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 December 14, 2025
Dear brother and sisters,
You might be surprised when you heard the question of John the Baptist in today’s gospel. You should not forget that John had been a monk all his life, living in the desert, dressing in skins, eating insects, drinking dirty swamp water. John was accustomed to being far from the world, praying day and night. I think that John expected something to change drastically with the arrival of the Messiah. He expected Jesus stress prayer, going to the temple and the synagogue, charismatic alleluias, rosary crusades, the public singing of psalms, and thing like that.
I assume that when John read Isaiah (the 1st reading of today), he hoped that after the Messiah came, all people from all nations would go up to the temple in enormous, colorful processions. But John might have overlooked where Isaiah said that this world would start to change under God’s influence through the efforts of the faithful.
Jesus listened to John’s messengers and told them: “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.” The wilderness is changing, the wasteland is blooming, and the glory of God is on its way.
The disciples went back to tell John the message. I hope John understands, and I hope we also understand, too. Because I am afraid that we sometimes are too much like John. As Christians, we are willing to pray, we are willing to go to church, to say rosary after rosary, to be faithful to all kinds of spiritual exercises, build church all over, plant statues on hilltops, and so on.
Is that one of the reasons that people around us who are waiting for a change in this world are giving up hope in us? Are they saying to one another what John, for another reason, said of Jesus: “Are they really the ones, or have we got to wait for others?”
Church may be full, but is there justice in the world? Even very dull spiritual exercises are faithfully kept to, but do our life decisions make blind see, the lame walk, the dead rise? Are we good news among the poor of this world? Are you?
親愛なる兄弟姉妹の皆様、
今日の福音書で洗礼者ヨハネの質問を聞いたとき、あなたは驚くかもしれません。ヨハネは生涯ずっと修道士であり、砂漠で生活し、皮を着て、昆虫を食べ、汚れた沼の水を飲んでいたことを忘れてはなりません。ヨハネは昼と夜を祈って、世界から遠く離れていることに慣れていました。ヨハネはメシアの到来とともに何かが劇的に変わると期待していたと思います。彼は、イエスが神殿とシナゴーグに行く祈り、カリスマ的なアレルヤ、ロザリオの十字軍、公共の所で詩編的な祈りを歌唱などを強調することを期待しているはずです。
ヨハネがイザヤ（今日の第一朗読）を読んだとき、彼はメシアが来た後、各国のすべての人々が巨大でカラフルな行列で神殿に行くことを望んだと思います。しかし、ヨハネはイザヤがこの世界が忠実な者の努力を通して神の影響下で変化し始めると言ったことを見落としたかもしれません。
イエスはヨハネの使者に耳を傾け、彼らにこう言われた。「行って、あなたが聞いて見ていることをヨハネに伝えてください。目の見えない人は見え、足の不自由な人は歩き、重い皮膚病を患っている人は清くなり、耳の聞こえない人は聞こえ、死者は生き返り、貧しい人は福音を告げ知らされている。わたしにつまずかない人は幸いである。」荒野が変わり、荒れ地が咲き、神の栄光が近づいています。
弟子たちは戻ってヨハネにメッセージを伝えました。ヨハネが理解したことを願っていますし、私たちも理解したいです。私は、私たちは時々ヨハネに似すぎていることを恐れているのでます。クリスチャンとして、私たちは喜んで祈り、教会に行き、ロザリオの後にロザリオを言い、あらゆる種類の精神的な霊操に忠実になり、教会を作り上げ、丘の頂上に彫像を植えます。
それが、この世界の変化を待っている我々の周りの人々が私たちに希望をあきらめている理由の一つですか？彼らは、ヨハネが別の理由でイエスについて言ったことを互いに言っていますか？。「来るべき方は、あなたでしょうか。それとも、ほかの方を待たなければなりませんか。」
教会は満員かもしれませんが、世界には正義がありますか？非常に退屈な精神的運動でさえ忠実に守られていますが、私たちの人生の決定は盲目的に見えますか、足の不自由な歩行、死者の台頭ですか？私たちはこの世界の貧しい人々の間で良い知らせですか？あなたは？
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/
HOLY DAY OF OBLIGATION:
THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY.
Monday, December 8, 2025, Mass: 12:05 p.m.
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. .