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Monsignor Steven B. Zak
Parish Administrator


Contact him at:

sbzak@incaglendale.org
818-242-2579

A Message from Monsignor Zak

Posted on February 3, 2012

CASTING OUT UNCLEAN SPIRITS: REPLACING VICES WITH VIRTUES

 Last week, the gospel spoke of Jesus freeing a man from an unclean spirit. This week too the very last line of the gospel tells us that Jesus went throughout the entire region of Galilee preaching and driving out demons (cf. Mk 1:39).
As I said in my homily last week, it is not enough that the unclean spirits afflicting us and our world today be cast out, they must be actively replaced with clean, pure spirits. And we can do just this if we take the time to identify each unclean spirit that is present in our lives and seek to replace it with its opposite. A fairly easy way to do just this is to use the categories of the Seven Deadly Sins, or Vices, to identify the unclean spirits afflicting us and then strive (starting always with PRAYER!) to replace it by practicing the Moral Virtue that is its opposite.
Accordingly:
PRIDE is replaced by HUMILITY;
GREED is replaced by CHARITY;
ENVY is replaced by KINDNESS;
WRATH is replaced by PATIENCE;
LUST is replaced by CHASTITY;
GLUTTONY is replaced by TEMPERANCE;
SLOTH is replaced by DILIGENCE.
Remember, the Lord does free us from every unclean spirit: ?He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him!" (Mk 1:27). He so freed us at our baptism and he continues to do so every time we receive the Sacraments that he entrusted to his Church. Whenever we give ourselves in obedience to the words of life and love and truth that he speaks to us, we invite him anew to continue his work of deliverance and redemption in our lives, in our families and in our world. By putting the moral virtues into practice, our very lives become a living expression of that prayer we say so often: "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."???

A NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION!

 Anno Domini 2012
My Weekly Offertory Pledge to Incarnation Parish

The birth of Christ is truly a defining moment in human history. This is quite literally the case more than many people may realize, since it is the Lord's Nativity that has become the line of demarcation in our counting of the years. The years leading up to our Savior's birth are followed by the letters "B.C.," an abbreviation for "before Christ." The years after his birth are preceded by the letters "AD.," an abbreviation for the Latin anno Domini, meaning "in the year of the Lord."

In this anno Domini 2012 that begins today, a new year of grace and life from our God and Savior, we have the opportunity once more to renew our resolve to be the people we can be and truly want to be. And this is the reason that we formulate various resolutions meant to help us be good to ourselves and to others, meant to assist us in doing good for ourselves and for others.

One resolution that I would like to propose to all our Incarnation Parish family is to make a concrete pledge of weekly support to our faith community. As a general rule, at least 10% of what we earn should be set aside and returned in some fashion to the Lord, to the one who has given us everything. Part of this 10% should certainly come to the Church, while another part will go to charitable organizations and other worthy causes. To assist all of us in this resolution, during this first week of the Year of the Lord 2012, I will be preparing a letter that will go out to all parishioners with a Weekly Offertory Pledge card. In this letter, I will invite all of us to take seriously our responsibility to support our parish and to make a concrete Weekly Offertory Pledge.

Not only is the support of all of us important if Incarnation Catholic Church is to continue its mission of bringing Christ and his gospel of life and truth to our families, our community and our world, but it is also necessary if we are to continue moving toward the grace by which we are called and embraced this Christmas season and always. A grace that is nothing less than eternal salvation. So I ask us to begin even now, before the letter and Pledge card arrive next week, to reflect on this question: What will my Weekly Offertory Pledge to Incarnation Parish be for the year 20 12? What return can I make to the Lord for all he has done for me?

To all, a Happy & Blessed Year 2012 of our Lord!

A Blessed and Holy Christmas!

 For unto us is born a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (cf. Lk 2:11)
 To all the parishioners here at Incarnation Catholic Church in Glendale, CA, and to visitors who are with us at this very special time of year: a very Blessed and Holy Christmas!
This is a season that touches us so very deeply. As we celebrate the birth of a little baby born long ago in a far-away land, we are somehow reborn ourselves, regaining something of an innocence that was once ours and that we long to experience anew. This innocence is given to us again, for us to treasure, to marvel at, to claim as our own. And this innocence regained is ours not just today, on Christmas Day, but throughout this Christmas season, throughout the New Year that will begin in just another week, throughout the whole of our lives.
This innocence is the innocence of a child who stands in awe and gratitude and joy on Christmas Day, not before a Christmas tree with brightly wrapped gifts overflowing from beneath its branches, but before a straw-filled Crib from which a tiny Babe smiles, from which a tiny Babe coos and gurgles, from which a tiny Babe reaches out to us. We are that child standing before the Crib, we are the ones at whom the newborn Babe smiles, for whom he coos and gurgles, to whom he reaches out with the promise of unconditional love and endless peace.
The Christmas we celebrate is not merely an event that took place long ago in a land far away, it is some- thing that happens now in our own lives, in our own homes, in our own hearts. Christmas is here and now, and it is our God's gracious gift to us.
Let us be mindful of this singular gift as we celebrate this holy season. Let us take time to stand in awe and gratitude and joy before that Crib, gazing upon the smiling Babe who coos and gurgles and reaches out to us. Let us feel anew that innocence that is our God's gift to us, and let us be that gift of innocence, that gift of love and peace, to one another and to all: for unto us is born a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
A Happy and Holy Christmas to all, and to all a Blessed New Year!

A Six-Minute Spiritual Exercise

In my homily for the First Sunday of Advent last week, I mentioned a simple spiritual exercise that may help us as we prepare to celebrate anew the birth of our Savior at Christmas. This exercise consists in taking six minutes every day to place ourselves in the Lord's hands, as clay to be molded and shaped by the potter, so that we and our lives may come to be more what they are meant to be and what we want them to be. We did some quick math in the course of the homily and discovered that there are 240 six-minute periods in every 24-hour day.
So the suggested exercise is to take just ONE of these 240 six-minute periods of time that are available each day and dedicate that six-minute period to the Lord. Probably the best time to do this is in the morning just as our day is getting underway, before things become busy and hectic, but anytime during the day will work, as long as you can take six undisturbed minutes.
The exercise consists of four simple steps:
  1. Sit or kneel in a quiet place, make the Sign of the Cross and focus on Jesus, particularly on his love, kindness and mercy.
  2. Try to feel Jesus' presence with you and "listen" to him. This "listening" should bring an awareness of a holy and reassuring presence of the Lord in your life, with you and in you. This period of contemplation and listening may include meditation on some very short text from Scripture or the liturgy that may come to mind.
  3. Consciously open yourself to what you can do and to what you can be for others, for family members,friends, co-workers, classmates, even strangers.
  4. Conclude this six-minute period with a prayer of thanksgiving and the Sign of the Cross. The concluding prayer of thanksgiving may be a spontaneous prayer in your own words and/or a fixed "formula" prayer, such as the Pater Noster, Ave Maria, Gloria Patri, or any other prayer. What is important is that, whatever form the prayer may take, it be prayed with simplicity, devotion and sincere gratitude.
That's it, nothing complicated but something as easy as 1-2-3 (actually, 1-2-3-4). This is simple, but at the same time very effective. If we take these six minutes every day, we will truly be awake and alert, properly preparing the way of the Lord by letting ourselves be molded more and more into the people we have been made to be and the people we want to be.
A Happy and Blessed Advent to all of us!
Monsignor Zak

Thank You, Rita, We Will Miss You!

As you have already seen on the cover of this week's bulletin, after more than 23 years of faithful, dedicated and selfless service to our Incarnation family, Rita Guild, our Parish Coordinator, will be leaving us. I cannot begin to say what a TREMENDOUS gift she has been to the parish over these past 23 years, nor to me personally since I came to Incarnation four months ago.
In fact, it is her competence, her vast knowledge and experience of our parish, her calmness and openness, and - most important of all - her very genuine and deep faith that facilitated for me the transition to my new assignment here, making it so easy and trouble-free. Rita's attention to the many details of parish administration freed me to get to know people and procedures, to understand how things work here, and to feel at home right from the very beginning. I can never thank her adequately for the great gift that she has been to me nor to the rest of the parish! Rita's last day as Parish Coordinator will be this Friday, October 28, so we will have time still to bid her farewell and to thank her for her years of service to us. It is no exaggeration to say that Incarnation Parish would not be the vibrant, dynamic, faith-filled community that it is today without Rita's work and leadership.
While it is true that no one is indispensable, it is also true that some people are simply irreplaceable: Rita is one such person. And for this reason, on behalf of the parishioners, priests and staff of Incarnation Catholic Church in Glendale, California, I paraphrase the words of St. Paul, from the passage of his letter to the Thessalonians that we heard at Mass last week:
We give thanks to God always for you, remembering you in our prayers, unceasingly calling to mind your work of faith, your labor of love and your endurance in hope.
Rita, our love and prayers will be with you always. May the Lord continue to bless you and may you continue always to bear much good fruit in him!
Monsignor Zak

Incarnation Pastoral Council: Looking for a Few Good Men and Women


As I seek to fulfill my duties here at Incarnation Parish, one of the bodies I rely on most is the Pastoral Council. The Council meets once a month under my supervision and guidance, and is the primary consultative body from which I seek advice on matters affecting all aspects of parish life.
The structure of our Council calls for twelve parishioners to serve for a three-year term, renewable for one additional three-year term. At present, there are four vacancies on the Council and I would like to fill them before the end of October. The Pastoral Council should represent the entire parish community and therefore we are seeking members from all age groups, backgrounds and walks of life. The basic requirements for Council membership are the following:
  • members actively practice their faith;
  • they are involved in the community;
  • they strive to be fair and open-minded;
  • they are willing to offer their knowledge, wisdom and skills to help improve the life of the Parish;
  • they are available to attend the regular monthly Council meeting and to assist at various parish functions.
I have asked two current Pastoral Council members, Carlos Lazatin and Anne Marie Smith, to help with the process of coming up with names of potential candidates to serve on the Pastoral Council. Therefore, if you are interested in being nominated or in nominating someone else, or if you would like more information, please contact Carlos Lazatin at clazatin@omm.com or 818-502-0006, or Ann Marie Smith at droid0350@gmail.com or 818-242-7107. All names need to be submitted no later than Tuesday, October 11, 2011.
Thank you for your help with this process. Once the Council is at its full complement of twelve members, I look forward to introducing all of them to the parish at large. May the Lord continue to bless our Incarnation family that we may always bear much good fruit in him!

Our 2011 Financial Report

"Well done, good and faithful servant" (Mt. 25:21)
The parable of the talents (Mt. 25: 14-30) is a reminder that the Lord has entrusted to all of us a rich variety of blessings, gifts that are to be invested for his glory and for the good of others. Here at Incarnation Catholic Church, we are members of a community of believers who not only strive to recognize the blessings we receive each day, but who also seek to help others recognize the blessings that come into their lives as well. These blessings are recognized most fully when they are placed at the service of our own family of faith and at the service of the larger human family, all to the greater glory of God, It is he, after all, who showers them upon us in the first place, multiplying them according to the measure that we put them to use for others. As I present the annual financial report for " our parish, I wish to point out that the real importance of these numbers is to be found not in the figures themselves but in the commitment to responsibility and generosity that they represent. Given the trying economic times that we continue to face, this generosity is all the more a tribute for our response to the call to be good and faithful servants. Thank you for the support you give to our parish, and not simply the financial support, as necessary as this is, but also for the sharing of your personal gifts and skills, the sharing of your time and of your very self with our faith community. All of this is indeed what it means to be a good and faithful servant, and it is this that truly makes us the house of prayer that we are called to be.
May we continue always to be generous with what we have received and so inspire this same generosity in others. This is our assurance that one day we will hear those most blessed of words:
"Well done, good and faithful servant, come share your Master's joy!

New English Responses & Prayers at Mass

Did you know that the translation of the English responses and prayers we use at Mass is going to change?
The English translation of the Latin texts we have been using date back from the early 1970's, not long after the Second Vatican Council authorized the use of modern languages in the Church's liturgy. Once the Council granted this authorization, the Latin texts of the Mass began to be translated into the vernacular language of a given country. While this work was undertaken responsibly, there was also great pressure to finish the translations quickly so that they could start being used as soon as possible. Because of this, some of the translations did not always properly render the original Latin content of a given prayer or response. Consequently, although many parts of the resulting English translation were excellent, other parts were less satisfactory, proving in some instances not to be translations at all but paraphrases, sometimes even making additions to or omissions from the original text.
Additionally, up till now, different English-speaking regions of the world have been using different English translations rather than one standard English version. This will no longer be the case, for soon all English texts used at Mass, whether in Great Britain or the United States, whether in Australia or in Africa, will be the same.
This does mean some changes in what we, in the US, have been accustomed to for almost 40 years now. We do well to remember, though, that what we have been using these past 40 years was never intended to be a permanent translation, but something to get us started on the road to a proper English-language translation of the sacred liturgy.
The US Bishops have decided that the new English translation will replace the former translation beginning on the first Sunday of Advent in 2011, that is, on November 27. Other Bishops in different parts of the world have different time-tables for the implementation of the new English texts. But in 2012, every Mass celebrated in the English language in any region of the globe will be using the exact same English texts.
Here at Incarnation Church, we will be talking more about the new Mass texts in the upcoming months, both in the bulletin and from the pulpit. The changes in the people's responses are not that many, but enough that we will have to pay attention to what we are saying as we respond at Mass. And again, it is good to bear in mind that the Mass texts have not changed, that is, the Latin has always been the same. What is new is the translation that we will be using. You might say that it is a "new and improved" translation, certainly one more accurately rendering the Latin texts that remain the official basis of the Church's liturgy throughout the world.
Msgr. Zak

Greetings Incarnation Parishioners

June 27, 2011
Greetings to all the parishioners and staff of Incarnation Parish! As I prepare to join you in July, I thought it would be good for me to introduce myself and share with you a little bit about the man who will soon be your new pastoral leader.
I am very much a "local boy": I grew up in the San Fernando Valley and am a CSUN graduate. Before entering St. John's Seminary in Camarillo, I worked with the L.A. Unified School District. My ordination took place in 1988 and I was assigned to St. Gregory the Great Parish in Whittier as Associate Pastor. In 1990 I received a new assignment: I was sent to Rome where I began preparation for service in the Vatican Diplomatic Corps;at that same time I also earned a Doctorate in Canon Law from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas. After the completion of my studies, I was appointed an official of the Vatican Secretariat of State and remained in Rome through the end of the pontificate of Pope John Paul II. Upon my return to Los Angeles in 2005, I was appointed Promoter of Justice for the Archdiocese and worked at the downtown offices. In 2008, I was named Administrator pro tempore of St. Mel Parish in Woodland Hills, after which assignment I was granted leave to return to Rome, where I remained through the end of 2009. In 2010, I was assigned to St. John Fisher Parish in Rancho Palos Verdes as Associate Pastor and now, in 2011, I have been named Administrator of Incarnation Parish in Glendale.
This, then, is a brief introduction to the man who will shepherd this faith community. Know that I am very excited about taking up my duties among you and am most eager to meet all of you. It is with great anticipation that I look forward to settling into my new home in Glendale, where I hope to remain for many years to come.May the grace and peace of the Risen Savior be with you nd your families always! -- Msgr. Steven B. Zak