Many of us have things we would love to do or places we would love to visit. Some of these have not happened because the timing was not right, or we did not have the money. Maybe we have promised ourselves we will do them when the kids have finished college or when we retire.…
Keeping time…Sacred was indeed what we did at the Lenten retreat that we held this week with John Angotti. While the storms raged in our neighborhood and everyone around us lost power, we were fortunate to have electricity at the parish and so we were able to proceed with a powerful retreat about the preciousness…
Last weekend I had the great honor of giving a retreat to one of the largest parishes in the country at American Martyrs Parish, Manhattan Beach, CA. They have over 7,500 parish families, an elementary school of 720 students and six Masses on Sunday. The church is huge with seating capacity of 1,400 and all…
According to Henri Nouwen, “Living a spiritual life requires a change of heart, a conversion. Such a conversion may be marked by a sudden inner change, or it can take place through a long, quiet process of transformation. But it always involves an inner experience of oneness. We realize that we are in the center,…
I have two friends who have a really bad sense of direction. They could drive out of their home garage, take a left turn, and be immediately lost! Seriously! It is extraordinary. However, they both deal with it differently. One never admits he is lost and keeps driving. He takes a left turn, then…
Last Saturday we celebrated our first in-person Auction since before the Covid pandemic. It was so wonderful to attend such an awesome event with nearly 500 parishioners enjoying each other’s company. It was the best year ever! Saint Simon community, you are amazing beyond belief! Thank you to all who came and supported by buying…
One of the struggles of becoming seriously sick is that it is hard to keep your spirits up. In fact, a common side effect of any physical or emotional illness is we often slide into some form of mental illness, often without realizing it. One of the most common is mild depression. A prolonged delay…
Last weekend we hosted the Fr. Murray Basketball Tournament, the first since 2020 and my first time to attend. Wow! What an awesome event! It was so much fun to see the students compete and have fun. Our 8th grade girls travel team won the championship and played outstanding basketball. Indeed all our teams played…
Last weekend I visited Rocklin, near Sacramento to give a retreat to SS Peter and Paul Parish on Saturday through Tuesday nights. It was the material I presented here at Saint Simon two years ago called, Cairns on the Second Mountain of Life, about how to recognize the cairns or markers on the life of…
Last Saturday we held a volunteer appreciation Mass followed by dinner and a concert with John Angotti to recognize our volunteers. It was our way of saying thank you to the many school and parish volunteers who have shared the gift of their time with us over the last three years throughout the pandemic period.…