“A Jubilee of Hope”
24th Sunday C,
Exaltation of the Cross,
75th Anniversary of BVM Church, Pasadena California,
14 September 2025
My friends,
It is just short of fifty years since I first entered this house of God and experienced its spiritual warmth and welcome. There are many individual pieces of liturgical art that are beautiful in their own right but when experienced as a whole they are immeasurably greater than the some of its parts. From the outset one’s experience of the entrance by way of the baptismal font is exquisitely rich in design and decoration. It and the prominence of the cross over the sanctuary symbolically represents all that comes together at the altar of sacrifice and communion.
I, Bishop Bill, and my brother Tom are nephews of Monsignor Timothy Crean, the founding pastor in 1950. After our respective ordination to the priesthood in 1971 and 1976, we visited here with our uncle whose original home in Ireland was ours too. He was born in 1909 and died in 1999. For those senior parishioners who knew him he was a quiet, reserved but determined, a holy and humble man. As a visitor to our home, he was loved and revered. He loved being with people and they loved him. It was these qualities that enabled him and the first parishioners at Assumption to become a synodal community of faith before we began to use the word with its qualities of communion, participation and mission under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Their beginning in 1950 and the naming of the Parish in honour of the Assumption of the B.V.M. was an expression of hope to walk in the newness of life in Christ in a time of great despair due to the horrors of World War II.
My friends, it is good for us in a new generation to be here to celebrate and give thanks to God for the faith, generosity and engagement by individuals and families to make this faith community what it is today – a place of welcome, a source of hope in this Jubilee Year, a network of belonging and centre for inspiration for a new generation.
Msgr. Timothy was succeeded by Msgr. Moretti, who in turn was succeeded by Fr. Gerard O’Brien, each of whom with others, built on, and adjusted to shifting circumstances what Msgr. Tim began.
You are now blessed with an energetic and joy filled ministry of Fr. Michael Ume. The celebration surrounding these days of remembrance and celebration despite the trauma of the fire that claimed so many homes, is a powerful witness to hope and solidarity in the face of adversity.
That we gather in the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, is timely and apt. The Cross, now an emblem of Christian faith represents the horror and pain of human suffering. It is the paradox at the heart of our faith - that which is a scandal and nonsense to the unbeliever, is for us the power and wisdom of God. This is the grace and blessing of our faith. It is beyond the capacity of our minds and only fully grasped by way of heart.
Today is a wonderful day for the Assumption parish. It is joyful for us as members of the Crean family (representing a clan of families in Ireland) to participate with you in celebration and thanksgiving for the seeds sown by him and his then parishioners and witness their continued growth all these years later.
The text from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans on the right-hand baptismal window reads,
“As Christ has arisen from the dead
Through the glory of the Father
So may we also walk in newness of life.”
Moladh go deo le Dia
Blessed be God forever
