320 W. Garvey Ave. Monterey Park, CA 91754

Saint Stephen Martyr

Catholic Church

“We are a diverse faith-community that strives to conform ourselves into the image of

Christ in and through the power of the Holy Spirit, and nourished by The Word,

Sacraments and Tradition to give glory to God and to be a light unto the nations.”

Fr. Joseph Magdaong

Administrator

Fr. Ali Kanissius

Associate

Armando & Irene Estrada

Deacon Couple

Monica Gonzales-Diaz

Business Manager

Alicia Vazquez

Office Manager

Beatriz Garcia

Dale Ann Torbey

Secretaries

Christina Arellano, Principal

Tel. (626) 573-1716

St. Stephen Martyr School

MASSES Saturday Vigil 5:00 PM (English)

Sunday 7:00 AM (English)

9:00 AM (Spanish)

11:00 AM (English)

2:00 PM (Indonesian)

Mon-Sat Daily Mass: 8:30 AM

Perpetual Help Mass & Novena

Wednesday 6:30 PM

Friday 7:00 PM (Spanish)

Reconciliation

Saturdays 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

PARISH OFFICE HOURS

Monday 9:00 am - 1:00 pm No Evening Hours

Tuesday thru Friday 9:00 am - 1:00 pm 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Closed 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Saturday 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

Sunday 8:00 am - 2:00 pm

Third Sunday of

Advent

December 11, 2016

Tel. (626) 573-0427

E-mail:

st.stephen.martyr@gmail.com

website: ststephenmpk.org

This week it has been very difficult to get up in the mornings, maybe because it

has been so cold! If you are like me, you need to get going early in the morning.

I often wake up before the sun has risen and am leaving the house just as the sun

rises at the break of dawn signifying a new day. It is wonderful to see how the

sky turns this beautiful “rose” color just before the sun shows itself. This Sunday

is Gaudete Sunday. As we come closer to Christmas the Church reminds us of the

“Joy of Expectation.” In ministry often times you will communicate with people,

especially during the holiday season, who have lost their JOY. For many of these

people, this loss is directly related to some events that took place in their lives

that lead them to be let down or disappointed by someone or some event. With

Christmas only a couple of weeks away now is a good time to remember how

God reveals himself to us. He doesn’t look to fill our wants or our dreams, but

looks to deliver us from the things of this world and asks us to place our faith in

Him. Think of how many times God delivered His people so that they could be

renewed and begin again. Think of how many difficulties and challenges God has

delivered you from. He does not need to do this with blaring trumpets or grand

proclamations. He comes to us as a child innocent and pure; arms reaching up to

us almost asking to be held close to our hearts. Imagine how that would feel.

We would be full of JOY and only thinking of God. This is how we are delivered

by focusing on God. Just as when we see the “rose” color in the morning we

know it means a new day; this Christmas let us see the sign our God gave to us,

the Child Jesus and let us be filled with the “Joy of Expectation” knowing that he

makes all things new.

CHRISTMAS MASS SCHEDULE

DECEMBER 24TH, SATURDAY THE VIGIL OF CHRISTMAS

5:00 PM 12:00 AM CHRISTMAS MIDNIGHT

MASS

DECEMBER 25TH, SUNDAY CHRISTMAS

7:00 AM ENGLISH MASS 9:00 AM SPANISH MASS

11:00 AM ENGLISH MASS 2:00 PM INDONESIAN MASS

DECEMBER 31ST, SATURDAY NEW YEAR’S EVE

5:00 PM ENGLISH MASS

JANUARY 1, 2016, FRIDAY SOLEMNITY OF MARY THE HOLY

MOTHER OF GOD 7:00 AM ENGLISH MASS 9:00 AM SPANISH MASS

11:00 AM ENGLISH MASS 2:00 PM INDONESIAN MASS

December 3rd & 4th $7,391.00

Second Collection $980.00

Wednesday Novena Mass $33.00

Friday Evening Mass $67.00

THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMITMENT TO YOUR PARISH

OUR LADY OF

GUADALUPE

Mañanitas

Monday, December 12th

Festivities will begin at 4:30 am

Mass will begin at 5:00 am

Reception will follow in the

Parish Hall.

CHRISTMAS SHOPPING AT

ST. STEPHEN BOOKSTORE

Christmas is near. If you missed

our Bookstore table last Sunday at

the Christmas Boutique, please

come and join us in the main vesti-

bule before and after each Mass

this Saturday and Sunday, December 10 and 11.

Bookstore table will be loaded with amazing gifts, books,

artworks, DVDs, jewelries, purses, children activity items,

Bibles, rosaries, devotional and religious items, and many

more. Please support St. Stephen Bookstore – all sale

proceeds go to our Church.

Retirement Fund for Religious December 10th & 11th

Help again sisters, brothers, and religious order priests. “Each year the need to provide for our elderly (members) becomes more pressing, and we are ever more grateful for these providential funds,” writes a religious sister about the financial assistance received from the Retirement Fund for Religious. Your donation helps provide necessi-ties such as prescription medication and nursing care. Please give to those who have given a lifetime.

Legion of Mary meets every Wednesday

at 5pm in Room 2.

The meeting is followed by a Novena Mass

at 6:30pm in the Church.

P lease remember to bring all

UNWRAPPED toys/gifts

to the Parish Office by Monday,

December 19th, so that they can

be distributed the following later

that week.

Thank you for your support and generosity.

The Knights of Columbus

St. Stephen’s Council

will be presenting

“Spaghetti with Santa”

Saturday, December 17th at 6:30pm in

the Parish Hall

$10 per person

We will be providing Dinner, Games, Raffles and Presents for

every child, $10 dinner also includes dessert sponsored by

the 8th grade students from St. Stephens Martyr School for

fund raising.

Simbang Gabi

Friday, December 16th at 7:00 PM

With the special participation of

Cardinal Roger Mahony

as main celebrant.

There will be a reception in the Parish hall immediately

following the Mass.

Annual Greening of the Church Sunday, December 18th at 4 p.m.

Come and Join us as we prepare the Church for Christmas.

Esta semana ha sido muy difícil levantarse en las mañanas, tal

vez porque ha sido tan frío! Si eres como yo, tienes que ir

temprano en la mañana. A menudo me despierto antes de

que el sol se haya levantado y estoy dejando la casa cuando el

sol se levanta al amanecer significando un nuevo día. Es

maravilloso ver cómo el cielo se convierte en este hermoso

color "rosa" antes de que el sol se muestra. Este domingo es

el Domingo “Gaudete.” Como nos acercamos a la Navidad, la

Iglesia nos recuerda la "Alegría de la Expectativa". En el minis-

terio a menudo se comunica con la gente, especialmente du-

rante la temporada navideña, que han perdido su ALEGRÍA.

Para muchas de estas personas, esta pérdida está direc-

tamente relacionada con algunos eventos que tuvieron lugar

en sus vidas que los llevan a ser defraudados o decepciona-

dos por alguien o algún evento. Con la Navidad sólo dos

semanas de distancia ahora es un buen momento para re-

cordar cómo Dios se revela a nosotros. Él no busca llenar

nuestras necesidades o nuestros sueños, sino que busca liber-

arnos de las cosas de este mundo y nos pide que pongamos

nuestra fe en Él. Piense en cuántas veces Dios entregó a Su

pueblo para que pudieran ser renovados y comenzar de nue-

vo. Piense en cuántas dificultades y desafíos Dios le ha libra-

do. No necesita hacer esto con trompetas ni grandes procla-

mas. Él viene a nosotros como un niño inocente y puro; Los

brazos llegando hasta nosotros casi pidiendo que se celebró

cerca de nuestros corazones. Imagina cómo se sentiría. Es-

taríamos llenos de ALEGRÍA y sólo pensando en Dios. Así es

cuando somos entregados centrándonos en Dios. Así cuando

vemos el color "rosa" por la mañana sabemos que significa un

nuevo día; Esta Navidad, veamos la señal que nuestro Dios

nos dio, el Niño Jesús y que nos deja llenos con la "Alegría de

la Expectativa" sabiendo que hace nuevas todas las cosas.

MISAS NAVIDEÑAS

Sabado, 24 de diciembre

Vigilia de Navidad

5:00 PM Inglés 12:00 PM Misa de medianoche Inglés

Viernes, 25 de diciembre

Natividad del Señor

7:00 AM Inglés 9 AM Español 11 AM Inglés

Jueves, 31 de diciembre

Víspera de Año Nuevo

5:00 PM Inglés

Viernes, 1° de enero

Fiesta de María, Madre de Dios

:00 AM Inglés 9 AM Español 11 AM Inglés

LIBRERÍA DE SAN ESTEBAN

Está abierta después de cada

misa, el Sábado y el Domingo o

por cita. Mas de 12,000 Regalos

│ DVDs │ Libros │ Biblias

│ Joyeria y Accesorios │ Rosari-

os │ Novinas y Artículos

religiosos. Apoye a nuestra parroquia. Apoye al

Librería de San Esteban

El Ministerio de Oración “Luz del Espirtu Santo”

Los invita a orar, alabar, glorificar al Señor y darle gra-cias por todos Los beneficios recibidos cada dia de nues-tra vida. Nos reunimos los Miercoles de 7pm a 9pm en el salon parroquial de nuestra Iglesia San Esteban Martir.

Simbang Gabi

Viernes, 16 de diciembre a las 7:00pm

Con la participación especial de El Cardenal Roger Mahony como

celebrante principal

Habrá una recepción en el salón parroquial inmediatamente después de la Misa.

NUESTRA SEÑORA

DE GUADALUPE

Mañanitas lunes 12 de diciembre

Las fiestas comienzan a las 4:30 am

Misa comenzará a las 5:00 am

Habra una recepción en el Salón Parroquial despues de

Misa.

Decoración de la Iglesia

Domingo, 18 de diciembre a las 4:00

Venga y acompáñenos a preparar a nuestra iglesia para

la Navidad.

Por favor recuerde de traer todos los juguetes/regalos SIN ENVOL-TURA a la oficina parroquial el

lunes, 19 de diciembre, por lo que pueden ser distribuidos más tarde

en la semana.

Gracias por su apoyo y generosidad.

WEEKLY MASS INTENTIONS SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2016 5:00 pm Lucille Randall (D) SUNDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2016 7:00 am St. Stephen Parishioners 9:00 am Rosalva Candelario (L) Alicia Valdez (L) 11:00 am Miguel Foa Lung (D) Lisa Ong (D) Eva Tarantino (D) MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2016 8:30 am In Thanksgiving to Our Lady of Guadalupe TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2016 8:30 am Javier Valdez Sr. (L) Valdez-Perez Family WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2016 8:30 am Lalo Gallarza (L) 6:30 pm Pio & Nessie Rongavilla - 50th Wedding Anniversary THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2016 8:30 am Ba Dang - In Thanksgiving Le Chi Hoang (D) Le Gue (D) FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2016 8:30 am Beatriz Garcia (L) 7:00 pm St. Stephen Martyr Parishioners SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2016 8:30 am Le Trung Chanh (D) Le Vu (D) Le Van My (D)

Frances Salaises, Kitty Carlucci,

Liza Anne Sesti, Ana Nunez,

Elaine Denery, Jose Galicia Sr.,

Connie Gonzales, Norma Sala-

zar, Michlina Kubek, Maria Cervantes, Maria Gonzalez, Jeanine

Gregory, Peggy Jasso, Elena Dulay, Alex Vasquez, Armando Loo,

Annamae Koch, Rita Thoms, Elizabeth Dodge, Virginia Medina,

Rita A. Durazo, Ernest Durazo, Rudy Barraza, Sally Sandoval, Emi-

lia Rodriguez, Dominic, Jason, Rose Valdez, Antonia Castaneda,

Natalia Castaneda, Kathy Garcia, Helen Lawrence, Sandy Aguiar,

Maria Castillo, Frances Montez, Ramiro Sanchez, Judy Backer, Jose-

fina Peralta, Tom Lujan, Maria Ngan Fong Lung, Erin Gaffrey, Vir-

ginia Miranda, Frances Mosqueda, John Jaurequi, Jeanine Lugo,

Michael Alden Townsend, Natalia Orozco, Tisha Platt, Teresa

Ycedo, Larry Hernandez, Vic Panganiban, Concepcion Rodriguez,

Elizabeth Canadas, Maria Mazloom, Phil Cisneros, Kenneth Adler,

Carol Tollstrup, Eva Monroy, Al Acosta, Susan Acosta, Angelica V.

Rivas, David Perez, Doris Lau, Sandy Adler, Ray Fratino, Mike

Riffey, Linda McWeeney, Nancy Perales, Florence Kreslake, D.

Tam, A. Tam, Brandon, Eduardo Aguilar

Prayer list will be updated on a monthly bases. If you would

like to add a name or make changes to the above list. Please

contact the parish office.

Did You Know? Pokémon Go stops could lead kids to dangerous

places

With the popular game Pokémon Go, kids can inter-

act with virtual game components in real-life loca-

tions. Some features of the game can present seri-

ous dangers for children using the app and interacting with

other gamers. “PokéStops” – locations in which players can

collect Pokémon – can be anywhere, and recently, one was

reported to be at the entrance of a rehabilitation center that

housed sex offenders. Parents should be aware of the game’s

features and monitor children’s use to ensure that any Poké-

mon collecting is done safely. For a copy of the VIRTUS® arti-

cle “Pokémon Go and Social Networking,” email:

jvienna@la-archdiocese.org or call 213-637-7227.

READINGS FOR THE WEEK December 11th — December 18th

Sunday: Is 35:1-6a, 10; Ps 146:6-10; Jas 5:7-10; Mt 11:2-11 Monday: Zec 2:14-17 or Rv 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab; Jdt 13:18bcde, 19; Lk 1:26-38 or Lk 1:39-47 Tuesday: Zep 3:1-2, 9-13; Ps 34:2-3, 6-7, 17-18, 19, 23; Mt 21:28-32 Wednesday: Is 45:6-8, 18, 21-25; Ps 85:9-14; Lk 7:18-23 Thursday: Is 54:1-10; Ps 30:2, 4-6, 11-13; Lk 7:24-30 Friday: Is 56:1-3, 6-8; Ps 67:2-3, 5, 7-8; Jn 5:33-36 Saturday: Gn 49-2, 8-10; Ps 72:1-4, 7-8, 17; Mt 1:1-17 Sunday: Is 7:10-14; Ps 24:1-6; Rom 1:1-7; Mt 1:18-24

ST. STEPHEN BOOKSTORE

is open after each Mass, Saturday

and Sunday or by appointment.

12,000+ Gifts │ DVDs │ Books

│ Bibles │ Jewelry and accessories

Rosaries │ Devotional and

Religious Items │ Artwork.

One stop shop for Catholic gifts and

resources. Support the Saint Stephen Bookstore. All

donations of used or new items can be delivered di-

rectly to the bookstore."