Bulletin
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Immaculate Conception
3263 1st Avenue
Sacramento, CA 95817
OFFICE HOURS
Monday through Friday, 9:30am to 12:30pm and 1:30pm to 4:30pm Telephone (916) 452-6866 Fax (916) 452-3879
Email info@immaculateconceptionsacramento.org
PARISH STAFF
Fr. Luis Urrego-ch Pastor Jerry Pauly Deacon
Elia Maciel Bi-lingual Secretary Carmen Ruiz Bookkeeper
Celia Munoz Maintenance Raul Munoz Volunteer Maintenance
Josefina Gonzalez Dir. of Religious Education
MASS SCHEDULE
Tuesday to Friday: 9:00am – Bilingual
1ST Friday: 7:00pm – Spanish
Saturday: 5:00pm – English
Sunday: 7:00am – Spanish
9:00am – English
10:30am – Spanish
3rd Sunday: 12 noon – Spanish Charismatic mass
NIGERIAN MASS
2nd Sunday 2:00pm – Nigerian Mass
Fr. Aban Uba Chaplain
Sylvester Okonkwo President (916) 213-3021
MONTHLY SECOND COLLECTIONS
Bullding Fund – 1st Sunday of month
Festival Funds or Diocesan Collection – 2nd and 4th Sunday of month
Religious Education – 3rd Sunday of month
FOR CONFESSIONS
Father Luis attends confessions after the 9:00 am Mass on Tuesday and Wednesday. Please inform Fr. Luis before the Mass that you want to have confession. And Saturdays from 4pm to 4:45pm
TODAY’S READINGS
First Reading — They took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern (Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10).
Psalm — Lord, come to my aid! (Psalm 40).
Second Reading — Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith (Hebrews 12:1-4).
Gospel — I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing (Luke 12:49-53).
The English translation of the Psalm Responses from the Lectionary for Mass © 1969, 1981, 1997, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.
READINGS FOR THE WEEK
Monday: Vigil: 1 Chr 15:3-4, 15-16; 16:1-2; Ps 132:6-7, 9-10, 13-14; 1 Cor 15:54b-57;
Lk 11:27-28 Day: Rv 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab; Ps 45:10-12, 16; 1 Cor 15:20-27; Lk 1:39-56
Tuesday: Ez 28:1-10; Dt 32:26-28, 30, 35cd-36ab; Mt 19:23-30
Wednesday: Ez 34:1-11; Ps 23:1-6; Mt 20:1-16
Thursday: Ez 36:23-28; Ps 51:12-15, 18-19; Mt 22:1-14
Friday: Ez 37:1-14; Ps 107:2-9; Mt 22:34-40
Saturday: Ez 43:1-7ab; Ps 85:9ab, 10-14; Mt 23:1-12
Sunday: Is 66:18-21; Ps 117:1, 2; Heb 12:5-7, 11-13; Lk 13:22-30
Reflection on the ReadingsGospel Reading
TWENTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Loyola Press - Sunday Connection
Luke 12:49-53
Jesus has come not only to bring peace but also division.
Background on the Gospel Reading
Having reminded the apostles and the crowd that facing the coming judgment takes patience, Jesus now goes on to speak of how difficult it will be to wait. He tells them that he has come to set the earth on fire. Recall that in chapter 3 of Luke's Gospel, John the Baptist tells the crowd that he is baptizing with water, but someone mightier is coming who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. The fire Jesus speaks of here is the distress caused by the coming judgment. It is also the fire of the Spirit that Luke, in the Acts of the Apostles, will describe descending on the disciples on Pentecost. That fire will strengthen them to go out to the whole world to preach the good news of Jesus' Resurrection.
Jesus will be the first to experience the distress of the coming judgment. His baptism will be the conflict into which he will be immersed as he approaches Jerusalem and his death on the cross. His followers will not be spared that distress. The angels at Jesus' birth proclaimed peace on earth, and Simeon, holding the baby Jesus in the Temple, said to God: “Master, now you may let your servant go in peace.” Here Jesus tells the crowd not to think he has come to bring peace; he has come to bring division. Simeon said as much when he turned to Mary and said that the child was destined for the rise and fall of many and to be a sign that will be contradicted. Peace is the ultimate end of the Kingdom of God, but peace has a price. Jesus is warning the crowd that wherever the Word of God is heard and acted upon, division occurs. Fathers will be divided against sons and mothers against daughters.
The coming judgment forces us to look at the implications of our commitments. As Jesus warned in last Sunday's Gospel, a commitment of faith requires us to change our attitude toward material possessions and to take even more seriously our moral responsibilities. Here he reminds the crowd that those who commit to him will find it affects the way they relate to friends and family members. The angel who announced the birth of John the Baptist to Zechariah said John would go before Jesus to turn the hearts of fathers toward their children. But a commitment to Jesus forces us to change the way we live our lives, and this can put strains on relationships.
We don't expect to hear such difficult words from Jesus in the Gospel. But it is good to be reminded once in a while that the decision to do the right thing, the good thing, is not always easy and without conflict. Jesus himself did not make easy decisions and avoid conflict. In today's reading, he reminds his followers to be prepared for difficult decisions and conflict as well.
FAITH FORMATION REGISTRATION (CATECHISM)
Registrations for catechism continues every Sundays after each Mass throughout August in the Marian Room. Please register your child and don’t miss out in our great Faith Formation Program!
RCIA
Classes for adults who need sacraments - baptism, confirmation, communion - will begin on Wednesday, September 7, in the Marian Room. Orange fliers at the church entrances have the information. If you know someone who might be interested, please give them a flier.
COMMUNITY YARD SALE
A Community Yard sale is scheduled for September 3rd. Pay for your spot to reserve only $35 (bring your own table and shade). If you don’t wish to reserve a table but would like to donate items for the church to sell, please drop them off at the office. For more information or to reserve your spot come to the office or contact Celia Muñoz 916 206-9367.
FESTIVAL RAFFLE TICKETS
Pickup your festival raffle tickets after mass. The festival is one of the top fundraisers for the church and if every family sold or bought a ticket book ($20), that would be a huge help to our parish.
2nd COLLECTION Weekend of August 13/ 14
COLLECTION FOR THE CHURCH IN LATIN AMERICA
This weekend, we take up the Collection for the Church in Latin America! Many people in Latin America and the Caribbean do not have access to church programs and ministries because of a rising secular culture, difficult rural terrain, and a shortage of ministers. Your generosity makes it possible for our brothers and sisters in Latin America and the Caribbean to share in the life of the Church and grow closer to Christ. To learn more, please visit www.usccb.org/latin-america.
SPIRIT FIRE IN THE SUMMER
A generation or two ago, these Summer Sundays in Ordinary Time would have been known as Sundays “of Pentecost.” That naming convention helped recall that the Spirit’s Pentecost fire was carrying us through all the Sundays until the end of the liturgical year. Though we may no longer use that name for these Sundays, the underlying reality is the same. The fire that Jesus speaks about today is the blaze of the Spirit. The fire he spoke about when he told his followers they were light for the world was the flame of the Spirit lighting the lamp of discipleship. It takes courageous disciples to allow the blazing fire of which Jesus speaks into their lives, to allow its light, warmth, and even cleansing to work in them and through them. Though we may not want to think about the heat of the Spirit’s fire on a summer Sunday, that Spirit is always with us, burning within.
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