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A Bold and Exciting New Vision for our Parish |
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The face of our Catholic Church is changing very rapidly. With our Catholic population in Visalia now over 30,000 souls, with the numbers of priests dwindling each year, with emerging new ministries, new and exciting opportunities are opening up for us and we are on the threshold of a more expanded level of service to our people.
As of April 15, 2008, the parishes of Holy Family, St Charles Borromeo, St. Mary's St. Thomas and San Felipe de Jesus have merged, under one administration, served by a team priests, clustered under the name of The Catholic Church of Visalia.
The merger of parishes (also known as "clustering") is an innovative and practical concept meant to provide a superior level of service to God's people in a time of limited personnel and rising costs. It has been successful for many years in dioceses throughout the United States where there is a critical shortage of priests.
With the blessing and encouragement of the Bishop, our parishes, without losing their individual identities, have united under one, common administration and are being served by a team of priests. With the help of our dedicated deacons, women religious, pastoral staff and a host of enthusiastic volunteers, we have eliminated duplication of services and provided a more cost-effective administrative model. At the same time, working together as one, unified Catholic Community, we are also able to better serve not only our Catholic people, but the entire Visalia community with a common voice and a common Catholic vision.
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Read more...
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Prayer and Life Workshops |
Please enjoy our Web Commercials for St. Mary's 150th Anniversary Celebration!
Installment 1 - Greatness
Installment 2 - Invitation
Installment 3 - Foundation
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TCCOV now has the ability for parishoners to give electronically using a credit card or withdrawal from bank accounts.
Click the picture above to go to the TCCOV E-Contributions site.
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Important Schedule Changes |
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*Saturday Confessions at 7:00 p.m. are now heard at St. Charles Borromeo.
*Confessions on Wednesdays, following the 12:15 p.m. Mass, at St. Mary's, will remain the same.
*St. Mary's Mass scheduled for Sunday evening has returned back to 7:00 p.m.
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Dear Parishioners,
We began using a new translation of the Mass on the First Sunday of Advent….
Let’s clarify a few points. There is not a “new Mass”. It’s the same Mass instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ. The liturgical expression of the Mass – the words we use – has been changed and developed over the centuries, but the basic form and actions have remained the same.
There are two reasons for a revised translation. First, there have been some modifications to the basic and authoritative Latin text of the Roman Missal since it was first revised after Vatican II. Our new text conforms better to this official version. More importantly, the principles behind the English translation have changed. The dominant idea in the 1970’s was to provide equivalent concepts of the original in what was viewed as a natural English vocabulary and phrasing. The result was a very free translation from the Latin. From the first, many felt that the English translation was not exact enough and lost too much of the solemnity of the Latin text.
The translation we are using new is much closer to the Latin text, both in word choice and in sentence structure. The language will be more formal, reflecting the original, for God is the Lord of the universe as well as being our friend.
… It will be a challenge for all of us in the beginning…. And remember, please, that we clergy have a lot more changes to learn than you do! Please bear with us as we make mistakes.
So how will we all benefit from the new Mass translation? First, our language will better reflect the intent of the Universal Church as we offer our prayers. Then, I think we will find that our worship elevates our spirits, once we have become familiar with the new texts. And, ultimately, better worship can make us better disciples, once we’ve made it a part of our inner selves.
The new translation of the liturgy of the Mass – yes, a challenge at first, but a blessing in the end.
In Christ,
Msgr. Raymond Dreiling
Pastor |
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