April 18, 2020
My Dear Friends in Christ,
It’s been already one month since we prayed together in our church. The Octave of Easter, which is really Easter Sunday extended throughout an entire week, already comes to its conclusion. It reminds us that Christ has been raised; He has been truly raised; and He appeared to the holy women, to Peter, to the other apostles, and to two confused souls walking to Emmaus.
A cross and a tomb could not destroy the love of God manifested in Jesus. The same God’s love incarnate in His Son cannot be destroyed by a virus. This powerful love poured into history on the first Easter cannot be contained. We are encouraged by good news that God’s love and mercy have no limits.
As we approach second Sunday of Easter dedicated to Divine Mercy, some of you might be discouraged that you will not be able to receive the special graces of Divine Mercy Sunday promised directly by our Lord through St. Faustina.
Don’t be.
Even though you cannot go to Confession and receive Holy Communion, you still can receive these special graces this Sunday, April 19th.
In St. Faustina’s Diary, we read the message given to her by Jesus Himself:
“I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the Fount of My Mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which graces flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet (699).
There it is: Jesus promises that the soul that’s been to Confession and receives Holy Communion will be completely wiped away of the two stains that are on our soul. Those stains are sin and the punishment due to sin. The special grace promised by our Lord for Divine Mercy Sunday is nothing less than the equivalent of a complete renewal of baptismal grace in the soul.
But how can you receive this complete forgiveness of sins and remission of all punishment? After all, we suppose to stay home and Confession and Communion are not available.
There is, however, still a way to receive this grace but you need to do three things on Divine Mercy Sunday with the intention to turn away from sin in your life:
Since you are unable to get to Confession, you can make an Act of Contrition, instead. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “Among the penitent’s acts contrition occupies first place. Contrition is ‘sorrow of the soul and detestation for the sin committed, together with the resolution not to sin again'” (1451).
You thereby will be completely forgiven of all sins, even “mortal sins if it includes the firm resolution to have recourse to sacramental confession as soon as possible” (Catechism, 1452).
Since you cannot come to the church and receive Holy Communion, make a Spiritual Communion instead, asking God to come into your heart by saying:
My Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Blessed Sacrament.
I love You above all things and I desire You in my soul.
Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart.
As though You were already there,
I embrace You and unite myself to You;
permit not that I should ever be separated from You.
Amen.
Please do this act of trust with the intent to return to the sacrament of Holy Communion as soon as possible.
“Lord Jesus Christ, You promised St. Faustina that the soul that has been to Confession [I’m unable, but I made an Act of Contrition] and the soul that receives Holy Communion [I’m unable, but I made a Spiritual Communion] will receive the complete forgiveness of all sins and punishment. Please, Lord Jesus Christ, give me this grace”.
Finally, please remember that this extraordinary promise of Divine Mercy Sunday is for everyone, even non-Catholic. Everyone can ask Jesus to forgive their sins. Everyone can make a Spiritual Communion. And everyone can ask for this grace to completely clean of not only all sin, but all punishment due to sin. As long as we have a desire for this grace and intention to amend our lives, we can be completely cleansed with grace similar to our original Baptism. It is a way to really start over in our spiritual life! Please don’t let this grace pass you by.
Thank you for your prayers and supporting our Parish.
You are in my heart and in my prayers.
Fr. Jan
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April 10, 2020
Dear Parishioners and Friends,
Last night, in very unique setting, united with all of you, we began a three-day celebration of the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
We recalled the Passover, the Last Supper Jesus had had with his disciples.
We thanked God for the gift of Priesthood and above all for the gift of the Holy Eucharist.
And the Holy Oils, consecrated by our Bishop, Michael Barber on April 2nd, have been presented to the parish.
We prayed for Pope Francis and all bishops as they proclaim the Gospel with a father’s love for the sufferings of all people.
We prayed for all priests and deacons, called to serve their people with love and humility as they open the Sacred Scriptures and for those who minister among young people and the sick.
We continued to pray for those who suffer the consequences of the current pandemic, asking God to grant health to the sick, strength to those who care for them, comfort to families and salvation to all the victims who have died.
We asked God for His wisdom for leaders and medical teams making decisions for the common good in this time of the pandemic.
And we remembered all of you gathered around Christ in your homes to be nourished by prayer, the Scriptures and Spiritual Communion. We asked God for your spiritual and physical well-being, especially for the family members of Christopher Marpa who suddenly died last week at the age of 42. Today at 3:00PM, there was a funeral service for him at Grissom Mortuary in San Lorenzo.
Let me conclude with the words of our Holy Father, Pope Francis:
“It is a difficult time for everyone; for many, very difficult. Let us try, if we can, to make the best use of this time: let us be generous; let us help that in need in our neighborhood; let us look out for the loneliest people, perhaps by telephone or social networks. Even if we are isolated, our spirit can go far with the creativity of love. This is what we need today: the creativity of love”.
May God bless us all and keep us safe!
Thank you for your prayers and your donations!
Fr. Jan
MASSES AND OTHER LITURGIES ONLINE
Besides Mother Angelica EWTN television channel, you can watch Masses and liturgies being life streamed on your computer or smart phones.
– Cathedral of Christ the Light on www.facebook.com/ctlcathedral.org or www.ctlcathedral.org
(April 5: Palm Sunday Mass at 11 am, April 9:Holy Thursday Mass at 7 pm, April 10: Good Friday Liturgy at 3 pm, April11: Easter Vigil at 8 pm, April12: Easter Day at 11 am)
– https://www.catholicfaithnetwork.org/masses
– http://www.catholictv.org/masses/catholictv-mass
– https://mass-online.org/daily-holy-mass-live-online/
– https://video.ewtn.com/daily-mass/
When you watch a liturgy online and see the Communion time approaching, please read the following prayer (or one like it):
“My Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart.
I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You.
Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen. “
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A LETTER FROM FR. JAN TO OLGC PARISHIONERS AND FRIENDS
March 31, 2020
Dear Parishioners and Friends,
I sincerely hope this letter finds you and your family in good health in mind, body, and spirit as we all face the challenge of preventing the spread of the corona virus around our communities.
Personally I am doing fine and I really miss you all. Whenever I celebrate private Mass facing the empty pews, I try to close my eyes for a moment and recall your faces. And I pray for you and with you.
This Lent is totally different. Like you, I have never thought that we won’t be able to pray together, especially now when we are approaching a Holy Week and Easter. Thank God, the churches can still be open for private visits. Every day, from 9:00am to 7:00pm, we keep the main entrance to our church open. Please follow strictly the guidelines regarding social distancing (6+ feet away from each other). Also, it should be no more than 10 people inside the church at the same time. Because of its limited space, our Adoration Chapel has to remain closed.
We understand that as much as public health is foremost in our minds, there is also the matter of economic hardship that has affected everyone, as the standing order continues to enforce the closure of many businesses, resulting in the loss of many jobs. We hear that some big and all small businesses will receive support from the government. Hopefully, private citizens will see much needed help too. When it comes to churches, it is not the case. Parishes will survive only because of generosity and sacrifices of their members.
Since there are no public Masses, therefore also plate collections have been eliminated. In order to cover reduced basic operating expenses of our parish, help from the parishioners is essential.
Therefore, I respectfully ask for the continuation of your financial support of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, not in terms of the same monetary value, but in the same spirit of equal sacrifice that everyone has demonstrated in the past. Any donation is much needed and will be much appreciated.
There are the following ways to offer your weekly donations:
1. If you have your weekly envelopes for the First and Second collection , you can put them in a regular envelope and mail to Our Lady of Good Counsel, 14112 Azores Place, San Leandro, CA 94577. If you don’t have special envelopes, you may just send a personal check in regular envelope. OR
2. You may drop them in the secure mailbox located at the main entrance to the rectory office (same address as above); OR
3. You may also make a secure online donation to the following link: https://www.oakdiocese.org/parish-support . Please make sure to select: Our Lady of Good Counsel, San Leandro
I thank you in advance for all of your support.
To establish a faster channel of communication between you and our parish, I also ask you to share with us your e-mail address which will remain confidential. It will help us to pass to you quickly any important updates or spiritual resources. Please e-mail to us a short note using our parish e-mail address olgc.finance@gmail.com Also visit more often this website www.olgcsanleandro.com
If you have any personal intentions to be included in my private Masses, you may send them to me by regular mail or by e-mail janrudz57@gmail.com
Once again, I thank you for your loving kindness expressed in your prayers, text messages, phone calls or even shared food.
Let me conclude with a prayer of our Holy Father, Pope Francis:
Lord, please bless the world. Give health to our bodies and comfort our hearts. You ask us not to be afraid. Yet our faith is weak and we are fearful. But You, Lord, will not leave us at the mercy of the storm. Tell us again: “Do not be afraid” (Mt 28:5). And we, together with Peter, cast all our anxieties onto You, for you care about us. Amen. (cf. 1 Pet 5:7).
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Jan Rudzewicz
Pastor
DUE TO CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
ALL PUBLIC DAILY AND WEEKEND MASSES ARE SUSPENDED.
Also, our parish office and Adoration Chapel will be closed until further notice.
The main church however, will remain open from 9:0AM to 7:00PM daily
for private visit and prayer. Please respect social distancing (6+ feet).
In case of pastoral emergency, please call our parish or rectory office at 510-969-7013 or 510-614-2765
and leave your message. We will retrieve it as soon as we can.
And please pray for the end of this terrible pandemic.
May God keep us safe and Our Lady, Health of the Sick, intercede for us all.
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