Welcome to St. Catherine of Alexandria Catholic Church
A Message From Our Pastor Fr. Gene
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Church News and Announcements
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A message from the Parish Office: St. Catherine’s Church is open at the following times: Monday – Friday 7:30 am to 9:00 am and 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm. Saturday 7:30 am to 9:00 am and 3:00 pm to 6:30 pm Sunday 6:00 am to 3:00 pm and 4:00 pm to 6:30 pm If you have questions, please call the Parish Office at 951.781.9855. Thank you. Your are cordially invited to Fr. Ben's 40th Sacerdotal Anniversary Mass of Thanks giving Friday October 25, at 2:00 pm for more information call 951-781-9855 ext. 18. Click here Life Teen Remember every Sunday is LIFE NIGHT, 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm at the Hall or Youth House, 6956 Nixon Drive. All High School Age Youth are welcome to come over as soon as the LIFE TEEN Mass ends. Click Here Lay Missionaries of the Sacred Heart Call 369-9228 for more information SPARK - Catholic Young Adult Community Are you looking to grow in your Catholic faith with other young adults that share your faith? SPARK Catholic Young Adult Community of young adults ages of 18 to 39. We meet every 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month at St. Catherine’s or St. Thomas in Riverside. @spark_ya or text at 951.468.5671 or email at spark.catholicyoungadult@gmail.com. CATHOLIC MEN’S FELLOWSHIP MINISTRY Are you looking for faith, hope and prayer in your life? Come join Catholic Men’s Fellowship here at St. Catherine on the 2nd Tuesday of the month at 7:00 pm or 4th Saturday of the month at 9:00 am. Meetings are held at the Ministry Center, Room 1—7005 Brockton Avenue, Riverside, CA 92506. “All men welcome.” Call Robert at 951-784-7642 or Al at 951-212-1971 for information. Diocese of San Bernardino Office of the Bishop Pope Francis a Restorative Justice role model in the church. Click here: |
Thinking about becoming Catholic?
Have questions? Call Mary or Marty at 781-9855 ext. 29 for the answers. Help for the homeless and hungry Riverside County residents. You may get $200 in Food Stamps when you apply. Call 800-464-1123. Youth and young adult choir If you are between the ages of 14-39 and enjoy singing or play an instrument, join us on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month from 7:00—8:00 pm in the Church for rehearsal. Response to the Clergy Sexual Abuse Crisis October 30, 2018 Sexual Abuse Crisis Announcements: Bishop Gerald R. Barnes of the Diocese of San Bernardino has authorized release of a list of priests who have faced credible accusations of sexual abuse of minors, and has written a letter explaining his decision. In addition, St. Catherine of Alexandria Catholic Parish recently held a town hall on the issue, providing an opportunity for members to share their concerns. A full report is available on our website. Town Hall Followup in English and Spanish: Click Here: Diocese of San Bernardino Department of Life, Dignity & Justice Advocacy & Justice for Immigrants The Catholic Church and SB 54 Why Not Physician-Assisted Suicide? For English click here. For Español click here. Diocese of San Bernardino Filling Lives With Hope (Suicide Prevention) Llenando Vidas De Esperanza (Prevencion de Suicidio) |
Ask the Clergy
Q. How should we view the issue of climate change/global warming in light of the Scriptures and our faith?
A. We know from Genesis, chapter one, that God created the heavens and the earth. He placed the great lights into the sky (sun and moon) and set the planets in their orbit. From that moment onward, we have known climate, the tilting of the earth gives us seasons and the winds and rains give us what our weather people call highs and lows (pressure) which indicates from which direction the wind is blowing and whether our air is coming in from the sea or the desert.
These things are normal and God-given. They are not a scourge on the land nor are they a blight on our souls.
However, God said for us to be good stewards of the earth and that means not to overdo (or overcome) what God has provided. When we over-fish the seas we depopulate the species and if we aren’t careful we destroy a generation (or an entire species) by our greed for money or our lust to overindulge. Deforestation causes erosion and the depletion of live-sustaining oxygen that the trees naturally exude when converting carbon dioxide to energy.
We need to strike a healthy balance and that is what stewardship is all about.
Caring for our planet and, by so doing, for one another.
However, many people today rail against one another and argue that this is a political or environmental issue instead of recognizing that this is, in fact, a moral issue and a moral obligation imposed upon us by the Creator God.
Pope Francis sounded the alarm in 2015 with his encyclical Laudate si (On Care for the Environment), and continues to extol the virtue of caring for our planet (solidarity) and all that reside thereon.
When the young scholar of the law asked Jesus what he must do to gain eternal life, Jesus told him to love God and neighbor as himself.
So who is our neighbor?
......Jesus’ answer was everyone. Even those we despise – a Samaritan, in this case.
As Christians, we are supposed to be disciples of a loving God so ‘hate’ and ‘despise’ are not words that should even be coming out of our mouths, let alone rest in our hearts.
We are called to love. To share our bread with the less fortunate, the hungry and our drink with the thirsty. And we are asked to do it without strings attached. Unconditionally. As if we are giving it to Jesus, himself.
Then if caring for our planet and its inhabitants is, in fact, a moral issue then we need to set aside our ‘politics’ and see to the needs of those who are our most vulnerable. We need to make sure that the balance remains in order. That we don’t cause mass extinction of species of fish or animals and disrupt the food or life cycle so that we inadvertently (or consciously) imperil our very being and existence.
We must ask ourselves, who are the most vulnerable among us?
If the climate changes, who will be impacted the most? Those who do not have adequate shelter, water, food and/or air conditioning. Basically, Senior citizens and the homeless.
When temperatures climb into the triple digits, the human body is designed to sweat, thus regulating the body’s core temperature. However, when humidity increases because of global warming (carbon dioxide in the air traps the solar radiation and bounces it back to earth rather than it being bounced off the ice caps and out into space) the body finds it harder to sweat and so the body temperature rises resulting in heat stroke or heat prostration. Lacking water to replenish what the body is losing, the affected person becomes dehydrated and the body releases stored toxins into the bloodstream causing additional problems for them. Thus, emergency rooms and paramedics see a spike in the number of calls or usage.
Each of us can use less resources, air conditioning, electricity or gas in order to share with those who have fewer options. We can reduce our ‘carbon footprint’ and be good stewards just as God intended for us to do -- In community -- And for the community we call Planet Earth.
Loving one another is a moral imperative.
In the Spirit of St. Francis of Assisi, let us remember Brother Sun and Sister Moon, and strive to treat all of creation as family.
Deacon John De Gano
These things are normal and God-given. They are not a scourge on the land nor are they a blight on our souls.
However, God said for us to be good stewards of the earth and that means not to overdo (or overcome) what God has provided. When we over-fish the seas we depopulate the species and if we aren’t careful we destroy a generation (or an entire species) by our greed for money or our lust to overindulge. Deforestation causes erosion and the depletion of live-sustaining oxygen that the trees naturally exude when converting carbon dioxide to energy.
We need to strike a healthy balance and that is what stewardship is all about.
Caring for our planet and, by so doing, for one another.
However, many people today rail against one another and argue that this is a political or environmental issue instead of recognizing that this is, in fact, a moral issue and a moral obligation imposed upon us by the Creator God.
Pope Francis sounded the alarm in 2015 with his encyclical Laudate si (On Care for the Environment), and continues to extol the virtue of caring for our planet (solidarity) and all that reside thereon.
When the young scholar of the law asked Jesus what he must do to gain eternal life, Jesus told him to love God and neighbor as himself.
So who is our neighbor?
......Jesus’ answer was everyone. Even those we despise – a Samaritan, in this case.
As Christians, we are supposed to be disciples of a loving God so ‘hate’ and ‘despise’ are not words that should even be coming out of our mouths, let alone rest in our hearts.
We are called to love. To share our bread with the less fortunate, the hungry and our drink with the thirsty. And we are asked to do it without strings attached. Unconditionally. As if we are giving it to Jesus, himself.
Then if caring for our planet and its inhabitants is, in fact, a moral issue then we need to set aside our ‘politics’ and see to the needs of those who are our most vulnerable. We need to make sure that the balance remains in order. That we don’t cause mass extinction of species of fish or animals and disrupt the food or life cycle so that we inadvertently (or consciously) imperil our very being and existence.
We must ask ourselves, who are the most vulnerable among us?
If the climate changes, who will be impacted the most? Those who do not have adequate shelter, water, food and/or air conditioning. Basically, Senior citizens and the homeless.
When temperatures climb into the triple digits, the human body is designed to sweat, thus regulating the body’s core temperature. However, when humidity increases because of global warming (carbon dioxide in the air traps the solar radiation and bounces it back to earth rather than it being bounced off the ice caps and out into space) the body finds it harder to sweat and so the body temperature rises resulting in heat stroke or heat prostration. Lacking water to replenish what the body is losing, the affected person becomes dehydrated and the body releases stored toxins into the bloodstream causing additional problems for them. Thus, emergency rooms and paramedics see a spike in the number of calls or usage.
Each of us can use less resources, air conditioning, electricity or gas in order to share with those who have fewer options. We can reduce our ‘carbon footprint’ and be good stewards just as God intended for us to do -- In community -- And for the community we call Planet Earth.
Loving one another is a moral imperative.
In the Spirit of St. Francis of Assisi, let us remember Brother Sun and Sister Moon, and strive to treat all of creation as family.
Deacon John De Gano
Mass Schedule
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Saturday Evening
5:15 pm (Vigil Mass) Sunday 6:30 am (English) 8:30 am (English) 10:15 am (Interpreted for the Deaf) 12:00 pm (English) 1:45 pm (Español) 5:15 pm (English) English Daily Mass 8:00 am (English) 5:30 pm (Monday – Friday, except from Memorial Day through Labor Day) |
Holy Days (except Christmas & New Year’s)
Vigil at 5:30 pm; 8:00 am, 10:15 am, 7:00 pm Confessions Saturday: 3:30-5:00 pm; Daily Upon Request St. Catherine’s Church is open at the following times: Monday – Friday 7:30 am to 9:00 am and 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm. Saturday 7:30 am to 9:00 am and 3:00 pm to 6:30 pm Sunday 6:00 am to 3:00 pm and 4:00 pm to 6:30 pm If you have questions, please call the Parish Office at 951.781.9855. Thank you |