WEBSITE:STSTEPHENMPK.ORG - EMAIL: ST.STEPHEN.MARTYR@GMAIL.COM

320 W. GARVEY AVE. MONTEREY PARK 91754 (626)573-0427

“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.”

ST STEPHEN MARTYR CATHOLIC CHURCH

MASS SCHEDULE 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 Novena Mass

Wednesday 6:30 PM Friday 7:00 PM (Spanish)

Reconciliation Fridays 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Saturdays 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Fr. Joseph Magdaong Pastor

Fr. Ali Kanissius Associate Pastor

Armando & Irene Estrada Deacon Couple

Alicia Vazquez Office Manager

Dale Ann Torbey Secretary / Bookkeeper

Diane Gehner School Principal (626) 573-1716

The Legion of Mary meet

every Wednesday

at 7:00 pm in Room 2

following the 6:30

Novena Mass

PARISH OFFICE

HOURS

Monday - Friday

9:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Closed for lunch

1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Saturday

11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Sunday

8:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

We may walk many roads when we search for

God, and He leads us all the while. The men we

honor today were not Jews. The Messiah wasn’t

coming for them, not in the minds of Jesus’ con-

temporaries. These men were astrologers. They

were adept at reading portents in the sky, a prac-

tice condemned in the Mosaic covenant. Still, to

the best of their knowledge and awareness, they

were seeking the truth. This truth led them to jour-

ney from their own homeland to honor a king they’d never met, one they could-

n’t be sure truly existed. “‘We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him

homage.’” Who do you know seeks God so tenaciously?

“Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem,” the Gospel tells us. Who are the seek-

ers in your own life? Maybe it’s your cautiously curious co-worker, the neighbor

who unexpectedly found peace on a yoga retreat, or your desperately angry

child who has chosen, for now, to go their own way. Perhaps they’re not overtly

headed for Jesus now, not yet. But they may well be seekers of truth in ways we

didn’t expect. Our invitation is to listen, inquire, and give directions when appro-

priate.

The magi and modern-day seekers can inspire us as well. When is the last time

you sought God’s truth so tenaciously? As believers, it can perhaps be easy to

become desensitized to the Christmas season and to the miraculous reality we

recently celebrated. Mass may have been lovely, but so was the succulent roast

beef, the crisp smell of evergreen, and the warm glow of family. Consider asking

yourself, “God, do I know you as well as I should? Would I journey as far as the

magi to meet You, if I could? Do I journey to meet You daily in prayer? What do

those answer say about me, and about our relationship?” Perhaps we, like the

magi, can once again be “overjoyed” at seeing the Light of the World.

Divine Mercy Devotions & Prayers

Every Friday after the 8:30 am

Mass in the church.

La Pieta Prayer Group meeting

Every 2nd & 4th Saturday of the

month at 2:30 p.m. in room 2

ARISE bereavement support prayer group meets every Tuesday

1:30 pm - 3:00 pm in the Religious Edu-

cation Room.

All are welcome

Donation statements

for the 2019 fiscal year

will be mailed to all

registered parishioners

by January 31st.

Thank you for your continued support.

La Epifanía del Señor es una de las Solemnidades que más disfrutan los niños en la comunidad hispana (Fiesta de los Reyes Magos), por aquello de que llegan los rega-los y las piñatas llenando de alegría este tiempo navideño. Las familias se preparan para la ocasión y disfrutan el reunirse con amigos y familiares cercanos. Sin embar-go, aparte de regalos y fiesta, hay muchas cosas que aprender sobre está solemnidad y, una de ellas es lo que significa la palabra Epifanía, Manifestación del Señor. Cris-to se revela de muchas maneras como: Señor y Rey. Y algo importante, la forma de como Dios se manifiesta en Jesús con hechos (Milagros). Todas las manifestaciones de Jesús en su tiempo histórico fueron luces de amor para la humanidad. Las lecturas de hoy, de alguna manera, y de formas diferentes, manifiestan quien es Cristo para el que cree en Él.

El profeta Isaías dice: “Levanta los ojos y mira alrededor: todos se reúnen y vienen a ti; tus hijos llegan de lejos, a tus hijas las traen en brazos.” San Pablo aclara que “también los paganos son coherederos de la misma herencia, miem-bros del mismo cuerpo y participes de la misma promesa en Jesucristo.” El Evangelio de Mateo nos orienta hacia el punto clave de quien se manifiesta: “Y tú, Belén, tierra de Judá, no eres en manera alguna la menor entre las ciuda-des ilustres de Judá, pues de ti saldrá un jefe, que será el pastor de mi pueblo, Israel”. Estos pasajes de la Sagrada Escritura muestran la universalidad del Mesías, que ha venido a redimir a toda la humanidad. ¡Feliz Epifanía!

ST STEPHEN MARTYR CATHOLIC CHURCH

“Luz del Espiritu Santo”

Los invita a una noche de oración y alabanza todos los Miercoles a las 7:00 pm en el salón parroquial.

Todos son bienvenidos. Segunda Colecta

La segunda colecta de este fines de semana será

para el apoyo de nuestra escuela parroquial.

Gracias de antemano por su generosidad.

Las declaraciones de

donación para el año

fiscal 2019 serán envia-

das por correo a todos

los feligreses que estan registrados en la iglesia.

Gracias por su apoyo continuo.

DECLARACION

ANUAL

¿Sabe Usted? ¿Qué es el tráfico sexual de niños? El tráfico sexual de niños ocurre cuando un menor está involucrado en un acto sexual comercial, en el cual se intercambia sexo por dine-ro, comida, albergue o cualquier

otra cosa de valor. Los perpetradores de tráfico sexual por lo regular escogen niños, creyendo que su edad les permite ser manipulados y controlados más fácilmente. Este crimen está ocurriendo en todo tipo de comunidades al-rededor de Estados Unidos, y los traficantes están obten-iendo alarmantes ganancias mientras que las víctimas son objeto de abuso y de violencia. Una de las cosas más im-portantes que usted puede hacer para proteger a su hijo/hija es crear un ambiente en el que él o ella se sienta cómodo/a viéndolo a usted como un adulto confiable con quien puede platicar. Para obtener más información, por favor visite http://www.missingkids.com/theissues/trafficking.

JANUARY 5 • THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD

MASS INTENTIONS SATURDAY, JANUARY 4, 2020 5:00 pm Alice Chavez (L) SUNDAY, JANUARY 5, 2020 7:00 am Louis & Mary Hutinet (D) 9:00 am Theresa Tolly (D) Francisco Tolly (D) Lupe Perez (D) Esperanza Garcia (D)

11:00 am Dale & Stephanie Uyeda (D) Oscar Villamor Refuerzo (D) Carlos Alberto Ornelas (L) MONDAY, JANUARY 6, 2020 8:30 am Javier Valdez and Family TUESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2020 8:30 am Raymond Anthony Miramontes (D) WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2020 10:00 am St. Stephen Parishioners

THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 2020 8:30 am Megan Brand (L) FRIDAY, JANUARY 10, 2020 8:30 am Vikki Rogers (L)

SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 2020 8:30 am Humberto Alcaraz (D)

Please Pray For….. Frances Salaises, Kitty Carlucci, Ana Nunez, Rita Thoms, Helen Lawrence, Mayo Ycedo, Al Acosta, Florence Kreslake, Carlos Godinez, Kim Chacon, Luis Hernandez, Pio Rongavilla, Patricia McAvoy, Lung Family, Tam Family, Emilia Rodri-guez, Monica Hernandez, Larry Siefker, Carlos Alberto Ornelas, Mary Hernandez and Family, Alicia Valdez, Yoli Aguilar, Lauren Cha-con, Leo Sanchez, Salvador Huerta, Eddie Ortega, Patricia Sanchez, Lisa Dittmer, Roland Martinez, David Perez, Victor Alfara, Ramiro Sanchez, Bernie Zavala, Joshua Morales, Larry Hernandez and Family, Jose Alvarenga & Family, Frances Araiza, Rosalie Pinto, Mary Hernandez, Monica Lugo, Jeanine Lugo, Angie Medrano, Jim Forsang, Alice Chavez, Patty Bentel, Annamae Koch

To insure that the prayer list is accurate, please contact the parish office on a monthly basses if you would like for your name to re-main on the list.

SECOND COLLECTION This weekends Second Collection will be for the sup-

port of our parish school.

We thank you in advance for your generosity.

If you have taken VIRTUS training/refresher or Archdiocese fin-gerprinting at another parish, please provide a copy of your VIR-TUS certificate of attendance or Archdiocese live scan form to our Parish Office for its records. Schedules of trainings/refreshers or fingerprinting sessions are posted in the “Keeping Kids Safe” bul-letin board (next to one of the holy water stand) in the main vesti-bule. These schedules can be viewed online: VIRTUS trainings/refreshers: https://virtusonline.org/virtus/reg_list2.cfm?theme=0 - select “Los Angeles - San Gabriel Region (Archdiocese).” Archdiocese fingerprinting sessions -https://www.la-archdiocese.org/org/hr/Pages/fingerprinting.aspx For oth-er links related to Safeguard the Children Parish Committee, please see our parish’s webpage on Ministries/Safeguard the Children - https:/www.ststephenmpk.org/99

DID YOU KNOW? What is child sex trafficking? Child sex trafficking occurs when a minor is involved in a commercial sex act where sex is traded for mon-ey, food, shelter, drugs or anything else of value. Perpetrators of sex trafficking often target children be-lieving their age makes them easier

to manipulate and control. This crime is occurring in all types of communities throughout the U.S. and traffickers are mak-ing an alarming profit while victims endure abuse and vio-lence. One of the most important things you can do to protect your child is to create an environment in which he or she feels comfortable talking with you as a trusted adult. For more information please visit, http://www.missingkids.com/

theissues/trafficking.

Inspiring Personal Reflection & Spiritual Growth

The journey begins with a conversation to determine if Spiritual Direction is right for you.

One-on-one confidential conversation in order to :

•Discover who you are in God •Let go of what is not working in your life

•Accept your life situation and live in the NOW •Learn to forgive and show mercy to yourself and others

Each spiritual journey is a personal path and all are welcome.

For more information and/or to schedule an appointment please contact Frances M. Diaz - Spiritual Director (626)282-8820