Saint Mel Catholic Church / Norco, CA

Pastor:     Rev.  Gerardo Mendoza

Became Pastor on July 1, 2013 /  First term completed
June 30, 2019.   2nd term approved by Bishop Barnes.

See staff page for staff members

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FIRST SATURDAY DEVOTIONS AND MASS

Join Fr. James every First Saturday of the month for at 8am in the Chapel
in honor of Our Lady of Fatima.  Everyone invited.

PRIMER SABADO MISA Y DEVOCIONES

Acompaña al P. James todos los primeros sábados del mes para las 8 de la mañana
en la Capilla en honor a nuestra Señora de Fátima. Todos invitados.

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Bishop Barnes to Lead Diocese for Additional Year

Bishop Barnes will continue to shepherd the Diocese of San Bernardino past his 75th birthday next June he announced.  "I will be staying on one more year" he told priests on Advent day at Our Lady of Guadalupe parish.   "It was a big shock to everybody," he said.   Everyone was thinking  the new Coadjutor would take over in June next year.  Bishop Barnes will be submitting his letter of resignation on his 75th birthday in June.

Coadjutor Bishop Alberto Rojas

Archbishop Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, announced on Monday, December 2, 2019 that Pope Francis has named Bishop Alberto Rojas as the Coadjutor Bishop of San Bernardino.

Bishop Rojas, 54, will work alongside Diocesan Bishop Gerald Barnes until his retirement and then become the third Ordinary Bishop in the 41-year history of the Diocese of San Bernardino.

Bishop Rojas is a native of Aguascalientes, Mexico has spent his entire ministry as a priest and Bishop in the Archdiocese of Chicago.  He will begin his ministry as SB Diocese Coadjutor in February.   "I have so much to learn", he said.   "But with an open mind, I am looking forward to working with all of you, my brother priests, deacons, religious men and women, the youth, parish leaders, eclesial movements, and all people of good will in this diocese."

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Divino Misericordia

See Events

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  Our Catholic Faith and God's gift and purpose  of life is explained so beautifully by Fr Muller.   Take a little journey with Fr Muller as he shows us how and why we ought to live in Christ.   It will be worth a few minutes of your time to see and hear this story which all us should replay daily in our hearts.  Click on the URL below and enjoy the message in full color.

https://manifestooffaith.com/?fbclid=IwAR245pkL2ATZSCBivxYpZ8VewlACfTcSmi3At-yG92pGoKapUBT54keeaeM

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Encuentro de Evangelizacion y Sancion
Vea Eventos / Anuncios

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Daily Bible Readings:  Go to Devotions under Worship menu

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Catholic Daily Reflections
https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/
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Go to bulletin section of this web for more info

Check bulletin for info on:
Youth Ministry, Healing Retreats, World Youth Day

See below for location of our church + map,   contact us phone and other info

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Diocesan Development Fund Campaign Progress

Diocese Goal: $64,100.00
Pledges Made: $22,165.00
Gifts Received: $7,564.26
Donors: 61
Percent of Goal: 11.80 %
As of: Feb 25, 2020 9:14PM

Demographics

Registered Families: 2784

ALERT !!!

ATTENTION ALL ST MEL PARISHIONERS -  Suspension  of all Masses

Msgr Gerard M. Lopez has published a notice on March 17th to all diocese parishioners including St Mel Catholic Church.  Below is his response  statement regarding the COVID-19 known as  the Corona Virus:

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:
After much  prayer to Our Lord Jesus and reflection with the People of God, and in light of the new developments, Bishop Barnes has provided us with the following authoritative guidance and protocols on our Diocesan response to the ongoing public health crisis.  Pleae review these points carefully.  All of these points go into effect in the Diocese of San Benardino IMMEDIATELY and UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE---

1.   Effective immediately, all Masses the Diocese of San Bernardino are suspended as to public celebrations.  This means ALL daily and weekend Masses at all parishes, missions, chapels, hospitals and any and all outdoor Masses anywhere in the Diocese, including the Diocesan Pastoral Center.  This suspension is effective immediately and will continue until further notice.
2.  Communion by Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion  only to those legitimately on the sick list.
3.  Individual confessions and communal Penance services are suspended immediately.
4.  Confessions are allowed only for those in danger of death.
5.  Anointing of the sick and Holy Communion are allowed for parishioners who are ill in their houses, but sick calls must be in accordance with any health department directives in place.
6.  Baptisms are all suspended except those in danger of death.
7. Weddings are postponed to a later date if possible.
8.  Funeral services are suspended except Rite of Committal (graveside) but no more than 10 persons may attend.
9.  First Holy Communions are on hold but decision will be evaluated on April 1st.
10. Confirmations are all on hold and a decision will be evaluated on April 5th.
11.  Holy Week and Triduum Services decision will be made on April 1st on whether these services will be celebrated by parishes.
12.  Religious Education classes, Stations of the Cross, formation classes, prayer groups, Eucharistic adoration, retreats, Quinceaneras, all festivals, fiestas, carnivals and all parish activities are suspended on-site and off-site.  No exceptions.
13. Food Pantries will remain open at the usual times.
14. Soup Kitchens and sit down meals at Church must be closed immediately.
15.  Chrism Mass decision will be made on April 1st regarding the Chrism Mass.  The Ecclesial ?Dinner is cancelled.
16.  Parish offices will be closed to the public but phone line and email service will be open

Please note that this comprehensive Diocesan Response is intended to be our Church's contribution in our local community response to the ongoing Corona Virus crisis.  As an important member of the Inland Empire community, we must take effect and dedicated steps in dealing with this crisis, while keeping our Catholic Faith alive here in the Diocese of San Bernardino.

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May Our Lord bless you with strength and good health.  May Our Blessed Mother, Our Lady of Guadalupe, and Saint Bernardine of Siena intercede for us from Heaven.

Msgr Lopez

OUR MISSION

We the people of St. Mel's Catholic Faith Community, a rural, diverse, and inviting parish baptized into the body of Christ, formed by the Word and Sacrament, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, seek to evangelize God's people to be a visible sign of God's love.

NUESTRA MISION

Nosotros el pueblo de la comunidad de fe de San Mel, una parroquia rural, diversa y acogedora, bautizada en el Cuerpo de Cristo, formada por la Palabra y Sacramento, y fortalecida por el Espíritu Santo, busca evangelizar al pueblo de Dios para que sea un signo visible del amor de Dios.

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ASH WEDNESDAY  -  FEB 26

WHAT IS ASH WEDNESDAY & LENT

Each year, Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent and is always 46 days before Easter Sunday. Lent is a 40-day season (not counting Sundays) marked by repentance, fasting, reflection, and ultimately celebration. The 40-day period represents Christ’s time of temptation in the wilderness, where he fasted and where Satan tempted him. Lent asks believers to set aside a time each year for similar fasting, marking an intentional season of focus on Christ’s life, ministry, sacrifice, and resurrection.

PURPOSE OF LENT  -  

The purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer for Easter through prayer, doing penance, mortifying the flesh, repentance of sins, almsgiving, and denial of ego. This event is observed in the Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, Methodist, Moravian, Oriental Orthodox, Reformed, and Roman Catholic Churches.

Pray for Transformation This Lent

Most people have never prayed a prayer of transformation. Too often when we pray, we pray for tweaking. We want God to tweak this and tweak that.   Let’s be honest. We don’t necessarily want our lives transformed. Transformation may seem attractive in a moment of blissfully holy idealistic exuberance or at a moment of crisis, but the everyday reality is we like to distance ourselves from the inner work required to bring about such a transformation.    Sure, we want some tweaking, but not transformation. This desire for tweaking is selective and selfish, while transformation is total and selfless.   We pray for tweaking—and then we wonder why God doesn’t answer our prayers. The reason is simple: God is not interested in tweaking. God is in the business of transformation. He wants to turn your life upside down, which as it turns out is right side up. If you want to see something incredible, start praying for transformation. That’s a prayer God will answer.

Lenten Prayer for Transformation

Loving Father,

I invite you into my life today and make myself available to you.   Help me to become the-best-version-of-myself by seeking your will and becoming a living example of your love in the world.   Open my heart to the areas of my life that need to change in order for me to carry out the mission and experience the joy you have imagined for my life.   Inspire me to live the Catholic faith in ways that are dynamic and engaging.   Show me how to best get involved in the life of my parish.   Make our community hungry for best practices and continuous learning.   Give me courage when I am afraid, hope when I am discouraged, and clarity in times of decision.   Teach me to enjoy uncertainty and lead your Church to become all you imagined it would befor the people of our times.            Amen.

Fasting

The law of fasting requires a Catholic from the 18th Birthday (Canon 97) to the 59th Birthday (i.e. the beginning of the 60th year, a year which will be completed on the 60th birthday) to reduce the amount of food eaten from normal. The Church defines this as one meal a day, and two smaller meals which if added together would not exceed the main meal in quantity. Such fasting is obligatory on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. The fast is broken by eating between meals and by drinks which could be considered food (milk shakes, but not milk). Alcoholic beverages do not break the fast; however, they seem to be contrary to the spirit of doing penance.

Those who are excused from fast or abstinence Besides those outside the age limits, those of unsound mind, the sick, the frail, pregnant or nursing women according to need for meat or nourishment, manual laborers according to need, guests at a meal who cannot excuse themselves without giving great offense or causing enmity and other situations of moral or physical impossibility to observe the penitential discipline.

Abstinence

The law of abstinence requires a Catholic 14 years of age until death to abstain from eating meat on Fridays in honor of the Passion of Jesus on Good Friday. Meat is considered to be the flesh and organs of mammals and fowl. Also forbidden are soups or gravies made from them. Salt and freshwater species of fish, amphibians, reptiles and shellfish are permitted, as are animal derived products such as margarine and gelatin which do not have any meat taste.

On the Fridays outside of Lent the U.S. bishops conference obtained the permission of the Holy See for Catholics in the US to substitute a penitential, or even a charitable, practice of their own choosing. They must do some penitential/charitable practice on these Fridays. For most people the easiest practice to consistently fulfill will be the traditional one, to abstain from meat on all Fridays of the year. During Lent abstinence from meat on Fridays is obligatory in the United States as elsewhere.

Watch Video on Lent -  Fasting and Abstinence

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Photos of Alpha Event on Jan 15

What Is Alpha?

Alpha presents itself as "a basic introductory course to the Christian faith."

• It provides a clear and non-threatening way to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to people from all walks of life
• It helps lead people to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, within the context of the parish
• It is ecumenical in that it covers the basic Christian truths shared by all traditions
• It may be the most effective form of direct evangelization in common use today.[1]

The program consists of ten weekly meetings including a meal, a talk, and small group reflection; there is also a retreat and a celebration dinner, which serves as the introduction for the next cycle of the course.  Bring the kids.   They will be cared for during the event.

If you missed this event, you can email the Alpha Leaders below for the next Alpha event.  You owe it to yourself to come closer to God.

  The Alpha Leaders at St Mel:       rvillanueva40@yahoo.com

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Pro-Life Prayer Group

See my picture before and after my birth.   This is my Body

Join us to pray the rosary for the Unborn on all first Saturdays at 3:30pm in the Church (south side)

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Also go to front of church for free pamphlets and prayer cards

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Bishop Barnes with Fr Mendoza, St Mel staff, and some ministers 
earlier last year.

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Catholic Marriage Encounter new schedule.
See events / announcements

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NEW DIOCESAN OFFICE OF MARRIAGE AND
FAMILY LIFE ESTABLISHED

Mario and Paola Martinez will be heading up a new Diocesan ministry which will
focus on everyday realities of marriage, Natural family planning, Parenting,
Mental Illness, and divorce and separation.  Although there are ministries that
address these issues in part, this new ministry will serve as an information resource,
and a hub to reach out to those experiencing these issues and realities.

NUEVA OFICINA DIOCESANA DE MATRIMONIO Y
VIDA FAMILIAR ESTABLECIDA

Mario y Paola Martínez encabezarán un nuevo ministerio diocesano que
se centran en las realidades cotidianas del matrimonio, Planificación familiar natural, Crianza,
Enfermedad mental, divorcio y separación. Aunque hay ministerios que
abordar estas cuestiones en parte, este nuevo ministerio servirá como un recurso de información,
y un centro para llegar a aquellos que experimentan estos problemas y realidades.

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MINISTRY LEADERS
You are invited to add any announcements and events to the St Mel web
Please call or email Gil Bastien
H (951) 734-5125
gbastien3@ca.rr.com

WHAT'S NEW AT ST MEL

* Young men's youth group now starting-see events
* West parking lot additional parking space under construction
* Library in Hall in planning
* Free Pamphlets and prayer material (entrance to church)

LÍDERES DEL MINISTERIOS
Se le invita a añadir cualquier anuncio y evento a la web de St Mel
Por favor llame o envíe un correo electrónico a Gil Bastien
H (951) 734-5125
gbastien3@ca.rr.com

NOVEDADES

* El grupo juvenil de los jóvenes ahora comienza a ver los eventos
* Estacionamiento oeste plaza de aparcamiento adicional en la planificación
* Biblioteca en Hall en planificación
* Folletos gratuitos y material de oración (entrada a la iglesia)

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Also, like our Facebook Page (click here)