Pastor's letter for this week
September 12, 2025
Feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary
Dear Parishioners of St. Andrew,
I hope you are all doing well and staying strong! It has been a week marked by sorrow and shock and what is happening in our nation and world. Yesterday we commemorated 24 years since the horrific Islamic terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, which changed the world in which we live.
Wednesday we were all shocked and horrified at the assassination of Charlie Kirk. I saw the actual video of the shooting, and it left me sick in my stomach. To be honest, I had not been very familiar with him until a few years ago when I met Charlie at an event at St. Rose of Lima Parish in Simi Valley and was very impressed by his presentation. His ability to boldly proclaim his Christian faith and defense of the unborn in very hostile audiences was admirable. I admire his willingness to debate and dialogue with words and not with violence. Yet he became a victim of hatred and violence. As I write this, the authorities have announced that the assassin has been arrested and will now be facing justice. That’s a small measure of relief but the tragedy of the killing of a young husband and father is very heavy indeed.
For our part as Christians, we must strive to live good and holy lives and confront hate and terrorism wherever they lie. Our challenge is not to be bitter but to imitate the love of Christ. Let us pray for all affected by this crime.
On Tuesday I received word of the death of our dear former organist, Mrs. Marlene Puccinelli. Marlene was our faithful organist and choir director for decades. She worked first with her husband, Primo Puccinelli, for decades, then on her own after he passed. She also worked as music teacher at St. Andrew School until the Covid pandemic in 2020 which caused so much disruption. We greatly miss her. In your kindness please remember her soul in your prayers as well as for the consolation of her family. May she rest in peace! The funeral arrangements are as follows:
Vigil and Rosary: Sunday, Sept. 21 at 3:00 p.m.
Funeral Mass: Monday, Sept. 22 at 10:00 a.m.
Both at St. Rita of Cascia Church in Sierra Madre.
Here is the rest of the news from the parish:
FEAST OF THE HOLY CROSS – This Sunday we celebrate the beautiful feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross which always occurs on September 14th. It is only every few years that we have the opportunity to celebrate it on a Sunday. On this feast we honor the Holy Cross by which Christ redeemed the world. The public veneration of the Cross of Christ originated in the fourth century, beginning with the miraculous discovery of the cross on September 14, 326, by Saint Helen, mother of Constantine, while she was on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem -- the same day that two churches built at the site of Calvary by Constantine were dedicated. It has been celebrated by Christians on September 14 ever since.
The Cross -- because of what it represents -- is the most potent and universal symbol of the Christian faith. It has inspired both liturgical and private devotions: for example, the Sign of the Cross, which is an invocation of the Holy Trinity; the "little" Sign of the Cross on the forehead, lips and heart at the reading of the Gospel; praying the Stations of the Cross; and the Veneration of the Cross by the faithful on Good Friday by kissing the feet of the image of Our Savior crucified.
Placing a crucifix (the cross with an image of Christ's body upon it) in churches and homes, in classrooms of Catholic schools and in other Catholic institutions, or wearing this image on our persons, is a constant reminder -- and witness -- of Christ's ultimate triumph, His victory over sin and death through His suffering and dying on the Cross.
At all Masses this Sunday, we will have a special blessing with a relic of the True Cross of Christ. I obtained this precious relic many years ago from one of my former pastors and it has been passed down through the generations.
TWO NEW SAINTS FOR THE CHURCH!- Last weekend, our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, solemnly canonized two new saints who lived in the 20th and 21st centuries. Both are young men: St. Carlo Acutis was15 when he died of leukemia and St. Pier Georgio Frasatti was only 24 when he died from polio.
The Holy Father said at the canonization Mass: “Today we look to St. Pier Giorgio Frassati and St. Carlo Acutis: a young man from the early 20th century and a teenager from our own day, both in love with Jesus and ready to give everything for him,” he said.
I encourage you to look up these two new saints to learn about their inspirational lives. Both are wonderful models for all of us and especially for our youth.
Here is a beautiful reflection written by Archbishop Gomez on these two new saints:
https://angelusnews.com/voices/gomez-saints/
BLACK AND INDIAN MISSIONS COLLECTION – This second collection is taken up this weekend throughout the country. The Black and Indian Mission Collection exists to help local African American and Native American Diocesan Communities throughout the United States spread the Good News of Jesus Christ and respond to real and pressing needs on the ground. A few weeks ago we had a visiting priest from the Diocese of Gallup visiting us to officiate at the wedding of his niece. While here I was able to learn quite a bit about where the funds from this collection go since his diocese is one of the principal beneficiaries. It is the poorest diocese in the country and has tremendous challenges ministering to our Native Americans. We can assist with our prayers and donations.
BACH TO BROADWAY 30TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT – Our parish’s annual “Bach to Broadway” will soon be here! It is scheduled for Friday, October 24th at 7:00 p.m. This is always one of the highlights of our year as we gather as a community to listen to beautiful music and enjoy each other’s company in the al fresco reception afterwards. The proceeds from the concert go to the restoration efforts of our church. That funding is greatly needed as our church building continues to age yet must constantly be maintained and beautified. I think you’ve all seen the wonderful restoration efforts in the last few years which make our church the most beautiful in the Archdiocese. Save the date: Friday, October 24th at 7:00 p.m.
Tickets are now on sale on our website: www.standrewpasadena.org
ALTAR SERVER TRAINING - If you have a son who is interested in being an Altar Boy you are invited to our next Server training classes which begin soon.
Altar boys must have already received their First Holy Communion and be at least in the 3rd grade. This class will also be a good review for our current Altar Servers as well.
We also have our group of servers called the Knights of the Altar. These are young men in high school and above who take the leadership roles during our liturgical services and act as Masters of Ceremonies. In addition to this, however, they are also formed in an informal fraternity which includes social activities as well as spiritual and doctrinal formation. Any young man from high school and above is eligible to join. For further information please contact me at: FrGonzalez@aol.com
GROUPS FOR GIRLS - We also invite the girls of the parish to join one of our two groups for girls:
"Girls with Goodness" for ages 8-12 and "Girls with Grace" for ages 13-18. They will be restarting their regular meetings this month, please call the pastoral center for more information at (626) 792-4183.
ARE CHECKS DISAPPEARING? – Now that summer is over, it would be good to reevaluate our parish tithing. A couple of years ago, a Walder University study was done entitled “5 Reasons why Paper Checks are Disappearing” with our Finance Council. In summary it says that the number of checks being written is dropping by 1.8 billion a year which means that, at that rate, checks would go away entirely by 2026. I don’t know if this will happen or not, but it is clear that it is increasingly becoming an obsolete technology. I’m probably one of the few dinosaurs left who still use them (although less and less.)
So how do we make our weekly tithes to God in the church offertory? Increasingly it is through electronic means. Few people carry much cash around and even less checkbooks.
Electronic giving is a tremendous convenience for our parishioners as well as for the parish. Many parishes throughout the country and in our own Archdiocese have long ago switched to electronic giving in an effort to get rid of the old-fashioned checks and cash. The pandemic shutdown 5 years ago actually made it absolutely imperative that as many people as possible switch to this form of giving and many of our parishioners have done so.
If you have not yet signed up, please do so at: www.standrewpasadena.org and click on the "donate" button. To make things easier, we also have a QR code available in all our hymnals and missalettes. I’ve resisted the idea of putting stickers on the pews with the QR code, as has been done in many parishes, simply because I think they look ugly and distract from the beauty of the church. But they are available in the books we use for Mass as well as in the bulletin. Soon we will be installing “giving kiosks” in the vestibule for electronic donations as well.
As the temperature has gone up during the summer our electricity bills have also gone way up as the air conditioning costs have increased substantially. I am so grateful that we have all new AC units (installed in 2021) so our church is comfortable for our parishioners to worship. But it is also a challenge due to the high cost. Thank you for your generosity!
In Christ and St. Andrew,
Father Gonzalez
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