From the Desk of Fr. Mike ...

 

HAPPY EASTER!

 

To all our parishioners and guests this Easter Sunday morning, we wish you and yours a happy Easter day!  The whole Church rejoices in the new life we have received in the Resurrection.  May our prayers today enrich our faith, strengthen our hope, and encourage us to live in harmony with each other. 

 

I want to take this opportunity to thank the many parishioners who work behind the scenes to make our Lent and Holy Week so special and beautiful.  I am grateful to Kevin who, despite receiving only a small stipend, has worked many hours planning the music, the art and environment, helping prepare the liturgical ministers, and organizing many other things.  It was also Kevin who initiated the work and brought about the volunteers that finally helped move the library from Bass Lake to our offices at Oakhurst.  He was able to get volunteers and was there to oversee the cleaning, painting, installation of new floors, and repair of the bathrooms at the A-Frame at Bass Lake. We can now host day long retreats, confirmation class retreats, weddings and other activities which we have now begun to schedule.  We have two weddings alone in May at Bass Lake.  Kevin has also taken on the responsibility of daily updates on our website - now considered one of the best in the Fresno Diocese.  Kevin also leads the music at Bass Lake every Sunday afternoon as well as the Oakhurst masses.

 

I want to the thank the sacristans, especially to Norm Nadeau, Fran Callaghan, and Shirley Waynar,  who have prepared for their respective Masses on the weekends. In this past Holy Week, Norm was Sacristan for Holy Thursday, Shirley was Sacristan for Good Friday, and Fran was Sacristan for the Easter Vigil.  All three have been great help to me since I have been here.

 

I also thank the many volunteers and ministers who have helped in the art and environment at all three churches particularly Carrol De George, Madeline Aoki, Donna Wolfe, Donna Wimer, Barbara Vasconcellos, Diane Kraft, Eleanor Francoeur, and Kevin Jonas. A thank you to the lectors and Eucharistic Ministers who are present and prepared, to the Choir, to Larry Cone and his ushers, to Dave Kraft and his greeters, to Diane Kraft and her lectors, as well as to Peggy and Consuelo in the children and teen education office.  

 

The work and preparation of music and liturgical ministries is crucial to good liturgy and at St. Joseph's Mission in North Fork and St. Dominic's Mission in Bass Lake this was particularly evident this Lent and Palm Sunday.  The refreshments following the Mass at North Fork do not hurt the experience either. A sincere thank you to all!

 

As I mentioned, there are SO many people who give so much to the parish and each one helps to make this parish community a living reality to the world outside.  God bless each and every one of you!

 

At this point I must mention and thank our office staff, Nancy and Katie, who work tirelessly during these holy times.

 

Last, but not least, thank you so much to our parish deacon, Ernie Molloy, and to his wife Virginia who oversees the RCIA process in our parish.  Your ministry and support is appreciated.

 

From the Desk of Fr. Mike ...

 

HOLY WEEK

 

We enter into a sacred time this week starting today with Palm Sunday, into Holy Week and the Triduum, where we walk with Jesus, first joining him at the sacrificial banquet at the Last Supper, to see him betrayed, then led to trial. We walk with him the steep hill of Calvary to witness his dying and our dying with him as he promises life to the repentant thief.  We celebrate the sacred mysteries at the Easter Vigil next Saturday night at 9:00pm, to see the new fire, the blessing of the new Pascal Candle and its procession into the darkened church, to listen to the Scripture stories of our redemption, to singing with lively faith that first Alleluia this Easter and to be bathed in the new waters of baptism which recalls our dying and rising.  We will then experience, along with Adam Stevens who will join our Catholic Church, the power of the Holy Spirit as he is confirmed in the faith that God has called him to.  What a holy week!  What a week to look forward to seeing how loved we are by God and how Jesus Christ, the center of life, shares with us eternal life.

 

To better celebrate the sacred mysteries during Holy Week, we will break from some of our 'usual' customs to experience deeply the events that gave us the most important elements of our salvation:  

 

· Holy Thursday night, as we did last year, members of the Liturgy Commission and friends will bake Eucharistic bread that was more like the very bread that Jesus used at the Last Supper.  It was unleavened and will be more 'bread-like'.  This bread will be consecrated at the Mass and that which is left over will be used at the Liturgy of Good Friday, as in keeping with sacred tradition.  We did this last year and it was well received.

 

· Deacon Ernie and I will wash the feet of  parishioners at the Washing of Feet by going down the aisle and doing this holy action right in the assembly area.  We did this last year and again it was well received and the parishioners nearby are able to see and experience the love that Jesus was trying to express in His actions before the Last Supper.

 

· At the end of Mass, we will process the Blessed Sacrament down to the Parish Hall where the Altar of Repose will be set up.  We are inviting parishioners to come down and spend some time in prayer before the greatest of all gifts given to the Church, the Sacred Body and Blood of Christ.

 

A warning to those sensitive to incense. Incense  will be used at Palm Sunday Masses for the Entrance, at the Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday, at the Easter Vigil and at Easter Sunday Masses.  If you are sensitive to incense, you may want to sit near the doors or away from the aisle.  

 

Good Friday Liturgy will begin at 1pm at Our Lady of the Sierra Church.

 

From the desk of Fr. Mike ...

 

Parish Lenten Mission Begins 

 

This weekend we begin our Parish Lenten Mission.  Fr. Mike McAndrew, C.SS.R will be our mission leader.  He will begin the mission with a homily on the weekend and then he will be celebrating daily Mass on the weekday mornings on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 10:00 a.m.  In the evening, he will repeat his presentation within a prayer service.  On Tuesday evening we will be celebrating a Lenten Penance Service.  We will have several priests present to help us.  Please plan to attend.

 

PLEASE REMEMBER, the daily Masses during the Mission will be at 10:00am, NOT at 8:00am.  The evening prayer services will be at 6:00pm.  This enables many of our parishioners to attend the mission masses and prayer services and conference.  Also, refreshments will be made available after all the events. 

 

FLOWER FUND ENVELOPES

IN YOUR PACKETS

 

In your donation envelope packet there is a special envelope for the Easter Flower Fund.  This enables us to plan for the Easter Season with the flowers and the other decorations we need for our three churches.  Please take an opportunity to remember the parish, and if you wish to memorialize someone in your family or friends with a donation, we will list all the memorials during the Easter Season.  Bring your envelope to Mass and drop them in the regular collection. Your help is needed and we appreciate what you can do for the Art and Environment Commission so that they can continue doing the excellent work that they have been doing.  Also, baskets will be made available at all three churches for your donations as well.

 

Parish Day of Reflection, Saturday, March 27

 

On Saturday, March 27, the day before Palm Sunday, the RCIA team will be hosting a Day of Reflection for all our parishioners at St. Dominic Savio Mission at Bass Lake. This annual event allows those preparing to receive Easter Sacraments to prepare themselves for the up-coming Easter Vigil.  Since we have only one candidate for the Easter Sacraments this year, the invitation has been opened up to all parishioners.  The Day of Reflection will begin at 8:30am and conclude at 2:30pm.  Bring your own brown bag lunch for that day.  Also, come and see the newly renovated A Frame building, with its new floor, new appliances, new paint, and much more open space.  Much hard work has been done by volunteers who have made great changes to an old building.

 

From the desk of Fr. Mike

 

A reminder to all of the Lenten Parish Mission that is being offered in our parish beginning with the weekend Masses of March 13^th and 14^th and then continuing on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, March 15^th -17^th.  Redemptorist Father Michael McAndrew, Director of Campesino Ministries for the Diocese of Fresno will be directing the mission and celebrating all the Masses and Prayer Services during this time.  Father Mike has been doing parish missions in English and Spanish, a particular chrism of his religious community for many years.  On Tuesday evening, March 16^th, as a part of the mission, we will have a parish Lenten Reconciliation Service with confessions,  We will have eight priests present to assist us.  I will personally hear confessions in the morning of the 16^th  from 11:00am to 12:00pm for those who might find it difficult to attend the evening service.  

 

I have been asked over and over again to bring such a mission to the parish, and now that the Holy Spirit has made it possible, we certainly hope that many of our parishioners take advantage of this opportunity to grow in their spiritual life.  I am grateful for Father Mike for responding to our need.

 

I have been offered and accepted the position of Adjunct Professor for Holy Names University, Oakland, in the area of Liturgy and Worship.  As such I will be teaching for the university part-time, usually once a week from the Fresno Diocesan Pastoral Center.  This will happen from time to time when courses are offered for graduate students who are earning their Masters work in Pastoral Studies from the university.  I begin this new endeavor with a seven week course on Tuesday nights from March 16^th to April 27^th  for the Spring Quarter.  This does not take me away from the parish, other than on Tuesday nights when I teach the course from 6:00pm to 10:00pm.  I look forward to this new phase of teaching, which I dearly love.  I have been teaching New Wine courses for many years, and I also teach Liturgy Practicum to the diocesan deacon candidates on Saturday mornings, once a month currently.

 

A HUGE THANK YOU

I want to extend a very special note of gratitude to our parishioners who have come forward and donated the Pascal Candles to be used for the new Easter season and for the rest of the year.  The Pascal Candle is the most important element that is blessed every Easter Vigil and then used at every funeral or baptism as a sign of the Resurrected Christ.  It is also lit at every Sunday and daily Mass during the Easter Season.  I have been utilizing the Marklin Candle Company from New England for our Pascal candles and have used them for many years.  They are the premier Catholic candle maker in the country.  You can visit their website to see what other products they offer.

 

The donors this year are:

 

John and Marian Scherer

in memory of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Scherer & Mr. and Mrs. Clayton Faulkner

at Our Lady of the Sierra Church in Oakhurst   

    

Chuck and Joan Galyan

in memory of Michael Hughey

at St. Dominic Savio Mission in Bass Lake

 

 John and Ty Moser

in memory of Monte Moser

at St. Joseph the Worker Mission in North Fork

 

Again, our sincere thanks.