Welcome to Saint Catherine of Alexandria Catholic Church on Santa Catalina Island.

Seating is available inside the main church or in the outer courtyard during Masses. The Mass can be heard in the courtyard through our outdoor speakers.

Office hours: Monday-Tuesday, Thursday-Friday, 11:00am-1:00pm and by appointment.

Annointing of the sick: contact Father Dario

Confession: contact Father Dario.

Votive candles are available for purchase at the parish office and sacristy for $10 each.

You may purchase candles at the sacristy directly before or after any Mass. Place your donation in the money slot, then take a candle from the cupboard below. Please only take the amount you have donated for.

For safety reasons, please do not use votive candles from Vons or any other distributor inside our candle holders at the two indoor oratories. We have had problems with them shattering and creating a fire hazard. The plastic candles we use & provide have proved trustworthy over the years for use in our beloved oratories.

Gluten-free hosts are available during communion. We prefer that you let the priest or Eucharistic minister know before Mass so they can have it ready.

Thursday Eucharistic Adoration

Join us for Eucharistic Adoration every Thursday from 6:00pm to 8:00pm in the church. We hope you can attend and spend some time in prayer and adoration with our Lord, Jesus Christ.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Weekly Announcements:

We are in desperate need of a first-year First Communion instructor for this year's class!

PLEASE consider being a religious education instructor for our first-year First Holy Communion class this year. We have ALL the materials you would need: books, supplies, CD's, and more. All we need is someone to teach our young ones! The instructors we had in the past are unable to continue their service due to reasons in their personal lives, and we thank them enormously for their years of service. It is time for new minds to lead!

Update: Two parishioners have graciously offered to teach second-year First Communion. First year will be on-hold until there is an instructor.

Weekly Gospel Reflections: September 8th, 2024, from Fr. Dave Heney:

Jesus sees what no one else sees…
There are many major crises happening now in war zones around the world and in politics in
our own country. Where is Our Lord in all these events? Today’s Gospel reveals His answer.
Jesus walks into a town and faces a large crowd of curiosity seekers and those just looking for
entertaining miracles. He is already quite famous for doing amazing things and the crowd wants
more. Who wouldn’t?
They bring a deaf-mute man to Him and are eager to see what He will do. This is a perfect time
for Jesus to perform a big major public miracle that will amaze thousands. Yet He does
something unexpected.
He takes the man away from the crowd …and deals with him privately. Why would He do that?
Jesus sees what no one else sees. He recognizes the man cannot hear …and so has no idea why he has even been brought there! Moreover, the deaf-mute man knows his disability was often considered divine punishment and so he probably had spent most of his life hiding it. Now, his disability is publicly known to everyone …and he is profoundly humiliated.
The only sense that he has left is eyesight, and all he sees is an excited crowd and a stranger in
front of him. He is terrified, perhaps thinking he will even be killed.
Jesus instantly recognizes his fear …and so takes him away from the crowd. In a private and
majestic gesture of amazing compassion for his unique needs, Jesus heals him with large
physical actions that the man could see with the only sense he had left, his eyesight. He cures
him in a uniquely personal way.
Jesus cured many people at that time, and the Gospels record each miracle in a different way
for each person. Why is that? Jesus adapts His powers to the unique needs of each person
because He loves each one personally.
In every miracle someone in need meets Jesus …and leaves a profoundly different person. You
cannot meet Jesus and stay the same. You leave better and happier.
Our Lord’s plan for the salvation of our difficult world is to change it one person at a time. Right
now, that person is you.
Jesus knows you very well, and offers you His grace right now, just at the time you need it.

Fr. Dave Heney

daveheney.com

~~

We are looking for assistance in livestreaming the weekend Mass online. Please let Fr. Dario or tech advisor, Gabriel, know. We only need 1 Mass per weekend, and it can be any Mass you are available to attend. If you have your own laptop, great! If not, we can arrange to have one available so you can connect to our livestream camera inside.

Standing Announcements:

If you have any upcoming baptisms, funerals, or quinceñeras, please call or email the parish office to confirm that it is on our schedule. No one is allowed to use the church for special events without authorization from the pastor (Father Dario). This is to make sure two events do not conflict with each other, and so that the priest is not caught by surprise by an unscheduled event.

Checks: If you write a check to our church for any purpose, please do not make any corrections. Please start a new check. Our bank (U.S. Bank) has been declining checks written to us because of corrections.

We have surpassed our goal for the "Called to Renew" Campaign!

If you have the financial means, and would like to make a pledge to this campaign to support the maintenance and upgrades to our parish, it's not too late! Every dollar we make past our "goal" from the Archdiocese goes directly to our parish's fund! You can find our campaign info on the official Called to Renew website here.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

We are always open to having more Mass volunteers

As with many Catholic parishes, we always welcome our congregation to help fill the various roles within the Mass. Contact the parish office or the pastor if you would like to sign-up to help make sure our celebrations of Mass always have the full support the Lord deserves.

Available positions:

- Lectors (reading the liturgy of the word)

- Altar server (at any age)

- Sacristans (preparing the linens and Eucharistic items before Mass)

- Extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion

- Music ministers (cantors/singers, organists, pianists, guitarists)

   [Will need to confirm repertoire with church Music Director]

- Ushers

- Greeters

- Anyone good with I.T. and tech (paid employment can be discussed for this position).

If you would like to volunteer in any capacity, please contact the parish office or speak with Father Dario after Mass, or whenever you see him. Prospective musicians or cantors/choristers may contact the Music Director directly.

~~ Religious education classes ~~

Click here to see the "Religious Ed. updates" page

TEEN CONFIRMATION

All communications to parents will happen through the parish Flocknote text messages and emails. Contact Father Dario if you are not yet signed up to receive these messages.

FIRST HOLY COMMUNION

We are in desperate need of a first-year First Communion instructor for this year's class!

PLEASE consider being a religious education instructor for our first-year First Holy Communion class this year. We have ALL the materials you would need: books, supplies, CD's, and more. All we need is someone to teach our young ones! The instructors we had in the past are unable to continue their service due to reasons in their personal lives, and we thank them enormously for their years of service. It is time for new minds to lead!

Update: Two parishioners have graciously offered to teach second-year First Communion. First year will be on-hold until there is an instructor.

All communications to parents will happen through the parish Flocknote text messages and emails. Contact Father Dario if you are not yet signed up to receive these messages.

ATTENDING MASS WITH US:

We celebrate the Roman Catholic Mass in alignment with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. All of our Masses are held in the "Ordinary Rite", which is most familiar to our community. We do not offer any Extraordinary Form/Latin Masses at this time.

> We encourage walking and car-pooling as much as possible due to limited parking at and around the church. Please be mindful of nearby residents and city regulations about vehicle parking.

> Parking is available on Beacon Street in front of the church, and in the back parking lot of the church. PLEASE do not block any exits, pathways, or driveways. The side parking lot next to the Parish Hall is not available.

> We request members of the congregation to turn their cell phones on silent mode or off while attending Mass. During visits outside of Mass, please maintain reverence and be mindful of other visitors using the peace and quiet for prayer and reflection.

> When you enter, feel free to pick up a copy of our Parish bulletin. During most weekend Masses, we have an usher who may offer you one.

> During Mass, we make use of the OCP Music Issue and Today's Missal for hymns and readings in the Liturgy of the Word. On occasion, our music department may have separate leaflets printed out for special events or holidays and have them available beside the bulletins.

> Lost and found items are usually turned in to the sacristy. Please contact the parish priest or a church volunteer to retrieve a lost item. If you return outside of Mass times, please call the church phone number or send us an email to get access to the lost & found.

> After the 9:00AM Sunday Mass, we welcome you to join us for coffee, juice, and light snacks in the courtyard provided by our volunteers. A donation jar is usually set up and all monies go directly to supporting parish operations. If it is raining after Mass, the get-together is usually moved inside the Parish Hall.

Last update: 9 Sept 2024