eBulletin March 2, 2025

There is a key ingredient in tasty guacamole: good avocados.  If you have good avocados, you almost have to do nothing except mash the fruit in a bowl and add a little salt.  This Sunday’s readings want us to look at trees and fruit.  We know a good tree by its fruit.  If a tree—avocado or other—is a good one, it will produce good fruit.  And if not, it simply is incapable of producing good fruit. 

 The trees we are invited to look at are our lives, our actions, words, thoughts, etc,  and the fruit are the after-effects of our actions, words, thoughts, etc., on ourselves and on others.  St. Ignatius found that everything had an after-effect, and this after-effect was the way we knew whether or not the actions, thoughts, etc., were of God or not.  Ignatius called the good fruits consolations, and the bad fruits desolations.  Consolations were the after-effects which were an increase in hope, faith, charity, and interior joy, things which quiet our soul with peace.  So, a good tree, or an action that was “of God” would have this positive after-effect of consolation.  And likewise, a bad tree, or an action that was not “of God,” would have the after-effect of disturbing our soul, leading us to agitation and darkness, laziness, sadness, and a sense of separation from God. 

 The clearest way to plant good trees in our lives comes from last week’s gospel, an earlier part of the Gospel of Luke.  Jesus says quite simply, “Do to others what you would have them do to you.”  When we do this, when we love our enemies, when we treat people with mercy, we plant trees in our lives that cannot help but bear good fruit.  And when we live for ourselves only, in a selfish way, the fruit will be obvious—the guacamole will not be delicious! 

 In these incredibly challenging days for our undocumented brothers and sisters, we are invited to find ways to stand up for God’s justice and mercy.  I believe something new is being born in us as a parish, as we more deeply inhabit our identity as an immigrant parish.  New seeds of self-sacrifice among youth and young adults are being discovered and being planted.  I am confident these seeds will, in turn, grow into tall trees, bearing good fruit.  We will enjoy good guacamole for years to come!

This weekend, we will have a second collection for the Annual Catholic Appeal.  A reminder that our parish has been assessed to give $13,003.  Last week, we collected $3,950.  We still have about $9,000 to go to meet our goal. Anything extra comes back to us.  Thank you again for your support.  A reminder that these funds support various diocesan programs, including Catholic schools, seminary formation of priests, and other important needs.                                   

For more information, visit giving.sdcatholic.org.

This Ash Wednesday, we have mass at 8 am and 6 pm.  There will be members of adult faith formation distributing ashes all day, every hour on the hour, starting at 6 am and ending at 8 pm.

Please pick up QR code cards from the front of the church.  These cards help you access information that can be helpful in these challenging times for immigrants.  It is important to know your rights!

The Lenten Stations of the Cross will begin this Friday, March 7, at 7 pm inside the church. It will be led by Grupo Guadalupano.

Retreat "In Spanish" for couples with and without sacrament.

Sat, Mar 22: 8 am - 4:30 pm | Sun, Mar 23: 8 am - 5 pm 

Donation of $30, which includes meals.

No Children

For information:

Ricardo and Nereyda

(858) 880-5952

(619) 954-6428