Continuing a Journey of Service

Offerings to the Lord will never be enough to match His love.  Bringing  the Holy Eucharist to some forty patients in two convalescent facilities every month, spreading His Word as I lector, administering Holy Communion Sundays as Eucharistic Minister, sharing the teachings of Christ in my catechism class, and empowering the youth and young adults in the ministry I organized and now coordinate:  Is all that sufficient to repay the  love He poured on us by dying on the Cross to save us? Can you imagine Heaven being opened to us after His death? Ah, what a glorious recompense!

But the Lord has called me to more. As I stopped my car's engine in the parking lot of my parish one morning, the office manager knocked on my glass window, and as I opened it, said, in a desperate tone, "Blanca, we need your help." It turned out one of the new priests in our parish needs English, which, as a Portuguese, he never had the need to master among all the other languages he learned aside from his own native language. He's new in America and of course, should be able to communicate with his flock in the language most in the country speak. So, this is the answer of God when I asked a few days ago, "Lord, what else do you want me to do?" What a privilege to help this beloved Shepherd of God. I dream of the day he will be able to say mass in English to reach his English speaking congregation.

I have retired from teaching ESL as a credentialed instructor of Los Angeles Unified District. I just continued as the volunteer coordinator and teacher of the parish outreach program, which I organized, by the way, 20 years ago. For more than two years, Rev. Michael Perucho and I had searched for somebody to take over this job, since I really wanted to retire from the Program after handling it for those many years. But it seems, there is no such word as retirement for one that God is still letting to walk this earth and to serve. So, here I am, Lord. Just lead me and do not let me get weary.

THROUGH THE YEARS

THROUGH THE YEARS:

PANIS ANGELICUM

I ever tire of listening to FriarAlessandro sing this:

Panis angelicus
fit panis hominum;
Dat panis cœlicus
figuris terminum:
O res mirabilis!
Manducat Dominum
Pauper, servus et humilis.

Te trina Deitas
unaque poscimus:
Sic nos tu visita,
sicut te colimus;
Per tuas semitas
duc nos que tendimus,
Ad lucem quam inhabitas.

Bread of the Angels
Is made bread for mankind;
Gifted bread of Heaven
Of all imaginings the end;
Oh, thing miraculous!
This body of God will nourish
the poor, the servile, and the humble.

Thee Triune God,
We beseech;
Do us Thou visit,
Just as Thee we worship.
By Thy ways,
lead us where we are heading,
to the light Thou dwellest in.