St Francis Xavier Chapel "Maryknoll" Japanese Catholic Center, 222 S. Hewitt Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Formerly known as "Maryknoll"
Mission Statement
We of Saint Francis Xavier Chapel, as members of the Body of Christ, are called to announce in word and in deed the Good News of the Lord Jesus, through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.
We recognize our community's call to holiness based on mutuality, reciprocity, and interdependence and its ministry focusing on Japanese Catholics while also welcoming all in our greater community.
Fr. Doan Hoang's Message for November 30, 2025
Dear brothers and sisters,
You can celebrate Christmas as something that happened in the past. You eat and you drink – in a bar, a restaurant and even at home – as much as you can, and even bit more, to commemorate that string of events that took place so long ago, once and for all with Mary, Joseph, the birth of their Son in Bethlehem, some wise men came from the east, Anna and Simon in the temple of Jerusalem.
You can also celebrate Christmas as something that happens in the present, meditating upon graces given to you: heaven is opened again, new life is given, a savior is born, hope is regained. Alleluia, joy to the world.
Others celebrate Christmas by not celebrating it at all. They say because nothing in the world ever changed: no new life, no salvation, nothing at all. They are – apparently – without hope, without expectation, without anything. They are the ones looking for an alternative, for a new beginning.
They seem to be the ones most in line with the expectations expressed in the three readings for today: the alternatives offered by Isaiah, Paul, and by Jesus himself.
Isaiah says: “"Come, let us climb the LORD's mountain, to the house of the God that he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths." Paul writes: “You know the time; it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep. Let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in promiscuity and lust, not in rivalry and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh. Jesus says: “You must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come."
Those three appeals do not ask us to sit down and eat and drink, to celebrate the past or merely the present. We are urged to celebrate Christmas in a way that is directed to the future, toward a change in our lives, toward a change in the world. We are told to walk to the mountain of the Lord, to grow in goodness and community, to live in peace forever.
When we celebrate Christmas like that, we will be joined by all men and women of goodwill, a pilgrim people who are on the move, in the view of what Jesus came for, and in the view of what angles sang about at his birth, ““Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men.”
親愛なる兄弟姉妹の皆様、
過去に起こったこととしてクリスマスを祝うことができます。あなたがたは、バーで、レストランで、さらには自宅で、できるだけ食べたり、飲んだりしています。そして、ずっと前に起こった一連の出来事を、マリア、ヨセフと共に、ベツレヘムでの彼らの御子の誕生、東から来た賢人たち、またエルサレム神殿でのアンナとシモンとの関連的な出来事を思い出して祝います。
また、あなたがたに与えられた恵みを黙想して、現在での祝福されたいろんなこと、必ず天が再び開かれ、新しい命が与えられ、救い主が生まれ、希望が取り戻されます。アレルヤ、世界への喜びでクリスマスを祝うこともできます。
他の人たちはクリスマスをまったく祝わないことでなっています。彼らが言うのは、世界の何も変わっていないからです。新しい命も、救いも、何もありません。彼らは、どうやら、希望もなく、期待もなく、何もありません。彼らは、新しい時代の始まりのために、代替手段を探しています。
彼らは、今日の三つの朗読で表現された期待に最も沿ったものであるようです：イザヤ、パウロ、そしてイエス自身によって提供された選択肢。
イザヤは言った：「さあ、主の山に登って、神の家に行きましょう。そうすれば、主は私たちに御旨を教えられ、その道を歩むことができます」。パオロは次のように書いています。「あなたがたが眠りから覚めるのは今です。乱交や酔っぱらいではなく、欲望ではなく、競争や妬みではなく、その日のように適切に行動しましょう。しかし、主イエス・キリストを身に着け、肉の欲望に備えてはならない。」とイエスはこう言われます。「あなたがたは、自分たちの予期しない時、人の子が来るように、用意して生きましょう。」
これらの三つの訴えることは、私たちに座って食べたり飲んだり、過去または単に現在を祝うように頼むものではありません。私たちは、生活の変化、世界の変化に向けて、未来に向けられた方法でクリスマスを祝うように促されています。私たちは、主の山に歩いて行き、善良さと共同体で成長し、永遠に平和に暮らすように言われています。
そのようなクリスマスを祝うとき、私たちは、巡礼者たちとして、イエスが来た目的のために、そして御誕生の時にどのような角度で歌ったかという観点から、善意のすべての人々に加わります、「最高の神への栄光、そして地上の平和、人に対する善意」！
in-church masses Schedule
Sunday: 8:30 a.m. Japanese Mass
10:00 a.m. English Mass
Saturday: 5:00 p.m. English Vigil Mass
Weekday Masses for Thanksgiving Week.:
Tuesday, Nov. 25th and Wednesday, Nove 26: 12:05 p.m. Mass
Thursday, Nov.27th, Thanksgiving Day: 9:00 a.m. Mass
No Mass on Monday and Friday this week.
PLEASE NOTE THE NEW DAYS FOR WEEKDAY MASSES
Weekday Masses are on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 12:05 p.m.
Weekday Masses are subject to change due to funerals or illness.
First Saturday Devotion: 9:00 a.m., Mass followed by Rosary and Divine Mercy. Confessions are available after the Mass.
Donations
Thank you for your continued support! We are grateful to all who donate to SFXCJCC. We are open for weekend and weekday Masses. And are slowly opening our facility to our ministries and groups.
We are still in need of your financial help! Would you please continue making your Sunday Collection contributions or donating to St Francis Xavier Chapel?
You can mail checks to the office:
SFXCJCC
222 S Hewitt Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
To donate by credit card, click the button below.
Get Involved
Are you passionate about what we're doing? Let us know! We are always looking for volunteers to help us make our vision a reality. We'll help you find a way to volunteer that best suits you. We're excited to have you join the team!
Thank you!
Whether you help through monetary donations, volunteering your time, or spreading our mission through word-of-mouth, thank you. We couldn't accomplish our goals without the help of supporters like you. .