introducing father devdas

INTRODUCING FATHER DEVDAS
I come from a family of seven siblings—three boys and four
girls. I am fifth in the order. My mother died when I was 5 years old
and my father died six years ago. By profession we are farmers and
grow mainly cash crops. As a child I learned to plough, grow rice,
vegetables, etc. My brothers are still with the same profession, but
my nephews and nieces, who moved out of the community for education and employment, are slowly losing their farming roots.
I was born in a mixed religious family. My dad was a Hindu
before his marriage and my mom was a Catholic. My aunt—my
dad’s sister—was married to a Hindu priest. I was close to my uncle, and as a child I used to assist him during weekends in his Hindu religious worship. In my
heart I did not believe in the Hindu religion nor enjoy participating in the rituals. I went along
with it because I loved my uncle and wanted to help him. Therefore, as a child, I was not
much involved in church activities because of my affiliation with Hindu religion.
My early association with Hindu religion, rituals, and practices made me question
my belief system and brought me closer to the church and my faith. I truly found my faith
when I was in high school. It felt right to me; it felt like I belonged to something greater and
was serving a higher purpose. I soon became an altar server and a year later secretary to the
altar server’s association. Being the secretary to the altar server’s association I had the responsibility of training and mentoring new altar servers.
I clearly remember one day when I was in the ninth grade at St. Bernadette’s Catholic High School, a missionary priest from North India came to my school and talked to the
ninth and tenth graders about the missionary work in North India and the need for more
priests to work as missionaries. He asked us to consider the possibilities of joining the seminary and going to North India to work as missionaries. I gave my name without knowing
much about the North Indian culture, climate, language, people, etc. My family, particularly
my dad, was not happy with my decision. He discouraged me saying that the people in the
north are barbarians and they kill missionaries. It is true that even now missionaries in India
North continue to face oppositions and martyrdom. I took up the challenge and joined a summer camp—Come and See Program—organized after my tenth grade final exam for students
considering joining the priesthood.
(Cont. on page 4)
Table of Contents
Church Directory
Pg 2
Announcements
Pg 3
Weekly Readings
Mass Intentions
Pg 3
Pg 3
Youth Update
Pg 5
2
The Messenger
Queen of Angels Church
Queen of Angels
Church
2569 W. Victoria Drive
Alpine, CA 91901-3662
Office: (619) 445-2145
Fax: (619) 445-9682
www.queenofangels.org
Email: [email protected]
Mass Schedule
Saturday: 5:30 PM
Sunday: 8:00 and
10:30 AM
Weekdays: 8:00 AM
Thursday: Communion
Service only: 8:00 AM
Clergy
Rev. Devdas Masillamony,
Pastor
[email protected]
Deacon Fred Thornton
[email protected]
Parish Office Staff
Dorie Arietta, Office Manager
[email protected]
Kathy Burns, Bookkeeper
[email protected]
Sandy Dioli, Office Assistant
[email protected]
Kristi Scherbaum, Director of
Catechetical Ministry (DCM)
[email protected]
Beverly Jo Michelli, Youth
Minister/Assistant DCM
[email protected]
Bulletin Editor, Sheila Wing
Music Ministry:
Ami Abrigo
Saturday, 5:30 PM 445-2145
Sean & Natalie McMeeken
Sunday, 8:00 AM
445-2145
Meinard Belarmino
Sunday, 10:30 AM 445-2145
Reconciliation
In the Reconciliation Chapel
Saturday 4:30-5:00 PM
after weekday Mass
or by appointment
Liturgy of the Word for
Children: Eileen Porter
(10:30 AM Sun.)
Calming Room: Ask Usher for
assistance at any Mass
Knights of Columbus: Contact
Don Lundy
445-2145
J u ly 2 0 , 2 0 14
Christ is like a roped guide
climbing a mountain who, on
reaching the summit, pulls us
up to him and leads us to
God. If we entrust our life to
him, if we let ourselves be
guided by him, we are certain to be in safe hands, in
the hands of our Savior, of our advocate.
Pope Francis
Do you feel a pull to join the Catholic Church?
Does the path you are on in life seem to keep
coming back to the Church? When all of life is
swirling around, does Mass bring you peace?
Does the thought of becoming Catholic give
you a sense being in God’s safe hands?
Maybe you are being guided to explore what it
means to join the Catholic Church (or complete your sacraments if you were baptized
Catholic and never made your First Eucharist
or were confirmed.) Come join others who are
on a similar path in the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) process. Our next
meeting is Wednesday, August 6, at 7:00 PM
in the parish hall. Call Kristi Scherbaum at
445.2145 for more details.
If you have an older child who has not been
baptized or who would like to join the Church
or make his/her First Eucharist, please contact
Kristi Scherbaum at 445.2145.
FOR THE SICK
Prayer for the Sick
Please pray for:
Watch, O Lord, with those
who wake, or watch, or weep
tonight, and give your angels
charge over those who sleep.
Tend your sick ones,
O Lord Christ.
Rest your weary ones.
Bless your dying ones.
Soothe your suffering ones.
Pity your afflicted ones.
Shield your joyous ones.
And for all your love's sake.
Amen.
Erika Allen
Ernie Allen, Jr.
Lissa Avera
Claude Bailey
Mary & Norman Banks
Michael Banks
Ursula Briner
Dan Contreras
Zac Erickson
Beverly Falor
Nathan Farmer
Eleanore “Cookie” Flocken
Robin Florance
Karen Gamble
Steve Glass
Saint Augustine
Aida House
Elwood Johnson
Katie Larson
Carmen Lewis
Jenn Lundy
Winnie O’Hara
Calvin Peoples
Eric Prieto
Caroline Sardisco
Mary Kay Smith
Chris Twardochleb
Sue Twardochleb
Dorothy Venancio
Kailyn & Charis Whaley
and all those listed
in our book of
prayer.
PRAYER
Almighty God, be their
LIST FOR
constant companion
Jim Archer II
DEPLOYED
and strength in every
MILITARY Marcus Rainier De la Cruz
adversity. May they
Cara Dudda
experience Your
Michael Hazelton
presence,
love and
SGT Michael Ibarra
As a faith community
comfort. Amen.
Captain Kevin Kellum
let us keep all who
Alexander
Marin
serve our country
If you have a friend or
Sgt. Edward J. Mitchell
during these troubled
relative who is serving in
2 CL PVT Matt Ramirez
times in our prayers.
our military and is
SFC Oscar Rodriguez
We pray especially for
deployed
or will be
Miguel Torres
deployed
please
call Sheila
those of our parish who
MA3 Carl Touchet
at
619.445.2145
HM3 Jacob Tweed
are deployed or who
or email her at
CPL Chris Welch
will soon be deployed:
[email protected].
The Messenger
Queen of Angels Church
J u ly 2 0 , 2 0 14
3
ANNOUNCEMENTS
St. Adelaide Collection The second collection
at all the Masses this weekend, July 19-20,
will be for St. Adelaide Church in Campo.
Please be as generous as you can to our brothers and sisters in need at St. Adelaide’s.
Men Saddened by a Past Abortion: Rachel’s
Hope offers one day healing workshops for
husbands or boyfriends of past and current relationships troubled by an abortion of their child
or are in a relationship with a woman who has
had an abortion. The workshop, led by Dr. Paul
Santero, will be held on Saturday, July 26,
from 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM at the Diocesan Pastoral Center, 3888 Paducah. Fee is $25. To preregister please call 858.581.3022 or visit our
website at www.rachelshope.org.
Summer Stewardship
This is the time of year
when many families are
on vacation. A good
way to teach children
about the importance of
Mass attendance is to
build it even on vacation.
It can be fun and interesting to seek out a parish
in another town to attend Mass in another
Catholic faith community. At the same time, it
is important to remember that the stewardship
way of living the Christian life is to decide in
advance how much of our treasure we share
with our own parish community. Even though
many families are away for some portion of the
summer, our bills do not stop. For this reason,
I hope that you will remember to use your envelopes in support of our parish even when you
are on vacation. One of the advantages of our
envelope system is the convenience of being
able to return them by mail.
Camp Oliver: Summer Fun for Kids! Camp
Oliver is owned by the Sisters of Social Service, and has been operating summer camp for
over 60 years. Campers ages 6-13 enjoy swimming, arts and crafts, archery, nature studies,
outdoor cooking, hiking, campfires, low ropes
course and more! Our third and last session will
be August 8. Financial assistance is available.
For complete information visit our new website
at
www.campoliver.org,
email
[email protected] or call the office at
619.445.5945.
Mass Times for Travelers Traveling? As Rev.
Patrick Keyes, CSSR, writes in the Liguori
Sunday Bulletin, “We’re never on vacation
from our faith. If you plan where you’ll attend
Mass just as you do the rest of your trip, you
may discover a historic church, a widely recognized choir, or an award-winning homilist. But
no matter where you go to Mass, you’ll find
Jesus, waiting to nourish you with his Word
and feed you with his Body and Blood.” MassTimes.org has listings for Catholic churches in
the United States and around the world. To find
Mass in the area where you are traveling, go to
their website at www.MassTimes.org or call
858.207.6277.
Patronize Our Advertisers We wish to thank
the many neighborhood merchants who are
generously supporting our bulletin with their
advertising. A link to our advertisers’ page is
provided at The Messenger Bulletins tab on our
website. Please patronize these businesses
whose faith in this medium of advertising make
The Messenger possible. If you have a business
and desire to reach fellow parishioners with
your message, please call 951.683.0608 or visit
the C&M website at www.cmpublications.com
for more info.
Stewardship of
Treasure
July 13, 2014
Registered families
724
Envelopes used
174
Envelope collections
$ 7,061.00
Plate collections
$
TOTAL
$ 7,465.02
404.02
We are desperate for
your help to serve
coffee and donuts on
Sunday morning
once a month.
Volunteers would be
appreciated
especially for the
8:00 AM Mass, but if the
10:30 Mass is better for
you, please
volunteer. If you can
share your time please
contact Leslie
Perricone at 760.7638.
READINGS and MASS INTENTIONS July 19 - 27, 2014
Sunday:
Wis 12:13, 16-19/Ps 86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16/
Rom 8:26-27/Mt 13:24-43
Monday:
Mi 6:1-4, 6-8/
Ps 50:5-6, 8-9, 16-17, 21, 23/Mt 12:38-42
Tuesday:
Mi 7:14-15, 18-20/Ps 85:2-8/
Jn 20:1-2, 11-18
Wednesday: Jer 1:1, 4-10/Ps 71:1-6, 15, 17/Mt 13:1-9
Thursday:
Jer 2:1-3, 7-8, 12-13/Ps 36:6-11/
Mt 13:10-17
Friday:
2 Cor 4:7-15/Ps 126:1-6/Mt 20:20-28
Saturday:
Jer 7:1-11/Ps 84:3-6, 8, 11/Mt 13:24-30
Next Sunday: 1 Kgs 3:5, 7-12/
Ps 119:57, 72, 76-77, 127-130/
Rom 8:28-30/Mt 13:44-52
DATE
Saturday,
Sunday,
Sunday,
Monday,
Tuesday,
Wed,
Thursday,
Friday,
Saturday,
Sunday,
Sunday,
Jul 19
Jul 20
Jul 20
Jul 21
Jul 22
Jul 23
Jul 24
Jul 25
Jul 26
Jul 27
Jul 27
TIME
5:30 PM
8:00 AM
10:30 AM
8:00 AM
8:00 AM
8:00 AM
8:00 AM
8:00 AM
5:30 PM
8:00 AM
10:30 AM
INTENTION
† Margaret Fraenzl
† Mark & Milo Simons
For the People
Bob Barrett
In Thanksgiving
† Souls in Purgatory
Communion Service
Bob & Luise Barrett
Joan Smith
For the People
† Concepcion Villa
REQUESTED BY
Gerry & Terry Fraenzl
Marlene Simons
John & Sheila Wing
Beverly & Thomas Sprague
Beverly & Thomas Sprague
John & Sheila Wing
Robert & Angelica
Brigham
4
The Messenger
Queen of Angels Church
We believe that God,
in His mercy and
compassion, answers
each prayer
in accordance
to His will.
If you would like
prayers for a loved one
or for a special
intention, go to
our website,
www.queenofangels.org
Click on the Prayer
Request tab on the
left sidebar and then
fill out the form.
Add Your Request
for Prayers
Father Devdas offers
these intentions from
the “Prayer Requests”
along with the other
intentions during one
of Queen of Angels’
Masses each week.
J u ly 2 0 , 2 0 14
(Cont. from page 1)
I liked the atmosphere at the summer camp which was peaceful, prayerful, and
respectful. The camp gave me time to pray and discern my vocation. After the summer
camp, I decided to join the seminary to become a priest and I was also supported and
mentored by my high school principal, a priest, a simple and holy man. His humility,
piety, and love for God and the poor interested me in joining the priesthood.
I joined the Archdiocese of Delhi and became a priest on May 14, 1994. I
worked one year as an associate pastor in an urban parish. The parish had a vibrant
youth group and I was given the responsibility of mentoring them. I loved the work and
from that group two of them joined the priesthood. I was then appointed as the Director
of Catholic Charities until 2001. It was not something I wanted to do as a priest but I
took it up out of obedience and also I had a Masters’ degree in Social Work. I was hesitant because I wanted to have some parish experience before starting a residential program for drug addicts. It was my dream because many of my family people and friends
were addicts and their families suffered because of the addiction. As the director of
Catholic Charities I could not start a residential program for drug addicts due to lack of
time and resources but worked closely with AA/NA Groups and guided them to grow
and serve people and families affected by it. While I was with Catholic Charities, I
worked with people of different socio-economic and religious groups, especially people
living in rural and urban slums. It enabled me to understand their struggle and have special concern for them.
I came to the United States to do my Ph.D. at USD. My doctoral program was
Leadership and Management studies—Management of Nonprofit Organizations. During
my studies at USD, I served at Santa Sophia Parish in addition to working as a hospital
chaplain. I enjoyed the work and learned a lot from their simple faith, even in moments
of struggle and difficulties. It deepened my faith and my understanding of people in
struggle. I am now a priest of the Diocese of San Diego and am very pleased to work at
Queen of Angels parish as pastor.
I love my priesthood. It is a great joy and honor celebrating the Holy Eucharist
with the faith community, administering the Sacraments, hearing confession, listening
and comforting people, etc. As a priest, it is my great joy to help people to encounter
God and experience His goodness and love. My experience of working with people
helped me grow in my faith and has drawn me closer to God. This is my 20 th year of
ordination to the priesthood. I am humbled and profoundly thank the Lord for the gift of
my vocation and the opportunities to serve God’s holy people.
Welcome! If you, like Father Devdas, are new in the parish, please introduce yourself to him
after Mass and stop by the Parish Office during the week. Parish registration is available for all
who come to Queen of Angels Church on a regular basis and consider this their home. Please use
the registration coupon below or fill out the form at the church entrance.
We wish to extend a warm welcome to all new parishioners. If you
would like to be registered, please fill out this form and either place it
in the collection basket, or stop by the office in person or mail it to the
parish or send it by email to [email protected].
Nosotros extendemos una calurosa bienvenida a todos los nuevos
fieles. Si usted quisiera ser registrado, por favor llene esta forma,
entregaria en la oficina, ponerla en las canasta de las limosnas, o
mandala por correo o mandaria por correo electronica (email).
First Name _________________________________ & ________________________Last________________________________
Primer Nobre
Apellido
Address/
Domicilio__________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Messenger
Queen of Angels Church
5
J u ly 2 0 , 2 0 14
YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULT UPDATE
BY BEVERLY JO MICHELLI
Introduction to "Theology of the Body"
Tuesdays, July 22 & 29 from 7:00 PM -9:00 PM.
at San Rafael Church
Are you struggling to figure out what God's plans are for the desires of your
heart? Do you think God may have something better than the hook-up culture the world promotes? Then
join other 18-25 yr olds as we learn about God’s plan for our sexuality with JP2s Theology of the Body
Beginner Series by Christopher West. We will be meeting at 7 PM every Tues in July at San Rafael.
Please RSVP to Rachel at [email protected] or 805.444.5322
Theology on Tap
Mondays in August (4, 11, 18, 25); 6:30 PM Dinner/7:30 PM Speaker
Offshore Tavern & Grill at 2253 Morena Blvd 92117
Join other young adults for a great night of food, fellowship and great speakers
in the Bay Park Area!
Mon, Aug 4: Catholic Social Teaching: "Moving our Faith into ACTION!"
with Fr. Sebastian Bukenya
Mon, Aug 11: If it makes you happy....."Discover the JOY you deeply desire!"
with Kara Klein
Mon, Aug 18: Prayer in the FAST LANE! "Quiet moments to connect with God."
with Deacon Chris Hulbert
Mon, Aug 25: A crash course through the BIBLE! "Get the amazing, big picture of scripture!"
with Katie Patrizio
MEGA MASS with Bishop Flores
Sunday, August 10, 5:30 PM-8:00 PM
at The Immaculata Church on USD
Come join young adults 18-39 yrs old from all over the Diocese for the 3rd annual Young
Adult Mega Mass celebrated by Bishop Flores! There will be a light reception following
the Mass. We are expecting 500 young adults so this is the place to be!
Please RSVP to Carrie at [email protected] or 858.490.8260.
SAVE THE DATE!!
Diocesan Young Adult Retreat
SEPTEMBER 19 - 21
at Whispering Winds
(details to come)