GRACE: Living as a Community of Beloved Disciples

Historically, the Roman Catholic tradition has defined grace as the God-given gift of salvation granted to humanity. Our parish has embraced an expanded definition to include the time we spend honoring God in prayer and worship, sharing love with family, friends, and our faith community. In contemporary Catholicism, grace is a reciprocal process performed by God on behalf of humanity and by humanity in adoration of God and in reverence of God’s created order. More specifically, we, as a Community of Beloved Disciples, participate in the extraordinary blessing of God’s continuous gift of grace by reflecting God’s love in the world.

GRATITUDE: Living as a Community of Beloved Disciples
The prophets continually remind us that all good things comes from God.  A central theme of our worship is to give thanks for God’s abundance.  The Christian expression of gratitude is fully realized when we share our God given talents in turn to create a better world.  Living the faith means accepting responsibility for building the Kingdom of God, beginning at home in our own community and spreading throughout the world.  The call for a Community of Beloved Disciples asks each member of the community to discover the individual talents that they can add to our expression of gratitude.  To live as a Community of Beloved Disciples, we demonstrate our abundant gratitude by giving witness to the Gospel in our family, professional and community lives.

GENEROSITY: Living as a Community of Beloved Disciples

In response to the Grace and Gratitude that fills our hearts, we are called as a Community of Beloved Disciples to move into action. Our inward spiritual journey invites us to an outward journey of action that bears witness to our faith. Belonging to the Communion of Saints, we are called to respond as the Body of Christ to meet the needs of our Church and the suffering of our world. From the earliest days of our tradition, the Christian community fanned the flame of generosity by taking up collections to support, enrich and expand the Church and its works in the world.

Mercy: Merciful as a Community of Beloved Disciples

Pope Francis called for a Year of Mercy beginning on December 8, 2015.  At a community of Beloved disciples we are launching this year the weekend of December 5 & 6.

Why I Give to my Church

For Henry Provencio, the Catholic Church has always been a significant part of his life.  Henry shares his thoughts on how the Church has anchored his life in so many ways.

In growing up as a cradle Catholic, mass attendance was a part of my weekly routine –  a family obligation, especially while attending Catholic schools. As a college student, mass became a central part of my life.  And throughout my life I couldn’t imagine getting though difficult or joyful situations without my reliance and sharing with God.

I became a member of Holy Family Parish while a student at Cal State LA.  Rather than search for a specific church, it was close to my apartment. I attended mass and that was it. But when I finished college and did my stint in the service, I returned to the area and began attending Holy Family Parish again as a Sunday participant. Not until my youngest daughter was accepted at Holy Family School did I become an active member of the church. This is when my transformation took place and I became a part of the parish community.