From Our Pastor

Welcome!

Dear Friends of St. Andrew's,

From the founding of our Parish in 1958, we have grown and developed with Sierra Vista - as partners in building up this great community we call home.

Over the decades, we sought to be active participants in every aspect of community life. We believe that serving the common good and making this city a place where people come first, where the least and most easily-overlooked are served and cared for, and where the quality of life is enhanced for all our fellow citizens, is an essential witness to our faith.

We hope our parish church is a place where all experience the Presence of God and the welcome of God's People. We pray that its beauty will speak a wordless invitation to those who are seeking, those who are wearied by life's burdens and those who are drawn to lift their hearts in prayer.

We thank God for giving us this opportunity to extend His blessings and to share our church and campus facilities with the Sierra Vista community.

The pulse of St. Andrew's is reflected through our ministries and individual parishoner efforts. I hope to highlight these achievements and bring focus to upcoming events in the article following this message.

Yours because His,

Fr. Greg Adolf
Pastor

Bienvenido

Estimados amigos de San Andrés,

Desde la fundación de nuestra Parroquia en 1958, hemos crecido y nos hemos desarrollado junto con Sierra Vista construyendo esta gran comunidad la cual llamamos nuestra casa.

A través de las décadas hemos tratado de participar activamente en todos los aspectos, dentro de nuestra comunidad. Creemos que un testigo esencial de nuestra fe es el servir al bien común y el hacer de esta ciudad un lugar para quienes lo más importante es su gente, donde los más necesitados y los más olvidados son servidos y cuidados, y donde la calidad de vida es mejorada para todos nuestros ciudadanos.

Deseamos que nuestra parroquia sea un lugar donde todos puedan sentir la Presencia de Dios y se sientan bienvenidos como hijos de Él. Rogamos que su belleza les haga una invitación silenciosa a aquellos quienes están en busca de Dios, a aquellos quienes se encuentran abrumados por los problemas de la vida, y a aquellos quienes han sido llamados a levantar sus almas en oración.

Agradecemos a Dios por darnos esta oportunidad de extender sus bendiciones y de compartir nuestra iglesia y nuestras facilidades con la comunidad de Sierra Vista.

El servicio de San Andrés está reflejado en nuestros ministerios y los esfuerzos individuales de nuestros parroquianos. Espero que podamos realzar estos logros y llevar enfoque a futuros eventos los cuales mencionamos en el artículo debajo de este mensaje.

Suyo en Cristo,

Padre Greg Adolf

Pastor

Did You Know...?

. . . That throughout the month of November the Church remembers those who have gone before us in death?

This is not morbidity, but solid reality. To remember and pray for the Holy Souls is to honor the deep and abiding reality that the Church exists in three states of being: the Church Militant (on earth), the Church in Purification (in Purgatory) and the Church Triumphant (in Heaven) – one great ‘procession’ in three modes or times! And because death does not remove us from this great procession of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, we deepen our bond of belonging to one another through prayer! Take time to offer your Masses and remember the Souls - with prayers and devotions on behalf of your deceased family members and friends. Sometime during the month visit the gravesites of loved ones, or stop into the Memorial Prayer Garden, and pray for the repose of their souls and all the souls of the Faithful departed. In the Remembrance of the Faithful departed, which is part of every celebration of the Holy Mass, take a moment to remember them with love and commend them to the mercy of God. In the Mass, all three modes or times of the Church’s being are present in the Eternal “Now” of the Eucharist! One of the Spiritual Works of Mercy is to pray for the living and for the dead. Some families add the following prayer to their mealtime ‘grace’: “May the souls of the Faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.” A simple, but beautiful reminder that we are “surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses” in the Communion of Saints, and that we depend upon on one another for prayer before God. Do you recall if deceased loved ones has a special devotion to a particular saint or did they have a favorite prayer? If so, add that prayer or devotion to your own daily prayer in honor of their faith! Did they have a favorite charity? Send a donation in their name or pray for the success of that charitable group! It makes a difference in their eternity. Pausing on each bead to quietly remember a deceased loved one is a beautiful way to pray the Rosary during the month of November! As a wise writer observed, “As soon as a Catholic can pray the “Hail Mary” they are learning three very important lessons for life: 1) you are a sinner, 2) youneed the prayers of others, and 3) you are going to die. ‘Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and in the hour of our death’.” Some day “the hour of our death” and that day are going to be the same day. To have a lively sense of mortality and to live with an awareness of the Four Final things (not retirement, travel trailer, nursing home and death, as so many people in our society think!) but: Death, Judgment, Heaven or Hell, is to learn to live fully and with purpose every day!

Prop 139

The Bishops of Arizona have released a video on the dangers of Arizona's Proposition 139

Read the text below:

"As Catholic Bishops of Arizona we want to express our strong opposition to Proposition 139. If passed, this initiative threatens to enshrine a constitutional right to virtually unrestricted abortion in Arizona. What makes a constitutional amendment especially grave is that our own Arizona legislators could lose the ability to regulate abortion in any meaningful way, leaving us with the potential for what would likely become nearly unrestricted abortion. Arizona law currently allows for abortions up until 15 weeks of pregnancy. Proposition 139, however, would go far beyond even this current law. The proposed amendment, among other things, would likely remove most safeguards for girls and women that are currently in place at abortion clinics, permit a minor to obtain an abortion without parental involvement or permission, and allow for painful late-term abortions of viable pre-born children. While this ballot measure claims to be moderate in nature, its vague language would make Arizona one of the most extreme states in terms of abortion. We believe that even many of those who support abortion in limited instances would find this proposed constitutional amendment extreme and misleading. Arizonans deserve far better than the measures being proposed in this initiative which is why we strongly oppose Proposition 139."

Sundays

8:00 AM

10:00 AM

12:00 Noon (Spanish)

5:00 PM

Mon - Fri Daily Mass

9:00 AM

12:05 PM

Saturday

9:00 AM

5:00 PM (Vigil)

6:30 PM at Good Shepherd Mission (Whetstone)

Masses on Holy Days of Obligation are usually 9 AM, 12 Noon, and 7 PM (bilingual)

+ Reconciliation +

Weekdays: 8:30-8:55 AM – before the Mass
Saturdays: 8:30-8:55 AM and 3:30-4:55 PM
Sundays: 7:30 – 7:55 AM and 4:30-4:45 PM

Anytime by appointment

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Weekly Bible Studies are in Madonna Hall. Please join us for study and discussion of the Word in a relaxed setting!

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This Week's Soul Food

“Many saints have never had their names mentioned beyond a very small circle of friends. Not all saints are alike. Spiritual gifts are as varied as the many interests and abilities that exist in a broad spectrum of people. Some saints have mystical experiences; others do not. Some saints stay busily at work in the world; other saints have neither the energy nor the skills for that. Many saints, perhaps most, have no idea that they are saints! One saint will discover or rediscover the value of a tradition; while another saint will blaze new paths of discipleship. Each saint’s life has an intended purpose -- and grows into God’s grand scheme the way that plants – an oak or a fern – grows into a forest.”

~Bernard Bangley (1935 - )

This Week's Catholic Quiz

This week’s Question: “What are ‘vigil lights’?”

The Answer to Last Week’s Question: “Why is incense used at the Mass and at Benediction?”

From earliest Christian days, incense has been associated with Christ, beginning with the gift of frankincense brought by the Magi. Even before that, incense was offered in Jewish worship, its rich spicy scent regarded as a pure offering, pleasing to God. Veneration is shown by incensing the altar, the Book of the Gospels, the gifts of bread and wine, the assembly, and the body of the deceased during a funeral. Its symbolism is: the burning represents zeal and devotion to God; its fragrance represents virtue; and, its rising smoke represents acceptable prayer (Psalm 141:2 and Revelation 8:3-4)

(If you would like to be as smart as the “Quiz Master” – pick up a copy of the Catholic Source Book – available in the Parish Office, for only $25.00!)