Church guide

Today is the feast of St Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church. St Anthony of Padua (1195 to 1231) was a Franciscan friar who was filled with the Holy Spirit and faith and was never discouraged by setbacks in the ministry the Lord entrusted him. His preaching ministry took him from North Africa to Italy and France. He is known as the Evangelical Doctor because he based all his teaching and preaching on the Gospel. St Anthony is renowned also as a ready helper in difficult cases. Praying to Saint Anthony when something is lost is a Catholic tradition: Tony, Tony, look around. Something's lost and must be found! St Anthony believed that God in His mercy gave him a wonderful ministry of spreading His Good News to others and discouragement is not an option. St Anthony of Padua pray for us.

Thank you to everyone who celebrated Fr Bob’s 35th Anniversary of Priesthood!

This man encourages us to remain faithful to Jesus. "When he [Barnabas] arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain faithful to the Lord in firmness of heart, for he was a good man, filled with the holy Spirit and faith." (Acts 11: 23 - 24). Tuesday of the 10th week of Ordinary Time is the feast of St Barnabas the Apostle. Barnabas introduced St Paul to the other Apostle in Jerusalem and later did missionary work with Paul. Barnabas' special gift of the Holy Spirit is encouraging the brethren. The gift of encouragement is sorely needed in the Church today. Without encouragement, many people will give up fruitful ministry at the first setback. Who is the Barnabas in your life? Who are you encouraging to remain faithful to Jesus in firmness of heart? How do you encourage? You encourage as the Lord encourages you. (Cf 2 Corinthians 1: 3 - 4). You can encourage with words via text messages, emails, letters. You can pray for the servant of God regularly. You can offer financial help. Ask the Holy Spirit for guidance on how you can become an encourager of the brethren. "I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father." (John 15: 15).

You are witnesses of these things. "And he [Jesus] said to them, “Thus it is written that the Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things." (Luke 24: 26 - 28). Thursday in the Octave of Easter. The Risen Jesus appears in the midst of His disciples with doors locked and bolted. They were understandably terrified. But Jesus calmed them down and convinced them that it was He. And Jesus said to them and us: "You are witnesses of these things." What things are we to be witnesses of? Consider the following: #1 The Death of Jesus. #2 Testimony of Scripture to the suffering and death of Jesus: (Luke 24: 44 - 46). #3 The Resurrection of Jesus. #4 The power of the Name of Jesus. This is the core of the apostolic catechesis. It has not changed. We bear witness to these truths by the witness of our daily lives. "O chosen people, proclaim the mighty works of him, who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light, alleluia." (1 Peter 2: 9). Easter is a 50 day celebration and so we continue to sing: "Alleluia, alleluia! This day was made by the Lord: we rejoice and are glad. Alleluia!" (Psalm 117: 24).

He is Risen!! Happy Easter from Fr Bob and all of the staff at St Anthony of Padua. May you be very blessed this Easter Sunday.

Here’s the full Holy Week Schedule!

Easter Mass Schedule

Please join us this Thursday for our Respect For Life Prayer Vigil, from 6:30-7:45pm. A great prayer for life is urgently needed, a prayer which will rise up throughout the world. Through special initiatives and daily prayer, may an impassioned plea rise to God, the Creator and lover of life, from every Christian community, from every group and association, from every family and from the heart of every believer. Pope Saint John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae, no, 100

This FRIDAY Fr Tony Ricard with be at St. Anthony of Padua from 7:00-9:00pm. Everyone is welcome!!! Fr Tony will also be selling is new book at the event. Not sure who Fr Tony is https://youtu.be/imCLaNisnh4

Beautiful Chrism Mass tonight! Every year, in every Catholic diocese, the sacred oils are newly prepared, blessed by the bishop, and distributed to the churches during Holy Week. This takes place at the Chrism Mass. For its abundance, its scriptural history, and its healing properties, olive oil is specified for sacramental use. From ancient times the prophets, priests and kings of Israel were anointed with olive oil as a sign that the Spirit of God rested upon them (see Isa. 61:1; Ex. 30:30; I Sam. 10:1). At the Chrism Mass three separate urns of oil are offered by the faithful and presented to the bishop for the blessing—the Oil of the Catechumens, the Oil of the Sick, and finally the Oil for the Holy Chrism. The Chrism Oil is mixed with fragrant balsam, and, because of its prominent place in the rites of Christian Initiation and Holy Orders, it is blessed with a prayer of consecration. Anointing with the sacred oils is integral to several of the sacraments and other rites of the church. An infant presented for baptism is anointed with Oil of the Catechumens before the baptism, with the prayer for the protection against the powers of sin and evil. An adult catechumen may receive this anointing several times during the time of preparation. The Oil of the Sick is used in the sacrament of anointing, during times of illness or before surgery; sometimes also during the sacrament of viaticum (see James 5:14-15). The Sacred Chrism is an integral part of the sacraments of baptism, confirmation and ordination. Named after Christ himself (chrism = “Christ-ing”), it bestows a share in Jesus’s own anointing with the Holy Spirit. Just following the washing in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the baptized are anointed on the crown of the head, signifying the royal dignity, the prophetic vocation, and the call to holiness of all the baptized. Again at confirmation the candidate is anointed on the forehead as the bishop says, “Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit.” When a bishop ordains a man to the priesthood, following the imposition of hands and the prayer of consecration, he anoints the hands of the priest with the Sacred Chrism, saying: “The Father anointed our Lord Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. May Jesus preserve you to sanctify the Christian people and to offer sacrifices to God.” Following the Chrism Mass, the sacred oils are distributed to representatives of every parish in the diocese. The oils are normally received by the parish in a simple rite prior to the Mass of Holy Thursday. They are to be kept safe but also made visible to the faithful, displayed in an ambry near the baptismal font. At the Chrism Mass, the gathered priests experience a powerful remembrance of their ordination day as the bishop calls upon them to “renew the sacred promises you once made.” But not only the priests, all the baptized are called to renewal. For in the consecration of the Chrism, the bishop prays that “all who are anointed may be inwardly transformed and come to share in eternal salvation.”

So excited to share with you that Fr. Tony Ricard will be at St. Anthony of Padua Friday, April 5th from 7:00-9:00pm. This is open to all Catechist, Sponsors (Confirmation and Baptism sponsors), Adult Confirmation students, CORE team leaders and Ministry Heads from all Parishes. We want to thank those who are dedicating their time for the Church to enjoy this amazing night with us. This is open to the first 600 people. You can grab your free ticket here! https://saplv.weshareonline.org/ws/opportunities/FrTonyRicard

Journey of Faith this Wednesday from 6:00-8:00pm. Food, fellowship and lots of Adventures through our faith! Guest speaker tonight is Fr. Shawn Dresden 🙂 We have an excited program set for you, which means everyone, new, renewing or old to the faith Catholic. This is a program for everyone.

Please Pray for our St. Anthony Youth as they travel tomorrow to LAYouthDay#. Please pray for their safe travels and for the true journey their journey with their faith and to grow even closer to their Lord! Thank you Knights of Columbus for helping make this trip possible for the Youth and CORE team at St. Anthony of Padua

In Case you missed it. Here is the CSA video that was played at all Mass's this weekend. We are hearing of some amazing donations stories. Please share here why you think it's important. https://www.dropbox.com/s/kjgxbcv198xwcm5/Diocese%20of%20LV%20FINAL.mp4?dl=0

For Thankful Thursday, lets start preparing for Sunday. Here is a wonderful video to get us ready. https://youtu.be/wlUjU0GJikk

ADULTS WE NEED YOUR HELP! Vacation Bible School (VBS) is a fun-filled week focused on learning about God’s love through Jesus Christ for children ages 4 (and potty-trained) through 5th grade. This year’s VBS will be held on Monday, July 22nd through Friday, July 26, 2019 from 9:15AM –12:00 p.m. This year we are excited to share that our VBS for 2019 is ROAR! This epic African adventure engages the whole herd. At Roar, kids explore God’s goodness and celebrate a ferocious faith that powers them through this wild life. In order for this Vacation Bible School ministry to take place, I’m looking for a team of adult volunteers to help this year. We need one for each station, set up, decorating, registration so we need at least 15 adults to help make this ministry happen this year. So far we only have 4 Volunteers If interested, please email Jessica Parrish, DRE at [email protected], by April 1st If we don’t get parent volunteers this year we may not be able to hold VBS, so please volunteer this year!

Journey of Faith night TODAY from 6:00-8:00pm. Food, fellowship and lots of Adventures through our faith! Guest speaker tonight is Fr Joe Kuan! 🙂 We have an excited program set for you, which means everyone, new, renewing or old to the faith Catholic. This is a program for everyone.

Adults please join us for this movie event. http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07eg68qc1t0ddd902b&llr=ymmybq7ab

Every Friday during Lent we will have the Stations of the Cross 6:00pm English and 7:00pm Spanish.

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent 2019. "Have mercy on us Lord, for we have sinned." (Cf Psalm 51). "If we say, “We have not sinned,” we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." (1 John 1: 10). Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Season of Lent. Lent is the Season appointed for repentance and spiritual purification. Our God is kind and merciful. Let this truth encourage us to turn to the Lord without fear for our inward renewal. Lent is the Journey of Faith to the supreme joy of Easter. If we die with Christ, we shall rise with Christ. "Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory! Harden not your hearts today, but listen to the voice of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!" (Cf. Psalm 94:8).

Our Confirmation II retreat is this weekend! Please pray for our youth and young adults leading this retreat. For our students here is some news and information!

Thank you for everyone that came out to our Joy of Christmas / Nativity Pageant. May you continue to share your light for the whole world to see! Merry Christmas

Here is a quick video of our Celebration for the Feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Children's choir has started their practices for the Nativity Experience night! If your child wants to join us for practice call the office for times!

Thank you Bill Freeman for getting our Kindergarten to 5th grade ready for our Joy of Christmas concert on December 18th.

It's not too late to join the choir for the children's Mass on Christmas Eve. Our next practice is Saturday, December 17 at 12pm inside of the chapel on Rancho.

Our Youth signing at 4 pm Mass today

7th Inning Stretch and YMCA