More than you wanted to know about our pastor, Fr. Patrick Mullen:
Fr. Patrick was born and grew up in Glendale, the third of nine children in the home of Joseph and Frances Mullen. He had two older sisters, Mary and Kathy, and was followed by Michael, Norah, Elizabeth, Ted, Margaret and Christopher – truly an Irish American household.
The family attended Holy Family Parish, in Glendale, where he was baptized, made his first Reconciliation, Holy Communion and Confirmation, and celebrated his first Mass. He attended the parish grade school from first to eighth grade, where he was taught by the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVMs), to whom he is forever grateful. He next attended two years at Pater Noster High School, in Los Angeles, with the Brothers of St. Patrick, who are lovely men.
At the age of 16, he started his ten years of seminary life at Queen of Angels Minor Seminary, in San Fernando (now Bishop Alemany High School). He had sung in the children’s choir at his home parish, but it was at the minor seminary that he participated in and directed a choir that sang pieces with complicated rhythms and harmonies. It was a strong beginning to a life filled with music. He lived, Monday through Friday at the seminary, in big dorms with nineteen other youth during those two years, which he remembers fondly.
He came to Camarillo for the first time in 1977 to study for his BA in Liberal Arts (1981), and then his M.Div. (1985) at St. John’s Seminary. He remembers with great fondness the priests who taught there, including some who worked in local parishes: Fathers Charlie Miller, Newman Eberhardt, Roy Persich and Mike Roebert.
He was ordained to the priesthood on June 15, 1985, by Cardinal Timothy Manning at the old cathedral, St. Vibiana’s in downtown Los Angeles. He said his first Mass at Holy Family in Glendale. His chalice was a gift from his grandmother, Mary Coniglio-Kavanaugh.
His first parish assignment was at St. Margaret Mary’s in Lomita, CA, where he had the wonderful example of Fr. Joe Sartoris (now Bishop Sartoris) to inspire him. The parish was warm and friendly, noted for its wonderful music groups, beautiful liturgies, and vibrant parish life. It was a wonderful place to start ministry.
As was the custom at the time, after four years, he moved to St. John Vianney’s in Hacienda Heights. It was there he first encountered a young, talented choir director, Dominic MacAller. The pastor, Msgr. James O’Callaghan, was hardworking, fiery and determined – a great priest but very different from Fr. Sartoris.
In his seventh year of ministry, Cardinal Mahony asked him to pursue doctoral studies in Sacred Scripture, to teach at St. John’s Seminary in the graduate program. He spent seven intense and wonderful years diving into biblical languages and the Bible, particularly the New Testament, at the Graduate School of Theology (GTU) in Berkeley. His particular study applied cultural anthropology to the layered use of Jewish purity codes in the New Testament. He received his Licentiate (a master’s degree on steroids) in Sacred Theology in 1998 from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley (now the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University). A year later, in 1999, he defended his dissertation and was awarded his Ph.D. in Biblical Studies, New Testament (GTU).
In the fall of that same year, 1999, he returned to St. John’s Seminary, Camarillo, and began teaching New Testament courses in the M.Div. and Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry programs. He continued teaching there full time for sixteen years. During that time, Fr. Patrick also worked in continuing education for priests, lecturing on Scripture and preaching for the priests of the dioceses of Los Angeles, San Diego, San Bernardino, San Francisco, Oakland, Santa Rosa, Sacramento, Phoenix, Utah, Boise, Reno, Texas, New Jersey and Detroit.
He also has been a yearly presenter at the nation’s largest annual catechetical gathering, the Los Angeles Religious Education Conference, and has lectured for the Little Rock Bible Study Summer Workshop, the Bible Institute for Everyday Living in Brisbane Australia, the Texas Catholic Conference, as well as regional conferences in San Diego, Las Vegas, Reno, Boise and Fresno. During the past 20 years, he has given well over 300 workshops and lectures.
During those years, he authored 54 works, including journal articles, reviews, pastoral preaching aids, updates, a CD series, Dealing with Difficult Scripture Passages (Now You Know Media, 2010), and two books, Dining with Pharisees (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, October 2004), and a high school textbook, Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s Word (Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press 2013).
In 2010, while still teaching full-time at St. John’s Seminary, Fr. Patrick came to Padre Serra Parish as administrator pro tem (2010), administrator (2011), and finally as pastor (2012).
During these years, with the support of an amazing pastoral team and the financial and emotional assistance of the parishioners of Padre Serra, the parish has founded a wonderful adult faith formation team to provide continuing education for adults, restored youth ministry to a full-time position and built on the already wonderful parish liturgies that are joyful and prayerful. The parish added Stay and Play for toddlers during the Sunday morning liturgies. The staff now includes a full-time tech staff person to increase the parish’s online presence with twice-rebuilt webpages, and presence on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and Tumbler. More recently, the parish has provided live-streamed liturgies, initially to address the parishioners’ needs in the pandemic, but with the intent to continue online liturgies into the future.
The family attended Holy Family Parish, in Glendale, where he was baptized, made his first Reconciliation, Holy Communion and Confirmation, and celebrated his first Mass. He attended the parish grade school from first to eighth grade, where he was taught by the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVMs), to whom he is forever grateful. He next attended two years at Pater Noster High School, in Los Angeles, with the Brothers of St. Patrick, who are lovely men.
At the age of 16, he started his ten years of seminary life at Queen of Angels Minor Seminary, in San Fernando (now Bishop Alemany High School). He had sung in the children’s choir at his home parish, but it was at the minor seminary that he participated in and directed a choir that sang pieces with complicated rhythms and harmonies. It was a strong beginning to a life filled with music. He lived, Monday through Friday at the seminary, in big dorms with nineteen other youth during those two years, which he remembers fondly.
He came to Camarillo for the first time in 1977 to study for his BA in Liberal Arts (1981), and then his M.Div. (1985) at St. John’s Seminary. He remembers with great fondness the priests who taught there, including some who worked in local parishes: Fathers Charlie Miller, Newman Eberhardt, Roy Persich and Mike Roebert.
He was ordained to the priesthood on June 15, 1985, by Cardinal Timothy Manning at the old cathedral, St. Vibiana’s in downtown Los Angeles. He said his first Mass at Holy Family in Glendale. His chalice was a gift from his grandmother, Mary Coniglio-Kavanaugh.
His first parish assignment was at St. Margaret Mary’s in Lomita, CA, where he had the wonderful example of Fr. Joe Sartoris (now Bishop Sartoris) to inspire him. The parish was warm and friendly, noted for its wonderful music groups, beautiful liturgies, and vibrant parish life. It was a wonderful place to start ministry.
As was the custom at the time, after four years, he moved to St. John Vianney’s in Hacienda Heights. It was there he first encountered a young, talented choir director, Dominic MacAller. The pastor, Msgr. James O’Callaghan, was hardworking, fiery and determined – a great priest but very different from Fr. Sartoris.
In his seventh year of ministry, Cardinal Mahony asked him to pursue doctoral studies in Sacred Scripture, to teach at St. John’s Seminary in the graduate program. He spent seven intense and wonderful years diving into biblical languages and the Bible, particularly the New Testament, at the Graduate School of Theology (GTU) in Berkeley. His particular study applied cultural anthropology to the layered use of Jewish purity codes in the New Testament. He received his Licentiate (a master’s degree on steroids) in Sacred Theology in 1998 from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley (now the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University). A year later, in 1999, he defended his dissertation and was awarded his Ph.D. in Biblical Studies, New Testament (GTU).
In the fall of that same year, 1999, he returned to St. John’s Seminary, Camarillo, and began teaching New Testament courses in the M.Div. and Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry programs. He continued teaching there full time for sixteen years. During that time, Fr. Patrick also worked in continuing education for priests, lecturing on Scripture and preaching for the priests of the dioceses of Los Angeles, San Diego, San Bernardino, San Francisco, Oakland, Santa Rosa, Sacramento, Phoenix, Utah, Boise, Reno, Texas, New Jersey and Detroit.
He also has been a yearly presenter at the nation’s largest annual catechetical gathering, the Los Angeles Religious Education Conference, and has lectured for the Little Rock Bible Study Summer Workshop, the Bible Institute for Everyday Living in Brisbane Australia, the Texas Catholic Conference, as well as regional conferences in San Diego, Las Vegas, Reno, Boise and Fresno. During the past 20 years, he has given well over 300 workshops and lectures.
During those years, he authored 54 works, including journal articles, reviews, pastoral preaching aids, updates, a CD series, Dealing with Difficult Scripture Passages (Now You Know Media, 2010), and two books, Dining with Pharisees (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, October 2004), and a high school textbook, Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s Word (Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press 2013).
In 2010, while still teaching full-time at St. John’s Seminary, Fr. Patrick came to Padre Serra Parish as administrator pro tem (2010), administrator (2011), and finally as pastor (2012).
During these years, with the support of an amazing pastoral team and the financial and emotional assistance of the parishioners of Padre Serra, the parish has founded a wonderful adult faith formation team to provide continuing education for adults, restored youth ministry to a full-time position and built on the already wonderful parish liturgies that are joyful and prayerful. The parish added Stay and Play for toddlers during the Sunday morning liturgies. The staff now includes a full-time tech staff person to increase the parish’s online presence with twice-rebuilt webpages, and presence on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and Tumbler. More recently, the parish has provided live-streamed liturgies, initially to address the parishioners’ needs in the pandemic, but with the intent to continue online liturgies into the future.
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During these years, the parish has built a BBQ, purchased the Sacred Heart Statue in the prayer garden, commissioned the painting of Our Lady of the Chumash in the church, planted a beautiful Stations of the Cross garden, paved and vastly increased seating in the courtyard, and built a hospitality center in the bell tower. Less attention-getting, but still important, the parish made the front office more hospitable, fumigated and repainted the church, replaced air conditioning in the offices, upgraded the sound system in the church, replaced the ducts of the Serra Center, and refurbished the conference center in the San Fernando room. The parish added trees in the courtyard and on the lawn in the back, and replanted the front parking lot after the Shea development’s work. More recently, the parish has completely reformed the parish parking lot, with a new entrance off Arboleda Ave. and added 70 parking spaces in the back.
The current project, to build a youth center and a choir room is in full swing. In 2015, with the arrival of Fr. Szkredka, Ph.D., at the seminary, Fr. Patrick shifted from full time to adjunct status at St. John’s seminary, and finally, after 20½ years of teaching, retired from the seminary faculty at the end of the fall semester, 2019. In 2017, while on sabbatical, he journeyed from Hendaye, France, to Santiago de Compostela, a pilgrimage that still resonates in his mind and heart as he seeks to incorporate that intense spiritual experience into his life. |
Fr. Patrick Mullen
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You did what? With whom? How many times?
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Since he was a righteous man…
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Deep Dive into Matthew
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St. Matthew and the Angel • Guido Reni • Pinacoteca Vaticana
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Session 1Notes
1. Gospel of Matthew 2. Housekeeping – March 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th, April 6th – Break Easter Week – April 13th – Continue April 20th, 27th, May 4th, 11th – Pehaps June 15th, 22nd, 29th, etc.? – Bring a Bible
4. One Gospel or Four? 5. Matthew’s Sources: Mark 6. Matthew’s Alterations to Mark – Compressed wordiness
– Altered characterizations
– Mark 7:3-4 – Directs ministry to Jews – Matt 10:5-6, 23 7. Matthew’s Second Source: “Q” 8. Matthew's Additions to Mark – “M”
– Genealogy – Joseph’s dream – Visit of the magi – Slaughter of the innocents of Bethlehem – Flight into Egypt 10. Unique to Matthew – Ministry – John the Baptist’s protest – Giving Peter the keys – Jesus’ fame spreads to Syria – Peter sinking and saved – Paying the Temple tax – Officials’ protest the triumphant entry – Jesus’ 12 legions 11. Last Days – Unique to Matthew – Pilate washes his hands – Earthquakes and open tombs – The chief priests demand a guard at the tomb – The bribing of the guards – The great commission (28:16-20) 12. Prophesies– Unique to Matthew
– the weeds sown among the wheat – the treasure hidden in the field – the pearl of great price – a net gathering good and bad fish – the servant forgiven a great debt – the laborers and their wages – the obedient and disobedient sons – the guest who comes to dinner improperly attired – the ten virgins and their flasks of oil – the sheep and goats 14. Legal commentary – the smallest corner of the law – you have heard it said – tithe, pray and fast secretly – pulling a sheep from a pit on the Sabbath – our words on the day of judgment – correcting a sinning brother – observing Pharisaic teachings – calling no one teacher, father or master – babbling like the pagans 15. Unique Teachings I – casting pearls before swine – calling “Lord, Lord,” and being saved – many will come from east and west – go only to the lost sheep of Israel – receiving a prophet’s reward – warning against false prophets in sheep’s clothing – good and evil treasure – three days and nights in the earth 16. Unique Teachings II – the Pharisees – plants to be uprooted – the guardian angels & the little ones – binding in heaven / bound on earth – where two or three gathered in his name – being eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom – the kingdom o God will be taken and given to a nation producing fruit – Additions to the woe-etudes 17. Quick Questions – What, before this class, were your thoughts on how the Gospels were written? – Does it bother you that Matthew would change Mark’s story? 18. Matthew's Identity – Name?
19. Identity (1) Ethnicity – Affirms the Jewish law
– Greek! – Aramaic? – Hebrew? 21. Identity (3) – Location? – Evidence from affluence
– Written after Mark (70’s) – After destruction of the Temple?
– 80’s? 23. Identity (5) – Eyewitness? – Almost certainly not. – Reliant on Mark and Q 24. The Genealogy – Women
– All the best evidence suggests Matthew’s Gospel wasn’t written by an eyewitness. What are your thoughts and feelings about that? – With Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba, Jesus’ family lineage was strikingly less than pure, yet perhaps comfortingly human. Would we have wanted it to be different? Vertical Divider
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Session 2Notes
26. House of David – David anointed: 1 Sam 16:11-13
– Luke 3:23 – Protevangelium of James, 1:3 – The affects of adoption 27. Joseph’s Home – What do you remember about the Nativity?
28. The Holy Family – Joseph and Mary – Betrothal:
– Matt 1:19 – Deut 22:20-21 – What did Roman’s permit? – Why stoning? 30. Quick Questions – The customs of the ancient world are very different than ours. Who is right? Who has the better way? – What is your analysis of how Joseph responded? – How would you have responded to the situation? 31. Angelic Messengers: Matt 1:20 – Ishmael
– Salvation: יְשׁוּעָ֑ה – Joshua: יְהוֹשֻׁ֗עַ – Ἰησοῦς / IHΣ 33. Virginal Conception: Matt 1:22-23 – Matt 1:23 – Isaiah 7:10-25
– Matt 2:1 – Luke 2:4 |
