WEBSITE:STSTEPHENMPK.ORG - EMAIL: ST.STEPHEN.MARTYR@GMAIL.COM

320 W. GARVEY AVE. MONTEREY PARK 91754 (626)573-0427

“We are a diverse faith-community that strives to conform ourselves into the

image of Christ in and through the power of the Holy Spirit, and

nourished by The Word, Sacraments and Tradition to give glory to God

and to be a light unto the nations.”

"People of the whole Judean countryside and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem were going

out to him." John the Baptist commanded quite a crowd. What was the attraction? Was it

his unusual appearance-clothed in camel's hair? Perhaps it was his bizarre eating habits-

feeding on locusts and wild honey. Or maybe people were captivated by the Baptist's

remarkable humility in the face of such huge popularity-"I am not worthy."

Unlike our modern fascination with standing in the presence of superstars, the crowds

who flocked to John weren't looking for a thrill. They weren't lining up for autographs. They

were lining up for baptism. And they were acknowledging their sins at the same time.

John was proclaiming "a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins." And people

came because they were longing to experience the freedom of that forgiveness.

John called them to conversion. To convert means to turn, in this case to turn away from sin. And the crowds were anxious to

do so in order to "prepare the way of the Lord." For these first-century Jews, the imminent approach of the Messiah came with

a call for conversion and they took this call very seriously.

Now, for us, as twenty-first century Christians, the Church, like John the Baptist, calls us to prepare and repent during this sea-

son of Advent. Will we take the call seriously? Will we examine the areas of our lives that need to change? Will we pray for

God's help to overcome our habitual sin and to make choices based on generosity instead of selfishness? Now is the time to

heed the message. Now is the time to "prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths."

ST STEPHEN MARTYR CATHOLIC CHURCH

MASS SCHEDULE Saturday Vigil 5:00 PM

(English) Sunday 7:00 AM (English)

9:00 AM (Spanish) 11:00 AM (English)

2:00 PM (Indonesian) Mon-Sat Daily Mass: 8:30 AM

Perpetual Help Mass & Novena Wednesday 6:30 PM

Friday 7:00 PM (Spanish)

Reconciliation Saturdays 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM

Fr. Joseph Magdaong Administrator Fr. Ali Kanissius

Associate Armando & Irene Estrada

Deacon Couple Monica Gonzales-Diaz

Business Manager Alicia Vazquez

Office Manager Beatriz Garcia

Dale Ann Torbey Secretaries

Christina Arellano School Principal

P lease remember to bring all UNWRAPPED toys/gifts

to the Parish Office by Friday, December 15th, so that they can be distributed the following Monday.

Thank you for your support and generosity.

Penance Service Thursday, December 14th

at 7:00 PM

OUR LADY OF

GUADALUPE

Mañanitas

Monday, December 12th Festivities will begin at 4:30 am

Mass will begin at 5:00 am

Reception will follow in the

Parish Hall.

Monday, December 25th

Friday, December 29th

Monday—Tuesday January 1st & 2nd

through

and

Please plan your parish business accordingly.

Religions Education

Annual Holiday Bake Sale December 17th after all

of the Masses.

Si reflexionamos, nos daremos cuenta de que la vida es una constante preparación -los pa-

dres se preparan para recibir a sus hijos, los hijos se preparan para terminar sus estudios, los

atletas se preparan para ser campeones y recibir trofeos- y así podríamos hacer una larga

lista de todo lo se prepara cada día de la existencia, y quizá no terminaríamos de enumerar

las cosas. En el Evangelio de hoy se escucha la siguiente amonestación: "He aquí que yo

envío a mi mensajero delante de ti, a preparar tu camino. Voz del que clama en el desierto:

'Preparen el camino del Señor, enderecen sus senderos'" (Mc 1, 2-3).

Quizá la pregunta que surge ante estas lecturas es ¿cuál es el camino del Señor? La respuesta es sencilla. Conversión a una

vida de santidad y devoción, de arrepentimiento y perdón, una vida de escuchar al otro y arreglar las cosas en diálogo. Éste

es el grito de Juan Bautista en este Segundo Domingo de Adviento. Nos recuerda llevar una vida de bautizados con la cer-

teza de que el Espíritu de Dios está ya en nosotros. Hacemos bien en preparar las cosas terrenas para llevar una vida digna.

Pero el Adviento nos recuerda que hay que preparar las cosas de Dios con dedicación, con una actitud de esfuerzo, de

gozosa espera. La invitación es preparar primero el corazón para que florezcan los frutos del bautismo. Luego, preparemos lo

secundario -los regalos, las luces y la comida. ¡Eso es enderezar el sendero! Encontrar un cielo nuevo y una tierra nueva en lo

que preparamos. Recordemos que la fe mueve montañas. Por esta razón, el Adviento es preparación.

ST STEPHEN MARTYR CATHOLIC CHURCH

El Ministerio de Oración

“Luz del Espiritu Santo”

Los invita a orar, alabar, glorificar al Señor y darle

gracias por todos Los beneficios recibidos cada

dia de nuestra vida. Nos reunimos los Miercoles

de 7pm a 9pm en el salon parroquial de nuestra

Iglesia San Esteban Martir.

5 minutos de Oracion en el Hogar Los misales con oraciones diarias están disponibles en la

Oficina Parroquial por 1$. Estos misales incluyen las lecturas diarias, oraciones y reflexións para el mes entero.

Servicio de Penitencia

jueves, 14 de diciembre a las 7:00 p.m.

HORARIO DE OFICINA PARA LAS FIESTAS La oficina parroquial estará cerrada desde

lunes, 25 de diciembre hasta viernes, 29 de diciembre y

lunes - martes 1 y 2 de enero.

NUESTRA SEÑORA

DE GUADALUPE

Mañanitas lunes 12 de diciembre

Las fiestas comienzan a las 4:30 am

Misa comenzará a las 5:00 am

Habra una recepción en el Salón Parroquial despues de Misa.

MISAS NAVIDEÑAS

Domingo, 24 de diciembre 7:00 AM Inglés 9 AM Español 11 AM Inglés

5:00 PM Inglés

Vigilia de Navidad

Lunes, 25 de diciembre Natividad del Señor

12:00 PM Misa de medianoche

7:00 AM Inglés 9 AM Español 11 AM Inglés

Por favor recuerde de traer todos los juguetes/regalos SIN ENVOLTURA a la oficina parroquial el viernes, 15 de diciembre, por lo que pueden ser dis-tribuidos más tarde en la semana.

PARA SU INFORMACIÓN Por favor, tome nota del siguiente cambio al

calendario parroquial de diciembre:

Misa de Novena sera cancelada el

miércoles 20 de diciembre.

Gracias por su comprensión

DECEMBER 10 • SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT

December 2nd & 3rd $8,081.94

Second Collection $1,542.55

Wednesday $100.00

Friday $49.00

Thank you for your commitment to your parish.

WEEKLY MASS INTENTIONS

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9 2017 5:00 pm Sy Gui Tiak (D) Severiano “Ever” Araos Jr. (D) SUNDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2017 7:00 am Our Lady of Guadalupe - In Thanksgiving 9:30 am Miguel Angel Rivera (D) Jose Luiz Lahora (D) Alicia Paniagua (D)

11:00 am Jose D’Egidio (D) Jorge Illingworth (D) Patricia Illingworth (D)

MONDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2017 8:30 am Familia Espinoza—Barraza (D) Armando Romo - Happy Birthday!!! TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2017 8:30 am Unborn Babies WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2017 8:30 am Maria Ngan Fong Lung - Happy Birthday!!!

6:30 pm St. Stephen Parishioners

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2017 8:30 am Victor Valdez & Family (L)

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2017 8:30 am Humberto Alcaraz (D) 7:00 pm St. Stephen Parishioners

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2017 8:30 am Javier Valdez & Family (L)

Please Pray For…..

Frances Salaises, Kitty Carlucci, Ana Nunez, Maria Gonzalez, Rita Thoms, Elizabeth Dodge, Virginia Medina, Rudy Barraza, Kathy Garcia, Helen Lawrence, Frances Montez, Ramiro Sanchez, Judy Backer, Mayo & Teresa Ycedo, Eva Monroy, Al & Susan Acosta, Ray Fratino, Florence Kreslake, Francisco Paniagua, Anna Barellano, Carlos Godinez, Bertha Marquez, Kathy Moreno, Kim Chacon, Larry Hernandez, Will Martinez, Janine Lugo, George Gomez, Luis Hernandez, Craig Heller, Priscilla Isip, Linda Gomez, Bernadette Zavala, Elsa Hilton, Pio Rongavilla, Patricia McAvoy, Rocky & Micahel Terasas, Michael Barajas, Hugo Fressle, Lung Family, Tam Family, Car-oline Kolander, Mark Allen, Daniel Jara, Monica Mendoza

To insure that the prayer list is accurate, please contact

the parish office on a monthly basses if you would like for

your name to remain on the this.

A Few Minutes of Prayer in the Home Daily prayer books are available for purchase in the

Parish Office for $1. These prayer books include the daily readings, prayers and reflection for the entire month.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

Please make note of the following changes to the

December parish calendar:

Novena Mass and Bible Study will be canceled on

Wednesday December 20th.

Thank you for your understanding

Retirement Fund for Religious December 9th & 10th

Help again sisters, brothers, and religious order priests. “Each year the need to provide for our elderly (members) becomes more pressing, and we are ever more grateful for these providential funds,” writes a religious sister about the financial assistance received from the Retirement Fund for Religious. Your donation helps provide necessities such as prescription medication and nursing care. Please give to those who have given a lifetime.

DECEMBER 24TH, SUNDAY 7:00 AM ENGLISH MASS 9:00 AM SPANISH MASS

11:00 AM ENGLISH MASS 2:00 PM INDONESIAN MASS

5:00 PM - CHRISTMAS VIGIL

DECEMBER 25TH, MONDAY

CHRISTMAS 12:00 AM CHRISTMAS MIDNIGHT MASS

7:00 AM ENGLISH MASS 9:00 AM SPANISH MASS

11:00 AM ENGLISH MASS 2:00 PM INDONESIAN MASS