You might remember that in 2014, I completed my twelve year term as Pastor of St. Paschal’s and began a one year sabbatical from the Archdiocese to write two practical “How-to” manuals for parish priests. The first is on parish leadership and the second is how to set up an effective adult education program like the University Series.
I started the University Series in this area in 2002 and it has grown from two parishes to now eleven, with three more slated to join next year. In the last several years it has attracted over 11,000 attendees representing around 3,000 individual people attending multiple classes.
Archbishop Gomez is very interested in making the University Series a reality across the Archdiocese, and even across the country. He recognizes the great need for quality and authentic Catholic adult education today. He has asked me to make this educational program happen across our Archdiocese. That is a big task! I know that not every pastor sees this need yet.
Therefore, during this next year, I will be assigned to live for one year in residence at St. Rose of Lima parish in Simi Valley beginning on July 1st. From there, I will visit pastors and parishes around the Archdiocese for the purpose of establishing University style regional programs.
Of course, I will also assist in parish activities at St. Rose of Lima as much as I can, with confessions and weekday and Sunday masses, etc. The pastor there, Fr. Joe Shea, is my classmate from our ordination year of 1978 and a good friend, and a longtime supporter of the University Series.
At the end of this next year, I will be reassigned again as normal to wherever the Archbishop deems best for the needs of the Archdiocese.
I am profoundly grateful for the opportunity to help other areas in our Archdiocese develop practical and useful Catholic adult educational programs.
(The rest of this article is a simply a review of events in my sabbatical year)
The first manual I have written is a guidebook for new pastors and anyone in parish leadership. It is based on the Gospel verses beginning at Luke: 10, where Jesus Himself trains His disciples to be leaders. The book also includes the insights from my 37 years as a parish priest, my twelve years as a pastor at St. Paschal’s, as well as the insights from my Master’s degree in Marriage, Family, and Child Counseling from USC in 1991. Unfortunately, too many priests arrive in parishes as pastors with little or no specific training on how to lead or manage their parish. Their early inadvertent mistakes often lead to much unhappiness for parishioners and even these pastors as well. I hope my book will help change this.
During my Sabbatical year I was also granted a Visiting Research Fellowship at Notre Dame University. During that time I was able to meet and consult with leading figures in Catholic education to help with these important projects. It also included a special inter-religious conference held at the Vatican with Pope Francis on the topic of Marriage and the Family.
In March of this year, I was also honored to celebrate the funeral Mass for Fr. Joe Scerbo S.A., a much beloved Franciscan priest who was so inspirational to all of us at St. Paschal’s parish. We continue to miss his unbounded enthusiasm and joyful manner. I know he will be with Pope Francis in spirit when Padre Serra is made a saint during the Pope’s visit to Washington D.C. in September.
Recently, the University Series became incorporated as an official State of California Foundation, as well as a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation. As always, all proceeds of the University Series Foundation go toward future Catholic adult education programs. I will continue to help guide the University Series this coming year.
I will, of course, continue these weekly Gospel reflections and other timely special updates that connect our faith with real life. I very much enjoy discovering the many ways that our faith provides for a happier life!
God Bless!
Fr. Dave
That is awesome Fr Dave. You have done a superb job with the university (as everything you do ). Congratulations. I look forward ri seingw you at St Rose. God Bless…. Rodger
See you there!
Wow, this is great news. We had hoped in our hearts that you would continue to be involved with the University series and stay in the area as much as possible. God Bless, Joe & Pilar
I am glad everything worked out well!
Great. My children attended that school and worked sooooo many bingos there and supported the parish. I am so close and will stop by . So glad you are working on two important areas. Thanks
See you there sometime. I am looking forward to going there.
Good for Archbishop Gomez for recognizing the tremendous gift you have been for the Archdiocese in creating a program as powerful as University!
Our prayers are with you as you begin this wonderfully challenging endeavor!
Oh, and it will be great to have you back in the neighborhood!
Bob and Rose Mary
I am very glad that things worked out well. I think we will have a great University Series this next year, and hopefully, in other places as well.
How wonderful, Fr. Dave, that the Bishop LISTENED to your request to stay in the area and also to be with Fr. Joe Shea. That is a Dynamic Duo. to be sure, and it will reinvigorate you
both going forward ——– AND, we get to keep you amongst us all. HOW GOOD IS THAT!!!
God Bless Your Work!!
John
I am glad we have good news for the University Series here, and possibly several other places as well!
Father Dave, This is such fantastic news!!! To be with Father Joe, a wonderful friend,and minister in his lovely parish is a special gift given by our precious God to you!! God loves you!!!! The University is similar to the miracle of the loaves and fishes!! Jesus is multiplying the University through you for we need to be fed on Jesus’ glorious words of love!!! We love the University and we love sharing with everyone in our our classes, our Mary’s Miracle Apparitions of Love!!! It is amazing work you are doing and all parishes will be blessed by your dream of the university being established in all parishes!!!We are so happy you are close and by and we hope to see you more often!!! A most beautiful blessing of love to you!!!
Love, Franca and Dick
Thank you!
Fr. Dave
Am so happy for all of us that you will be in our area, able to continue the University Series , & hopefully continue our Bible studies. God is good & we will hold you in our prayers for fortuitous future assignment
God bless,
Kathy
I am glad that everything continues!
Father Dave…This is great news! Finally The University will have the full recognition it deserves across California and The United States. It is the best spiritual program that I have ever participated in and attended. It is a blessing. I am so happy for you and St. Rose is lucky to have you. (Plus it is near my horse and convenient to attend)
I am glad that the program that you helped develop so well will continue and even increase. I look forward to seeing your horse at mass!
.This is such wonderful news Father Dave ! You are certainly the best choice for this special assignment! I look so forward to the University classes each year that I’ve often wished we could have a few classes year-round. It is such a great way to deepen our faith and introduce it to our friends of other faiths.
Thank you for your beautiful sermon at Fr. Joe’s funeral and for giving us the opportunity of having him at our parish. Having both of you there together was such a special for blessing for St. Pascal’s. I am happy to hear you will be close by and we will able hear some your homilies again.
God Bless You,
Shelley Petrelli
Thank you for your very kind words. We still miss Fr. Joe very much. We will “always go forward” which was his motto and the motto of Padre Serra.
Congratulations! We are so excited for you for this great assignment of expanding the university series. You are the person for that job! God bless you and we’ll see you around town! Our love and prayers. Ed and Barbara
YEs, see you around town!
SPLENDID NEWS, Father Dave!. How blessed we will continue to be in St.Rose with your added ministry. And Father Joe, your very good friend, will benefit greatly from your added presence in St. Rose., for he is a tireless worker ‘in the vineyard of the Lord’, and he will be tremendously grateful, as we are, that you will be there for a year. Indeed it is a lovely gift from God for both of you. And for the community.. Deo Gratias, Madeleine
Yes, I am very happy to be with my classmate, and good friend, Fr. Joe. He is a great priest, and certainly one of the hardest working priests ever.
What wonderful news!! I have told so many of my valley friends about the University Series, and soon they won’t have to travel all the way to Ventura County to be enlightened. So glad you will be in Simi Valley where we can visit you occasionally.
See you soon!
Hi Father Dave:
This is exciting news for you & St. Rose of Lima Parish. God sure works miracles in marvelous way & I know this is a blessing for the archdiocese of Los Angeles & St. Rose church. God bless you and have a wonderful week.
Thank you. I am glad that everything worked out well.
Congratulations, Fr. Dave on so many levels, spiritually, intellectually and on an everyday human level. God knows we still need you and your God-given gifts to teach us, help us, and grow us as Catholic Christians. Thank you, to Archbishop Gomez for listening to the Holy Spirit and keeping you among us. God bless you and protect you always!
Yolanda
Wonderful news on both fronts. Even though I am a member of St. P’s, I hope to attend some of the St. Rose Masses that you will be celebrating. I live right down the street!! I have already checked out their website, but they don’t seem to list a Priest/Celebrant Schedule, like St. P’s does. I hope they/you will post your Mass schedule, for those of us who would enjoy hearing your homilies, once again. Congratulations to you and the University.
Congratulations, Fr Dave! Great news for you and The University!
On a purely selfish level, I haven’t been this pleased to hear news like this in a very long time!
On a broader level, a hearty congratulations that the Bishop recognizes the value of the program you initiated and propagated along with your competent and hard-working staff. To be even a miniscule cog in this wheel is very gratifying, Fr Dave.
Thank you for sharing this great news with us! God bless you.
Bam! Prayer and discernment are amazing tools Fr Dave. We are once again blessed to have you in the area. You are a treasure!
God bless you-
This is so exciting. It is definitely your calling in life. At St. Paschals you were the answer to many prayers as you built, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit (of course), something that has been needed in the Church. When I came back to the Catholic Church I did a lot of studying with the help of Fr. Jeff. I could also see that there is a real need to understand our faith better. I have been listening to the Lighthouse CD’s and they have been very informative. I always knew that the University series should go all over the world. I will continue to pray for the Lords guidance directing your steps.
Also, this weekly studying the readings every week have also been a real blessing. I hope more will get involved. It has been very encouraging to read the scriptures before Mass and then listen to the Homily which adds to what the Lord has spoken to my heart and hear how He has spoken through the Priest.
Will be excited to see you at St. Rose. All the Priests there are really great and you will make a great addition.
Fr. Dave that is wonderful news. We are truly blessed to have the University Program each Lent.
Father Dave it is a blessing for “we the people, your followers” and many others that will be your followers also,
to have you only a few miles from St Paschal Baylon Church. We know that The Holy Spirit is always guiding you in your ministry and the University series will continue to expand under your guidance.
Excellent news! I on the success of the university series, and best wishes as you go forward. It has been a great blessing to my family. I have attended your biblical archeology class and loved it.
Will your books be available for purchase or only distributed to pastors?
We give thanks to our Good God for you, The University Series and the plans for expansion to the entire Archdioceses. May we all include in our daily prayers the success of this important work,
Father Dave!!
St Rose of Lima is centrally located and the church is beautiful. It is very tranquil and reminiscent of the older churches.. I think you will be very happy there. You are a very positive influence on people and I am glad you can continue to spread your message in Ventura County. We look forward to attending your masses!!
Fr. Dave,
Finally, you, and we, know where you’ll be and what you’ll be doing!! And, isn’t it wonderful! God has that special way of placing people where they’re most needed. We hope you’ll have many good people helping you in this “big task” of introducing the University to other parishes. Our best wishes and prayers, Fr. Dave. If we can help in any way, please let us know.
St. Rose of Lima is a great parish, and they and you are blessed with this new assignment.
Yes, our Fr. Joe Scerbo was so loved. We were recently in Laguna Niguel to celebrate our 50th Wedding Anniversary, and while attending Mass at St. Timothy’s we were surprised to read in their bulletin that you’d be celebrating a Memorial Mass for him, and even showed a picture of him laughing; it seems he was known far and wide. (Even my cousin in Canada knew him years ago and corresponded with him.). We know why he was so loved! And we miss him…….
God bless,
Peter and Joan Jedrzejek
Thanks for your comments. I think everything turned out well!
Dear Father Dave:
This is wonderful news for all of us that have been with you and always loved the inspiration, kindness, knowledge and your wonderful homilies and friendship.
I will look forward to seeing you and Father Joe at St. Rose. God bless Bishop Gomez for giving you this opportunity to move forward on the University. You have done so much for all the people you have come in contact with. I truly loved being your sacristan, you are the best!
God Bless you always
Verna
Thank you!
OUTSTANDING news Fr Dave. You, Fr joe and Fr Jim all together. Fun! Your new books sound so useful. And that is exciting news about your baby The University Series. All around congratulations. God bless your new assignment.
Thank you!
Hi, Fr. Dave, that is the best news and we’re so excited that you will be in the neighborhood!. We are all so happy for you and look forward to seeing you and to listening to your homilies. St. Rose is truly blessed – they have Fr. Joe and Fr. Jim Maher and now you. What a team and who better to help you with the University but Fr. Joe who has been a staunch supporter for a long time. If we can be of help in any way, please give us a holler.
Take care and God bless. We loom forward to seeing you at St. Rose.
Gene, Cecille and Cheryl Zagala
thank you!
What great news about your new assignment and the fact that you will be at St. Rose. I know the church well. It has great confession times available plus Eucharistic adoration. The parish is lucky to have you in residence. We’re happy also because you will be nearby.
Hopefully, all parishes in the diocese will get on board with lively adult education opportunities that the University Series offered.
God bless you Fr. Dave. You’re one of His gems!
Georgette Bremer
Thank you!
To me, you and the late Father Joe Scerbo were the perfect tandem, like the Batman and Robin of the clergy.. You both have amazing ways of making the Gospel interesting and relevant to our lives. You would explain its relevance to current issues, while Father Joe would use it to remind us of God’s love for us. My wife and I used to drive 17 miles one-way just to hear mass from you both.
We were so sad when you left St. Paschal and when Father Joe started getting sick. After hearing a very very liberal homily in that parish, we stopped going. Luckily we found St Rose of Lima. when we moved to Simi Valley. Father Joe Shea, and Father Bill are like you and Father Joe Scerbo. They are modern, but they make it clear to us what the church’s stand is on current moral issues, and why it is right in making these stands..
Anyway, my wife and I are so lucky that you would be at St. Rose too. It’s an answered prayer. I hope your permanent assignment would be near Simi Valley as well.. God bless on your new assignment Father Dave!.
See you soon at St. Rose!
Our prayers were answered. God works in strange ways. Congratulations, Fr. Dave. St. Rose is not that far from SPB. What a gift to the Archdiocese to have the benefit of your talent.. See you soon..
Sincerely,
Lee & Helen Taft
Yes, I think everything worked out well!
How awesome that an idea you had for such classes has now blossomed to extend throughout the diocese. Those who have attended feel like part of its development with ALL the evaluations we’ve completed!!
We are so glad you will be giving homilies again and near enough for us to attend occasionally.
God’s blessings on your upcoming Holy Land visit.
Linda and Michael
See you soon at St. Rose!
Good luck Fr. Dave, wish you further success in the future (Monsignor)…
Thank you!
Right now I welcome you and your pilgrims back home safely – You are the best for doing this trip every year to have us walk where Jesus walked and so much more. Your knowledge of this era is unbelievable, and with you as a guide along with Deco you make the trip of a lifetime come into a wonderful and beautiful experience.
Welcome Home and don’t count me out for next year.
God Bless
Verna
I hope you can join us next year!