For lunch (from 12:30-2:00 p.m.), you may purchase a meal of three tacos, rice, and beans at the parish; drive to nearby restaurants; or bring a sack lunch.
Spiritually enriching books, and religious articles
will be available for purchase throughout the day.
All are welcome to stay for St. Denis’s Vigil Mass at 5:30 p.m.
This conference will not be recorded or livestreamed.
Portrait of St. Stephen, deacon, the first martyr of the Church (see Acts, chapters 6 and 7),
and the patron saint of deacons.
All parishioners are welcome to join in the celebration.
Bring your children, grandchildren, and the entire family!
Starting on Sunday, September 8, our Adult Choir will resume singing every week at the 11:00 a.m. Mass. Rehearsals are on Thursdays (starting on September 5) from 7:15-8:45 p.m. in the Choir Loft upstairs in the church.
Children’s Choir for the 1:00 p.m. Sunday Mass
On Sunday, September 8 and Sunday, September 22, our Children’s Choir (for children in grades 2-8) will resume singing at the 1:00 p.m. Family Mass. Then, starting on Sunday, October 6, the Children’s Choir will sing every Sunday at the 1:00 p.m. Family Mass through December 22. After a break for Christmas and New Year’s, the Children’s Choir will resume (on Sunday, January 12) singing at the 1:00 p.m. Family Mass every Sunday.
Rehearsals are on the preceding Saturday from 9:00-10:00 a.m. in the Choir Room upstairs in the church. Thus, the rehearsals for the Children’s Choir will be on the following Saturdays: September 7, September 21, October 5, and every Saturday thereafter through December 21. Then, after a break for Christmas and New Year’s, the weekly rehearsals will resume on Saturday, January 11.
Youth/Young Adult Choir for the 5:30 p.m. Sunday Mass
Our Youth/Young Adult Choir (for young adults and teens in high school) sings at the 5:30 p.m. Mass every Sunday. Rehearsals are on Sundays from 4:00-5:30 p.m. in the church.
For more information about singing or playing a musical instrument (e.g., percussion, guitar, violin, flute, trumpet, etc.) at St. Denis, please contact our Music Director, Patrick Zubiate, at [email protected] or (909) 861-7106 ext. 122.
Rescue Live! is an amazing opportunity for three things, hopefully, to happen:
● to be overwhelmed by the power of the Gospel;
● to surrender our whole lives to Jesus in faith; and
● to be mobilized for mission, because we were born for these days in which we are
living. We are not alive by chance; God chose us to be alive for this very time.
This experience is for anybody and everybody—for people who have never been inside a church, for people who have left the church, and for people who go to church. Come as you are! The day will include powerful preaching, praise and worship, and warm hospitality.
Rescue Live! will help us to understand again (or for the first time) the answers to four big questions:
● Why is there something rather than nothing?
● Why is everything so obviously messed up?
● What, if anything, has God done about it?
● And if He has done anything about it, then how should I respond?
If you would like to carpool to the cathedral with Fr. John, Deacon Al, Deacon Dennis, and others from St. Denis, please meet us in the church’s lower parking lot at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 28. At the conference, if you would like to sit with parishioners from St. Denis, please meet Fr. John on the plaza of the cathedral (near the café) at 7:55 a.m.; and we will enter the Conference Center together and sit together.
“Communion of Saints” tapestries at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
The 19th Annual Los Angeles Catholic Prayer Breakfast will be on Tuesday, September 17th from 6:30-9:30 a.m. at the Cathedral in downtown Los Angeles (555 W. Temple St., Los Angeles, CA 90012). The program will begin with a Rosary at 6:30 a.m., followed by a Mass at 7:00 a.m. with Archbishop José Gomez, then breakfast on the plaza, and an inspiring keynote speech by Fr. Mike Schmitz.
Fr. Mike is most notable for his social media presence, the Bible in a Year podcast, and The Hallow app. He is the Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries in the Diocese of Duluth, Minnesota. We are excited to hear his message of being a Catholic in today’s world.
Everyone from St. Denis (including Fr. John) will sit together at one or more tables. We will carpool at 5:30 a.m. from the church’s lower parking lot and will return to St. Denis by about 10:30 a.m. You also can drive separately from the carpooling group or take public transit.
Tickets for the Prayer Breakfast are $40 each (a $5 discount) and can be purchased at the Pastoral Office (909-861-7106), which is open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sundays, and from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. all other days (except Tuesdays, when it is closed). Please buy your tickets by Monday, September 9 so that we will know how many tickets and tables to reserve.
St. Denis’s Christian Service Ministry is collecting school supplies for needy children. Please consider donating the following items:
• backpacks | • scissors (blunted for children) |
• crayons | • gluesticks |
• pencils | • color pencils |
• pens | • markers |
• notebooks | • highliters |
• paper | • other school necessities |
If you’ve lost a spouse, a child, a family member, or a friend, you’ve probably found that there are not many people who understand the deep hurt you feel. This can be a confusing time, when you feel isolated and have many questions about things that you’ve never faced before.
St. Denis’s GriefShare support group meets weekly to help participants face these challenges and move toward rebuilding their lives. They meet every Sunday from 1:30-3:00 pm in the Hall (Room B/C) with a different topic for each session. The schedule is set forth below.
Dates:
April 28, 2024 Session One: “Is This Normal?”
May 5, 2024 Session Two: “Your Grief Journey”
May 12, 2024 No meeting (Mother’s Day)
May 19, 2024 Session Three: “Loneliness & Sadness”
May 26, 2024 Session Four: “Self-Care”
June 2, 2024 Session Five: “Fearful & Overwhelmed”
June 9, 2024 Session Six: “Anger”
June 16, 2024 Session Seven: “Regrets”
June 23, 2024 Session Eight: “Grief & Your Household”
June 30, 2024 Session Nine: “Grief & Your Friendships”
July 7, 2024 Session Ten: “Questions for God”
July 14, 2024 Session Eleven: “Stuck in Grief”
July 21, 2024 Session Twelve: “Hope & Resilience”
July 28, 2024 Session Thirteen: “What Do I Live For Now?”
Each GriefShare session has three distinct parts:
(1) watching a video seminar featuring top experts on grief and recovery;
(2) discussing with the group what was presented in the video and what is going on in their lives; and
(3) discussing questions and comments from a workbook, which participants will use during the week for further study of the grieving process and for journaling about their emotions.
Just show up for one of the sessions. You don’t have to sign up in advance; and you don’t have to attend all of the sessions.
For more information, please contact Ann Fernandez at (909) 518-7537, or watch the following video:
For Catholics, marriage is a holy vocation, which means that it is a sacred calling from God. The Catholic vocation of marriage involves several key aspects:
Overall, the Catholic vocation of marriage emphasizes the sacredness of the marital union, the importance of mutual love and sacrifice, and the role of marriage in building up the Church and society.
St. Denis’s Music Ministry will present a concert on Saturday, June 22 at 7:30 p.m. featuring our parish Choir, soloists, organ, and a chamber orchestra, conducted by Patrick Zubiate.
The program will include Antonio Vivaldi’s “Gloria in D Major,” which is a joyful hymn of praise and is one of sacred music’s most uplifting works.
Tickets are available in the Pastoral Office for a $10 suggested donation.
Please support this wonderful event and our wonderful music ministry.
(The Pastoral Office is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Monday and Wednesday through Saturday; it is open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday; and it is closed on Tuesday.)
Wednesday, June 19 is Juneteenth National Independence Day, which is a national holiday. We will have our usual Masses at 8:00 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. The 8:00 a.m. Mass also being livestreamed to our YouTube channel and Facebook page.
The church and the chapel will be open as usual from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., but the Pastoral Office will be closed.
Have a blessed and happy Juneteenth!
Sessions |
Tuesdays 7:30-9:00 p.m. in the Hall (Room A) |
Saturdays 9:00-10:30 a.m. in the Hall (main room) |
Session 1 |
April 30 |
May 4 |
Session 2 |
May 7 | May 11 |
Session 3 |
May 14 | May 18 |
Session 4 |
May 21 | May 25 |
Session 5 |
June 11 | June 15 in Room A |
Catholics give Mary in many different titles: the New Eve, the New Ark, the Perpetual Virgin, the Mother of the Messiah, the Mother of God, the Queen Mother, and the Queen of Heaven. But what does the Bible teach about the Blessed Virgin Mary? Does our Catholic understanding of Mary have any basis in the Bible?
Catholic beliefs in Mary are deeply rooted in ancient Christianity; and ancient Christians got their beliefs about Mary from the Old Testament, not just the New Testament. Indeed, the image of Mary in the New Testament is inseparable from its Old Testament antecedents. Moreover, to understand what the Bible teaches about Mary, we also have to understand what the Bible teaches about Jesus.
For this Series on Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary, we are using Dr. Brant Pitre’s book, Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary: Unveiling the Mother of the Messiah (Image, 2018). The book can be purchased for $5 at the Pastoral Office and at each of the weekly sessions. It’s also available for $6 (plus shipping and tax) from Catholic.market.
Praise for Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary:
Fr. John and the participants are reading through and discussing the book for five weekly sessions. Each session is offered twice: on a Tuesday from 7:30-9:00 p.m. and on the following Saturday from 9:00-10:30 a.m. Each week, participants can choose to attend either the Tuesday session or the Saturday session.
The reading for Session 4 (May 21 and 25) is pages 100-158. The reading for Session 5 (June 11 and 15) is pages 159-198.
St. Denis has a new ministry called “Vocation Warriors,” which is actively promoting vocations to the priesthood, religious life, consecrated life, marriage, and single life.
Since Sunday, June 2 is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, we are kicking off this new ministry with a weeklong prayer drive for vocations to the priesthood, because we need more priests in order to continue to celebrate Mass and the Eucharist.
For this prayer drive, every parishioner is invited to pray at least once during the week of June 2 – 9 for more vocations to the priesthood. Please pray the way that the Holy Spirit is calling you to pray. For example, you could: pray a Rosary; pray a decade of the Rosary; spend a Holy Hour or a holy half-hour before the Blessed Sacrament and pray for more vocations to the priesthood; pray the following Prayer for Priestly Vocations; or pray using your own words.
To show that all of us are committed to praying for priestly vocations, we invite everyone to fill out one of the pledge cards, which are in the pews and the vestibule of the church. Then please return the completed pledge card to the table in the vestibule, put it into one of the collection boxes or baskets, or return it to the Pastoral Office.
Father, in every generation you provide ministers of Christ and the Church. We come before you now, asking that you call forth more men to serve our Archdiocese in the ministerial priesthood. Give us priests who will lead and guide your holy people gathered by Word and Sacrament. Bless us with priestly vocations so that we can continue to be a truly Eucharistic Church, strengthened in our discipleship of Jesus Christ, your Only Son. Raise up, we pray, men who are generous in their service, willing to offer their lives and all their gifts for your greater glory and for the good of your people. We make our prayer in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, through Christ, Our Lord. Amen.
St. Denis’s Family Life Ministry would like to hold a social with food and games for all St. Denis Foster-Care Families.
When: Sunday, June 2, 2024, 2:00-5:00 p.m.
Where: Potthoff Hall
Why: So foster families can fellowship, bond, and support each other.
Please RSVP by Monday, May 20 with your name, telephone number, and E-mail address so that we can plan the event. You can RSVP to Cindy Sullivan (Family Life Ministry) at 909-282-2006 or to the Pastoral Office at 909-861-7106.
Sunday, June 2 is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi). As part of the celebration, we will bring Christ to the world by having a Eucharistic Procession in our neighborhood at 2:00 p.m. (after the 1:00 p.m. Mass).
The procession will be centered around the Eucharist, which will be carried in a monstrance under a canopy, and also will include the priests and deacons, a cross-bearer, multiple candle-bearers, thurifers with incense, and parishioners of all ages. We will process out of the church, around the courtyard, down to Diamond Bar Boulevard, up Silverhawk Drive, and then back to the church for benediction. During the procession, we will sing songs and pray the Rosary.
All are welcome!
8:00 a.m. Mass (also livestreamed)
8:30-8:45 a.m. Confessions
5:00-6:00 p.m. Confessions
7:00 p.m. Mass (also livestreamed)
7:45 p.m. Holy Hour (also livestreamed)
(We livestream simultaneously on our YouTube channel and Facebook page.)
There are currently more than 38,000 children in foster care in Los Angeles County:
Every child deserves a loving family. We are all adopted sons and daughters of God; and we know that the family is the basic building block of society. These foster children and youth need the love of a family to support them and nurture them to their full potential.
Is your family called to be an adoptive family or a foster family to children in need? Do you want to say “Yes” to adoption or foster parenting, but don’t know where to start? Perhaps you have questions: How long is the process? Is there financial support? Do you need to own a house? Can a single person adopt or be a foster parent?
There are a variety of resources available to answer your questions. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has a webpage (lacatholics.org/foster) dedicated to adoption and foster care and a webpage (lacatholics.org/foster-care-adoption-organizations) with recommended organizations that can help you to start the process of adoption and foster parenting. For example, to become a foster parent for a child in the foster-care system in Los Angeles County, please go here.
At every Mass on Mother’s Day (Sunday, May 12), we will have a special blessing for all mothers and a little gift for them. The Masses for Mother’s Day will be at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 11 (Vigil Mass) and at 7:00 a.m., 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., and 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 12. The 11:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Sunday Masses also will be livestreamed simultaneously to St. Denis’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.
In addition, we will have Spiritual Bouquet Mass Cards for Mother’s Day in the Pastoral Office by Friday, May 3. Just go to the Office, fill out a Spiritual Bouquet envelope, and pick up a special Mother’s Day card. Mothers who receive a Mother’s Day Spiritual Bouquet will be remembered at St. Denis’s Masses from May 12-31.
(The Pastoral Office is open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday and from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Monday and Wednesday through Saturday. It is closed on Tuesdays.)
On Memorial Day (Monday, May 27), the parish will be closed except for a 9:00 a.m. Mass, which also will be livestreamed via our YouTube channel and Facebook page.
Have a blessed and safe Memorial Day holiday.
For over three years, the priests and deacons have led the Gospel Reflection Group every Monday evening via Zoom to discuss and pray with the upcoming Sunday Gospel. However, the Group is now on a hiatus to allow the priests and deacons to focus this year on ministering to the parents of the students who are enrolled in Religious Education and Teen Confirmation. Please pray that our new initiatives to help the parents will produce good fruit.
You can continue to do the Gospel Reflection Process on your own, with your family, or with one or more friends. If you would like to use the handouts that we have been using, please click here for the upcoming Sunday Gospel.
About Our Lady of Fatima
In 1917, at the height of World War I, Pope Benedict XV appealed to the Blessed Mother to intercede for peace. Just over a week later, Our Lady began appearing to three young shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal. During these appearances, Mary revealed her suffering heart and said that God wished to establish devotion to her Immaculate Heart. She asked the children to pray the Rosary daily for world peace, and to offer their daily sufferings and sacrifices in reparation for sins and the conversion of sinners.
Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Fatima
The world-famous International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Fatima is the primary way in which the message of Fatima has spread throughout the world. Sculpted by Jose Thedim—“the Michelangelo of Portugal”—the statue has been traveling internationally since 1947, and has travelled to over 100 countries, carrying Fatima’s blessings and urgent message to people worldwide.
In 2017, to mark the 100th anniversary of the first Fatima apparition, Archbishop José Gomez blessed a replica of the Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Fatima. This regional statue was created by Boaventura Pereira de Matos, an apprentice of José Ferreira Thedim, the creator of the original statue of Our Lady of Fátima that is venerated at the Shrine of Fátima.
Regional Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Fatima at St. Denis
Please join us as we welcome the Blue Army of Our Lady of Fatima to St. Denis on Friday, May 17 through Sunday, May 19. The regional Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Fatima will be in the church and the hall as follows:
Friday, May 17
Statue in the church from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
8:00 a.m. Easter weekday Mass (also livestrealivestreamed
8:00 a.m. – Exposition & adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
6:00 p.m.
10:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m., 4:00 p.m. Rosary (led by different ministries)
6:30 p.m. Easter weekday Mass (also livestreamed)
7:15 p.m. Stations of the Resurrection (also livestreamed)
8:00 p.m. Our Lady of Fatima Holy Hour (also livestreamed)
Saturday, May 18
Statue in the church from 7:30-8:45 a.m.
8:00 a.m. Easter weekday Mass (also livestreamed)
Statue in the hall from 9:00 a.m. – 4:45 p.m.
10:30 a.m. Rosary (led by a ministry)
1:00 p.m. Rosary (led by a ministry)
1:30 p.m. - Fatima movie (2020)*
3:30 p.m.
4:00 p.m. Rosary (led by a ministry)
Statue in the church from 5:00-7:30 p.m.
5:30 p.m. Vigil Mass for the Solemnity of Pentecost (also livestreamed).
Sunday, May 19
Statue in the church from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
7:00 a.m. Mass for the Solemnity of Pentecost
8:15 a.m. Rosary (led by a ministry)
9:00 a.m. Mass for the Solemnity of Pentecost
10:15 a.m. Rosary (led by a ministry)
11:00 a.m. Mass for the Solemnity of Pentecost (also livestreamed)
12:15 p.m. Rosary (led by a ministry)
1:00 p.m. Mass for the Solemnity of Pentecost
2:15 p.m. Rosary (led by a ministry)
5:30 p.m. Mass for the Solemnity of Pentecost (also livestreamed)
6:45 p.m. Rosary (led by a ministry)
Monday, May 20
Statue in the church from 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
8:00 a.m. Mass for the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
Mother of the Church (also livestreamed)
8:30 a.m. Rosary
10:00 a.m. Rosary (led by a ministry)
12:00 p.m. Rosary (led by a ministry)
2:00 p.m. Rosary (led by a ministry)
*Fatima is a 2020 faith-based, historical drama film. A 10-year-old shepherd, Lúcia dos Santos, and her two young cousins, Francisco and Jacinta Marto, report having received apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Fátima, Portugal in 1917. Their revelations inspire believers, but anger officials of both the Catholic Church and the secular government, who try to force them to recant their story. As word of their prophecy spreads, tens of thousands of religious pilgrims flock to the site to witness what became known as the “Miracle of the Sun.”
For more information about Our Lady of Fatima, please go to bluearmy.com and bluearmyla.org. To watch the “Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima” (1952) movie on YouTube, please click here.
8:00 a.m. Mass (also livestreamed)
8:30-8:45 a.m. Confessions
4:00-5:00 p.m. Confessions
6:30 p.m. Mass (also livestreamed)
7:15 p.m. Stations of the Resurrection (also livestreamed)
Stations of the Resurrection Worship Aid
8:00 p.m. Holy Hour (also livestreamed)
Holy Hour Worship Aid (5/17/2024)
(We livestream simultaneously on our YouTube channel and our Facebook page.)
The Easter Season lasts 50 days—from Easter Sunday (March 31) through Pentecost Sunday (May 19). During these 50 days, the Church invites us to meditate on, pray about, and enter into the mystery of Jesus’s Resurrection.
To help us to pray with—and enter into the mystery of—the Resurrection, St. Denis will pray the Stations of the Resurrection at 7:15 p.m. every Friday during the Easter Season (i.e., on the following Fridays: April 5, April 12, April 19, April 26, May 3, May 10, and May 17). The Stations of the Resurrection also will be livestreamed simultaneously to our YouTube channel and Facebook page.
The Stations of the Resurrection are similar to the Stations of the Cross, but they focus on Jesus’s Resurrection appearances as well as his Ascension into heaven and his sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. These are the 14 Stations of the Resurrection:
1. Jesus Rises from the Dead
2. The Disciples Discover the Empty Tomb
3. The Risen Lord Appears to Mary Magdalen, Apostle to the Apostles
4. The Risen Lord Appears to Two Disciples on the Road to Emmaus
5. The Risen Lord is Recognized in the Breaking of the Bread
6. The Risen Lord Appears to the Community of Disciples
7. The Risen Lord Breathes Peace and Gives the Power to Forgive
8. The Risen Lord Strengthens the Faith of Thomas
9. The Risen Lord Eats with the Disciples on the Shore of Tiberias
10. The Risen Lord Forgives Peter and Entrusts Him to Feed His Sheep
11. The Risen Lord Sends the Disciples into the World
12. The Risen Lord Ascends into Heaven
13. Mary and the Disciples Keep Vigil in the Upper Room for the Spirit’s Advent
14. The Risen Lord Sends the Holy Spirit
A worship aid for the Stations of the Resurrection is here.
For more information about the Stations of the Resurrection, please see this Catholic New Agency article and this Wikipedia article.
Who was St. Jude?
St. Jude Thaddeus came from Nazareth and was the son of Mary of Cleophas, one of the three pious women who were present with Mary on Calvary by the Cross of Jesus. He was one of the Apostles of Jesus; and, after Pentecost, he evangelized Judea, Mesopotamia, and Persia, where he faced martyrdom without fear.
One of the Church’s most beloved saints, St. Jude is the saint to whom people turn when they are desperate and have tried everything else. When things seem lost or unbearable—when they seem hopeless—Saint Jude is the one to whom people often turn.
For more information about St. Jude, please click here.
The Relic Arm of St. Jude
The remains of St. Jude’s arm are in a simple wooden reliquary, which was carved in the shape of an upright arm in the gesture of imparting a blessing.
For more information about St. Jude’s relic arm, please click here. For more information about relics in general, please click here.
Tour Schedule for St. Jude’s Relic Arm
The arm of St. Jude is on a pilgrimage to the United States and will stop at the following parishes in Southern California through May 14.
Monday, May 6, 2024
Saint Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic Church
22508 Copper Hill Dr
Santa Clarita, California 91350
(661) 296-3180
Tuesday, May 7, 2024
St. Jude the Apostle Catholic Church
32032 W. Lindero Canyon Rd
Westlake Village, California 91361
(818) 889-1279
Wednesday, May 8, 2024
Our Lady of the Rosary of Talpa Catholic Church
2914 E 4th Street
Los Angeles, California 90033
(323) 268-9176
Thursday, May 9, 2024
St. John the Baptist Catholic Church
3883 Baldwin Park Blvd
Baldwin Park, California 91706
(626) 960-2795
Friday, May 10, 2024
St. Andrew Church
311 N. Raymond Avenue
Pasadena, California 91103
(626)-792-4183
Saturday, May 11, 2024 (Please note the revised times)
St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church
1050 163rd St
Gardena, California 90247
(310) 327-5830
Monday, May 13, 2024
Saints Peter and Paul Church
1036 North Ravenna Avenue
Wilmington, California 90744
(310) 834-5215
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
St. Joseph Catholic Church
1150 W Holt Ave
Pomona, California 91768
(909) 629-4101
Modifications to the schedule (start times, end times, etc.) are possible. For the most up-to-date information, please click here before travelling.
The month of May is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Therefore, on Monday, May 6, we will have our annual May Crowning, which is a traditional way to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary, who is Queen of Heaven and Earth. The schedule on May 6 is as follows:
6:00 p.m. Mass (note the earlier start time)
May Crowning of the Blessed Virgin Mary Worship Aid (5/6/2024)
6:30 p.m. Procession from the church to the statue of Mary in the courtyard,
singing Marian hymns, praying the Rosary, reciting a Marian litany,
and crowning with a wreath of flowers our beautiful statue of Mary
7:15 p.m. Spaghetti dinner in the Hall (free)
Our Queen of Peace Rosary Group is organizing the celebration with help from students from our Religious Education and Teen Confirmation Programs and our Divine Mercy Singers.
All are welcome!
To help people to manage their financial resources and plan for the future, we will hold two free workshops, which are part of World System Builder’s (WSB) National Financial Literacy Campaign.
Workshop 1Sunday, April 28 from 3:00-5:00 p.m.in Potthoff Hall |
TopicsBuild savings and wealth, increase cashflow, manage debt, estate planning (wills and living trusts) |
Workshop 2Sunday, May 5 from 3:00-5:00 p.m.in Potthoff Hall; Rooms B and C |
TopicsProper protection for your healthand wealth |
You can sign up after Masses on the weekends of April 27-28 and May 4-5.
Walk-ins also are welcome.
For more information or to RSVP, please contact Uriel Gonzalez at (562) 548-1576 or [email protected] (CA License #1566686).
Sunday, May 5 is Cinco de Mayo, which celebrates Mexico’s victory over the Second French Empire at the Battle of Puebla in 1862, led by General Ignacio Zaragoza, who died shortly thereafter.
Therefore, from 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on May 5, a taco vendor will come to St. Denis and will offer a special Cinco de Mayo lunch, consisting of three tacos (steak, chicken, pork, vegetarian), beans, rice, and salsa plus flavored waters (aguas frescas) and popsicles (paletas de hielo). The cost will be $10 per plate.
People can eat the lunch in the courtyard or the Hall; and we will have Mexican music playing in the background in both locations.
This is a fundraiser for our Religious Education Program.
At all of the Sunday Masses for May 4-5 (including the 5:30 p.m. Vigil Mass on Saturday, May 4), St. Denis’s Family Life Ministry will host a Baby Shower for a pregnancy resource-center (Los Angeles Pregnancy Services (LAPS)), which helps mothers and babies in need.
Donations of diapers, wipes, formula, NEW baby clothes, blankets, and baby essentials will be collected along with monetary donations. For parishioners who sew, crochet, or knit, NEW, handmade blankets, bibs, socks, and clothes are also welcome and appreciated.
Please bring your baby items and donations to the table in the vestibule on May 4-5, and support this pregnancy-resource center for mothers and babies in need.
For further information, please contact Cindy Sullivan at (909) 282-2006.
Diamond Bar’s Mayor Stan Liu will have a Prayer Breakfast on Thursday, May 2 from 7:00-9:00 a.m. at the Diamond Bar Golf Course (22751 Golden Springs Drive, Diamond Bar). This event will be hosted by the San Gabriel Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Fr. John and Deacon Al will participate, as well as faith leaders from other churches and faith traditions. In addition, our music director, Patrick Zubiate, and others from St. Denis’s music ministry will provide some of the music.
The cost for the breakfast will be $20. Tickets must be purchased in advance, preferably by Monday, April 29. To register and obtain tickets, please click here. For the official website for this event, please click here.
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles is committed to helping victim-survivors and protecting minors and vulnerable adults. Over the past 20+ years, more than 440,000 adults have been trained in abuse awareness and prevention; more than 257,000 adults have been fingerprinted as part of a program of background checks for Church and school personnel and volunteers; and each year, about 165,000 students in Catholic elementary and high schools, religious education, confirmation, and youth ministry programs receive age-appropriate abuse-prevention training.
Furthermore, allegations of misconduct involving a minor, whether by clergy or a lay person, are taken very seriously. Allegations involving a minor are reported to law enforcement; and if the person if found to have harmed a child, they are permanently removed from serving in any capacity in the Archdiocese.
It is important for all of us to do our part to prevent abuse by remaining vigilant and by reporting any abuse.
For further information, please see the following webpage on the Archdiocese’s website: LACatholics.org/protect. This webpage has numerous links to resources to help victim-survivors and to report suspected abuse.
For more information, please see the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, which can be found here.
In the 40 days between Jesus’s Resurrection and his Ascension into heaven, he appeared many times to many different people. Indeed, according to St. Paul, the resurrected Jesus appeared to over 500 people (1 Corinthians 15:3-7) before he ascended into heaven.
On Sunday, April 14, we will have a special Family Mass at 1:00 p.m., for families with children in grade 8 and younger, with the children actively participating in every part of the Mass.
Then, at 2:00 p.m. on April 14 (i.e., after the Family Mass), we will have an Easter Celebration for Children in the courtyard followed by lunch in the Hall.
Easter Celebration for Children Worship Aid (4/14/24)
In the courtyard, the children will act out six different times that Jesus appeared to people after his Resurrection; and they will have a chance to participate in several fun activities related to Jesus’s post-Resurrection appearances.
Afterward, we will go to the Hall for lunch, which will consist of baked, three-cheese Italian pasta, salad, garlic bread, desserts (cookies, popsicles), and drinks (water, lemonade, fruit punch, tea). The cost will be only $5.
The Easter Bunny will be in the Hall; and we will have Easter candy to ensure that the kids have a good time.
Please bring your children and grandchildren (recommended for grade 8 and younger) to St. Denis for our Easter Celebration on Sunday, April 14.
For Divine Mercy Sunday, we will have the following schedule:
5:30 p.m. Vigil Mass on Saturday (April 6)
7:00 a.m. Mass (cantor, piano)
9:00 a.m. Mass (two cantors, organ/piano, flute)
11:00 a.m. Mass (Adult Choir, cantor, organ/piano)
1:00 p.m. Divine Mercy Mass (Divine Mercy Singers, cantor, piano)
2:00 p.m. Divine Mercy Holy Hour in the church
(Eucharistic Exposition and Adoration, Divine Mercy prayers,
and Benediction)
Divine Mercy Sunday Holy Hour Worship Aid
3:00 p.m. Divine Mercy Celebration in the Hall
(refreshments, music, fellowship)
5:30 p.m. Mass (Youth Mass Band (Youth/Young Adult Choir, cantor, piano,
percussion, keyboard, guitar, other instruments))
The liturgies in boldface also will be livestreamed simultaneously to our YouTube channel and Facebook page.
Please join us in person or via our livestream to celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday.
The Divine Mercy novena prayers were given to St. Faustina through an apparition of our Lord Jesus. Each day has a new petition that seeks God’s mercy for different purposes.
The message of Divine Mercy is a powerful and moving way to come closer to Christ. His Mercy is central to our lives; and we must continually depend on it and ask for it daily.
Day 1: Good Friday, March 29 at 4:30 p.m. in the church
Day 2: Holy Saturday, March 30 at 3:00 p.m. in the chapel
Day 3: Easter Sunday, March 31 at 3:00 p.m. in the chapel
Day 4: Easter Monday, April 1 at 6:00 p.m. in the chapel
Day 5: Easter Tuesday, April 2 at 6:00 p.m. in the chapel
Day 6: Easter Wednesday, April 3 at 6:00 p.m. in the chapel
Day 7: Easter Thursday, April 4 at 6:00 p.m. in the chapel
Day 8: Easter Friday, April 5 at 6:00 p.m. in the chapel
Day 9: Easter Saturday, April 6 at 3:00 p.m. in the chapel
Divine Mercy Novena Worship Aid
Divine Mercy Novena - 9 Days Worship Aid
To learn how to pray the Divine Mercy Novena, please click here.
To learn how to pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, please click here.
Deacon Al will offer three Wednesday sessions on Divine Mercy and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. He will use the Diary of St. Faustina Kowalska, who had apparitions of Jesus Christ that inspired the Catholic devotion to the Divine Mercy. St. Faustina was canonized a saint on Divine Mercy Sunday (the Second Sunday of Easter) in 2000 by St. Pope John Paul II, who granted her the title of “Secretary of Divine Mercy.”
The sessions will be from 7:30-9:00 p.m. on the following Wednesdays: March 20 (in the church), March 27 (in the Hall), and April 3 (in the church). The sessions also will be livestreamed simultaneously to St. Denis’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.
All are welcome!
Through CRS Rice Bowl, families learn about how our sisters and brothers around the world overcome hardships such as hunger and malnutrition, and how through Lenten alms, we have the power to make the world a better place for all. Your donations help to provide lifesaving support to more than 250 million people in more than 120 countries.
What does your donation provide?
Seventy-five percent of donations will be used to help overcome hunger and malnutrition abroad; and 25% of donations will stay in the Los Angeles Archdiocese for hunger and poverty alleviation efforts.
For more information, please click here. To donate, please click here.
For an overview video, please click on the link below:
(Liturgies in boldface also will be livestreamed simultaneously to our YouTube channel and Facebook page.)
Easter Sunday, March 31
(usual Sunday Mass schedule)
7:00 am Easter Mass (cantor, piano, flute)
9:00 am Easter Mass (Vocal Quartet, organ, trumpet, flute)
11:00 am Easter Mass (Adult Choir, organ, trumpet, flute)
1:00 pm Easter Mass (Children’s Choir, cantor, piano, trumpet)
(Mass for families with children in grade 8 and younger)
(the children will actively participate in every part of the Mass)
5:30 pm Easter Mass (Vocal Quartet, cantor, piano)
Easter Sunday Mass Worship Aid (3/31/2024)
(Liturgies in boldface also will be livestreamed simultaneously to our YouTube channel and Facebook page.)
Palm Sunday (Passion Sunday), March 24
(usual Sunday Mass schedule, with palms distributed at every Mass)
5:30 pm Vigil Mass on Saturday (March 23) (cantor, organ)
7:00 am Mass (cantor, piano)
9:00 am Mass (two cantors, organ, flute)
11:00 am Mass (Adult Choir, organ, flute)
1:00 pm Mass (two cantors, piano)
5:30 pm Mass (Youth Mass Band (Youth/Young Adult Choir, piano, keyboard, etc.), cantor)
Holy Monday, March 25
8:00 am Mass, followed by Confessions
6:30 pm Mass
7:00 pm Chrism Mass
(livestreamed from the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels)
(a link to the livestream will be posted here)
Holy Tuesday, March 26
8:00 am Mass, followed by Confessions
6:30 pm Mass
7:30 pm Lenten Reconciliation Service with 20+ priests
Lenten Reconciliation Service Worship Aid (3/26/2024)
Holy Wednesday, March 27
8:00 am Mass, followed by Confessions
6:30 pm Mass
Holy Thursday, March 28
8:00 am Morning Prayer (chant and a cantor), followed by Confessions
Holy Thursday Morning Prayer Worship Aid (3/28/2024)
7:30 pm Mass of the Lord’s Supper
with washing of the feet
(everyone will be able to have their feet washed and to wash someone else’s feet;
at the end of the Mass, we will have a Eucharistic Procession to the Hall)
(Combined Choirs, cantor, organ, flute)
Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper Worship Aid (3/28/2024)
9:00-10:00 pm Eucharistic Adoration (silent, in the Hall)
Good Friday, March 29
8:00 am Morning Prayer (chant and a cantor), followed by Confessions
Good Friday Morning Prayer Worship Aid (3/29/2024)
12:00-1:00 pm Seven Last Words of Jesus on the Cross (cantor, piano)
Seven Last Words of Jesus on the Cross Worship Aid (3/29/2024)
2:30 pm Celebration of the Lord’s Passion
with adoration of the Cross and Holy Communion
(Vocal Quartet, piano, cello)
Good Friday Celebration of the Lord’s Passion Worship Aid (3/29/2024)
4:30 pm Divine Mercy Novena
Divine Mercy Novena Worship Aid
Divine Mercy Novena - 9 Days Worship Aid
5:00 pm Stations of the Cross (using the words of St. Alphonsus Liguori)
Stations of the Cross - St. Alphonsus Liguori Worship Aid
6:30 pm Stations of the Cross in the courtyard
(led by teens in our Teen Confirmation Program,
with the teens acting out the Stations)
Stations of the Cross for Young Adults Worship Aid (3/29/2024)
7:30 pm Celebration of the Lord’s Passion
with adoration of the Cross and Holy Communion
(Vocal Quartet, piano, cello)
Holy Saturday, March 30
8:00 am Morning Prayer (chant and a cantor), followed by Confessions
Holy Saturday Morning Prayer Worship Aid (3/30/2024)
7:30 pm Easter Vigil Mass
with an extended Liturgy of the Word and
celebration of the Sacraments of Initiation
(Baptism, Confirmation, First Holy Communion)
(Combined Choirs, organ, piano, trumpet, flute)
Easter Vigil 5:30pm Mass Worship Aid (3/30/2024)
Daily Lenten Gospel reflections
by Bishop Robert Barron
Receive in your E-mail inbox each morning:
(1) the full Gospel reading for each day of Lent; and
(2) a short reflection from Bishop Barron.
To learn more and to sign up for free, please click here.
You can read the daily Mass readings during Lent on the U.S. Bishops’ website. Then, on the page for each day’s readings, you can click on a link for a reflection video by a priest, a religious sister or brother, or a lay person.
In addition, you can have the daily Mass readings sent to your E-mail inbox every morning by signing up here.
Go to The Word Among Us website (wau.org); and click on “Today’s Meditation,” which is toward the top of the webpage. The Word Among Us meditations on the daily Mass readings are favorites of Fr. John.
Journey through Scripture with a new, 12-part Scripture study by Scott Hahn. This is a limited-time, on-demand video study. This twelve-part series will stream for FREE this Lent from Ash Wednesday, February 22 through Divine Mercy Sunday, April 16. Two lessons will be released every week and will stream for two weeks and then come down. To sign up, please click here.
For suggestions about how to pray, fast, and give alms during Lent, please read this online article from Busted Halo entitled: “25 Great Things You Can Do for Lent
(besides giving up chocolate).”
Busted Halo (BustedHalo.com), which has many other online resources, is an evangelization ministry of the Paulist Fathers. It uses relevant and accessible media to help people understand the Catholic faith, put it into practice in their everyday lives, and share it with others.
Their vision is for a more joyful and meaningful experience of Catholicism that positively impacts people’s lives. Busted Halo aims to bring the joy of the Gospel to all people in innovative and creative ways. Through articles, videos, podcasts, radio, and social media, they aspire to help Catholics embrace their faith more fully.
Fasting and abstinence are two ways that we repent for our sins. We fast and abstain on Ash Wednesday (February 14) and Good Friday (March 29); and we abstain on the Fridays of Lent (February 16 and 23, and March 1, 8, 15, and 22).
Fasting applies to people from age 18 through age 59. When fasting, a person is permitted one full meal as well as two smaller meals, which together do not equal a full meal. Liquids are allowed at any time.
Abstinence applies to people who are at least 14 years old. Abstinence means abstaining from meat (including beef, chicken, and pork), although seafood is permitted.
In all cases, common sense should prevail. Thus, the following people are excused from fasting and abstinence: the physically or mentally ill, including individuals suffering from chronic illnesses such as diabetes; and pregnant or nursing women.
Join us on Tuesday, March 26 at 7:30 p.m. for St. Denis’s Lenten Reconciliation Service, which will include music and will be livestreamed simultaneously to our YouTube channel and Facebook page. After the Service, we will have individual confessions in the church, with about 20 priests hearing confessions.
Lenten Reconciliation Service Worship Aid (3/26/2024)
Other nearby Lenten Reconciliation Services (with about 10-15 priests) include:
● Wednesday, March 20 at 7:30 p.m.
St. Lorenzo Ruiz (747 Meadow Pass Rd., Walnut)
● Thursday, March 21 at 7:00 p.m.
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (1835 Larkvane Rd., Rowland Heights)
“40 Days for Life” is an internationally coordinated 40-day campaign that aims to end abortion locally through prayer and fasting, community outreach, and peaceful, all-day vigils in front of abortion businesses.
Prayer and Fasting
Knowing that “with God, all things are possible,” people of faith and conscience unite in 40 days of prayer and fasting. Christ told us that some demons can be driven out only by prayer and fasting. The two go hand in hand. Prayer keeps us rooted in the fact that it is our desire to carry out God’s will. Fasting is a sacrifice that helps us to reach beyond our own limitations with God’s help.
For this Lenten season, we can pray and fast that expectant parents will choose life for their unborn babies.
Peaceful Prayer Vigil
St. Denis’s parishioners will pray peacefully on the public walkway at FPA Women’s Health (501 S. Vincent Avenue in West Covina) from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on the following Sundays: February 18 and 25, and March 3, 10, 17, and 24. Why not join them for one hour? For more information, please contact Cindy (909-282-2006) or Gerry (909-576-5284).
A Passover Seder dinner will be served on Saturday, March 23 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the Hall. The dinner will include traditional Jewish prayers, songs, and Scripture readings; and it is intended to help Catholics better understand Jesus, who, as a practicing Jew in the first century, celebrated Passover every year. In addition, Fr. John will highlight the similarities and differences between the Passover Seder dinner and a Catholic Mass.
The Passover dinner also will include traditional Jewish foods, and a regular meal of roasted chicken, roasted vegetables (potatoes, carrots, onions, etc.), plus sherbet, coffee, tea, lemonade, and water.
The cost will be only $5. Tickets are being sold at the Pastoral Office and after the Sunday Masses.
All are welcome, even if you didn’t attend Fr. John’s Lenten series on the Eucharist. Children also are welcome because the dinner will be kid-friendly.
Join us on Friday, March 22 at 8:00 p.m. for a Taizé-style Holy Hour (with Eucharistic Adoration). The Holy Hour will include chant-like simple songs in a Taizé style, with periods of silence, readings, songs of reflection, and prayer. Begun in France in 1940, this contemplative prayer style is practiced throughout the world and is open to all: Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant alike.
The Holy Hour will be livestreamed simultaneously to our YouTube channel and Facebook page.
Taize Holy Hour Worship Aid (3/22/2024)
5:00-6:00 p.m. |
Confessions in the church |
5:30- 8:00 p.m. |
Lenten Seafood Dinner in the Hall Prepared by a professional chef, with the Seafood Platter changing every week Seafood Platter for March 22 ● Spaghetti in creamy shimp marinara $13.00 (with bread slice, parmesan-crusted tomatoes) ● Vegetarian option (Spaghetti with marinara sauce) ● Add a cup of our vegetarian soup of the day $2.00 (Soup of the Day: Vegetable) Kids’ Plate (10 years or younger) ● One slice of pizza with fries, plus dessert $5.00 Light Meal ● Bowl of vegetarian soup with bread, plus dessert $5.00 ● Complimentary water, lemonade, coffee, and tea Beer and wine are available for a donation Sponsored by the Knights of Columbus |
6:30 p.m. |
Mass (also livestreamed) |
7:15 p.m. |
Stations of the Cross (also livestreamed) |
8:00 p.m. |
Holy Hour (also livestreamed) |
(We livestream simultaneously on our YouTube channel and Facebook page.)
The Seafood Dinners (and the vegetarian options) will be prepared by a professional chef; and the Seafood Platter will change every week. The menu is set forth below:
Seafood Platter (and the vegetarian option): $13
Add a cup of vegetarian soup: $ 2
Simple meal (bowl of vegetarian soup and bread): $ 5
Kid’s plate (slice of cheese pizza and fries) $ 5
(for children 10 and under)
All meals include a beverage (water or lemonade, plus coffee or tea) and dessert.
Beer and wine are available for a donation.
Many homeless people live on the streets and lack essentials. Our Cursillo group plans to fill 150-200 backpacks with underwear, socks, and other essential items, and then distribute the backpacks to homeless people who are living on the streets in Pomona and other nearby cities.
To support this ministry financially, please put your donation in an envelope; write “Essentials for the Homeless” on the envelope or in the notation section of your check; and drop off the envelope in one of collection baskets or boxes or at the Pastoral Office. You also can mail in your donation to: St. Denis Church, 2151 S. Diamond Bar Boulevard, Diamond Bar, CA 91765.
Alternatively, you may drop off the following items at the Pastoral Office or with one of our custodians.
Men’s boxer briefs or shorts (brand new; sizes: medium, large, extra large)
Men’s white, comfortable socks (brand new; sizes 6-12)
Women’s underwear (brand new; sizes 7, 8, 9)
Women’s white, comfortable socks (brand new; sizes 4-8)
Toothbrushes and toothpaste
Other hygiene items: anti-bacterial lotion, moist wipes, soap, body wash, shampoo (small container), lip balm, comb, deodorant, Q-tips, nail clippers
Snacks: granola bars, packets of nuts, crackers, dried fruit, trail mix, other lightweight nonperishable food
Encouragement: cards, messages, art/drawings by kids showing that we care
All donations are requested by Friday, March 22. The backpacks with the essentials will be distributed to the homeless in Pomona during Holy Week (the week of March 24).
For more information, please contact Amy Siacunco at (909) 861-7106 or Tony Shatola at (909) 525- 8771.
Thank you for your support!
Sessions |
Saturdays 9:00-10:30 a.m. in the Hall |
Tuesdays 7:30-9:00 p.m. in the Hall (Room A) |
Session 1 |
February 17 |
February 20 |
Session 2 |
February 24 | February 27 |
Session 3 |
March 2 | March 5 |
Session 4 |
March 9 | March 12 |
Session 5 |
March 16 | March 19 |
Passover Seder Dinner in the Hall Saturday, March 23 6:30-8:30 p.m. |
What did Jesus mean when he instituted the Eucharist at a Passover Seder dinner (the Last Supper) and said: “Take and eat; this is my body”; “Drink from this cup, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant”; and “Do this in remembrance of me”? To understand what Jesus meant, we have to understand what he was doing as a faithful Jew in the first century.
For this Lenten Series on the Eucharist, we will use Dr. Brant Pitre’s book, Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist (Doubleday, 2011). The book can be purchased for $5 at the Pastoral Office and at each of the weekly sessions.
Dr. Pitre is a Distinguished Research Professor of Scripture at the Augustine Institute, Graduate School of Theology. He earned his Ph.D. in Theology from the University of Notre Dame, where he specialized in the study of the New Testament and ancient Judaism.
According to Dr. Pitre, when we focus on the Jewish context of Jesus’s teachings, all of his words and actions in instituting the Eucharist not only begin to make sense; they come alive in a way that is exciting and powerful. As Dr. Pitre said, “I can testify to this from experience: the more I’ve studied Jesus’s teaching in the Jewish environment, the more he fascinates me, and the more he challenges me to change the way I see who he was, what he was doing, and what it means for my life today.”
Fr. John and the participants will read through and discuss the book for five weekly sessions. Each session will be offered twice: on a Saturday from 9:00-10:30 a.m. and on the following Tuesday from 7:30-9:00 p.m. Each week, participants can choose to attend either the Saturday session or the Tuesday session.
At the conclusion, we will have a Passover Seder dinner in the Hall on Saturday, March 23 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. This Passover Seder dinner will include the traditional Jewish prayers and Scripture readings; and Fr. John will highlight the similarities and differences between the Passover Seder dinner and a Catholic Mass.
If you purchase the book in advance, please read pages 1-47 before the first session.
On Sunday, March 17, in anticipation of the Feast of St. Joseph on March 19, the Italian-Catholic Federation (ICF) will have a St. Joseph Table with baked goods for sale from 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. in the Hall. All ministries and ministers are encouraged to donate baked goods for the St. Joseph Table.
In addition, from 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. in the Hall, ICF will have a St. Joseph Pasta Lunch, which will include pasta with sauce, salad, roll, tea, lemonade, water, and coffee. To-go boxes will available so that you can take the lunch home and eat it later in the day. The cost for the lunch will be $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under. Tickets for the lunch will be on sale in the vestibule after the Sunday Masses on March 3 and 10 and at the door on March 17.
Celebrate the Feast of St. Joseph by purchasing baked goods from the St. Joseph Table and enjoying a St. Joseph Pasta Lunch. All proceeds will be donated to St. Denis.
For more information, please contact Pamela-Anne Roemer, ICF President, at [email protected].
Our Christian Services Ministry will make 150-200 lunches on Saturday, March 16 from 9:30-12:00 noon in the Hall (Room A), and then will go to a shelter in Pomona to give the lunches to homeless people.
To enable us to plan, please sign up in advance using this online form; or by contacting Liz Fan at [email protected]. If possible, please sign up by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 14.
If you would like to donate food, please drop it off at the Pastoral Office by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 14. The following food is needed:
Bread (whole-wheat preferred)
Peanut butter
Jelly
Chips (individually wrapped)
Cookies (individually wrapped)
Granola bars (individually wrapped)
Apples
Bottles of water
Ziploc sandwich bags
Monetary donations also are welcomed and appreciated. These donations will help to cover the cost of items that we need to purchase or that have not been donated. Please make the check payable to St. Denis Church; and write “Christian Service Homeless Lunch” in the notation section of your check or on the envelope. Then drop the envelope in a collection basket or box; or mail your donation to St. Denis at 2151 S. Diamond Bar Blvd., Diamond Bar, CA 91765. You also may donate via Online Giving (click on “Christian Service Offering” and mention “Homeless Lunch”) or via PayPal (mention “Christian Service Homeless Lunch”).
For more information, please E-mail Liz Fan at [email protected].
Take a break in the middle of your busy week to join Fr. Dennis Mongrain for Midday Prayer followed by a reflection and a discussion. The meetings will be via Zoom from 12:00-12:30 p.m. on five Wednesdays of Lent (February 21 and 28, and March 6 and 13).
The Zoom link for all of these Wednesday meetings is:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89613434864?pwd=NVaTHduVN5alrECtbqbtqYW5cn6BPU.1
If you’ve lost a spouse, a child, a family member, or a friend, you’ve probably found that there are not many people who understand the deep hurt you feel. This can be a confusing time, when you feel isolated and have many questions about things that you’ve never faced before.
St. Denis’s GriefShare support group meets weekly to help participants face these challenges and move toward rebuilding their lives. They meet every Sunday from 1:00-3:00 pm in the Hall (Room A) with a different topic for each session. The schedule is set forth below.
Dates:
December 3, 2023 Session One: “Is This Normal?”
December 10, 2023 Session Two: “Your Grief Journey”
December 17, 2023 Session Three: “Loneliness and Sadness”
December 24, 2023 No Meeting - CHRISTMAS
December 31, 2023 No Meeting - NEW YEARS
January 7, 2024 Session Four: “Self Care”
January 14, 2024 Session Five: “Overwhelmed”
January 21, 2024 Session Six: “Anger”
January 28, 2024 Session Seven: “Regrets”
February 4, 2024 Session Eight: “Grief in Your Household”
February 11, 2024. Session Nine: “Grief & Your Friends”
February 18, 2024 Session Ten: “Questions for God”
February 25, 2024 Session Eleven: “Stuck in Grief”
March 3, 2024 Session Twelve: “Hope & Resilience”
March 10, 2024 Session Thirteen: “What do I Live for Now?”
Each GriefShare session has three distinct parts:
(1) watching a video seminar featuring top experts on grief and recovery;
(2) discussing with the group what was presented in the video and what is going on in their lives; and
(3) discussing questions and comments from a workbook, which participants will use during the week for further study of the grieving process and for journaling about their emotions.
Just show up for one of the sessions. You don’t have to sign up in advance; and you don’t have to attend all of the sessions.
For more information, please contact Mike Shay at (714) 563-6510, or watch the following video:
After the 1:00 p.m. Family Mass on Sunday, March 10, everyone is invited to stay for our Stations of the Cross for Children in the courtyard. Children in our Religious Education Program will act out and will lead us in the Stations of the Cross. Afterward, everyone will share a free, simple meal of macaroni & cheese, soup, bread, and dessert (plus drinks).
Stations of the Cross for Children Worship Aid (3/10/2024)
All are welcome!
Our Christian Services Ministry will make hot dinners for the homeless on Friday, March 8 from 12:00 noon - 3:30 pm in the Hall, and then will go to Pomona to serve the food to homeless people in a shelter from 4:30-6:30 p.m. The hot dinners will include chicken, chili, corn, salad, dinner rolls, and dessert.
To enable us to plan, please sign up by contacting Liz Fan at [email protected]. If possible, please sign up by 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 2.
Monetary donations also are welcomed and appreciated. These donations will help to cover the cost of items that we need to purchase or that have not been donated. Please make the check payable to St. Denis Church; and write “Christian Service Homeless Dinners” in the notation section of your check or on the envelope. Then drop the envelope in a collection basket or box; or mail your donation to St. Denis at 2151 S. Diamond Bar Blvd., Diamond Bar, CA 91765. You also may donate via Online Giving (click on “Christian Service Offering” and mention “Homeless Dinners”) or via PayPal (mention “Christian Service Homeless Dinners”).
For more information, please E-mail Liz Fan at [email protected].
Our Adult Confirmation Program will prepare adults to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation in June 2024. All Catholic adults (age 18+) who have not yet been confirmed are encouraged to enroll. (Please note that Catholics must be confirmed in order to serve as godparents; and they should be confirmed if they would like to celebrate the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony in the Church.)
The program will include 12 weekly meetings on Thursdays evenings, a day-long retreat on a Saturday, and a service project. The first meeting will be on Thursday, February 22 from 7:00-9:00 p.m. in the Hall (Room A); and the meetings will continue until June.
In addition to preparing participants to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, our Adult Confirmation Program will teach them how to have a close, life-long relationship and friendship with Jesus, who, through the Holy Spirit, communicates with us throughout each day, accompanies and helps us 24/7, and leads and guides us every step of the way.
To register or obtain more information, please contact Jay Duller, Director of Adult Faith Formation, at (909) 861-7106 ext. 113 or [email protected].
This retreat season coincides with the centennial of the arrival of the Passionists in Sierra Madre. What a wonderful, providential opportunity to focus on the Passion of Christ, which is so central to Passionist spirituality and to the mission of Mater Dolorosa.
The Passion of Christ and the sufferings of the members of His Body, the Church, form one mystery. This retreat will provide the opportunity to gain a deeper awareness and understanding of this mystery.
In the spirit of the Passionists, we will consider ways in which we might find comfort in the Passion of Christ. Doing so brings us into closer union with God, invites us to a deeper knowledge of ourselves, and impels us to respond to the needs of others, especially those who are poor, suffering, or wounded in any way.
The retreat costs $295 (including a $50 deposit). Financial aid for those in need is available. To register, please sign up here.
For more information, please contact Michael Kellogg at (626) 664-4976 or Michael Chisholm at (909) 418-4048.
We recently enhanced the music ministry at three of our Sunday Masses. For the 9:00 a.m. Sunday Mass, the music ministry now includes two cantors, flute, and piano/organ. For the 1:00 p.m. Sunday Mass, the music ministry includes a larger Children’s Choir, two cantors, and piano/organ. For the 5:30 p.m. Sunday Mass, the music ministry includes a larger Youth Mass Band, which consists of our Youth/Young Adult Choir, cantor, piano, keyboard, percussion, guitar, and other instruments.
For the 11:00 a.m. Sunday Mass, the music ministry remains strong and includes our Adult Choir, piano/organ, and cantor.
New singers are invited to join our Adult Choir (for adults of all ages) at the 11:00 a.m. Sunday Mass; our Children’s Choir (for children in grades 2-8) at the 1:00 p.m. Sunday Mass; and the Youth/Young Adult Choir (for teens in high school and young adults) at the 5:30 p.m. Sunday Mass.
New skilled instrumentalists (e.g., percussion, guitar, violin, viola, cello, flute, clarinet, oboe, trumpet, etc.) are welcome at all of our Sunday Masses.
For more information about how to join our music ministry, please contact our Music Director, Patrick Zubiate, at [email protected] or (909) 861-7106.
February is Black History Month, which is an opportunity to highlight the little-known history of Black/African-American Catholics in the United States. Most of the following timeline, which is abbreviated and condensed, was prepared by Fr. Cyprian Davis (1930-2015), who was an African-American, Benedictine monk and Catholic Church historian. The complete timeline is in an article entitled “Timeline of Black Catholic History,” which appears online at USCatholic.org. Fr. Davis also wrote a comprehensive book on this topic: The History of Black Catholics in the United States (Crossroad/Continuum, 1990).
1565-1899: St. Augustine, Florida
Blacks, both slave and free, help to found this oldest town in the United States. In 1693 Spain offers freedom in Florida to slaves who convert to Catholicism. Until 1763, these freed slaves live in a community northeast of St. Augustine. Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose, or Fort Mose, established in 1738, thus becomes the first free black town in the United States.
1781: Los Angeles
Governor Don Felipe de Neve recruits 11 families to settle on the Porciuncula River—now Los Angeles. The settlers are all Catholic, a mix of Africans, Spanish, and American Indians. Meanwhile, Maryland’s black Catholic population grows to 3,000 as a result of Jesuit evangelization in the region.
1829: Oblate Sisters of Providence
A handful of women from Baltimore’s Haitian refugee colony begin to educate local children in their homes. With the support of the archbishop, in 1829 they create the Oblate Sisters of Providence. The first superior is Elizabeth Lange, born in Cuba of Haitian parents. Their ministry spreads to Philadelphia and New Orleans.
1839: In Supremo Apostolatus
In this 1839 apostolic letter, Pope Gregory XVI condemns the slave trade as the “inhuman traffic in Negroes.” Rome outshines the U.S. in race relations from the 17th to 20th centuries. Many U.S. bishops as well as men’s and women’s religious orders in this period own slaves, sometimes advocating for their proper treatment.
1875: James Augustine Healy, First Black Bishop
Although James Healy and his nine siblings—all fathered by a Georgia plantation owner—are officially slaves, their father brings them north for education and freedom. Three of the Healy brothers—James, Patrick, and Alexander—become the first African-American priests in the U.S., although they do not identify with being black and never speak out on behalf of blacks. Fr. Patrick Healy, a Jesuit, becomes president of Georgetown University in 1874 (ironic because Georgetown admitted no black students until the mid-1900s).
1886: Fr. Augustus Tolton, Servant of God
A former slave, Fr. Tolton is the first Catholic priest in the U.S. who is publicly known to be black when he is ordained in 1886. His cause for canonization began in 2010.
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Locally, the African American Catholic Center for Evangelization (website: AACCFE.org) serves approximately 25,000 African American Catholics in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in collaboration with local parishes and organizations, such as the Los Angeles Black Lay Catholic Ministry and the National Black Catholic Congress, to develop and support programs of evangelization and education.
The Los Angeles Religious Education Congress is the nation’s largest annual conference for Roman Catholics, attracting tens of thousands of Catholics every year. This year, the Religious Education Congress will be held from Friday, February 16 through Sunday, February 18 at the Anaheim Convention Center (800 W. Katella Avenue, Anaheim, CA 92802).
The Congress will offer about 80 workshops in English, 40 workshops in Spanish, and eight workshops in Vietnamese on a variety of topics, including theology, spirituality, prayer, sacraments, liturgy, Scripture, evangelization, faith formation, morality, justice & peace, life issues, ecumenism and interreligious dialogue, marriage/relationships, family/parenting, human sexuality, gender issues, and gay/lesbian ministry as well as multicultural workshops focusing on the African-American perspective, the Asian-American perspective, and the Hispanic perspective. The speakers for the workshops will come for all over the United States and the world.
In addition, there will be Eucharistic liturgies (Masses) every day in different languages, exposition and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in a sacred space throughout each day, a Taizé prayer service, a film showcase, entertainment, a Saturday night dance, a multicultural exhibit, and over 100 vendors for Catholic books, music, artwork, religious articles, and more in the Exhibit Hall.
The cost is $85; and you can register or obtain more information at www.RECongress.org.
8:00 a.m. Mass (also livestreamed)
12:10 p.m. Mass
6:30 p.m. Mass (with music)
8:00 p.m. Mass (with music, also livestreamed)
Ashes will distributed after every Mass.
The 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Masses will be livestreamed simultaneously to our YouTube channel and Facebook page.
Ash Wednesday Worship Aid (2/14/2024)
Ash Wednesday is a day of fasting and abstinence.
If you have blessed palms from last year’s Palm Sunday, please bring them in by Sunday, February 11 and drop them in the baskets that are on the steps leading to the altar. We will burn these blessed palms to make ashes for Ash Wednesday, which is on February 14th.
The Return of the Prodigal Son by Rembrandt
Bring Them Home is a ministry at St. Denis for parents and grandparents whose adult or teenage children and grandchildren have left or drifted away from the Catholic Church.
The statistics are troubling: an average of 6.5 people leave the Catholic Church for every one who joins; and 50% of young people who were raised Catholic are no longer Catholic today. Behind these statistics are countless stories of wounded families. Millions of mothers and fathers across the country are longing for their prodigal children to come home to the Church, crying: “Where did we go wrong?”
A passive wait-and-see approach is no longer an option. We need a different strategy. We need to understand the real reasons why our young people drift away; and we need a game plan to bring them home.
In short, we need the book Return: How to Draw Your Child Back to the Church by Brandon Vogt; and we also need St. Denis’s Bring Them Home ministry, which is using the book to help parents and grandparents try to bring their wayward adult and teenage children back to the Catholic Church.
Return: How to Draw Your Child Back to the Church can be purchased for $20 in the Pastoral Office (starting on Saturday, August 20th), and at the Saturday meetings of Bring Them Home. (It also is available on Amazon.com and for $6.99 as an e-book on Kindle.)
In May and June, Bring Them Home met weekly on Saturdays; and we read and discussed chapters 1-7 of Return: How to Draw Your Child Back to the Church. If you have not yet read chapter 1-7 (pages 3-92), please read them.
After taking a summer hiatus in July and August, Bring Them Home will resume meeting weekly in the Hall on Saturdays from 9:00-10:30 a.m., starting on Saturday, September 16. To prepare for the September 16th meeting, please review (and if necessary, read or reread) chapters 1-7 (pages 3-92); and please read chapter 8 (pages 93-103).
Bring Them Home is led by Fr. John Palmer and Deacon Al Guerrero, both of whom were away from the Church as young adults before returning to the practice of the faith. Moreover, before entering the seminary to prepare for the priesthood, Fr. John led a ministry in his home parish to help other lapsed and inactive Catholics return to the Church. And Deacon Al has firsthand experience as a parent, because he has an adult child who is away from the Church.
For a short introduction to Return: How to Draw Your Child Back to the Church, please watch the following 90-second video:
For an extended interview with author Brandon Vogt about Return: How to Draw Your Child Back to the Church, please watch the following 35-minute video:
St. Blaise was a physician and the bishop of Sebaste in Armenia; and he was martyred in the early 4th century. He was associated with the healing of throats. Therefore, on the feast day of St. Blaise (i.e., on Saturday, February 3), we will offer a blessing of throats after the 8:00 a.m. Mass and after the 5:30 p.m. Vigil Mass. (Please note that we will celebrate the Memorial of St. Blaise at the 8:00 a.m. Mass, which also will be livestreamed to our YouTube channel and Facebook page.)
After the 8:00 a.m. Mass and the 5:30 p.m. Mass, people will be invited to come forward to have their throats blessed. The priest, deacon, or lay minister will have two blessed candles, tied with a red ribbon, and will hold them in the form of an “X.” He will touch the candles to each side of the person’s neck and will say the blessing: “Through the intercession of St. Blaise, bishop and martyr, may God deliver you from every disease of the throat, and from every other illness. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
The red ribbon represents the blood of martyrs, and the candles held in the shape of an “X” represent the martyrdom of another saint, St. Andrew, who according to tradition was crucified on an X-shaped cross. Through this blessing, we pray that God will free us from every illness and from everything that keeps us from Him.
The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord celebrates the day when Mary and Joseph presented the baby Jesus to God at the Temple, where they met Simeon and Anna (Luke 2:22-40).
We will celebrate this feast on Friday, February 2 with two Masses: an 8:00 a.m. Mass and a 7:00 p.m. Mass. Both Masses also will be livestreamed to our YouTube channel and Facebook page.
At these Masses, the priest will bless the candles that St. Denis will use throughout the year; and he will bless any candles that parishioners bring to these Masses.
In addition, the priest will bless pairs of 10.25-inch devotional candles in attractive boxes, which can be purchased for $5 per box at the Pastoral Office after February 2.
We recently reopened a Crying Room for use during the Sunday Masses. The entrance to the Crying Room is in the vestibule on Mary’s side of the church. Although we would prefer to have families with children and babies sit in the main church, we know that some parents would like to be able to use a crying room. For Sunday Masses, if the door to the crying room is closed, please open it; and if the lights are out, please turn on the light switch.
In addition, we are now using the projectors at all of our Sunday Masses, except for the 7:00 a.m. Mass. (We will use projectors at the 7:00 a.m. Mass once we start having music at that Mass.) The projectors display the lyrics for the songs, the readings from the Bible, and many of the prayers (including the Creed).
For people who are celebrating Sunday Masses from home via our livestream on YouTube or Facebook, we still have online worship aids for the Sunday Masses. The online worship aids for these Masses include the music and lyrics for the songs, the readings from the Bible, and the Creed. The online worship aids are on this webpage: stdenis.org/worship-aids.
We will have a Friday Youth Night in the Hall for all teens in high school on Friday, January 26 from 6:00-8:45 p.m. The teens will be able to make new friends, have fun, feast on good food, and grow in the faith. There will be a special speaker (Lauren Coronado from NBC Channel 4 News), plus exposition and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. The theme is “Not of This World”; and teens are encouraged to dress in white and/or neon colors.
For more information, please contact Jasmine Blackburn, Director of Youth Ministry, at (909) 861-7106 ext. 243 or [email protected].
As the 51st anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion approaches on January 22, the U.S. Catholic Bishops are urging us to pray a novena (“9 Days for Life”) for the protection of the human life. Each day’s intention is accompanied by a short reflection and suggested actions to help build a culture of life.
You can sign up here to have a reminder about the novena sent to you each day via E-mail or text; or you can go to this webpage and download the entire novena in Microsoft Word or PDF.
You also can start the novena after January 16. Just go to this webpage and download the entire novena in Microsoft Word or PDF; and then pray the novena every day for nine days in a row.
Monday, January 22 is the 51st anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion in the United States. On January 22, all dioceses in the United States will observe a day of prayer for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life, and a day of penance for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion.
As individuals, we are each called to observe Monday, January 22 through the penitential practices of prayer, fasting, and/or almsgiving. For example, we can do the following on January 22:
Fasting applies to people from age 18 through age 59. When fasting, a person is permitted one full meal as well as two smaller meals, which together do not equal a full meal. Liquids are allowed at any time.
Abstinence applies to people who are at least 14 years old. Abstinence means abstaining from meat (including beef, chicken, and pork), although seafood is permitted.
In all cases, common sense should prevail. Thus, the following people are excused from fasting and abstinence: the physically or mentally ill, including individuals suffering from chronic illnesses such as diabetes; and pregnant or nursing women.
On Saturday, January 20, OneLife LA will host its annual event in downtown Los Angeles to celebrate the beauty and dignity of every human life from conception through natural death. The event will include the following activities:
You may want to attend some or all of these activities. For more information, please go to the website: OneLifeLA.org.
On Friday, January 19 from 7:45-8:45 p.m., we will have a special Holy Hour “Thanking God for the Gift of Human Life,” wherein we will pray for an increase in respect for human life and human dignity at every stage from conception through natural death. (January 19th is three days before the 51th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion in the United States.)
The Holy Hour will include exposition and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament as well as Bible readings, prayers, songs, and periods of silence. In addition, the Holy Hour will be livestreamed simultaneously to our YouTube channel and Facebook page.
All are welcome!
For this civil holiday, we will have our usual Masses at 8:00 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. The 8:00 a.m. Mass also will be livestreamed via our YouTube channel and Facebook page.
Please note that the Pastoral Office will be closed on Monday, January 15.
To watch Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” Speech, please click on the following link:
To read his “I Have a Dream” Speech, please click here.
In anticipation of the Martin Luther King, Jr. national holiday on January 15, we will have a special “Holy Hour to End Racial Discrimination” on Friday, January 12 from 7:45-8:45 p.m. The Holy Hour will include exposition and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament as well as Bible readings, prayers, songs, and periods of silence. In addition, the Holy Hour will be livestreamed simultaneously to our YouTube channel and Facebook page.
Please join us—all are welcome!
Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph
Sunday, December 31
(usual Sunday Mass schedule)
5:30 p.m. Vigil Mass on Saturday (December 30),
and Masses on Sunday at 7:00 a.m., 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. (also livestreamed),
1:00 p.m., and 5:30 p.m. (also livestreamed)
Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God
Monday, January 1
(a civil holiday and not a Holy Day of Obligation)
9:00 a.m. Mass (with music, also livestreamed)
Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord
Sunday, January 7
(usual Sunday Mass schedule)
5:30 p.m. Vigil Mass on Saturday (January 6),
and Masses on Sunday at 7:00 a.m., 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. (also livestreamed),
1:00 p.m., and 5:30 p.m. (Life Teen Mass, also livestreamed)
Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
Monday, January 8
(usual weekday Mass schedule)
8:00 a.m. Mass (also livestreamed)
6:30 p.m. Mass
The indicated Masses and services will be livestreamed simultaneously to our YouTube channel and Facebook page.
On Friday, January 5 from 7:45-8:45 p.m., we will have Holy Hour with exposition and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. The Holy Hour will focus on the upcoming Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, which will be celebrated on Sunday, January 7. The Holy Hour will consist of Bible readings, prayers, songs, and periods of silence; and it also will be livestreamed simultaneously to our YouTube channel and Facebook page.
Holy Hour Worship Aid (1/5/2024)
All are welcome!
Saturday, December 23
8:00 a.m. Advent weekday Mass (also livestreamed)
5:30 p.m. Vigil Mass for the Fourth Sunday of Advent
Sunday, December 24
7:00 a.m. Mass for the Fourth Sunday of Advent
9:00 a.m. Mass for the Fourth Sunday of Advent
11:00 a.m. Mass for the Fourth Sunday of Advent
1:00 p.m. Mass for the Fourth Sunday of Advent
3:30 p.m. Christmas music
4:00 p.m. Children’s Christmas Mass (also livestreamed)
(with children acting out the Nativity story,
Children’s Choir, cantor, organ, trumpet)
Children's Christmas Mass: Worship Aid
6:45 p.m. Christmas music
7:00 p.m. Community Christmas Mass
(vocal trio, piano, violin)
11:30 p.m. Christmas music
12:00 a.m. Midnight Christmas Mass on December 25 (also livestreamed)
(Combined Choirs, cantor, organ, trumpet)
Christmas:
The Nativity of the Lord Worship Aid (12/24-25/2023)
Monday, December 25
7:00 a.m. Christmas Mass
(cantor, organ)
8:45 a.m. Christmas music
9:00 a.m. Christmas Mass
(cantor, organ, trumpet)
10:45 a.m. Christmas music
11:00 a.m. Christmas Mass (also livestreamed)
(Adult Choir, cantor, organ, trumpet)
12:45 p.m. Christmas music
1:00 p.m. Christmas Mass
(cantors, piano, organ, trumpet)
5:15 p.m. Christmas music
5:30 p.m. Christmas Mass (also livestreamed)
(vocal quartet, piano)
Livestreamed Masses are livestreamed simultaneously to St. Denis’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.
Note: Catholics are obligated to attend one Mass for the Fourth Sunday of Advent and a different Mass for Christmas, which is a holy day of obligation. Thus, to satisfy both obligations, Catholics must attend two different Masses.
For the Fourth Sunday of Advent, you may attend the 5:30 p.m. Vigil Mass on Saturday, December 23 or any Mass on Sunday, December 24 through the 7:00 p.m. Mass.
For Christmas, you may attend the 4:00 p.m. Mass or the 7:00 p.m. Mass on December 24, the 12:00 a.m. Midnight Mass on December 25, or any of the other Masses on December 25.
© J. S. Paluch Co., Inc.
Daily Advent Gospel reflections
by Bishop Robert Barron
Receive in your E-mail inbox each morning:
(1) the full Gospel reading for each day of Advent 2023; and
(2) a short reflection from Bishop Barron.
To learn more and to sign up for free, please click here.
Read the daily Mass readings
each day on the U.S. Bishops’ website
You can read the daily Mass readings on the U.S. Bishops’ website. Then, on the page for each day’s readings, you can click on a link for a reflection video by a priest, a religious sister or brother, or a lay person.
In addition, you can have the daily Mass readings sent to your E-mail inbox every morning by signing up here.
Meditations on the daily Mass readings
from The Word Among Us Magazine
Go to The Word Among Us website (wau.org); and click on “Today’s Meditation,” which is toward the top of the webpage. The Word Among Us meditations on the daily Mass readings are favorites of Fr. John.
Resources recommended by Bishop Brian Nunes,
Auxiliary Bishop for the San Gabriel Pastoral Region
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles is offering weekly video Advent reflections, available in both English and Spanish, at https://lacatholics.org/advent/.
A second good series of Advent reflections comes to us from restorative justice chaplains, calling us to Renewal and Restoration, available at https://new.express.adobe.com/webpage/BG7sApQutF6Oe.
Third, I would like to invite you to join me at a special screening of a new movie, Journey to Bethlehem. This movie is a Christmas musical adventure for the entire family that combines classic Christmas melodies with humor, faith, and new pop songs in a retelling of the Nativity story. You can find more information and reserve your seat at
https://forms.gle/gM8AsgNumFVX4zH68.
Simbang Gabi is a Filipino Advent tradition to prepare for Christmas, but people from all cultural backgrounds are invited to join in the celebration.
Our Simbang Gabi celebration will begin on Saturday, December 16 at 5:00 p.m., with children and teens lining up in the vestibule to prepare for the extended procession. (Parents may accompany the younger children.)
The Mass (with the extended procession) will start at 5:30 p.m., and will include some Filipino music. The Mass also will be livestreamed simultaneously to St. Denis’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.
After the Mass, everyone will go to the Hall for a free, authentic Filipino dinner with entertainment and dancing.
The dinner will include: chicken afritada; pancit/rice noodles; lumpia shanghai/egg rolls; and white steamed rice. The desserts will include: cake; puto (steamed rice cake); kutsinta (white & brown sticky rice cake); and ginataan (glutinous rice balls). Drinks will include coffee and water.
All are welcome!
We will continue to pray the Simbang Gabi Novena Prayers from Saturday, December 16 through Sunday, December 24, 2023. Please find the Novena Prayers below and follow along each day:
Simbang Gabi Novena Prayers (December 16-24, 2023)
On Christmas Eve (Sunday, December 24) at 4:00 p.m., we will have a special Christmas Mass for children and their families. At this Christmas Eve Mass, children will sing together in the Children’s Christmas Choir and will act out the Nativity story in a Children’s Christmas Play.
All children through grade 8 (even those not enrolled in Religious Education) are invited to sing in the Children’s Christmas Choir; and they also are invited to act in the Children’s Christmas Play by playing an angel or a shepherd. To participate in one or both of these ways, the children must attend at least one rehearsal on Saturday morning, December 23.
For children who will sing in the Children’s Christmas Choir, the rehearsal will be from 9:00-10:00 a.m. on December 23 in the choir room in the choir loft. For children who will act in the Children’s Christmas Play, the rehearsal will be from 10:00-11:00 a.m. on December 23 in the church. Children can both sing and act at the Christmas Eve Mass if they attend both rehearsals on Saturday, December 23.
For more information about the Children’s Christmas Choir, please contact our music director, Patrick Zubiate, via E-mail at [email protected] or by calling the Pastoral Office at (909) 861-7106.
For more information about the Children’s Christmas Play, please contact our Director of Religious Education, Celia Flores, via E-mail at [email protected] or by calling the Pastoral Office at (909) 861-7106, extension 242.
Join us for an old-fashioned Christmas Carol Sing-Along on Tuesday, December 19 at 7:30 p.m. in the Hall. This Sing-Along will be a fun, family event for the entire parish (adults, youths, and children), and will be led by our music director, Patrick Zubiate, with piano accompaniment and other musical instruments.
We will sing many of our favorite Christmas songs, such as “White Christmas,” “Jingle Bells,” “Jingle Bell Rock,” “The 12 Days of Christmas,” “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” “Frosty the Snowman,” “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” “The Christmas Song” (“Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire”), “Silver Bells,” “Let it Snow,” “Deck the Halls,” “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” and “Silent Night.”
Members of our Children’s Choir and other music ministries will join us and will sing with us; and some of them will perform for us.
Afterward, we will enjoy refreshments, including Christmas cookies and hot apple cider.
Many homeless people live on the streets and lack essentials. Our Cursillo group plans to fill 150 backpacks with underwear, socks, and other essential items, and then distribute the backpacks to homeless people who are living on the streets in Pomona.
To support this ministry financially, please put your donation in an envelope; write “Essentials for the Homeless” on the envelope or in the notation section of your check; and drop off the envelope in one of the collection baskets or boxes. You also can mail in your donation to: St. Denis Church, 2151 S. Diamond Bar Boulevard, Diamond Bar, CA 91765.
Alternatively, you may drop off the following items at the Pastoral Office or with one of our custodians.
Men’s boxer briefs or shorts (brand new; sizes: medium, large, extra large)
Men’s white, comfortable socks (brand new; sizes 6-12)
Women’s underwear (brand new; sizes 7, 8, 9)
Women’s white, comfortable socks (brand new; sizes 4-8)
Hats (brand new; sizes: medium and large)
Toothbrushes
Toothpaste
Gloves or mittens
Ready-to-eat canned food
All donations are requested by Sunday, December 17. The backpacks with the essentials will be distributed to the homeless in Pomona during the week of December 18.
For more information, please contact Amy Siacunco at (909) 861-7106 or Tony Shatola at (909) 525- 8771.
Thank you for your support!
After the 1:00 p.m. Family Mass on Sunday, December 17 (i.e., at 2:00 p.m.), we will celebrate Las Posadas with a procession in the courtyard. Children will reenact how, before Jesus was born, Mary and Joseph looked for room in the inn.
The procession will end at the outdoor Nativity scene, where we will sing Christmas carols. (We may even have snow in Diamond Bar!)
Afterward, we will have refreshments (sandwiches, etc.) and a piñata for the kids.
All are welcome!
8:00 a.m. Mass (also livestreamed)
8:30-9:00 a.m. Confessions
8:30-9:30 a.m. Exposition and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in the church
5:00-6:00 p.m. No Confessions
6:30 p.m. Mass (also livestreamed)
7:00-9:00 p.m. Exposition and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in the chapel
7:30 p.m. Advent Reconciliation Service (also livestreamed)
(with 10+ priests hearing individual Confessions)
Join us on Friday, December 15 at 7:30 p.m. for St. Denis’s Advent Reconciliation Service, which will include music and will be livestreamed. At the end Service, we will have individual Confessions in the church with about 10-15 priests.
Advent Reconciliation Service Worship Aid (12/15/2023)
Other nearby Advent Reconciliation Services (with 10+ priests) include:
The website of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops sets forth seven different ways for us to examine our conscience based on our circumstances. The links for the relevant pages are set forth below.
1. Examination of Conscience based on the Ten Commandments
https://www.usccb.org/resources/Examination-of-Conscience-Ten-Commandments.pdf
2. Examination of Conscience in Light of Catholic Social Teaching
http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/sacraments-and-sacramentals/penance/examination-conscience-in-light-of-catholic-social-teaching.cfm
3. Examination of Conscience: Loving our neighbors in the Public Square
https://www.usccb.org/resources/Examination-of-Conscience.pdf
4. Examination of Conscience for Children
http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/sacraments-and-sacramentals/penance/sacrament-reconciliation-children-examination-conscience.cfm
5. Examination of Conscience for Young Adults
http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/sacraments-and-sacramentals/penance/sacrament-reconciliation-young-adults-examination-of-conscience.cfm
6. Examination of Conscience for Single People
http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/sacraments-and-sacramentals/penance/examination-of-conscience-for-single-people.cfm
7. Examination of Conscience for Married Persons
http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/sacraments-and-sacramentals/penance/sacrament-reconciliation-married-persons-examination-of-conscience.cfm
St. Denis’s Christian Service Ministry is collecting new (not used) Christmas toys and gifts for poor and needy children from infancy through age 17. The requested donations include: toys, books, games, sporting equipment, school supplies, and gift cards. All donations should be unwrapped, and should be dropped off at the Pastoral Office by Thursday, December 14. (The Pastoral Office is open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Monday and Wednesday through Saturday, and is closed on Tuesday.)
Monetary donations also are welcomed and appreciated. These donations will be used to supplement the toys and gifts for the children and to provide grocery gift cards for poor and needy families. Please make the check payable to “St. Denis Christian Service”; and write “Christian Service Christmas” in the notation section of your check or on the envelope. Then drop the check or envelope (you can use a green envelope from the pew or the vestibule) into a collection box or basket; drop it into one of the purple boxes on the steps leading to the altar; drop it off at the Pastoral Office; or mail your donation to the Pastoral Office at 2151 S. Diamond Bar Blvd., Diamond Bar, CA 91765. You also may donate via Online Giving (click on “Christian Service Offering” and mention Christmas) or via PayPal (mention “Christian Service Christmas”).
For more information, please E-mail Liz Fan at [email protected].
For the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Tuesday, December 12, we will have our usual 8:00 a.m. Mass. Then, at 7:00 p.m. on December 12, we will have a special bilingual Mass (English and Spanish) with Aztec dancers and Mexican music by a Mexican trio (all of whom will play guitars and sing). Afterward, in the Hall, we will have a traditional dinner of tamales, rice, and beans, plus a performance by the Mexican trio.
All are welcome!
Children can participate in the opening procession if they line up in the vestibule at 6:45 p.m. The children will receive a rose. Then, at the beginning of the Mass, they will process into the church and place the rose at the foot of the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. (Parents may accompany the younger children.)
Both Masses will be livestreamed simultaneously to St. Denis’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.
Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe Worship Aid (12/12/2023)
If you would like to donate to defray the expenses for the Mexican trio, the Aztec dancers, and the dinner in the Hall, please put your donation in an envelope, write “Our Lady of Guadalupe” on the envelope or in the notation section of your check, and drop off the envelope in one of the collection baskets or boxes, or in the mail slot for the Pastoral Office. You also can mail in your donation to: St. Denis Church, 2151 S. Diamond Bar Boulevard, Diamond Bar, CA 91765. Alternatively, you can donate through PayPal (mention “Our Lady of Guadalupe”) or through Online Giving (click on the fund for Our Lady of Guadalupe).
Our Cursillo group will host breakfast in the Hall from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, December 10. The breakfast will include homemade, Belgian waffles, eggs, bacon, sausage, fresh fruits, orange juice, and coffee. The cost will be $10 (and $5 for children 12 and under), with proceeds benefitting St. Denis and other charitable causes.
Santa Claus will attend the breakfast in his sleigh and will pose for pictures with the children.
Please join us for a good breakfast and good fellowship!
This solemnity celebrates how Mary, through God's grace, was conceived free from the stain of original sin.
This is a Holy Day of Obligation; and we will celebrate the following four Masses:
The 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Masses on December 8 will be livestreamed to our YouTube channel and Facebook page.
We will begin the Advent season with a “Journey to Bethlehem with Mary and Joseph” in our courtyard on Sunday, December 3 (the First Sunday of Advent) after the 7:00 a.m., 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and 1:00 p.m. Masses.
Accompanied by Scripture readings, narration, and songs that will be sung by everyone, teens from our Teen Confirmation Program will act out the major events that led Mary and Joseph to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the birth of Jesus, including:
Afterward, everyone in the courtyard will be taught two easy Jewish dances, and will be invited to dance these dances. Then, we will enjoy some food. People may eat in the courtyard or in the Hall.
After the 7:00 a.m., 9:00 a.m., and 11:00 a.m. Masses, the food will consist of a continental breakfast, including a bagel with cream cheese, yogurt, and donuts. Each food item also will come with a complimentary drink (water, coffee, or orange juice). The cost for each food item (plus the drink) will be $1.
After the 1:00 p.m. Mass, we will serve a restaurant-prepared Mediterranean lunch made with fresh ingredients and authentic spices, including: a chicken kabob (5-6 pieces of chicken on a skewer), rice, hummus, bread, salad, a cookie for dessert, and a choice of a drink (water, lemonade, or fruit punch). The cost for the lunch will be $8 per plate.
On Sunday, December 3, join us for a “Journey to Bethlehem with Mary and Joseph” as we begin the Advent season and prepare for the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas.
Learn the basics and the details about Medicare, including your various options. If you are new to Medicare, if you are thinking of retiring, if you are on Social Security Disability, or if you are confused about Medicare insurance plans, this free Information Seminar is for you. The Seminar will be held:
For more information, please contact Johnny Garcia, licensed Medicare agent (license no. OK090404) at 213-215-7064.
This seminar does not offer every plan available in your area. To get information on all of your Medicare options, contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY Users should call 1-877-486-2048) 24 hours a day/7 days a week.
Every child deserves a loving family. We are all adopted sons and daughters of God; and we know that family is the basic building block of society. Los Angeles County has more than 38,000 children in foster care. These foster children and youth need the love of a family to support and nurture them to their full potential.
Is your family called to be an adoptive family or a foster family to children in need? Do you want to say “Yes” to adoption or foster parenting, but don’t know where to start? Perhaps you have questions: How long is the process? Is there financial support? Do you need to own a house? Can a single person adopt or be a foster parent?
There are a variety of resources available to answer your questions. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has a webpage (lacatholics.org/foster) dedicated to adoption and foster care and a webpage (lacatholics.org/foster-care-adoption-organizations) with recommended organizations that can help you to start the process of adoption and foster parenting.
For example, Family Connections Christian Adoptions (FCCA) helps families adopt babies and young children. For more information, please go to their website: fcadoptions.org.
Kidsave finds families for older children for adoption. Research shows that a child is most likely to be adopted during the first nine years of their life. After their tenth birthday, they are considered an “older child”; and their odds of being adopted decrease. Kidsave programs are designed to create opportunities for older children in foster care to be seen, to find a family, and to thrive. For more information, including seeing photos children from Los Angeles County who need adoption, please go to their website: kidsave.org.
Set forth below are short videos of parents who adopted older children. Why not watch the videos? Then, pray and ask God if He is calling you to be an adoptive parent.
Our All Souls’ Day Novena begins on November 2 (All Souls’ Day) and continues through November 30. Each day, we will pray at least one Mass for the dearly departed who are enrolled in the novena.
To enroll deceased relatives or friends in our All Souls’ Day Novena, please do one of the following:
The Pastoral Office is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday and Wednesday through Saturday, and from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. (Please note that the office is closed on Tuesday.)
● Thanking and Blessing Veterans
who served in the United States Armed Forces
Sunday, November 12 at all Masses
● Thanking and Blessing Public Safety Workers
(e.g., police officers, sheriff’s deputies, firefighters, correctional officers,
911 operators, and EMS personnel)
Sunday, November 19 at all Masses
● Thanking and Blessing Healthcare Workers and Caregivers
(e.g., doctors, nurses, orderlies, technicians, home health aides, pharmacists,
etc., including family members who are caring for sick relatives)
Sunday, November 26 at all Masses
Sunday, November 26 is the Solemnity of the Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. As part of the celebration, we will bring Christ into the world by having a Eucharistic Procession in our neighborhood at 2:00 p.m. (after the 1:00 p.m. Mass).
The procession will be centered around the Eucharist, which will be carried in a monstrance, and also will include the priests and deacons, a cross-bearer, multiple candle-bearers, thurifers with incense, and parishioners of all ages. We will process out of the church, around the courtyard, down to Diamond Bar Boulevard, up Silverhawk Drive, and then back to the church for benediction. During the procession, we will sing songs and pray the Rosary.
All are welcome!
Admission is free for St. Denis parishioners who have a free member pass, which can be picked up at the Pastoral Office and in the vestibule of the church. The cost for nonparishioners is $20 if you register by November 20, and $25 if you register after November 20 or at the door. Nonparishioners can register by going to the following webpage and clicking on a registration link: https://events.scrc.org/life-beyond-death.
For lunch, please bring a sack lunch or drive to nearby restaurants.
This conference is sponsored by Southern California Renewal Communities (SCRC), which is an officially commissioned ministry of the Los Angeles Archdiocese. SCRC shepherds the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in Southern California; and its goal is to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit to those in need. For more information about SCRC, please go to scrc.org or call (818) 771-1361.
On Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, November 23), please join us for a special Thanksgiving Mass at 9:00 a.m. The Mass, which also will be livestreamed, will include: music; a chance to share with each other who and what we are thankful for; a blessing of food that we will eat later that day; and an opportunity to donate nonperishable food for the poor.
Therefore, please bring to the Mass some food (such as rolls, a pie, or something else) that you will eat later in the day and some nonperishable food (such as food in cans or jars) that you will donate to the poor.
The Greek word “Eucharist” means “thanksgiving” in English; and so, Mass with Holy Communion is a great way to start the Thanksgiving Day celebration.
Since 2005, St. Denis has thanked our local first responders (firefighters, sheriff’s deputies, EMS personnel, and support staff) for their service by inviting them to come to St. Denis for a special luncheon during the week of Thanksgiving.
This year, the First Responders’ Thanksgiving Luncheon will be on Tuesday, November 21 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the Hall. The luncheon will be professionally catered and will include:
This delicious meal is expensive, especially because we typically serve about 100 first responders. Therefore, if you would like to defray the expenses, please put your donation in an envelope, write “First Responders’ Luncheon” on the envelope or in the notation section of your check, and drop off the envelope in a collection basket or box, or at the Pastoral Office. Alternatively, you can support the First Responders’ Luncheon through Online Giving (just click on the fund called “First Responders’ Luncheon”) or PayPal (mention “First Responders’ Luncheon” in the comments section). Please note that any excess money raised for the First Responders’ Luncheon will be used by our Christian Service Ministry for our Christmas Outreach Program for poor families and children.
We are collecting thank-you cards and notes for our local first responders (firefighters, sheriff’s deputies, EMS personnel, and support staff). If you would like to thank them personally with a card or note, please put “First Responders” on the envelope and give it to us by Sunday, November 19 by dropping it off at the Pastoral Office (e.g., at the front desk or in the mail slot), or by dropping it off in one of the baskets that will be on steps leading to the altar.
In addition, the children in our Religious Education Program and the teens in our Teen Confirmation Program will write thank-you notes and cards to our local first responders.
We will then bring all of the thank-you notes and cards to the workplaces of our local first responders during the week of Thanksgiving.
The Knights of Columbus will host a “Burrito Breakfast” in the Hall on Sunday, November 19 from 7:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The breakfast will offer a choice of:
a large flour tortilla filled with scrambled eggs, potatoes, and sausage, with salsa on the side;
a large flour tortilla filled with beans and cheese, with salsa on the side; or
a platter with scrambled eggs, potatoes, sausage, with a tortilla and salsa on the side.
The breakfast also will include orange juice, coffee, and water. The cost will be $10 (and $5 for children 12 and under).
Please join us for a good breakfast and good fellowship!
Day of the Dead altar
Background
(adapted from Wikipedia.org)
The Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) is a multi-day holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2 and continuing into November. It is widely observed in Mexico, where it largely developed, and also is observed in other places, especially by people of Mexican heritage. Although related to the simultaneous Christian remembrance for All Souls’ Day, it has a much less solemn tone and is portrayed as a holiday of joyful celebration rather than mourning. The holiday involves family and friends gathering to pay respects and to remember friends and family members who have died. These celebrations can take a humorous tone, as celebrants remember funny events and anecdotes about the departed.
Traditions connected with the holiday include honoring the deceased by building Day of the Dead altars (ofrendas) with photos of the deceased and some of their favorite foods, beverages, and mementos. The altars are usually decorated with marigold flowers and edible or decorative skulls made from either sugar or clay.
Celebrations of the Day of the Dead at St. Denis
We will celebrate a special Memorial Mass (with music) for all those who have died, especially those who have died in the past year. We invite you to bring a photo of your deceased loved one, place the photo on a table near the altar before the Mass, and retrieve it after the Mass. After Communion, there will be a time for reflections, during which you may share some thoughts and memories about your deceased loved one. In addition, we will play the Memorial Tribute Video, which is described here.
Please note that the Mass also will be livestreamed simultaneously to our YouTube channel and Facebook page.
All are welcome.
St. Denis’s Christian Service Ministry is collecting food items that will be used to assemble Thanksgiving gift baskets for poor families in our local area (i.e., in and around Diamond Bar). The food items are needed by Sunday, November 12; and the gift baskets will be distributed on Saturday, November 18.
Suggested food items are listed below:
Whole turkey (frozen) Aluminum pans (turkey size) Corn (can) Green beans (can) Green peas (can) Cranberry sauce (can or jar) Yams (can) |
Mashed potatoes (box) Stuffing mix (box) Chicken broth (can) Fruit (can) Turkey gravy (can, jar, or packet) Soups (can) Jello/pudding (box) |
Monetary donations also are welcomed and appreciated. These donations will help to cover the cost of items that we need to purchase or that have not been donated. Please write “Christian Service Thanksgiving” on your check or envelope. Then drop the envelope in a collection box or basket; or mail your donation to the Pastoral Office at 2151 S. Diamond Bar Blvd., Diamond Bar, CA 91765. You also may donate via Online Giving (click on “Christian Service Offering” and mention Thanksgiving) or via PayPal (mention “Christian Service Ministry Thanksgiving”).
For more information, please E-mail Liz Fan at [email protected].
All parishioners are invited to consider joining one of our ministries. To learn more about our ministries, please attend our St. Denis Ministry Fair, which will be held in the courtyard on Sunday, November 12 from 7:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
All of our ministries will have tables in the courtyard; and they will have flyers, sign-up sheets, and ministers who can answer your questions. In addition, each ministry will offer a free food or beverage.
We encourage you to visit all of the tables, sample the free food or beverage at each table, and gather information about the ministries that interest you. Then, please pray and ask the Holy Spirit which ministry to join. When the Spirit inspires or prompts you to join a ministry, please follow through and start to participate in that ministry.
We will create a Memorial Tribute Video for our deceased loved ones. The video will include the photos and names of those who have died, plus their year of birth and year of death. If you would like to include a deceased relative or friend in this video tribute, please E-mail to us the following:
The E-mail should be sent by Monday, November 6 to: [email protected].
If you have a printed photograph, please create a high-quality scan using a high-quality digital scanner; and E-mail the high-quality scan to us, as indicated above. Alternatively, please bring the printed photograph to the Pastoral Office; and ask the receptionist to scan it for you. The Office is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday and Wednesday through Saturday, and from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. (Please note that the office is closed on Tuesday.)
Please do not use your mobile phone to take a digital photo of a printed photograph. The quality of such digital photos is too low for them to be used in the tribute video.
Starting on Saturday, November 18, the Memorial Tribute Video will be featured on our website, on our YouTube channel and Facebook page, and during our livestreamed Memorial Mass, which is described here.
On Sunday, November 5, we will have a Family Mass at 1:00 p.m., followed by a Day of the Dead Celebration for children and their families in the courtyard from 2:00-4:00 p.m. All families with children in grade 8 and younger are invited to attend the Mass at 1:00 p.m. and afterward go to the courtyard for the Day of the Dead activities.
The children will make decorations to decorate the Day of the Dead altars, which are in the vestibule of the church; they can have their faces painted; and they will enjoy traditional foods associated with the Day of the Dead, such as “bread of the dead” (a sweet bread known as “pan de muerto”).
In addition, children and their families can have lunch. A taco vendor will provide a complete meal of three tacos (chicken and steak), beans, rice, and salsa plus flavored waters (aguas frescas) and popsicles (paletas de hielo) for the kids. The cost will be $5 per plate.
Finally, upbeat Day of the Dead music (including music from the movie Coco) will play in the background.
All are welcome!
[For more information about the Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos), please click here.]
On All Souls’ Day, we remember and pray for all of the faithful departed. Although All Souls’ Day is not a holy day of obligation, attending Mass on All Souls’ Day is a great way for us to pray for and remember our deceased loved ones.
On Thursday, November 2, we will have two Masses:
8:00 a.m. Mass (also livestreamed)
7:00 p.m. Mass (with music and also livestreamed)
All Souls’ Day Worship Aid (11/2/2023)
Both Masses will be livestreamed to our YouTube channel and Facebook page.
On All Saints’ Day, we remember and thank God for all of the saints who have preceded us and who have shown us the way to heaven. The Solemnity of All Saints is a holy day of obligation; and we will celebrate four Masses.
Tuesday, October 31: 6:30 p.m. Vigil Mass
Wednesday, November 1: 8:00 a.m. Mass (also livestreamed)
12:10 p.m. Mass
7:00 p.m. Mass (with music and also livestreamed)
All Saints’ Day Worship Aid (11/1/2023)
The indicated Masses will be livestreamed simultaneously to our YouTube channel and Facebook page.
October is Respect Life Month; and October 1 is Respect Life Sunday.
As Catholics, we are called to cherish, defend, and protect those who are most vulnerable from the beginning of life to its end, and at every point in between.
This year’s theme is “Radical Solidarity.” We need to be in radical solidarity with mothers in need and with their children; and we have a responsibility to put our love for them into action. To learn more about “Radical Solidarity,” please read this article. For the U.S. Bishops’ “Prayer for Radical Solidarity,” please click here.
On Respect Life Sunday (October 1), St. Denis’s Family Life Ministry will host a baby shower in the vestibule of the church after all of the Masses. Donations will support the Whittier Life Center. They are seeking donations of baby items (such as diapers, baby blankets, baby clothes, and other baby items) for babies and mothers in need. In addition, cash and check donations will be welcomed.
“40 Days for Life” is an internationally coordinated 40-day campaign that aims to end abortion locally through prayer and fasting, community outreach, and peaceful, all-day vigils in front of abortion businesses.
St. Denis’s parishioners will pray peacefully on the public walkway at FPA Women’s Health (501 S. Vincent Avenue in West Covina) from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on the following Sundays: October 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29 and November 5. Why not join them for one hour? For more information, please contact Cindy (909-282-2006) or Gerry (909-576-5284).
This novena, which is led by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, prays for the protection of human life, from conception to natural death. Each day of the novena features a different pro-life prayer intention which is accompanied by a short reflection and suggested actions to help build a culture of life. Please click here to sign up to receive the daily prayers via E-mail.
If you’ve lost a spouse, a child, a family member, or a friend, you’ve probably found that there are not many people who understand the deep hurt you feel. This can be a confusing time, when you feel isolated and have many questions about things that you’ve never faced before.
St. Denis’s GriefShare support group meets weekly to help participants face these challenges and move toward rebuilding their lives. They meet every Sunday from 1:00-3:00 pm in the Hall (Room A) with a different topic for each session. The schedule is set forth below.
Dates:
July 9, 2023 Session One: “Is This Normal?”
July 16, 2023 Session Two: “Challenges of Grief”
July 23, 2023 Session Three: “The Journey of Grief (Part One)”
July 30, 2023 Session Four: “The Journey of Grief (Part Two)”
August 6, 2023 Session Five: “Grief and Your Relationships”
August 13, 2023 Session Six: “Why?”
August 20, 2023 Session Seven: “Guilt and Anger”
August 27, 2023 Session Eight: “Complicating Factors”
September 3, 2023 Session Nine: “Stuck”
September 10, 2023 Session Ten: “Lessons of Grief (Part One)”
September 17, 2023 Session Eleven: “Lessons of Grief (Part Two)”
October 1, 2023 Session Twelve: “Heaven”
October 8, 2023 Session Thirteen: “What Do I Live For Now?”
Each GriefShare session has three distinct parts:
(1) watching a video seminar featuring top experts on grief and recovery;
(2) discussing with the group what was presented in the video and what is going on in their lives; and
(3) discussing questions and comments from a workbook, which participants will use during the week for further study of the grieving process and for journaling about their emotions.
Just show up for one of the sessions. You don’t have to sign up in advance; and you don’t have to attend all of the sessions.
For more information, please contact Mike Shay at (714) 563-6510, or watch the following video:
Entrees: Pulled pork, breaded chicken strips, hamburgers, hot dogs, chili (with meat and beans), vegetarian chili
Sides: Corn on the cob, baked beans, cole slaw, potato wedges, nachos with cheese, potato chips
Desserts: Cake, cotton candy, candied apples, popcorn
Drinks: Bottled water, soda, beer, wine, coffee, tea, hot chocolate
Starting on September 9th, tickets for the food will be sold in the vestibule after the Sunday Masses and in the Pastoral Office. Avoid the lines by buying the tickets in advance.
Wear your cowboy hats, boots, and bandanas!
All are welcome—including children, teens, and families!
In honor of St. Francis of Assisi, whose feast day is on Wednesday, October 4, the priests and deacons will bless your animals (such as pets) on Saturday, October 7 at 8:30 a.m. in our lower parking lot. Please note that all animals must be on a leash or in a cage, crate, bowl, or other container.
St. Lorenzo Ruiz is the patron saint of the Philippines and the Filipino people. He was a martyr, and was the first Filipino saint to be canonized.
Although St. Lorenzo’s official feast day is on Thursday, September 28, we also will celebrate his feast day on Saturday, September 30 at the 5:30 p.m. Mass.
The Mass will include Filipino music and will start with a procession with the statue of St. Lorenzo. The Mass will be livestreamed simultaneously to St. Denis’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.
Feast of St. Lorenzo Ruiz Worship Aid
You are encouraged to wear traditional Filipino clothing (if you have it), and to gather at 5:15 p.m. in the vestibule of the church to process into the church with the statue, which will be transported by the “Knights of San Lorenzo.”
After the Mass, we will process to the Hall for a free dinner with authentic Filipino food. In the Hall, DJ Win Caalim will provide the music; and there will be dancing.
All parishioners are welcome to join in the celebration.
Bring your children, grandchildren, and the entire family!
Fr. Dennis warmly invites you to join him and parishioners from St. Denis for a “Noon Zoom” on the four Wednesdays in September (September 6, 13, 20, and 27). They will gather via Zoom to pause and to pray Midday Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours, mindful of how each day is a gift from God and how it is made sacred through prayer and finding God in all things.
The Zoom link for all of these Wednesday meetings will be:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84089907852?pwd=SWZCNVFvNlZLMkRLWUxQcXpMNURWdz09.
The 18th Annual Los Angeles Catholic Prayer Breakfast will be on Tuesday, September 19th from 6:30-9:00 a.m. at the Cathedral in downtown Los Angeles (555 W. Temple St., Los Angeles, CA 90012). The program will begin with a Rosary at 6:30 a.m., followed by a Mass at 7:00 a.m. with Archbishop José Gomez, then breakfast on the plaza, and an inspiring keynote speech by Joe Sikorra.
Joe Sikorra is a former police officer and stuntman, actor, musician, singer-songwriter, and licensed marriage & family therapist. In addition, he is the host of “The Joe Sikorra Show” on RelevantRadio.com. He and his wife, Lori, have been married for 30 years and have a son with special needs. He is able to draw upon his wide range of knowledge and experience as he tackles psychological, family, and faith topics and how these issues affect the everyday lives of his audience.
Everyone from St. Denis (including Fr. John) will sit together at one or more tables. We will carpool at 5:30 a.m. from the church’s lower parking lot and will return to St. Denis by about 10:30 a.m. Tickets are $35 each and can be purchased at the Pastoral Office (909-861-7106), which is open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sundays, and from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. every other day (except Tuesdays, when it is closed).
Msgr. Jim Loughnane served as the pastor of St. Denis for 25 years from 1993 until he passed away from an abdominal aneurysm on September 17, 2018. To mark the fifth anniversary of his passing and to celebrate his life, we will have a special celebration for him at the 11:00 a.m. Mass on Sunday, September 17. Deacon Phil Luevanos will return to St. Denis and will offer a reflection on Msgr. Jim; and we will show a video about Msgr. Jim’s life.
The Mass will be livestreamed simultaneously to St. Denis’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.
After the Mass, there will be a reception in the Hall with light refreshments and Irish music; and everyone will have an opportunity to go to a microphone and share their memories about Msgr. Jim.
Please join us on September 17th as we remember Msgr. Jim.
Our Christian Services Ministry will make lunches in the Hall (Room A) and will give them to 150-200 homeless people in Pomona on the following Saturdays:
Saturday, July 15 from 9:30 a.m. – 12:00 noon in the Hall; and
Saturday, August 19 from 9:30 a.m. – 12:00 noon in the Hall.
To enable us to plan for each Saturday session, please sign up in advance using this online form. If possible, please sign up by 5:00 pm on the preceding Thursday (i.e., by Thursday, July 13, and Thursday, August 17).
If you would like to donate food, please drop it off at the Pastoral Office by 5:00 pm on the preceding Thursday (i.e., by Thursday, July 13, and Thursday, August 17). The following food is needed:
Bread (whole-wheat preferred)
Jelly
Chips (individually wrapped)
Cookies (individually wrapped)
Granola bars (individually wrapped)
Apples
Bottles of water
Ziploc sandwich bags
Monetary donations also are welcomed and appreciated. These donations will help to cover the cost of items that we need to purchase or that have not been donated. Please make the check payable to St. Denis Church; and write “Christian Service Homeless Lunch” in the notation section of your check or on the envelope. Then drop the envelope in a collection basket or box; or mail your donation to St. Denis at 2151 S. Diamond Bar Blvd., Diamond Bar, CA 91765. You also may donate via Online Giving (click on “Christian Service Offering” and mention “Homeless Lunch”) or via PayPal (mention “Christian Service Homeless Lunch”).
For more information, please E-mail Liz Fan at [email protected].
Sign up here
Tuesday, August 15th is the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is a holy day of obligation. To celebrate Mary’s Assumption, we will have four Masses:
Vigil Mass at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, August 14;
Mass at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, August 15;
Mass at 12:10 p.m. on Tuesday, August 15;
Mass at 7:00 p.m. (with music) on Tuesday, August 15.
Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Worship Aid (8/15/23)
The 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Masses on August 15 also will be livestreamed simultaneously to our YouTube channel and Facebook page.
St. Denis’s Christian Service Ministry is collecting school supplies for needy children. Please consider donating the following items:
• backpacks | • scissors | |
• crayons | • gluesticks | |
• pencils | • color pencils | |
• pens | • markers | |
• notebooks | • highliters | |
• paper | • other school necessities |
Please drop off your donations at the Pastoral Office by Sunday, August 6.
Monetary donations also are welcomed and appreciated. These donations will help to cover the cost of items that have not been donated. Please make the check payable to St. Denis Church; and write “Christian Service School Supplies” in the notation section of your check or on the envelope. Then drop the envelope in a collection basket or box; or mail your donation to St. Denis at 2151 S. Diamond Bar Blvd., Diamond Bar, CA 91765. You also may donate via Online Giving (click on “Christian Service Offering” and mention “School Supplies”) or via PayPal (mention “Christian Service School Supplies”).
For more information, please E-mail Liz Fan at [email protected].
“Into the Breach” is a call to battle for Catholic men which urges them to embrace wholeheartedly masculine virtues in a world in crisis.
Inspired by the Apostolic Exhortation for Catholic men entitled “Into the Breach” by Bishop Olmsted of Phoenix, the Knights of Columbus have produced a video series that seeks to answer the question of what it means to be a Catholic man and how to live as a Catholic man in today’s world.
Prepare yourself for the spiritual battle raging around you. To step into the breach requires every man to have faith and take action. The “Into the Breach” series challenges men to seek greatness, to be heroically virtuous, and to have a character marked by goodness, truth, strength, and courage.
Through shared experiences and small group discussions, men will build a brotherhood through “Into the Breach,” strengthening them in their mission as disciples.
All men are invited to attend the “Into the Breach” Conference on August 5 from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm in Potthoff Hall. The Conference will be led by St. Denis’s Catholic Men’s Fellowship and the Knights of Columbus.
For more information, please contact Ruben Hernandez ([email protected]; 909-499-1324) and watch the following video:
Pope Francis has established the fourth Sunday of July (i.e., Sunday, July 23), as the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. Therefore, at all of the Masses for July 23, we will have a special blessing for grandparents and senior citizens.
The pope is offering a plenary indulgence to the faithful who devote adequate time on July 23 to visit, in person or virtually via technology, their elderly brothers and sisters in need or in difficulty (such as the sick, the abandoned, and the disabled). An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven.
In addition, to gain a plenary indulgence, the faithful must:
● be in the state of grace when the indulgenced work is completed;
● have the interior disposition of complete detachment from sin, even venial sin;
● have sacramentally confessed their sins;
● receive the Holy Eucharist; and
● pray for the intentions of Pope Francis.
It is sufficient that all of these sacred rites and prayers be carried out within several days (about 20) before or after the indulgenced act. Prayer for the Pope’s intentions is left to the choice of the faithful, but an “Our Father” and a “Hail Mary” are suggested.
For more information about the plenary indulgence for the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, please click here.
Admission is free for St. Denis parishioners who have a free member pass, which can be picked up at the Pastoral Office and in the vestibule of the church. The cost for nonparishioners is $20 if you register by July 10, and $25 if you register after July 10 or at the door. Nonparishioners can register here: https://events.scrc.org/eucharistic-revival-diamondbar.
There will be no lunch break during this Eucharistic Revival. Therefore, participants may want to eat lunch before arriving; or they may want to bring snacks and beverages to consume during two 20-minute breaks.
This Eucharistic Revival is sponsored by Southern California Renewal Communities (SCRC), which is an officially commissioned ministry of the Los Angeles Archdiocese. SCRC shepherds the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in Southern California; and its goal is to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit to those in need. For more information about SCRC, please go to scrc.org or call (818) 771-1361.
Tuesday, July 4th (Independence Day) is a national holiday. Therefore, the Pastoral Office will be closed; and we will have only one Mass at 9:00 a.m. At this Mass, we will pray for the United States; and we will have music. We also will sing some patriotic songs such as “America the Beautiful” and “God Bless America.” This will be a great way to kick off the Fourth of July holiday.
Please note that the 9:00 a.m. Mass will be livestreamed simultaneously to our our YouTube channel and Facebook page.
Fourth of July Worship Aid (7/4/2023)