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 Feb 15, 2026
Dear brothers and sisters,
We notice a potentially fruitful tension between the Gospel and the first reading from Sirach. While Jesus makes the commandments even more demanding, Sirach claims that we can keep the commandments if only we really want to. Both readings are very direct and there’s no missing the message.
One approach to today’s Scriptures would be to take them as pointers and ideals for Christian morality. Jesus forbids not merely murder, as the most extreme form of disregard for another person, but also lesser forms of injuring others. What unites the three faults he lists (losing one’s temper, using insulting names and of refusing to forgive) is that in each case another person’s feelings are trampled underfoot. The importance of forgiveness is shown by the fact that it comes before strictly religious duties, and presumably the same priority is assigned to the other two matters. So, the point Jesus makes is that one must respect not simply people’s right to life but also their right to dignity and self-respect.
Then he speaks about sexual purity, but broadening it out to purity of intention in general. A mere legal observance is utterly insufficient for Jesus. The words about self-mutilation have never been understood literally by the Church and are best understood as a parable to express vividly the disastrous effects of sin. The correction he makes of the Old Law disallows an abuse which Moses tolerated, namely remarriage after divorce. The exceptive clause (“except on the ground of unchastity”) has long been debated, but its main interpretation in the Catholic Church is that it refers to a previous marriage that was prohibited by Jewish laws. The only divorce permitted is one where there was no real marriage, and Jesus was simply reaffirming the sanctity of the marriage bond, as in Genesis “the two shall become one flesh” — a loving, interdependent unity.
The prohibition of oaths has not been taken as literally by the Catholic Church as it has by some other Christians. Jesus held that oaths should not be necessary at all, if there is a general a atmosphere of trust and truth-telling. In such a society reinforcement by oaths would not be needed. This it is an atmosphere of openness and mutual confidence which Jesus promoted. What he teaches by his corrections of the Law is a morality of values held from the heart.
親愛なる兄弟姉妹の皆様、
福音書とシラ書からの第一朗読の間には、実りある緊張関係が潜んでいることに気づきます。イエスは戒めをさらに厳しく要求される一方で、シラは「心から望めば戒めを守れる」と主張します。どちらの朗読も非常に直接的で、そのメッセージは明白です。
今日の聖書箇所への一つのアプローチは、それらをキリスト教道徳の指針と理想として捉えることです。イエスは、他者への最も極端な軽視である殺人を禁じるだけでなく、他者を傷つけるより軽微な行為も禁じます。彼が列挙する三つの過ち（怒りを爆発させること、侮辱的な呼び名を使うこと、赦すことを拒むこと）に共通するのは、いずれの場合も他者の感情が踏みにじられる点です。赦しの重要性は、それが厳格な宗教的義務よりも先に挙げられている事実によって示されており、おそらく他の二つの事柄にも同様の優先順位が与えられている。つまり、イエスが主張する要点は、単に人々の生命の権利だけでなく、尊厳と自尊心の権利をも尊重しなければならないということである。
次に彼は性的純潔について語るが、その範囲を一般的な意図の純潔へと広げている。単なる律法の遵守は、イエスにとって全く不十分である。自己切断に関する言葉は、教会によって文字通り理解されたことは一度もなく、罪の破滅的な影響を鮮明に表現するたとえ話として理解するのが最も適切である。彼が旧約の律法に対して行った修正は、モーセが容認した離婚後の再婚という濫用を禁じている。例外条項（「姦淫の罪による場合を除く」）は長年議論されてきたが、カトリック教会における主な解釈は、ユダヤ法で禁じられていた以前の結婚を指すというものだ。唯一許される離婚は、真の結婚関係が存在しなかった場合のみであり、イエスは創世記の「二人は一体となる」という聖なる結婚の絆——愛に満ちた相互依存の統一——を単に再確認したに過ぎない。
誓いの禁止については、カトリック教会は他のキリスト教徒ほど文字通りには解釈していない。イエスは、信頼と真実を語る雰囲気が広く浸透していれば、誓いは全く必要ないと考えていた。そのような社会では、誓いによる補強は不要である。イエスが推進したのは、この開かれた相互信頼の雰囲気である。律法の修正を通じて彼が教えるのは、心から抱く価値観の道徳観である。
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/
Ash Wednesday Day Mass with Ashes, Wednesday, February 18, 2026, Mass will be at 12:05 pm
Fr Doan Hoang will be away from Monday, Feb. 16, 2026, and will be returning on Feb. 28, 2026. .
Weekday Masses are canceled while he's on vacation and resume on Monday, March 2, 2026
March
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. .