The faith community of San Buenaventura Mission welcomes all who visit our historic Mission and who join us in our liturgical celebrations. Visitors are welcomed in a special way at Sunday Mass and receive a remembrance prayer card.  All are welcome at the Mission.

Less than four months have passed since we celebrated Christmas, the birth of Jesus and as Lent draws to a close we now joyfully invite all to come and celebrate Easter, the greatest feast in the Christian calendar. On this Sunday, Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. For Catholics, Easter Sunday comes at the end of 40 days of Lent observed by prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Through spiritual struggle and self-denial, we have prepared ourselves to die spiritually with Christ on Good Friday, the day of His Crucifixion, so that we can rise again with Him in new life on Easter.

Easter is a day of celebration because it represents the fulfillment of our faith as Christians. St. Paul wrote that, unless Christ rose from the dead, our faith is in vain (1 Corinthians 15:17). Through his death, Christ saved mankind from bondage to sin, and He destroyed the hold that death has on all of us; but it is His Resurrection that gives us the promise of new life, both in this world and the next.

That new life began on Easter Sunday. In the Our Father, we pray that "Thy Kingdom come, on earth as it is in Heaven." And Christ told His disciples that some of them would not die until they saw the Kingdom of God "coming in power" (Mark 9:1). The early Christian Fathers saw Easter as the fulfillment of that promise. With the resurrection of Christ, God's Kingdom is established on earth, in the form of the Church.

That is why people who are converting to Catholicism traditionally are baptized at the Easter Vigil service. Their baptism parallels Christ's own Death and Resurrection, as they die to sin and rise to new life in the Kingdom of God. 

Because of the central importance of Easter to the Christian faith, we Catholics who have made our First Communion receive Holy Eucharist sometime during the Easter season, which lasts through Pentecost, 50 days after Easter. This reception of the Eucharist (preceded by the Sacrament of Penance) is a visible sign of our faith and our participation in the Kingdom of God. Of course, we should receive Communion as frequently as possible; this "Easter Duty" is simply the minimum requirement set by the Church.

On behalf of Fr. Damian, Deacons Alfonso, Mark, and Tio, and Sr. Mary Rose, I wish you all a holy and joyful Easter. Alleluia! Alleluia!  Please see the Holy Week and Easter schedule below.

To learn more about our parish ministries please review our Ministry Opportunities Booklet.

"Siempre Adelante: United in the love of God as a Mission Family."

Shalom.

Come and join us from the Upper Room to Calvary to Easter Joy!

Good Friday, April 18
12:00 noon Liturgy of the Lord's Passion
Meditation on the Seven Last Words of Christ
Stations of the Cross

6:00 PM Spanish Live Vía Crucis
School Courtyard and lower parking lot,
Liturgia de la Pasión del Señor

Holy Saturday, April 19
7:45 PM Easter Vigil (Bilingual) / Vigilia Pascual (bilingüe)

Easter Sunday Masses, April 20
7:30 AM English
9:00 AM English
10:30 AM. (Español), O'Brien Hall
12:15 PM English

Archdiocesan Celebrations for Canonization of Popes John XXIII and John Paul II

New Evangelization Vigil for Pope John Paul II:  April 26, 2014 at 7:00 PM

Mass of Thanksgiving for Saints John XXIII & John Paul II: April 27, 2014 at 3:30 PM