“Their sturdy backs bent down, by labor and fatigue, their eyes intent upon the earth, sift through stubble discarded by the reapers.”
—Sister Michaela O’Connor

Our Mission:
To seek out and advocate for the poor and needy, especially families, for the Kingdom of God since 1872
Celebrating Our Legacy
Past
As Gleaners, we stood at the edge of society where Christ was encountered in word, silence, and action as the power of His Kingdom pushed out the boundaries of our world. We have been recognized by our simplicity of life and visible presence among the most abandoned.
Celebrating Our Legacy
Present
Our mission as Gleaners is to serve segments of the population who are underserved by Church and social institutions. As we celebrate this time in our history, our ministries will focus on children, homelessness, food insecurity, immigrants, refugees, and healthcare.
Celebrating Our Legacy
Future
Reflecting the heart of our mission our legacy will live on into the future for others through the Gardens at Palmdale, our Opportunity Fund with Abode Services, our Archives Collection, and Early Childhood Education Scholarships.
Sunday Scripture Reflection for February 2, 2025
Presentation of the Lord
Well, not exactly scripture, but … I was looking for cartoons for this week’s Comics Pages and found two that caught my attention: in one, two space aliens were in their spaceship looking at the earth from a distance, and one said to the other, “That planet could support intelligent life but it seems to choose not to.” The other cartoon showed two space aliens looking at earth from a distance, and one commented that the people there are so divided. His companion asked, “What are they fighting about now?” and she replied, “Pumpkin spice.” We have such a beautiful planet — both cartoons showed a lovely blue and green jewel planet in the blackness of space — and yet we fight over everything. Whether it is getting worse or better is a question that’s up for grabs, but the division goes back into prehistoric times, to the beginnings of humanity if we look at our early stories — remember Cain and Abel? Why is violence our answer? I saw an anecdote on line about a Mom seeing her young daughter comforting her crying younger brother, and the mother went over to offer encouraging words to the peacemaker, then asked, “Why is he crying?” “I hit him,” she answered sweetly. Comics are not the Word of God, but they raise questions we would do well to answer!
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Prayer
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