days at each Mass.
The concluding portion of Pope Francis' final Easter message ended with a great message of encouragement. The Holy Father proclaimed, “The risen Christ is the definitive turning point in human history. He is the hope that does not fade. He is the love that accompanies us and sustains us. He is the future of history, the ultimate destination towards which we walk, to be welcomed into that new life in which the Lord himself will wipe away all our tears.”
With these beautiful words, let us pray for God’s mercy upon his soul.
Following a papal death, of course, is all the speculation regarding the upcoming conclave and who the Cardinals will choose to be the new Pope. I strongly suggest to you not to pay too much attention to the pundits on the news. The fact is that only God knows who will be chosen. The rest is speculation and just takes up time and energy. Let’s simply pray that they will make a good choice.
Here is the rest of the news from the parish:
DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY – This Sunday is the Sunday in the Octave of Easter and also Divine Mercy Sunday. The Feast of Mercy is a Celebration and a Summation of God's Merciful Love. The Triduum of Holy Week, along with the entire Easter season, focuses on various aspects of the paschal mystery. Holy Thursday celebrates the Mass of the Chrism and the evening Mass of the Mandatum - the washing of the feet of the disciples, ordination to the priesthood, the institution of the Eucharist, and the last discourse of Our Lord promising the sending of the Holy Spirit. Good Friday commemorates the passion and death of Jesus on the cross. The Easter vigil, the pinnacle of the paschal mystery, celebrates the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Redeemer who is our light and salvation, bringing us new life by water and the Holy Spirit. The Easter season continues this celebration, leading to the Ascension of the Lord and to Pentecost - the fulfillment of the promise to send the Holy Spirit.
The Feast of Mercy, which we celebrate this Sunday, focuses on God's mercy as an event! It focuses on God's continuing action of mercy throughout salvation history as we see it recorded in the letter to the Romans, chapters 9, 10,11, culminating in His loving plan to have mercy on all! (See Rom 11:32.) This Feast is a summation of the event to His mercy active in our lives now. It is because of His mercy that we have forgiveness of sin and new life as children of God.
VERY SPECIAL CONCERT NEXT SUNDAY! – The world renowned Tallis Scholars is a British professional early music vocal ensemble normally consisting of two singers per part, with a core group of ten singers. They specialize in performing a cappella sacred vocal music. They tour widely around the world performing over 70 converts in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. They’ve been to St. Andrew’s before to sold out crowds and we are very honored to host them once again. Their concert will take place next Sunday, May 4th at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are now on sale on our parish website at: www.standrewpasadena.org
This is a concert NOT to be missed!
HOLY WEEK WAS EXHAUSTING BUT WONDERFUL!- By Easter Sunday night someone asked me “Are you tired?” I didn’t have enough energy to answer! Yes, our Holy Week celebrations were beautiful and spiritually enriching but very tiring also. But Easter Sunday night I was exhausted. I think the same is true for our musicians, decorators and liturgical ministers. All worked very hard to ensure that our Holy Week liturgies were celebrated with due solemnity and beauty and added to the devotion of our parishioners. This week Fr. Rodriguez was away for his Easter break. I will take this coming week to visit my relatives in Cuba. I normally go in January but at that time I was advised not to go due to the power failures throughout the island. They told me that by Easter it would be better. Well, “better” means that there are still power outages daily but they have a few hours of electricity so that’s considered “better.” I have the suspicion that it’s going to be a long week. But I look forward to seeing them. I’ll be back next Sunday evening in time for the Tallis Scholars concert. Thank you to all who worked so hard during Holy Week!
PLEASE DON’T FORGET THE POOR PARISHES – Our annual Together in Mission Campaign began two months weeks ago. As you know, this campaign assists the poorest parishes and schools of the Archdiocese. Our parish goal this year is $79,002. This reflects our income in 2024. It is a great opportunity to help out these poor parishes even more.
The important thing is that everyone participates according to their means. If you have more then give more, if you have less, then give less. But everybody’s part is important. The pledge envelopes are available in the pews and in the Pastoral Center. You may also make your contribution online by going to: togetherinmission.org. Please be sure to click on "St. Andrew Church" as your parish so that it is credited to our goal.
To all those who have already donated or made their pledge for 2025: thank you!
In Christ and St. Andrew,
Father Gonzalez
HOW TO RECITE THE HOLY ROSARY
PROCEDURE FOR THE RECEPTION OF HOLY COMMUNION