On this First Sunday of Advent, we are called to be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent.”
-- Luke 21:36
Be vigilant and pray. That is Jesus’ message to us as we begin Advent. There are so many things in our culture that compete for our attention, especially in these difficult times. They can cloud our vision and make us spiritually drowsy. The Church suggests that our Advent rituals and spiritual practices help us to remember, in faith, that God is with us – Emmanuel.
Join us this first Sunday of Advent to Worship God at anyone of our six Masses
Saturday Vigil Mass at 5PM (English) Sunday Mass: 9:15 and 11:15AM (English) 7AM, 1PM and 6PM (Spanish) Our Address: 1048 West Ventura Street, Fillmore, CA 93015
Telephone(805) 524-1306 Fax (805) 524-0784
Gift Store and Pastoral Center Office Hours:
Sunday 10AM to 3PM
Monday thru Thursday 10AM to 8PM closed for lunch from 1 to 2PM
Friday: 10AM to 1PM
Saturday: 9:30AM to 12:30PM
Email: stfrancisoffice@sbcglobal.net
Web site: www.stfrancisfillmore.com
DID YOU KNOW THAT WE WILL CELEBRATE A HOLY YEAR OF MERCY ?
Pope Francis will open "The Jubilee Year of Mercy" on December 8, 2015, the fiftieth anniversary of the closing of the Second Vatican Council. Here are a few important themes for reflection during this important year.
Jesus is the “face” of the Father’s mercy
Jesus of Nazareth, Pope Francis writes in Misericordiae Vultus, the Bull of Indiction of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, is the “face” of the Father’s mercy—he reveals the mercy of God by his words, actions, and person. We follow Jesus’ example when we open ourselves to the Father’s mercy by looking “sincerely” into the eyes of our brothers and sisters, including those “who are denied their dignity.” How have you experienced the Father’s mercy in your own life? How might Jesus be calling you to look “sincerely” into the eyes of those who are denied their dignity?
Mercy is “the beating heart of the Gospel”
Pope Francis writes: “It is absolutely essential for the Church and for the credibility of her message that she herself live and testify to mercy.” Mercy, he says, is “the beating heart of the Gospel” (Misericordiae Vultus). To live mercy, we must rediscover both the spiritual works of mercy (counsel the doubtful, instruct the ignorant, admonish sinners, comfort the afflicted, forgive offences, bear patiently those who do us ill, and pray for the living and the dead), and the corporal works of mercy (feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, heal the sick, visit the imprisoned, and bury the dead). Which spiritual works of mercy might Christ be calling you to practice? Which corporal works of mercy?
Mercy “demands justice”
“True mercy, the mercy God gives to us and teaches us,demands justice, it demands that the poor find the way to be poor no longer,” Pope Francis notes. “It asks us, the Church, us, the City of Rome, it asks the institutions — to ensure that no one ever again stand in need of a soup-kitchen, of makeshift-lodgings, of a service of legal assistance in order to have his legitimate right recognized to live and to work, to be fully a person” (Address to Jesuit Refugee Services, 9/10/13). In your own life, and in your faith community, how do you work for justice? Do you seek to address the root causes of problems that affect those who are vulnerable?
Ideas for Living Mercy during the Jubilee Year
There are many ways we can respond to the call to live mercy. Here are a few ideas: Put Two Feet of Love in Action. Use the “Two Feet of Love in Action” guide to consider how you can strengthen both charitable works and social justice at home and as part of your faith community. Visit www.usccb.org/twofeet for more information.
WELCOME TO SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI
"A Rest Stop for the Soul"
Address: 1048 WestVentura Street, Fillmore, CA 93015
Telephone(805) 524-1306 Fax (805) 524-0784
Our Pastoral Center Office Hours:
Sunday 10AM to 3PM
Monday thru Thursday 10AM to 8PM closedfor lunch from 1 to 2PM
Friday: 10AM to 1PM
Saturday: 9:30AM to 12:30PM
Email: stfrancisoffice@sbcglobal.net
Web site www.stfrancisfillmore.com