Our Pastoral and Social Services Ministry is here for youYou are not alone! Our Pastoral and Social Services Ministry is here for you. We all face challenges during this time of global pandemic due to COVID-19. The outbreak and subsequent quarantine of our community have caused many households to lose their livelihood, income, and way of life. There may be a feeling of overwhelming stress, depression and/or anxiousness from the isolation and sudden life changes.
If you or someone you know is feeling confused, lonely, and/or afraid it is OK. You are not alone. Susan Dobson, in our Pastoral and Social Services Ministry, is here to help you. The office is open to all at any time (by phone or Face Time or Zoom for meetings.) Maybe you are not aware that you are grieving. To see some of the common symptoms associated with grieving, click here. To request an appointment with our Pastoral and Social Services Ministry, call for an appointment: 209 320-5733 or please click here (requests are kept confidential). Click on any of the below links for additional resources.
Updates from our parishMarch 26, 2020
March 20, 2020
As of Friday, March 20, 2020 THE CHURCH IS CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
March 18, 2020
Until further notice, the church will be open for private prayer, but there will be NO PUBLIC MASSES.
In order to cooperate with our public officials as they try to find ways to stop the spread of the coronavirus, our Bishop Myron Cotta made the following statement on Monday: “Earlier today, following the guidance of state and national public health officials, and out of love and concern for God’s people, the Diocese of Stockton made the very difficult decision to suspend all public daily and Sunday Masses until further notice beginning on Wednesday, March 18.” My Dear Parishioners, Gathering for Mass is our greatest consolation. For Catholics, the Mass is the hidden treasure, the pearl of great price. The Mass attracts us and causes us to gather at the altar like nestlings awaiting nourishment. We are attracted like moths are drawn to lamplight. This is obviously a problem for our public health authorities who are trying to slow the spread of the coronavirus! However, we must cooperate with our public officials for the good of our community. This saddens us, of course, especially during this holy time of the year. For the next few weeks or months, we will have to live without the privilege of gathering for the Eucharist. We will be living in solidarity with the many people in the world who can never attend Mass because they live in remote places, or Communist countries, or places where there is persecution by Islamic or Hindu extremists. There are also many people in our community who are homebound and therefore can never come to Mass. We must remain strong in our Catholic faith. We have faith that it is God’s will for us to respect civil authorities. As St. Paul wrote: “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” (Romans 13:1) Also we must obey our bishop. We must remember that the bishops do have the authority within their dioceses to suspend the ecclesial law of obligatory Mass attendance. We can be at peace. The Bible teaches us that what the bishops declare on earth is valid with God in heaven. Jesus said to his apostles: “whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Jesus said this to Peter in Matthew 16:19 and to all the apostles in Matthew 18:18). God in his mercy has given us the great solace of always knowing the will of God, even when unusual circumstances arise in every age. Nevertheless, it is sad and painful for Catholics to stay away from Mass, especially those who come to Mass daily to receive the Bread from Heaven. Instead of coming to Mass, you will have to stay home and pray as a family. Perhaps read the Mass readings for the day. At home we can pray the rosary as a family. We can pray the Chaplet of Mercy which is similar to the Mass because it is an offering of “the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord” for the sake of the whole world. You can receive our Lord spiritually by praying the spiritual communion prayer (printed below). You are also welcome to come and pray in our church, which will be open from 8:30 AM until 7:00 PM daily for anyone who desires to come and pray in the Presence of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. The tabernacle has been moved onto the main altar of the church so that no one will have to sit close together in the confined space of our side chapel. Priests will be available to hear confessions every day of the week from 4:45 until 5:30 PM in the church. The parish office will remain closed but staff members and priests will be working and will be available by telephone. Keep in mind that the priests will continue to say their private Masses every day at other times. Some of these Masses will video recorded and broadcast on the internet for everyone to watch. To follow directives of the Bishop of Stockton and public health officials, and for the safety of our community during the time that we are recording Mass and other liturgical celebrations, the church will be closed to the public. All are encouraged to watch a livestream of our Sunday Mass on our Facebook page (@PresentationChurchStockton). The recording may also be located on our YouTube channel. The English Mass is celebrated at 10:30 AM and the Spanish Mass is celebrated at 2:15 PM. Although there will not be a gathering of parishioners, we will still offer Masses each day. The world could not survive if Masses were discontinued! From the altars of each parish the Lord Jesus will continually plea on our behalf to our heavenly father “…because he remains forever, has a priesthood that does not pass away… since he lives forever to make intercession for them… We have such a high priest… a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle that the Lord, not man, set up.” (Hebrews 7:24-25; 8:1-2) Fr. Mark Wagner March 15, 2020
Religious Education Department (K-8): Effective 3/15/2020 In an effort to protect all of our children and to prevent and/or reduce the spread of the virus, all Faith Formation classes are cancelled until further notice. Should you have any questions feel free to contact Nancy Gomez, our Minister of Religious Education, at 320-5714 or email religioused@presentationchurch.net. Presentation Parish School: Effective 3/15/2020 Presentation Parish School CLOSED March 16th-March 27th. May God bless us and protect us! In God we trust! Use of Facility/Meeting Rooms: Effective 3/15/2020 All non-essential meetings have been cancelled. March 13, 2020
Postponements & Cancellations: Effective 3/13/2020 In our parish, we will also be canceling and postponing events such as:
Letter from our Pastor (3/13/2020) Notices from the Diocese of StocktonBishop's Office - March 20, 2020
On Thursday evening, March 19, 2020, Governor Newsom put in place a stay-at-home order for the entire state. With this, we sadly must place more restrictive provisions than the ones that were communicated to you on Tuesday. Accordingly:
In the Peace of Christ, +Bishop Myron J. Cotta Bishop's OFfice - March 17, 2020
Dear Brothers and Sisters, I pray that this finds you healthy and coping well with the rapidly changing landscape of our day to day lives. Earlier today, following the guidance of state and national public health officials, and out of love and concern for God’s people, the Diocese of Stockton made the very difficult decision to suspend all public daily and Sunday Masses until further notice beginning on Wednesday, March 18. Parishes are encouraged to open their church buildings on Sundays and throughout the week for parishioners and others who wish to pray and seek spiritual consolation. Please contact your local parish to learn if, and when, the church will be open. We will continue to post updates, information and resources, including those for online Masses, on our website: www.stocktondiocese.org. Let us keep in our prayers all who have already been impacted by the Coronavirus, especially those who have lost their life. We pray for all medical professionals who are and will be dealing with anyone suffering from this illness. May our Holy Mother, Health of the Sick, intercede for us during this time. In the Peace of Christ, +Bishop Myron J. Cotta |
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