Rejoice! Be Glad!

Rejoice and be glad!

Dear brothers and sisters, How could we not rejoice and be glad? We celebrated the feast of our patron saint as a large family, amidst songs, dances, food, fireworks, popular devotions, and the Holy Eucharist presided over by one of our auxiliary bishops, the Most Reverend Felipe Pulido.

And all this has been possible because behind everything we experienced were many hands that, with effort, time, dedication, and love, made it possible for many of us to celebrate the life of Saint Louis, King of France, our patron saint.

Together, all things are possible; we are witnesses to this. We are a very blessed intercultural Catholic community.

A bishop friend from my homeland, Costa Rica, once said in one of his homilies, “It’s a mark of good manners to be grateful.” And I would add that it is also a sign of a good Christian to be grateful. Therefore, I cannot overlook the effort and hard work that many parishioners and ministries of our parish put in so that we could all have a great celebration.

I would especially like to thank:

• The San Luis Rey Feast Planning Committee
• Hospitality Ministry
• Art & Environment Ministry
• Cultural Diversity Ministry
• Hispanic Ministries
• Filipino Ministry
• Youth & Young Adult Ministry
• The Knights of Columbus
• The Columbian Squires
• The Core Team of the Confirmation Program
• Ministries that donated beverages
• Giovanni Dominguez and Parish maintenance personnel
• San Luis Rey Parish Ballet Folklorico
• Aztec Dance – Grupo Emanuel
• Samoan Dance – Samoan Ministry
• Armando Amoranto and Band
• Calenda Valles Centrales
• Banda Nieves
• DJ Dancin D
• Servers for the Holy Mass: Masters of Ceremonies, lectors, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, choir, ushers, those that dressed the altar and altar servers.

And how can I not thank those who, over the past three weeks, have been working pro bono every night to make our sanctuary a more beautiful, safe, and practical place for our liturgical celebrations, especially the Eucharist, the center of our Christian life. A profound thank you to John Arguello, Mike Lucio, Marcelino Cuenca, the Men of St. Joseph, and all others who made it possible for this project to be completed for us to celebrate the Eucharist in honor of St. Louis the King. Thank you very much.

I would also like to thank Alberto Beltran of Tierra Bella Landscape and Ruth Muleady for their work, talents, dedication, and love for the landscape project. Although it is not yet finished, we have already seen and used what has been achieved so far. Thank you. I am a witness to the many hours of work you have voluntarily given to this project. May God bless you greatly.

Let us rejoice and be glad because events like the one we experienced last Saturday, August 23rd, in celebration of Saint Louis the King, demonstrate that we are an active, living parish, and that when we work together as a family, anything is possible. Especially if we allow the Holy Spirit to work in us.

I don’t want to end without thanking all those who accompanied us and contributed by purchasing raffle tickets, food, and drinks. Your presence enriched our celebration. Let us continue walking together, let us continue being an example of living missionary discipleship.

Saint Louis the King of France, pray for us!!

Fraternally, Fr. Lalo Jara, OFM