Blessed Truck!

Blessed is the new delivery truck the Servants of the Father of Mercy dispatched for giving snacks, water, clothing and more to the 70,000 + homeless living out on the streets of So Cal and beyond.  Fr. Paul was here for our "Fall Team Mass" this past Friday blessing the truck, the team and the homeless.  May God bless Fr. Paul and all who attended and participated . . . Angela - Lector, Orlando - Percussion, Mike and Maggie - Presentation of Gifts and a BIG welcome to new "Servants" Steve, Marian, Christopher, Ermilinda and Alicia!

Here is the fall October schedule in order for you and your family to join up serving the homeless with the volunteer servants of the Servants of the Father of Mercy . . .

1. Wednesday/Thursday, October 28/29, 5:30pm, seal fresh donated Noah’s Bagels and Brio Bakery cookies into 1 quart zipper bags or bring some store bakery items or baked goods and we'll package them. (1544 Morse Avenue, Warehouse A, Ventura, 93003)

2. Friday, October 30, 9:30am, make sacks of treat bags - snack lunches for the homeless. You can bring along a case or two of water or Gatorade, chips or other lunch snacks.  (1544 Morse Avenue, Warehouse A, Ventura, 93003)

3. Saturday, October 31st, 8:30am, StreetReach, delivery to t100s of homeless supplies of food, water, clothing, shoes, socks, hygiene kits, Bibles and more. (1544 Morse Avenue, Warehouse A, Ventura, 93003)

4. Saturday, October 31st, 11:00am, StreetReach, delivery to 1,000s of homeless supplies of food, water, clothing, shoes, socks, hygiene kits, Bibles and more. (St. Peter's Church, 1039 North Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90012)

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The Servants of the Father of Mercy is a private association of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, a California corporation, IRS 501 ( c ) 3 nonprofit, EIN 26 - 3855133 and listed in the Official Catholic Directory. For more information about joining the volunteer team, they may be reached by calling (310) 595-4175 or by mail at 1544 Morse Avenue, Suite A, Ventura, CA 93003 or by email at info@ServantsoftheFather.org. Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward." Mark 9:41

The Greatest Among You Will Be A Servant

May God bless all the brothers and all the priests who coordinated the Servants of the Father of Mercy today speaking on behalf of our homeless family in So Cal at "World Mission Sunday" at three churches in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles!

Brother:  Orlando Menchaca, s.F.m.

Church:  Our Lady of the Rosary, Paramount City, CA (Photo 1)
Priests:  Fr. Julio Gonzalez, Fr. Antonio, Fr. Alter
Mass Times:  Saturday, 6PM Spanish,  English 7:30 PM
Today Sunday: 6:30 AM Spanish, 8:00 AM English, 9:30 AM English, 11:00 AM English, 12:30 Spanish  2:15 PM Spanish 4:00 PM Spanish
9 Masses.

Brother:  Mark Burke, s.F.m.

Church:  St. Francis Assisi Church, Glendale (Photo 2)
Priests:  Fr. Rene and Fr. Vincent
Mass Times: Today Sunday 8:00 AM (English), 10:00 AM (Español), 12:00 PM (English)
3 Masses.

Brother:  Gary Joseph, s.F.m.
Church:  St. Mariana de Paredes Church, Pico Rivera, CA (Photo 3)
Priests:  Fr. Larry Revilla, Fr. Andrew Chung
Mass Times:  Saturday, 5:00 pm in English
Today Sunday:  English: 7:00 am, 8:15 am and 11:30 am and Masses in Spanish: 9:45 am, 1:00 pm and 5:00 pm.
7 Masses.

In today’s Gospel reading Jesus said, “Whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve.” It’s a perfect Scripture reading for this World Mission Sunday!

 
In short, we join the Catholic Church worldwide in this year’s “World Mission Sunday” theme, “Go into the whole World.”  From missionaries at work in Mongolia and the Amazon to Saint Mother Teresa’s community in Calcutta and our team, the Servants of the Father of Mercy serving the 70,000 + homeless on the streets of Southern California, the Church is actively being built by serving the poor, evangelizing and calling us all to faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is “love” the Apostle Paul tells us.

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Servants of the Father of Mercy, Inc.

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A Fall Invitation for You, Your Family and Friends

Invitation to Ventura's Servants of the Father of Mercy, Friday, October 23, 2015, 6pm Fall Mass with Pastor, Fr. Paul Hruby from St. Julie Church (Newbury Park, CA) also blessing the new homeless delivery truck and special prayers for those who need healing. Come one, come all! Afterwards there is a dinner and social from 7 to 9pm - all is at the Servants of the Father of Mercy chapel and homeless supplies warehouse, 1544 Morse Avenue, A/B, Ventura, CA 93003  Please share the invitation with your guests!  More information, call Bro. Joseph cell phone (310) 595-4175.



Distressing Disguise of the Poor

"Christ remains with us not only through the Mass but in the 'distressing disguise' of the poor. To live with the poor is a contemplative vocation, for it is to live in the constant presence of Jesus" - Dorothy Day, +1980

For more information about joining the volunteer team, call (310) 595-4175. Make donations by mail, 1544 Morse Avenue, Suite A, Ventura, CA 93003, internet http://servantsofthefather.org/donate_2_homeless. Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name . . . will certainly not lose his reward." Mark 9:41

 The Servants of the Father of Mercy is a private association of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, a California corporation, IRS 501 ( c ) 3 nonprofit, EIN 26 - 3855133 and listed in the Official Catholic Directory.

O man, how can you have the arrogance to ask for what you refuse to give to others?

Fr. John Neiman, the Servants of the Father of Mercy spiritual director recently shared this with us as he lies around the house recovering from knee surgery.  Saint Caesarius of Arles for the past 1,500 years has pointed us to one of the beatitudes found in the Gospel of Matthew, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy."  In this sermon (see below) from around the year 500, he exhorts us to become "mercy's slaves" extolling the beauty of both human and divine mercy. He writes . . .

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. ‘Mercy’ is a beautiful word: more beautiful still is the thing itself. All men wish to receive it, but the worst thing is that not all of them behave in a way that deserves it. Although everyone wishes to be shown mercy only a few wish to show it.

“O man, how can you have the arrogance to ask for what you refuse to give to others? You must show mercy in this world if you want to receive mercy in heaven. So, my dearest brethren, since we all desire mercy, let us make ourselves mercy’s slaves in this world so that she can give us our freedom in the world to come. For there is mercy in heaven and we come to it through earthly mercies. As Scripture says: Lord, your mercy is in heaven.

“So there is earthly and heavenly mercy: that is, human and divine. What is human mercy?  Exactly this: to have care for the sufferings of the poor. What is divine mercy? Without doubt, to grant forgiveness of sins. Whatever human mercy gives away on the journey, divine mercy pays back when we arrive at last in our native land. For it is God who feels cold and hunger, in the person of the poor. As he himself has said: As much as you have done for the least of these, you have done it for me. What God deigns to give on heaven, he yearns to receive on earth.

“What sort of people are we if we want to receive, when God offers, but when God asks, we refuse to give? For when a poor man hungers, it is Christ who suffers want, as he himself has said: I was hungry and you gave me no food. Do not despise the misery of the poor if you want a sure hope of forgiveness for your sins. Christ is hungry now, brethren, in all the poor. He consents to suffer hunger and thirst – and whatever he receives on earth he will give back in heaven.

“I ask you, brethren: when you come to church, what do you want? what are you looking for? Is it anything other than mercy? Then give earthly mercy and you will receive the heavenly kind. The poor man asks of you, and you ask of God: the poor man for food, you for eternal life. Give to the beggar what you want to deserve from Christ. Hear Christ saying “Give and it will be given to you.” I do not know how you can have the nerve to want to receive what you do not want to give. And so, when you come to church, give, whatever you can afford as alms for the poor.”

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The Servants of the Father of Mercy is a private association of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, a California corporation, IRS 501 ( c ) 3 nonprofit, EIN 26 - 3855133 and listed in the Official Catholic Directory. For more information about joining the volunteer team, they may be reached by calling (310) 595-4175 or by mail at 1544 Morse Avenue, Suite A, Ventura, CA 93003 or by email at info@ServantsoftheFather.org. Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward." Mark 9:41

Queer Twist

"That is one of the reasons I believe Christianity. It is a religion you could not have guessed. If it offered us just the kind of universe we had always expected, I should feel we were making it up. But, in fact, it is not the sort of thing anyone would have made up. It has just that queer twist about it that real things have. So let us leave behind all these boys' philosophies-these over-simple answers."  Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis