September 14, Wednesday | Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

• 07:30 pm: Holy Qurbana, Novena to St. Joseph

September 16, Friday

• 07:00 pm: Confession
• 07:30 pm: Holy Qurbana, Office of the deceased, Novena to St. Alphonsa, Memorial Qurbana for Varghese Vellikkakam and for Joseph Chellakudam.

September 17, Saturday

• 10.00 am: Holy Qurbana, Novena to Mother Mary of Perpetual Help
• 11:00 am: Confession
• 11:00 am: St. Joseph, the worker – inventory

September 18, Sunday | Season of Elia Sleeva Moses II (Catechetical Sunday)

• Only One Qurbana
• 09.45 am: CCD Classes
• 10.45 am: Holy Qurbana
• Qurbana Readings: Num 21:1-9, Zach 10:8-12, Gal 6:11-18, Mt 10:34-42
• 11.45 am: Catechetical Sunday Felicitations, Blessing
• 12:00 pm: Extraordinary General Body Meeting (Pothuyogam)

Bakersfield September 18: No Holy Qurbana

Let us remember:

• September 18:Only one Qurbana at 10.45 am, 12 Noon Extraordinary General Body (Pothuyogam)
• September 18: Catechetical Sunday
• September 18:  St. Joseph the Worker Meeting
• September 25: Onam 2022
• October 8: Parish Picnic
• November 11-13, Guadalupe (Mexico) Pilgrimage
• Reading circle every Sunday at 12 Noon
• CML & Angels Army meeting every 4th Sunday of the Month
• Online Malayalam Class on every Sunday from 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm

Let us continue to strictly follow COVID-19 guidelines – Please wear a mask at all times.
May the Good Lord Bless and Protect All of You.

Fr. Sebastian Valiyaparampil
Vicariachan

The Story of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

“Early in the fourth century, Saint Helena, mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine, went to Jerusalem in search of the holy places of Christ’s life. She razed the second-century Temple of Aphrodite, which tradition held was built over the Savior’s tomb, and her son built the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher on that spot. During the excavation, workers found three crosses. Legend has it that the one on which Jesus died was identified when its touch healed a dying woman.

The cross immediately became an object of veneration. At a Good Friday celebration in Jerusalem toward the end of the fourth century, according to an eyewitness, the wood was taken out of its silver container and placed on a table together with the inscription Pilate ordered placed above Jesus’ head: Then “all the people pass through one by one; all of them bow down, touching the cross and the inscription, first with their foreheads, then with their eyes; and, after kissing the cross, they move on.”

To this day, the Eastern Churches, Catholic and Orthodox alike, celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on the September anniversary of the basilica’s dedication. The feast entered the Western calendar in the seventh century after Emperor Heraclius recovered the cross from the Persians, who had carried it off in 614, 15 years earlier. According to the story, the emperor intended to carry the cross back into Jerusalem himself, but was unable to move forward until he took off his imperial garb and became a barefoot pilgrim.”
(https://www.franciscanmedia.org/)