St. Patrick Catholic Parish Newsletter — June 2021

St.

Patrick P A R I SH m o n t h ly n e w s l e t t e r

Bible Study Ministry

Inside This Issue:

Is Valuable Opportunity to

“Encounter Encounter Scripture Together” Together

2 Got Talent? Bring It to the Spotlight!

3 Keeping Christ at the Center, This Summer and Always

4 Deacon Rick Soria

Reflects on His Path to the Permanent Diaconate Grateful for God’s Goodness

6 Celebrating the Sacraments This Spring

JUNE 2021

B

ob Martinet was a Presbyterian attending a large church when the pastor identified him as having the gift of teaching. He began leading Bible studies and teaching in different capacities.

“I receive so much from preparing to teach,” Bob says. “When preparing, I really have to dig in and be thorough.

Teaching keeps me praying and keeps me in the Word.”

Bob later converted to Catholicism, and he and his wife, Patricia Carroll, retired and moved to the area. About eight years ago, they St. Patrick's Bob Martinet went to Mass at St. Patrick, and afterward met and his wife, Patricia Carroll a parishioner who shared that the community was just restarting a Bible study.

“The Lord knew what He was doing with that timing,” Bob says. “They had begun a study of Genesis, and I jumped in.”

St. Patrick’s Barbara Burns had started this Bible study about two years before because she knew the need for Catholics to study the Bible.

continued on back cover

St.

Patrick P A R I SH

Got Talent? Bring It to the Spotlight!

T

he word “talent” often conjures up images of stage performers in the spotlight, captivating awestruck audiences with their impeccable musical or acting skills.

While these talented performers are certainly deserving of applause, the majority of the population sits hidden in the shadows, staring on in amazement while feeling over-looked — and perhaps wishing to possess such talents themselves. But even when we feel overlooked and untalented, God knows better.

As Christians, we are all called to dig deep and trust that we are uniquely blessed with valuable talents and abilities, even if our talents aren’t so obvious or don’t garner applause and accolades.

Along with “time” and “treasure,” “talent” is one of the “three Ts” of stewardship. Exploring our natural inclinations and preferences, especially when guided by the intricacies of our unique personalities, can unearth God-given talents.

“There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same spirit,” writes St. Paul in his First Letter to the Corinthians. “There are different forms of service, but the same Lord.”

Some people have the gift of working peacefully with children. Equipped with patience and gentleness, they are able to guide young souls to the Lord. Yet, others shudder at the thought of a

classroom full of 5-year-olds, and instead seek the quiet solace of behind-the-scenes tasks — cleaning the church, sewing altar cloths or stuffing envelopes.

Our interests and abilities are varied, and our volunteer options are endless, as we are called to give our talents back to God in loving service.

Examine your heart and prayerfully discern your gifts, then direct those gifts towards serving the people of God. H. Jackson Brown, Jr., author of Life’s Little Instruction Book, once said, “Talent without discipline is like an octopus on roller skates. There’s plenty of movement, but you never know if it is going to be forwards, backwards, or sideways.”

If our gifts of talent are not guided by the discipline of prayer, just like an octopus on roller skates, we will get nowhere fast! Yet, if we keep our eyes on the goal of heaven and serve the Lord with joyfulness, our efforts will produce a bountiful harvest. In the words of St. Paul to the Corinthians, “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will reap bountifully.”

The next time you sit quietly in the shadows behind a glaring stage spotlight, rest assured that your talents are no less impressive in the eyes of God, and will always be “applauded” when directed to the service of His people.

Our interests and abilities are varied, and our volunteer options are endless, as we are called to give our talents back to God in loving service. Examine your heart and prayerfully discern your gifts, then direct those gifts towards serving the people of God.

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A L e t t e r F ro m F at h e r

Dear Family,

W

Keeping Christ at the Center, This Summer and Always

e are approaching that time of year when things normally seem to slow down, with much-anticipated breaks from school and vacations on the horizon. Of course, everyone needs to rest at times but is completely letting up really a good thing to do from the perspective of stewardship.

After all, do our spiritual needs cease for a quarter of the year — the summer season? How about our sense of community and our community needs? Are we not as anxious to see a light in the darkness, and embrace a sense of hope, in the summer months as during the rest of the year? Stewardship is a year-round activity. It is a daily activity. It is not something from which we can take a vacation.

Our Church celebrations certainly do not cease during these months. Easter officially did not end until Pentecost on May 23. That is followed by Trinity Sunday and then the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi), falling this year on June 6. On Holy Thursday, our joy at the institution of the Most Sacred Eucharist is quickly muted as the Passion of the Lord looms near. Corpus Christi is the joyous celebration of that great gift of our Lord — His Body and Blood. We will celebrate Corpus Christ with 40 Hours of Adoration from June 4-6.

There is a certain providence in that the summer

months launch with this great feast of Corpus Christi. It reminds us that the important aspects of our faith, of our Church, continue during these summer months.

More importantly, this reminds us that the Eucharist should be at the center of our lives. It is a relatively basic formula — the Eucharist is the center of our lives because Christ should be the focus of our lives. The Eucharist is at the heart of our parish lives. The Eucharist is at the absolute core of our stewardship beliefs.

Our parish mission is stated with many words, but it might just as easily be affirmed from a stewardship view by stating, “The stewardship way of life has its center and source of strength in the Eucharist."

So, as we enter these summer months, let us never lose sight of what our principal focus should be — Christ through the Eucharist. Now is as good a time as any to rededicate ourselves to the Mass, as good stewards, to emphasize our Catholic faith.

Your Father in Christ,

Fr. Estrella Parochial Administrator

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St.

Patrick P A R I SH

DEACON RICK SORIA

Reflects on His Path to the Permanent Diaconate Grateful

A

s Deacon Rick Soria celebrates his 20th anniversary in the permanent diaconate this month, he can’t help but marvel over the ways the Lord has worked in his life. If you have ever heard Deacon Rick talk about his faith journey, then you know he feels a deep affinity for the parable of the Prodigal Son in the Gospel of Luke. Deacon Rick, too, was once lost — about 25 years ago, he was found, and he couldn’t be more grateful for God’s hand in it all.

Deacon Rick grew up in East Los Angeles. His parents divorced when he was 2, and when his mother remarried, her pastor made it clear that she was not welcome in their local Catholic parish.

Despite this obstacle, it was important for Deacon Rick’s father that his son grow up in the faith, so he attended Catholic schools all the way through college.

Deacon Rick describes his faith life in college as a “rollercoaster.” Lacking a personal connection to Jesus Christ, he struggled to find meaning in the prayers and traditions of the Church. He married his wife, Maureen, at the age of 22, and the couple had two sons within their first two years of marriage. After a few years, he only found himself in church for Baptisms, funerals, and Christmas.

In his late 20s, Deacon Rick faced a series of personal struggles that led him to seek refuge in the Lord for the first time in years.

“During that time, I was an alcoholic and I was just beginning to spiral,” he says. “I got fired

from my job, and I got in an accident. My oldest son was thrown from the car and his forehead was shattered. When the ER doctor told me the extent of my son’s injury, I went into the little chapel and prayed. For the first time, I prayed for something other than what I wanted. It was a simple prayer — if You save my son, I’ll go back to church.”

Over the next few years, following the full recovery of his son, Deacon Rick tried to make good on his promise to God by attending Mass. Every so often, however, he would find a reason to stop going. Finally, he and Maureen found a parish that drew Deacon Rick back into the fold for good.

“One day, Maureen and I wandered into a Mass at St. Margaret Mary,” he says. “I just turned to my wife and said, ‘I’ve found home.’ The new pastor there took an interest in me and saw past the foul mouth and hardness of what I was at the time, and he saw the good in me. We would play poker once a month and he was just very present. That pastor and the other men in the parish, they laughed hard, they played hard, and they prayed sincerely. I was getting involved in the parish because I wanted my kids to have a Catholic education. The journey went from me going to Mass just to go to going to Mass because I needed to, and from a life centered on me to a life centered on Christ.”

Deacon Rick’s faith life had completely transformed, but he still could never have predicted the vocation the Lord had in mind for him! In 1994,

“I felt a profound sense of unworthiness, but at the same time, a profound sense of gratefulness that even though I was unworthy, this was my call. There was a surety in what I was doing and an acceptance. The tears I shed on the floor of the church that day were tears that the Lord has looked upon this lowly soul and done great things.”

— Deacon Rick Soria 4

for God’s Goodness he ran into an old “drinking buddy” from college who showed him a photo of himself prostrate on the altar during his ordination to the diaconate. Deacon Rick laughed at the time, but nonetheless, a seed was planted. For two years, he felt an invitation to nurture that seed of a vocation and see what might become of it.

Finally, he decided to say “yes” to the call to the permanent diaconate, and for the first time in his 46 years, Deacon Rick felt truly at peace.

Going through the diaconate program, Deacon Rick found his life changed even more completely. He began to open his heart up to giving and receiving love in a whole new way.

He also went through the AA program and found that experience to be transforming, as well. By the time he was ordained on June 9, 2001, he had no doubt that this had been the Lord’s plan for him all along.

“I felt a profound sense of unworthiness, but at the same time, a profound sense of gratefulness that even though I was unworthy, this was my call,” Deacon Rick says. “There was a surety in what I was doing and an acceptance.

The tears I shed on the floor of the church that day were tears of joy that the Lord had looked upon this lowly soul and done great things.”

Throughout the diaconate process — and perhaps especially in the 25 years before Deacon Rick found his way back to the Church — Maureen sustained him with her steadfast support and encouragement.

“Maureen and I have been married for 50 years,” Deacon Rick says. “She is a source of wisdom. She is a spiritual director, and she has this gift for understanding human nature. As I prepare homilies, she reviews my notes and ideas. She has a spirit that hears beyond words. And she will sit with things a lot longer than I will.”

Following his ordination, Deacon Rick served St. Margaret Mary Parish for 17 years before he

Deacon Rick Soria and his wife, Maureen and Maureen decided to move to Grass Valley to be close to the youngest of their three sons and to their grandchildren. Since arriving in our parish almost four years ago, Deacon Rick has enjoyed serving as our DRE. He is thankful for the gift of Fr. Estrella in our parish and is inspired by the humbleness, service, and love of community and faith demonstrated by the people of St. Patrick.

With gratitude for the loving goodness of a God who saves, Deacon Rick feels truly blessed to be where he is today.

“I grew up with a God that was here for the ‘gotcha’ and the punishment, so to discover a God who loves me — to discover that gift and to give that gift to others — is amazing,” he says.

“Just knowing that God loves us beyond measure, every one of us, and He yearns for me and yearns for you to just be with Him. I’m being born again every moment of my life that I’m open to what God has for me, and I’m meeting you that we may grow together.”

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St.

Patrick P A R I SH

Celebrating the Sacraments This Spring The St. Patrick community extends its congratulations to all those who received sacraments this spring.

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St.

Patrick P A R I SH 235 Chapel Street Grass Valley, CA 95945 (530) 273-2347 stpatrickgrassvalley.org

Bible Study Ministry

continued from front cover

“It is not just important for Catholics to study the Bible — it is vital,” Bob says. Studying the Catechism is great, but we need to study Scripture.”

The group began using a workbook from Ignatius Press with commentary from Scott Hahn. Each year, they would pick a study to use, and the group would meet from September to June for about two hours of prayer, study, and fellowship.

“It’s a very rich gathering,” Bob says. “We’d begin each Wednesday with prayer, announcements, and then dig into the study. We have six different teachers, and I became one of them. We’d have time for small groups and large groups and a break for food, which everyone contributed to bringing.”

When Barbara started the Bible study, about 35 to 40 people attended, but over the last year, as many as 84 people were attending. Unfortunately, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic, the group has been suspended since the spring of 2020, but that’s changing soon.

“We’re planning on restarting in September and returning to the book of Romans,” Bob says. “I’m very excited to teach Romans. We’ll use the Ignatius Press study guide, probably review the first 11 chapters, and then continue to the end.”

Studying the Bible alone can be challenging.

Where do you start? How do you understand the context and culture surrounding each reading? A Bible study offers the opportunity for faith community members to guide each other through Scripture.

“It is such a rich experience when people encounter Scripture together,” Bob says. “This Bible study reflects this parish. It’s full of wonderful and dedicated Christians who believe in serving the Lord and following Christ. It is full of vibrant people.”

If you would like more information about St. Patrick’s Bible Study Ministry, please reach out to Bob Martinet at bob.martinet@gmail.com.

MASS SCHEDULE Monday-Saturday: Daily Mass at 8:30 a.m. | Saturday Vigil Mass: 5 p.m. | Sunday Mass: 7:30 a.m., 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m. (Spanish)