Sunday Mass:

Saturday  Vigil    5:00 PM

Sunday                  8:00 AM
                             10:00 AM
                               5:00 PM

Daily Mass:

Mon. - Fri.             6:30 AM
                               8:30 AM
Saturday               8:30 AM

Holy Days

                               6:30 AM 
                               8:30 AM
                               7:00 PM

Healing Mass:

Third Sunday of the Month

                             1:30 PM                    

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 Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

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Pope's Letter & Prayer


 

ST. JOHN the EVANGELIST CCD
Grades:  Kindergarten through Junior High
Phone: 916 -483-4628
Email: [email protected]

October 23
Our Saint of the Week, St. Anthony Mary Claret, the “spiritual father of Cuba”, was a Spaniard who was a missionary, social reformer, religious founder, writer, publisher, archbishop, and a queen’s chaplain and confessor. On December 23, 1807, Antonio Juan Adjutor Claret Clara, the fifth of eleven children, was born to Juan and Josefa Claret in Sallent, Spain. Two days later, on the feast of the Nativity of the Lord, Antonio was baptized. Although Antonio’s family was dedicated to textile manufacturing, his Christian family was deeply religious. When he was only five years old, Antonio frequently thought about the misery of those who were condemned to die, which actually encouraged him to help everyone live according to the will of God, which would eliminate eternal suffering. In addition, Antonio experienced peace of mind and strength in his friendship with Jesus, whom he encountered as he received the Eucharist, and also in his devotion to the Virgin Mary, as he daily recited the Rosary. At the age of twelve, Antonio felt God’s call to become a priest, so his father enrolled him in a class at school to study Latin. Unfortunately, this school was soon closed by the government, so Antonio began working at the family loom. When he turned seventeen, Antonio’s father sent him to Barcelona to study the latest techniques in textile manufacturing. While living in Barcelona, Antonio suffered from serious disappointments, which then brought him closer to the Virgin Mary, who protected him from death. Although he received numerous offers for work from large textile companies, Antonio experienced the emptiness of worldly achievements, so he returned to his hometown. These are the words which resounded in Antonio’s heart: “What good is it for man to win the world if he loses his soul?” Antonio was now determined to give up everything to become a missionary and an evangelist. On June 13, 1835, Father Antonio was ordained a priest. Between 1843 and 1848, he walked on foot across most of Catalonia preaching the Word of God. In 1848, Father Antonio founded the Religious Library, which was a publishing house, which in its first eighteen years published 2,811,100 public prayer books, catechisms, and printed material all aimed at spiritually influencing priests, nuns, children, married couples, and parents. It was on July 16, 1849, that Father Antonio also founded the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which is popularly known as the Claretian Fathers and Brothers. In just a few days, Father Antonio was named the Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba, and consequently the Most Reverend Bishop Antonio Claret was required to leave his newly formed community to respond to the call of God in the New World. It was in Cuba that Bishop Antonio realized the need for Christian formation especially among the poor. Being concerned with all the aspects of human development in Cuba, Bishop Antonio organized unions for the poor, and also trade and vocational schools for disadvantaged children. Frequently, he visited jails and hospitals always defending the oppressed. A would-be assassin in the city of Holguin, who was associated with freemasonry, stabbed Bishop Antonio on the cheek in an attempt to kill him. Actually, Claret felt joy in his soul from this attack because he realized that now he had shed his blood for the love of Jesus and Mary, and had sealed the truths of the Gospel with the very blood of his veins. Along with M. Antonia Paris, on August 27,1855, Bishop Antonio founded on this island the convent of the Sisters of Mary Immaculate, the Claretian Missionaries. Thereafter, Queen Isabel II of Spain personally chose Bishop Antonio to be her Confessor in 1857, and he therefore was called back to Spain. Although Bishop Antonio had a natural dislike for aristocratic life, and he felt like a caged bird in Madrid, he used this opportunity to preach in different towns throughout Spain. Again, he furthered the religious press, founding organizations to publish and spread free Catholic literature much of which the Reverend had himself written. In addition, he founded a science laboratory, a music school, and a museum of natural history. When Queen Isabel II in 1868 was exiled, Bishop Antonio was likewise forced to leave, so he accompanied the Queen to France, which thereby gave him an additional opportunity to preach the Gospel in Paris. Then in1870 during the First Vatican Council, he traveled to Rome and spoke vehemently in defense of papal infallibility. Later, an Italian revolution interrupted the Council. Bishop Antonio’s health greatly deteriorated, and he returned to France accompanied by the Superior General of the Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. He joined his missionaries in France, who were also in exile. Later, when the Reverend discovered that there was a warrant out for his arrest, he went into hiding in the Cistercian monastery of Fontfroide. Surrounded by the love of these monks, the Beloved Bishop Claret died on October 24, 1870, at the age of sixty-two. The Most Reverend Bishop Antonio Claret was an exceptional preacher with incredible witnessed charisms. His zealous life and the wonders that he wrought both before and after his death, testified to his sanctity. It was on May 7, 1950, that Pope Pius XII canonized St. Anthony Mary Claret. His Feast Day is on October 24, and he is considered to be the patron saint of the Catholic Press and weavers.

Yours in Christ,
Mrs. Joanne Giffard, CCD/Religious Education Coordinator          [email protected]