PENTECOST
50 days following the Resurrection, our Church celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and the others in the Upper Room; from that moment, the message of salvation in Jesus Christ began to spread. By one telling another, by one showing another, by one loving another, the Way of the Lord and His Church has been handed on for centuries until this present moment. A question for all of us: how am I handing on the message of Jesus Christ and His Church to others at this time? We each must do our part to spread the Good News of salvation by word and deed. Come, Holy Spirit!
Priest Retreat 2022
Each year all of the priests of the Diocese of Orange go on retreat together; this is a phenomenon in the life of the Church in the United States as I don’t think any other diocese does such a thing each year. This has been in place since the first year of the Diocese (1976) and the tradition continues the week of June 6-10.
Our retreat will be at the same place as last year, the Westin Mission Hills Hotel in Rancho Mirage. There will be about 150 of us on retreat; our director this year is Father Luke Dysinger, OSB, a monk of the Benedictine Abbey of Valyermo. He received his MD from USC in 1978, was ordained a priest in 1986, and received a Doctorate in Philosophy from Oxford University in England. He is currently a professor of moral theology at St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo. The topics he is planning on covering during retreat are lectio divina, contemplative prayer, liturgical prayer, and reflections on authority and diversity. It ought to be quite stimulating and enriching.
Our days are filled with specific times for prayer (Mass, morning prayer and evening prayer), a Penance Service, Exposition and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, presentations, and of course quality social time with one another. Please keep us in your prayers as we enter into the theme of our retreat this year “Catholic Spiritual Heritage: Tools for our Journey Together”.
During our Week of Retreat (June 6-10)
We will have Mass here on Monday at 8:30 a.m. After that, the church and Blessed Sacrament Chapel will be closed for the week for annual cleaning and refurbishing. If you wish to attend Mass during the week, St. Edward’s in Dana Point will have a daily Mass at 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.; Holy Trinity in Ladera Ranch at 8:30 a.m.; and St. Kilian at 6:30 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. each day. There won’t be any other daily Masses that week in the other local parishes.
Monsignor John Urell
