“With
Burning Hearts Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow”
St. John Eudes Parish was founded on May
14, 1963, by the Archdiocese of Los
Angeles to serve the needs of the growing Roman Catholic community in the
northwest San Fernando Valley. The founding pastor, Rev. Philip Grill, was
commissioned by Cardinal McIntyre to begin fundraising and to purchase land for
a church and school. Today, as we
celebrate our 50th year, our parish has grown to over 3,700 families and
continues to fulfill the mission for which it was founded. (Learn more about us.)
We celebrated our 50th “Golden”
Anniversary because we have much to celebrate! We had a number of special events to
celebrate our 50th Anniversary - such as an Oktoberfest, Winetasting Party, a
Cinco de Mayo Fiesta, our Jubilee Mass & Dinner Celebration, and our Summer Carnival. And we finished off our anniversary events with a special 50th
Anniversary Pilgrimage to the Places of St. John Eudes. Our Golden Anniversary
was a great opportunity to celebrate our parish, and we certainly did!
Reflections on Our 50th Anniversary
“Our 50th
Anniversary” by Fr. Gérard Lecomte, CJM
When
he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began
to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he
disappeared from their sight. They asked
each other “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on
the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
Luke 24: 30-32
Yes,
we have now arrived at our Golden Anniversary Celebration. 50 years!
When we listen to parishioners tell of their personal experiences at our
parish it is impossible not to feel how much their hearts, and ours, are
burning with admiration and love for our church. Our youth groups have expressed this love
with the logo they printed on their official t-shirts. They are particularly proud of being able to
express their faith with the symbol of the heart. Many of us do not wear a heart on our
t-shirts, but we feel the same.
We
should be very appreciative of our 50th Anniversary Committee. For one and a half years
Our
parish has gone through these 50 years along with changes in U.S. society,
changes in our local demographics, and the return to the sources of our faith
through the Second Vatican Council. In
1963, the year we were founded, the first documents of Vatican II were published. They included the famous first constitution
“Sacrosantum Concilium” on the Liturgy and “Inter Mirifica”, the Decree on the
Means of Social Communication. We have
been good disciples following the steps of our apostles gathered in Rome. How many among us could have imagined how
this decree was prophetic about our present day situation! We were born out of the Council and we have
become experts in living this renewal through all these past 50 years!
I
have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the
faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will
award to me on that day ‒
and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. 2 Timothy 4:7-8
Now
it is time to renew the flame of our burning hearts to assure we continue the
mission of Christ for all following generations. The world needs the Light of Christ. We must face the challenges and opportunities
of the next 50 years with one unequivocal goal:
To continue to build a Christ centered community with a strengthened
vision of an open and cooperative parish, united in a common purpose, and one
which will call us to exceptional leadership, fortify our capacity to meet
changing needs, and forge in us the willingness to let Jesus live and reign in
our souls. And thus, through the
example of our patron, St. John Eudes, we will serve Christ and his Church.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario