Work of the People

Why does the Bishop preach his homily sitting down?

2009-04-09T07:13:00.000-07:00

"Is Bishop McGrath feeling okay?" "Why doesn't he stand up to do his homily?" "Maybe he's just tired."

I hear those comments often after a big diocesan liturgy like the Chrism Mass. Here and at other more solemn liturgies, the Bishop will usually give his homily sitting down. But don't worry. He's not tired, and he's doing just fine.

The reason a Bishop preaches while seated is because of the chair. It's not because it's a particularly comfy chair (some Bishops' chairs look downright hard and uncomfortable!). The chair of a Bishop at his cathedral is a special symbol of the Bishop. This chair, the "cathedra," is what gives the cathedral its name. A cathedral is the place where the cathedra is permanently located.

Cathedra means "chair" in Latin and "seat" in Greek (kathedra). You can spot the cathedra because it usually has the coat of arms of the diocese and the Bishop near it. Only the Bishop is allowed to sit in the cathedra because this chair is the sign of the Bishop's office and the unity among all the parishes in the diocese. If the Bishop is not present and another priest presides at Mass in the cathedral, he must sit in a different chair.

From the cathedra (or in Latin, "ex cathedra"), the Bishop exercises the three primary responsibilities of his office: "The office of Bishop as teacher, sanctifier, and pastor of his Church shines forth most clearly in a liturgy that he celebrates with his people" (Ceremonial of Bishops, 11).

This doesn't mean that the Bishop can't teach, bless, and lead from anywhere else. But the cathedra is a primary symbol of his office and of his responsibility to the diocese. From the cathedra, the Bishop teaches, presides at prayer, and stands as the leader of all the faithful in the diocese. And because the liturgy is the source and summit of the Church's activity and power, the people of the diocese gathered around their Bishop at his chair is a powerful sign of the presence of Christ.

The Bishop at his chair is also a sign of the Church's unity because the Bishop is our connection to all the other dioceses around the world and to the first among Bishops, the Pope. The Pope is the Bishop of the Diocese of Rome, and he too has a cathedra in a church called the Cathedral Basilica of Saint John Lateran.

When the Bishop is seated at the cathedra, especially when he is preaching, he is fully exercising his office, especially the role of teaching:

The Bishop as herald of the faith leads new followers to Christ. As their authentic teacher, that is, one invested with the authority of Christ, he proclaims to the people entrusted to him the truths of faith they are to believe and to live by. Under the light of the Holy Spirit the Bishop explains the teachings of faith, bringing forth from the treasurehouse of revelation new things and old. He works to make faith yield its harvest and, like the good shepherd, he is vigilant in protecting his people from the threat of error. (Ceremonial of Bishops, 15

The Ceremonial (the Church's guidebook for any liturgical celebration with a Bishop) then states that "the office of preaching is proper to the Bishop, so that other ordained ministers fulfill this office only in his name," and "[u]nless he decides that some other way is preferable, the Bishop should preach while seated at the chair, wearing the miter and holding the pastoral staff" (17).

The Bishop, and through him all the priests and deacons of a diocese, are special signs of Christ. So when we look at the Bishop at his chair, we see Christ who is our Teacher, High Priest, and Good Shepherd.

Take a virtual pilgrimmage of the cathedrals in California at this very interesting and beautiful site.

John Angotti in Concert, Workshop, and Prayer in the Diocese of San Jose

2009-04-09T01:52:00.000-07:00

Click image for larger view

Workshop for music ministers with John Angotti - April 20, 2009

2009-04-08T17:50:00.000-07:00

Does your Sunday worship do what it should? Does your congregation leave affected by the grace they have just received or does it just seem like going through the motions? Too often we worry about singing the right notes instead of also looking at how music can elevate the worship to cause an effect in your life and therefore change hearts. Come and gather information and ideas on how to make your parish liturgy be the common ground on which everything else in parish life grows.

Music Changes Everything
A workshop for music ministers
with John Angotti
Monday, April 20, 2009
10:00a to 12:00p
check and refreshment at 9:30a

Santa Teresa Church
794 Calero Avenue
San Jose, CA, 95123-3912

$10 registration
Please RSVP with Bernard Nemis or
at 408-983-0126

Contact Diana Macalintal for more information

Why we offer the Communion Cup at Mass

2009-04-08T17:02:00.000-07:00

This article by Diana Macalintal originally appeared in The Valley Catholic, April 2009 issue.

Bishop Patrick J. McGrath has asked all the parishes of the diocese of San Jose to offer the Communion cup to all the faithful at Mass, especially at Sunday and feast day Masses. By asking parishes to follow this policy, Bishop McGrath is highlighting the directive of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM), which has been in place since 1970:

Holy Communion has a fuller form as a sign when it is distributed under both kinds. For in this form the sign of the Eucharistic banquet is more clearly evident and clear expression is given to the divine will by which the new and eternal Covenant is ratified in the Blood of the Lord…. (281)

Since the 16th century and the Council of Trent, the church has taught that Christ, whole and entire, is present in the consecrated bread, and if we receive only the Body of Christ, we receive the full grace of the sacrament. So why bother receiving from the cup?

The most important reason is that Jesus told us to. At every Eucharist, the presider repeats the command Jesus gave to us at the last supper:

Take this, all of you, and drink from it:
this is the cup of my blood,
the blood of the new and everlasting covenant.
It will be shed for you and for all
so that sins may be forgiven.
Do this in memory of me.

Yet if Jesus gave us the sign of bread, why would he also direct us to take and drink from the cup? The GIRM gives us a clue. Something is made more clear, more evident when we drink from the cup. So then, what is more clear when we receive Christ’s Blood? And to whom is this evident?

What it means when we drink from the cup

Rev. Paul Bernier, SSS, says that what is clear from partaking of Christ’s Body is that we become members of that same body, here on earth. What becomes clear when we receive Christ’s Blood is how we will become one body.

It is only by pouring out our blood, our lives for others in the same way that Jesus did, that we can be true to our calling. Receiving from the cup is more than a reduplication of Communion under the form of bread, and far more than an empty ritual. It reminds us that Jesus’ own self-offering, his shedding his blood on the cross, is what brought about our salvation. Only the same gift of self to God will make us pleasing to him and enable us to be instruments of God’s life to others. (This Sunday’s Scripture)

In other words, what becomes clear in drinking from the cup of Christ’s Blood is the shedding of blood—Christ’s blood on the cross and our own blood, poured out in imitation of his great sacrifice.

Who drinking from the cup teaches

The call to sacrifice is first of all made more clear to those who participate in the sacrifice—the baptized faithful. As the church tells us, the sign is fuller and more complete when we share in both the Body and Blood of Christ, and, therefore, we receive a strong reminder of our baptismal promise to die to ourselves each time we drink from the cup.

But more importantly, the call to sacrifice becomes clearer to the children and the catechumens—those who are only beginning to understand the call to sacrifice. Our participation in the cup of salvation is an ongoing catechesis to those who are new to the faith about what faith requires—the shedding of blood.

We become what we eat—and drink

If Mass were only about receiving grace, then partaking only of the Body of Christ would surely be sufficient. But Eucharist is about much more than that. It is also about the reason we receive grace—to go in peace to love and serve the Lord. That service includes sacrifice, and the cup of salvation teaches us and those around us what that sacrifice ultimately demands. It demands that we proclaim the death of the Lord by becoming one with Christ’s Body—and his Blood.

Children's Catechumenate workshop with Rita Burns Senseman

2009-03-26T17:33:00.000-07:00

The Catechumenate Committee of the Diocese of San Jose invited Rita Burns Senseman to discuss with them strategies for helping our parishes integrate the adult and children's catechumenate into a more unifed RCIA process of initiation.

In our 30-minute conversation by phone, we learned so much from this national expert on the catechumenate with children, and we were affirmed in our goal of implementing the vision of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.

We recorded our conversation so you can also benefit from Rita's wisdom and guidance.

Rita Burns Senseman - Children's catechumenate workshop from Diana Macalintal on Vimeo.

Parish representatives for Chrism Mass 2009

2009-03-26T16:41:00.000-07:00

Three representatives from each parish are requested to present the oils for blessing during the Chrism Mass on Tuesday, March 31, 2009, at 7:30p. They should be selected in advance for this responsibility and be seated in their reserved seats in the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Joseph, 80 South Market Street, San José, by 7:10p.

Click here for directions to the Cathedral and parking information.

Click here for a pdf chart showing your parish's reserved seating for your oil representatives.

Rehearsal with these representatives will take place at 7:20p the night of the Chrism Mass.

It is recommended that those presenting the oils represent some link to the oil to be blessed, for example:

Oil of the Sick: A minister to the sick, elderly, or hospitalized; or a parishioner who was anointed in the last year.

Oil of Catechumens: A parish catechumenate team member; or a catechist working in baptismal preparation. Because the dismissal of catechumens follows immediately after the procession and blessing of oils, catechumens and Elect are discouraged from being the parish representative to carry the oils.

Sacred Chrism: A neophyte initiated at last year’s Easter Vigil; or a candidate for Confirmation; or a catechist working in Confirmation preparation. Because the dismissal of catechumens follows immediately after the procession and blessing of oils, catechumens and Elect are discouraged from being the parish representative to carry the oils.

If you have any questions, please contact Diana Macalintal at 408-983-0136.

Bishop McGrath's homily for the Rite of Election 2009

2009-03-26T13:12:00.000-07:00

RITE OF ELECTION 2009
March 1, 2, & 3, 2009
Cathedral Basilica of Saint Joseph
Bishop Patrick J. McGrath

Genesis 9:8-15
Mark 1:12-15

Listen to it here, or read text below.

Dear catechumens, it is not possible to get through the day without seeing and using signs. You had to read the road signs on your way to the Cathedral. When you came in the door, you probably had to look for the signs that showed you where your parish was sitting. Signs point us in the right direction, and they remind us of where we have been.

Even God uses signs to show us our path and to direct us on our way through this life. Noah saw the sign of the “rainbow” after the flood. It was the sign of God’s covenant, God’s promise that he would always show mercy to all of creation. It was the sign that allowed Noah to live constantly in hope, no matter how bad things seemed to be. God’s signs are everywhere for those who have the eyes of faith to see and recognize them.

But today/tonight, my friends, we celebrate something deeper than a sign. In the Catholic tradition, we often use the words “sign” and “symbol” interchangeably. But there is an important difference between the two. Signs point us to another object or person. Signs represent something else. A stop sign at an intersection means stop your car. A reserved sign on a chair means the seat belongs to another person. A rainbow means the rain has ended and God has promised mercy. Your signature on these pages represents you and your promise.

Signs then remind us of other things. Symbols, however, become the things they represent.

In our Catholic faith, we have many symbols that embody the presence of Christ. First is the symbol of the Church itself—the People of God—who are the human presence of Christ in the world. When the Church prays together, we see Christ most clearly. When the People of God daily live their faith, we see Christ in our world. Dear catechumens, you became part of this symbol when you were accepted by the Church and signed by the cross of Christ.

Next, we have the symbol of the Word of God in Scripture which is God’s voice speaking to us. When we hear the Scriptures, we hear Christ. When we see the Gospels, we see Christ. In the “Word” Christ loves us, teaches us, feeds us, and draws us closer to himself.

Then we have the symbol of the ministers of the Church, the shepherds who guide us. They become Christ, the Good Shepherd, for they lay down their lives for others. These ministers are your pastors and priests; your deacons and catechists, your parents and sponsors; they are your godparents who will accompany you for the rest of your lives. I pray, that I, your Bishop, am also a clear symbol of Christ for you, not because I am perfect or more special, but because you will know that Christ cares for you by the words I speak and the deeds I do. By my love for you, I hope that you will know Christ’s love for you and for all people.

Finally, we have the symbol of the Eucharist—the true presence of Christ given to us at this altar. Here at this table, all the symbols combine—the Church, the Word, the ministers, and the Eucharist—to reveal to us God’s presence in our midst. When we celebrate the Eucharist, we do not have only signs that remind us of God’s promise. We have God’s very promise itself, here in our hands, in our eyes, in our ears, and in our hearts. We become what we eat. We become God’s promise—God’s symbol of mercy—for all the world.

Dear catechumens, when you are baptized in the font—the symbol of God’s living water, of the death of your old self, of your rebirth in the womb of the Church—you will become symbols of Christ. You will be what the saints have called, “little Christs.” For in fact, that is what it means to be called Christian.

You will be “little Christs” because, already, your godparents have seen God at work in your lives. They will testify that they have seen God working in you because you have listened and responded to God’s Word in the reading of the Scriptures and in your own daily prayer. They have seen the signs of Christ already at work in you because you have opened your ears to God’s voice and have spoken in return words of faith, love, hope, and thanksgiving.

In a few moments, you will give me your name. You will show me your sign—your promise “to be Christ” in everything you do—and I in the name of the Church will give you a new name, the name of “Elect,” the Chosen Ones. Yet this name is still only a sign of something greater yet to come.

Once you confess your faith in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and enter into those waters of baptism, you will be given the name of Christ. You will receive new ears to hear the voice of God and a new tongue to speak as Christ spoke. Through the anointing with the oil of Chrism, you will see the world with new eyes, the world as God sees it, as a world worth loving and saving. And through the Eucharist we share, you will receive the very real Body and Blood of Christ so that you may become, in everything you are, the presence of Christ for others.

Let the Church, all of us, rejoice for God has shown again the signs of his love in the presence of these catechumens. Let us give thanks to God who has not forgotten his people, who, in the storms of our lives, continues to place a rainbow in the sky, a reminder that in this diverse people, of many colors and languages, stories, hopes, and dreams, there are ever-present signs of God’s merciful and boundless love. Let all God’s faithful people remember who they have become—“little Christs,” other Christs, for the life of the world.

Michael Reardon and the Gospel of John - April 3, 2009

2009-03-26T13:11:00.000-07:00

You are invited to a spectacular and dramatic presentation of scripture, light, and movement when Michael Reardon prayerfully and powerfully proclaims The Gospel of JOHN, directed by Patrick Lane. This is a contemporary translation of scripture, proclaimed in the oral tradition of the early church, designed with music, lighting, and costuming. A reception to meet the artists will follow the event.

The Gospel of John

Friday, April 3, 2009, 7:00p
Saint Christopher Catholic Church
1576 Curtner Ave, San Jose, 95125

free will offering

for more information: 408-269-2226

Michael Reardon has memorized the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, as well as the Book of Revelation, and performs them dramatically worldwide. He is a native of Anaconda, Montana.

Patrick Lane, Director, Musician and Lighting Artist, has designed the special effects and written the original music, all of which is done live for each performance. He is a native of Morrill, Nebraska.

This blend of voice and light, music and costuming, honors the Word of God as a unique ministry of proclamation. They have given over 1000 performances in cities throughout the United States, Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, Republic of China, Europe, and Israel. In Rome, they performed at the Biblical Institute of the Gregorian University, and at the American Church of Santa Susanna, and in Vatican City at North American College. Their greatly acclaimed performance has also taken them to the cradle of Christianity: Jerusalem, Capernaum, Tiberias, Nazareth, and the towns along the shores of the Sea of Galilee.

The public is invited to attend, and to experience the power of the Word. A reception to meet the artists will follow the performance.

Loyola Marymount University Choruses - March 27-28, 2009

2009-03-26T11:31:00.000-07:00

Choruses from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles will giving two FREE concerts in the Diocese of San Jose.

Loyola Marymount University Consort Singers

Friday, March 27, 2009, 7:30p

Cathedral Basilica of Saint Joseph

80 South Market Street, San Jose, 95113

Saturday, March 28, 2009, 7:30p

Santa Teresa Parish

794 Calero Avenue, San Jose 95123

The director of the chorus and chair of LMU's music department, Dr. Mary C. Breden, invites you to join them in these two evenings of music and song. (She's also the sister of Sr. Sharon Breden, CSJ, former principal at Saint Victor in San Jose, and had been choir director at Santa Teresa in the late 1980s!)

No advance reservations or tickets required. Just come and enjoy.

Check out their Facebook event page.

Tenebrae - March 30, 2009

2009-03-26T11:03:00.000-07:00

Saint Victor Parish is going to have a unique worship service this Lent. They will celebrate Tenebrae (pronounced "TEN-ah-bray"), which is the Latin word for "shadows."

Tenebrae is an ancient Holy Week service that commemorates in dramatic fashion the betrayal, abandonment, and agony of Our Lord's Passion by the use of light and darkness; psalms, readings, and hymns.

Most of the liturgy will be in English and will generally follow the structure of the Liturgy of the Hours. All are encouraged to participate in this beautiful and rarely-conducted liturgy.

Tenebrae
Monday, March 30, 2009

7:30p - 8:30p
Saint Victor Church
3108 Sierra Road, San Jose, 95132

Questions:

Contact Rev. Michael Hendrickson

408-251-7055

Vino & Vespers with John Angotti - April 22, 2009

2009-03-26T10:15:00.000-07:00

Vino & Vespers gives busy people of faith a place to pray simply (you don’t have to plan a thing!), eat and drink well (you don’t have to bring any food), and talk candidly about faith, church, and real life (you don’t have to prepare any lesson plans or make any handouts!).

Gather with others who love the Church, and spend an evening with three of God’s best gifts: prayer, food, and conversation. We’ll begin with Evening Prayer followed by an intimate conversation about faith and daily life as we savor delicious desserts and fine wine.

A Special V & V with
John Angotti

composer, musician, missionary

John Angotti is a full time music missionary who travels throughout many parts of the world providing inspirational music and witness to all ages through concerts, workshops, retreats, missions, conferences, and worship. He is originally from Clarksburg, West Virginia, and now resides in Memphis, Tennessee, with his wife Tracy and two children, Dominica and Tre. John is the Artist in Residence at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in Naperville, Illinois, where he writes and leads worship on a monthly basis. He is a graduate of West Virginia University and the US Military School of Music and was a member of the US Navy Band where he was the lead vocalist.

John has won numerous awards including, "Male Vocalist of the Year," "Pop/Contemporary," and "Praise and Worship Album of the Year" from the United Catholic Music and Video Association. His powerful voice and writing style includes contemporary rock, pop, and Latin rhythms, along with his ability to give new life to traditional classics in chant and classical genres.

When Pope Benedict XVI visited Nationals Park in Washington D.C., John was invited to perform "Stand in the Light" for the pre-Mass celebration. This song was chosen as the 2007 Los Angeles Religious Education Congress theme song and is the title of one of his latest recordings. John's most recent CD is "Joy Beyond Our Dreams" which features uplifting new music for the Easter Season.

John is published through World Library Publications and his music is also available through Christian Booksellers, iTunes, and several other digital music stores.

Join in an evening of music and coversation with John about faith, music, liturgy, and living a Catholic life of purpose and mission.

Vino & Vespers are interactive evenings that feature prominent Catholics talking about how they live their faith through the real events of contemporary life. Young adults over 21 and those very much over-21 are especially invited.

Vino & Vespers
Wednesday, April 22, 2009, 7:30 pm

Casa Maria Conference Center
200 Prospect Avenue, Los Gatos, 95030
$10 suggested free will donation

Please RSVP with Bernard Nemis or 408-983-0126.

Driving Directions to Casa Maria Conference Center from Downtown San Jose:

280 N toward San Francisco

HWY 17 S toward Santa Cruz

Exit HWY 9 (Los Gatos-Saratoga Road). Get into left lane immediately.

LEFT at the first stoplight which is University Avenue.

Take University to the end where it forms a T with Main Street. LEFT on Main Street.

Go to the first stoplight which is College Avenue and turn RIGHT (there’s a sign for “Novitiate” on the corner of College and Main).

Go one block to the top of the street and turn RIGHT at Villa Avenue (follow the signs for “Novitiate”).

Go 0.6 miles up the hill. When you see the Jesuit Novitiate and Winery on your right, turn LEFT onto Prospect Avenue.

Go 0.1 miles and turn LEFT at the sign for "Sisters of the Holy Names Main Entrance." Parking will be in the lot on your left. The Chapel entrance is in the building to your right.

Eucharist Matters: Hosts from the Tabernacle at Mass

2009-03-25T17:39:00.000-07:00

This article by Diana Macalintal first appeared in The Valley Catholic, March 2009 issue.

Six years ago, Bishop Patrick J. McGrath, asked our diocese to examine its Communion practices at Mass. He asked parishes to ensure that:

Communion from the cup be made available to all the faithful at every Sunday and feast day Mass;
hosts from the tabernacle are not used at Mass—that is, except in cases of dire need, the Eucharistic bread that is shared by the faithful will be the same Eucharistic bread that is consecrated at that Mass; and
the assembly take a unified posture during the Eucharistic Prayer as well as remain standing and singing during the Communion procession.

Over the years, there has been significant improvement throughout the diocese in these norms, which have been directives of the Church since 1969. Because of the good work of ordained and lay ministers charged with preparing the Mass and the efforts of the faithful, almost all of our parishes now offer the Precious Blood at all Sunday and feast day Masses and a majority of assemblies remain standing throughout Communion. This has resulted in a deepened understanding of the sacrificial and communal aspects of Communion.

Over the next year, we will examine these norms and other elements of the Mass. We begin with the second norm—avoiding distributing hosts from the tabernacle at Mass.

What’s the difference?

Now, aren’t the hosts in the tabernacle the same Body of Christ as those received from the altar? Yes. Consecrated hosts not consumed at Mass are reserved in the tabernacle.

So why make a fuss? Because the difference is not in the consecrated elements but in the action that happens before we share those elements.

The Mass is made up of the Liturgy of the Word, in which we hear the Scriptures and respond to them through the homily and intercessions, and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. This second section is not simply when we share Communion. First, we must bring to the altar the bread and wine to be consecrated and our offering for the poor. In this simple presentation of gifts, we see one way the Eucharist is a sacrifice. We imitate Jesus, who gave his very life for others, by giving ourselves through the sacrifice of the earth and the work of our hands, that formed wheat into bread, grape into wine, and labor into care for those in need.

Sacrifice of praise

Next we unite with the priest who speaks the Eucharistic Prayer in the name of the community. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM), the document that directs the Mass, says that the “meaning of the Prayer is that the entire congregation of the faithful should join itself with Christ in confessing the great deeds of God and in the offering of Sacrifice” (78).

The culmination of Christ’s sacrifice of praise is our sharing in his Body and Blood. Thus, in the same way that Christ’s sacrifice of his very body is preceded by a life lived as an offering of praise to the Father, so too do we precede Communion with the sacrifice of our lives and our offering of praise to God. Through the Eucharistic Prayer, the bread and wine we place on the altar is intimately connected to the Body and Blood of Christ we receive from that same altar. This is why GIRM, 85, says, “[i]t is most desirable that the faithful, just as the priest himself is bound to do, receive the Lord's Body from hosts consecrated at the same Mass…so that even by means of the signs Communion will stand out more clearly as a participation in the sacrifice actually being celebrated.”

When we distribute hosts from the tabernacle at Mass, we devalue our participation in Christ’s sacrifice of praise to the Father and sever the sacrificial connection between the offering of our lives and Christ’s salvific offering of his. This connection is the heart of the Eucharist; it is what distinguishes Mass from a Communion service. This is why our Bishop has asked that hosts from the tabernacle should be used only for Communion to the sick outside of Mass and for the distribution of Holy Communion outside of Mass.

Have you ever seen dancing books at the Rite of Election?

2009-03-18T23:51:00.000-07:00

In our Diocese of San Jose, we have dancing books for the Rite of Election. Now hold on before you start groaning as you imagine young waifs in tights and leotards flitting about the altar.

Our Scriptural tradition has many stories of dancing—but the kind of dancing that comes out of ordinary, everyday people. David danced before the Lord, Miriam danced on the seashore, the women took up garlands and danced at Judith’s victory, and even John the Baptist did a little jig in his mother’s belly at the voice of Mary’s greeting.

And in our ritual, all of us dance—I mean, all of us, trained or not. When we dip our hand into the font, make the sign of the cross, bow low in reverence, raise arms in prayer, extend hands in peace and blessing, we are dancing. We are doing choreographed movement; we are expressing our faith, our joy, through our bodies.

This is what we do at our local Rite of Election, but just turned up a notch. The joy that our Rite of Election elicits—and the dancing that comes out of that joy—is often surprising for both the many long-time Catholics and “newbies” who come to our cathedral expecting a long, sober, restrained lenten ritual. Let me explain.

In our Rite of Election, after the homily, we present our catechumens to the Bishop in chant, in English and in Spanish. Then after he questions the godparents, asks the faithful for their affirmation, and confirms the catechumens’ desire to be initiated, the names of every catechumen are proclaimed by representatives from each parish. As the names are called, the catechumens and their godparents are led by their Book of the Elect to stand as a group before the Bishop. After he has accepted the proclamation of their names, the Bishop bows to the catechumens and godparents who bow to him in return.

Once all the names have been announced, those carrying the parish Book of the Elect stand around the altar (our cathedral is in the round) holding their books open high above their heads. Parish by parish, the catechumens are called to stand as the Books and the catechumens are blessed with incense filling the air.

Then at the climax of the rite, the Bishop standing at his chair proclaims with great solemnity: “I now declare you to be members of the elect, to be initiated into the sacred mysteries at the next Easter Vigil!”

With that declaration, the entire assembly roars into a jubilant sung acclamation—“Thanks be to God!”—repeated over and over, handclapping and all! And the Books dance! The people holding the Books are swept up by the joy of the assembly that they can’t help but move—some can’t even wait for the acclamation to begin! Up and down, side to side, twirling around in circles, the names of God’s chosen ones fill the space. The assembly, amazed at the sight, sings and claps even louder. Thanks, indeed, be to our good and gracious God!

What a way to begin Lent!

Here's a short video of our dancing books.

Rite of Election 2009 video, Diocese of San Jose (hi-res) from Diana Macalintal on Vimeo.

Do we have to use Year A readings for the RCIA scrutinies?

2009-03-09T23:10:00.000-07:00

This article originally appeared on TeamRCIA.com, March 3, 2009.

“Why can’t we use Year B readings this year for the Scrutinies?”

“The assembly is missing out on hearing the readings for Year C. How come we always have to do Year A at the Scrutinies?”

“We’ve written new scrutiny rites for the Year B readings. Can we use those?”

I hear those questions every year we aren’t in the Year A cycle of the Lectionary. (Recall that the readings we hear every Sunday are structured on a three-year rotation. In Year A we hear primarily from Matthew’s Gospel; in Year B, from Mark; and in Year C, from Luke. John's Gospel is interspersed throughout each year.)

I can understand why some people have these questions. We’ve come a long way since before Vatican II when the amount of Scripture people heard at Mass over the course of a year was very limited (1% of the Old Testament and 17% of the New Testament) compared to today (14% of the Old Testament and 71% of the New Testament). When the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, 51, of Vatican II said that “[t]he treasures of the bible are to be opened up more lavishly, so that richer fare may be provided for the faithful at the table of God’s word,” the Church took it seriously, and the faithful have come to value more and more a fuller proclamation of the Word in the midst of the assembly.

Yet I think we still have a way to go when it comes to trusting the rites of initiation within the Sunday gathering of the assembly. The best way we can help the assembly to grow in appreciation of these rites of initiation is to do the rites well and fully, consistently year after year.

What does the Rite say?
So, taking a look at the rubrics for the Scrutiny Rites, we read:

The scrutinies should take place within the ritual Masses “Christian Initiation: The Scrutinies,” which are celebrated on the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Sundays of Lent; the readings with their chants are those given for those Sundays in the Lectionary for Mass, Year A….In every case the ritual Masses “Christian Initiation: The Scrutinies” are celebrated and in this sequence: for the first scrutiny the Mass with the gospel of the Samaritan woman; for the second, the Mass with the gospel of the man born blind; for the third, the Mass with the gospel of Lazarus. (146)

Seems clear, yes? Yet perhaps still not compelling enough a reason for those who ask our opening questions. So let’s look at some reasons that may be more convincing.

What does history say?
In the oldest known Book of Gospels, called the Würzberg Evangelary (c. 645), the three passages from John’s Gospel listed in RCIA, 146, are included in the readings for Lent. This Evangelary scheduled John’s Gospel to be read semi-continuously during the last few weeks of Lent. However the stories of the man born blind and the raising of Lazarus were listed out of order, suggesting that they were used for specific rites. By the ninth century and possibly as early as the late seventh century, we have evidence that these three Gospel readings were moved to specific Sundays of Lent in both the Roman rite and the Ambrosian rite, again suggesting that they were used for particular lenten rites. We can trust that for the Church, these Johannine stories have had significant prominence in the preparation for Easter. Let’s examine why this is and why over the years these readings have been associated with the preparation of the elect.

What do the readings say?
Just as the scrutinies themselves are meant to be a series of rites spanning over an extended period of time, so too are these three Gospel readings meant to be “digested” little by little with time in between each set of readings. This is because the readings in their assigned sequence reflect the very purpose of the Scrutiny Rites. That is, little by little, these readings with their prescribed rites uncover what is weak and sinful and strengthen what is good and upright in the elect. Through them, “the elect are instructed gradually about the mystery of sin, from which the whole world and every person longs to be delivered...” (RCIA, 143).

In the story of the woman at the well, the Samaritan woman hears Jesus then goes and tells the villagers what she has heard, causing them to seek him out for themselves. The reading ends with the villagers saying to the woman, “We no longer believe because of your word; for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the savior of the world” (John 4:42). Was this not the starting point of every elect? They heard a word, a word that they discovered over time to be Christ. Upon discovering who was speaking to them, they no longer believed because of hearsay, obligation, or pressure, but because they heard Christ’s voice for themselves.

In the story of the man born blind, the man healed of his blindness gradually grows to see as Christ sees. He regains his sight right at the start of the story. But only because of the interrogation he receives from his neighbors and the Pharisees and his struggle to respond to them faithfully, does he little by little begin to see the identity of who it was who healed him. By the end of the story, the one who healed him was no longer to him just “the man called Jesus” (John 9:11) or simply “a prophet” (John 9:17) or “from God” (John 9:33). He was “Lord” (John 9:38) in whom he believed. For the elect this progression may be familiar. At the start of their catechumenate, their eyes are signed “that [they] may see the glory of God” (Rite of Acceptance, RCIA 56). Through their catechesis over the years and their experience with the community of believers they grow in understanding of what they see—who the man Jesus was, the prophetic words he spoke, his unique relationship with the Father, and finally his true identity as Lord.

Lastly, in the story of the raising of Lazarus, we come to the final days before the elect must stand before the font and profess their faith. In this reading, the miracle happens at the end of the story, but faith is already expressed long before the miracle takes place. Martha makes her profession of faith in Jesus the Messiah even as her brother is lying dead in the tomb. She needed no words and no miraculous deeds to believe in him; she only needed to believe. Period.

In this final story, we see what those who have been entrusted to continue Jesus' work have hopefully been doing in order to prepare the elect to make their profession of faith. They have been preparing them, like Jesus prepared Martha and Mary, to understand the paschal mystery they would witness in the resurrection—that out of death comes new life in Christ. Only after Lazarus is revived and Jesus is raised from the dead will Martha truly understand the words of faith she professed. It is her belief in and love for Jesus that allow her to be ready for whatever he will do despite her human logic that death is death, for “Martha believes not in what she understands but in the one who has the words of eternal life” (Sandra Schneiders, Written That You May Believe, Crossroad Publishing Company, p. 158).

When the three scrutiny readings are examined in this way, we begin to understand what the RCIA means when it says that Lent “is intended as well to enlighten the minds and hearts of the elect with a deeper knowledge of Christ the Savior” (139). The Gospels assigned to the scrutinies are there to ask the elect:

Could he possibly be the Messiah?
Do you believe in the Son of Man?
Do you believe this?

The things that keep the elect from saying “yes!” are the things that must be scrutinized and exorcized, for in a few short weeks, they must respond “yes, I believe” as they stand at the edge of death at the font. The place where the elect learn to answer “yes!” is in the parish community. The assignment and order of the scrutiny Gospels from John reflect the community's progressive and communal catechesis for the elect in order that they may hear and believe (Samaritan woman), see and believe (man born blind), and finally believe without proof (Martha and Lazarus).

Why B and C don't work
Though well-intentioned and creative, when we create new scrutiny texts to match the readings from Year B or C, we have severed ourselves and our elect from the rich history and wisdom of the Church who over the centuries have understood the unique power of the three Johannine Gospel readings. Some will argue that the Year B readings are particularly apt for those preparing for baptism because each Sunday reading includes reference to some symbol from the baptismal rite: water in Noah and the flood; white garments in the Transfiguration; resurrection of the destroyed temple; Jesus teaching Nicodemus about the light; and death of the grain of wheat. Although this may be true, these readings cannot compare to the dramatic power of the three assigned Scrutiny readings. Furthermore, as RCIA 143 noted, Lent is a time for the elect to gradually learn about sin; the period after their baptism is the time for them to reflect on the baptismal symbols and their experience of initiation through mystagogical catechesis.

When we worry that the faithful are missing out on the readings of Year B or C on the Sundays of the scrutinies, we are forgetting that the faithful’s role in these rites is to pray fervently for the elect. All their focus should be upon the elect for it is in them that God is working most clearly. It is in the elect that the Word of Christ is evangelizing whole communities; it is in them that the world is beginning to see Christ present on earth; it is in them that we will witness new life spring forth from death. These elect will be elect only once in their lives. This will be the only time they will ever hear these three Gospel readings from John as elect, surrounded by the prayers of the community and overshadowed by the power of the Spirit. We, the baptized, have a responsibility to them at these critical moments of their lenten preparation to use the best our Church tradition has to offer. The best will be the assigned Year A readings.

Perhaps as preparation for taking on our assigned role in these Scrutiny Rites, we, the already-baptized, might read the assigned readings for Year B or Year C during the weeks leading up to the Scrutiny Rites, that these readings might open our ears, eyes, and hearts to hear the Year A readings anew with strengthened faith in Christ already at work in the elect.

Why St. Clare? Why now?

2009-02-13T13:35:00.000-08:00

Clare of Assisi:
Light for Identity, Community and Humanity

Working and dwelling at a place called Santa Clara we use her name everyday. But how many of us have developed a personal understanding or relationship to St. Clare’s life? The week-long series of symposia and theatrical performances scheduled for February 17-20, 2009, will explore the identity of Clare, the extraordinary reality of her life and calling, and allow students, staff, faculty and visitors to reflect on her spiritual journey in light their own spiritual landscape to discover, ultimately, how her story converges with or diverges from their own. The intentional naming and claiming of identity is a significant consciousness for a person and for an institution, and often motivates and clarifies presence, movement, and activity in the world.

While we have a rather clear consciousness of SCU as a Jesuit university begotten by St. Ignatius of Loyola, we feel that the identity and meaning of Clare is a mystery to most. Turning to her, we investigate her unique consciousness, her leadership and her life to discover more deeply how it might shape SCU’s identity, our relations with one another, and our work in the world.

Join moderator Jean Molesky-Poz, Religious Studies & guests Penelope Duckworth, Keith Warner, OFM, Margie Will, OSF & SCU Students for a lively symposium on our University’s namesake.

Thursday, February 19, 2009
4:00-6:00 pm
St. Clare Room
Santa Clara University
Library and Learning Commons 3rd floor
Clare of Assisi. An Original Theatre Work by Mark Larson & Kristin Kusanovich after Thomas of Celano with Music by Bill Mike. The programs above are made possible by the Bannan Institute of the Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education, the Identity Grant from the Council on Inclusive Excellence, the Center of Performing Arts, the Departments of Religious Studies, Modern Languages and Women and Gender Studies Graphic Design by Amy Fastenau at Tilt Design.

Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday
February 17, 18 & 20, 2009
8:00 pm Mission Santa Clara

February 19 (Clare Syposium) Flyer

February 17, 18, and 20 Flyer

Chrism Mass 2009 - Collection of Oil Vessels

2009-02-10T16:57:00.000-08:00

In preparation for the Chrism Mass on Tuesday, March 31, 2009, 7:30p at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Joseph, please be sure that your parish oil vessels are undamaged, well-cleaned (you won't believe some of the things we still find growing in some vessels!), and delivered to the Office for Parish Services, in the carrying boxes in which they were presented last year labeled with your parish's name.

Click here to find out how to dispose of old Holy Oils, for tips on how to clean your oil vessels, and what you should do with the water used to clean them.

Please bring your empty, sparkling clean oil vessels to the Office for Parish Services, 900 Lafayette Street, 4th floor, Suite 405, Santa Clara between March 1 and March 23, 2009.

ADA will pick-up your vessels:
The Annual Diocesan Appeal office is offering convenient pick-up of your oil vessels at your parish during their regularly-scheduled ADA pick-ups every Tuesday. Simply give the courier your vessels along with your ADA collection.

Attention Institutions:
Hospitals, religious communities, and other institutions who wish to have oils blessed for use in 2008 are asked to bring stocks, carefully cleaned, to the Office for Parish Services by noon on Tuesday, March 24, 2009. Stocks will be available for pick-up from the Office of Pastoral Ministry on Wednesday, April 1 after 1:00p.

When will you get your new oils?
You can pick up your vessels with the newly blessed oils for 2009 after the Chrism Mass at the reception in the Cathedral's parish hall. Please coordinate with your parish leadership who will be the person responsible from your parish to retrieve the parish's oils at the Chrism Mass.

What time can the Easter Vigil begin in 2009?

2009-01-29T11:47:00.000-08:00

As you know, the Easter Vigil must begin in darkness. Click here for more information on why.

Based on sunset information from the U.S. Naval Observatory, Easter Vigil this year (April 11, 2009) in the Diocese of San José cannot begin any earlier than 8:00 p.m.

From the U.S. Naval Observatory Astronomical Applications Department, the following information is provided for San Jose, Santa Clara County, California (longitude W121.9, latitude N37.3):

Saturday
11 April 2009, Pacific Daylight Time

Sunset 7:39 p.m.
End civil twilight 8:06 p.m.

If sunset is at 7:39p, why can't we begin Easter Vigil 2009 at 7:39p?

Because there is a big technical different between "sunset" and "civil twilight." The technical definition of "sunset" is when the upper edge of the sun hits the horizon. At this point (7:39p) there's still some daylight in the sky. But what we're looking for is complete darkness.

Civil twilight in the evening is technically when the center of the sun is geometrically 6 degrees below the horizon. At this time (8:06p) there's still enough light to see the horizon, but it's dark enough to see the brightest of stars in the sky. Complete darkness, however, begins sometime after the end of evening civil twilight.

So 8:00p is the earliest time we can begin the Easter Vigil in 8:00p. If you really want to start in complete darkness, wait until 8:10p.

For more information: http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/RST_defs.php#top

Preparing the Rite of Confirmation

2009-01-13T09:46:00.000-08:00

Preparing the Rite of Confirmation

The Diocese of San José, Liturgy Office, will be offering a free workshop for clergy, liturgists, catechists, Confirmation coordinators, youth ministers, music ministers, and anyone who will prepare the Rite of Confirmation liturgy for their parish or their parish’s celebration at the Cathedral this year.

This workshop, led by Diana Macalintal, diocesan liturgist, and Melissa Broome, Cathedral liturgist, takes place on Tuesday, January 27, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m., at the Chancery Offices in the St. Joseph Room (900 Lafayette Street, Santa Clara, 95050).

We will examine the theology of Confirmation found in the Rite, good liturgical principles, and practical issues for preparing the liturgy at your parish or at the Cathedral. By the end of the evening, you will have a better understanding of the options given in the Rite and be able to better prepare the various parts of the celebration.

Space is limited; RSVPs are required to Bernard Nemis at Nemis@dsj.org or (408) 983-0126.
For more information, contact Diana Macalintal at Macalintal@dsj.org.

Proclamation of the Date of Easter on Epiphany, 2009

2009-01-02T16:34:00.000-08:00

The Solemnity of the Epiphany is a traditional time to announce the major feasts and celebrations of the Church for the upcoming year. Before the advent of online calendars, Blackberries, perpetual calendars, and handheld organizers, the formal announcement at Epiphany was the usual way the Church made known the date of Easter and all the celebrations that are dependent upon its date.

In the Roman Catholic Church, the date of Easter moves each year because it is affected by the lunar and solar cycles. The Council of Nicaea (325 AD) determined that Easter would be celebrated on the Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox, or first day of spring (in the northern hemisphere). (The Orthodox Churches use a different calendar system, and so their date for Easter is different. You can read about the difference in Easter calendaring here.)

The Sacramentary Supplement, in which you can find the proclamation, states: “Although calendars now give the date of Easter and the other feasts in the liturgical year for many years in advance, the Epiphany proclamation still has value. It is a reminder of the centrality of the resurrection of the Lord in the liturgical year and the importance of the great mysteries of faith which are celebrated each year” (#2).

The proclamation can be sung (a cappella) or spoken by a deacon, cantor, or reader at the ambo after the gospel, after the homily, or after the prayer after Communion.

The text of the proclamation remains fixed except for the dates for that year which must be inserted for the proclamation. Below are the dates for 2009 (in red).

Proclamation of the Date of Easter on Epiphany

Dear brothers and sisters,
the glory of the Lord has shone upon us,
and shall ever be manifest among us,
until the day of his return.

Through the rhythms of times and seasons
let us celebrate the mysteries of salvation.

Let us recall the year’s culmination, the Easter Triduum of the Lord:
his last supper, his crucifixion, his burial, and his rising,
celebrated between the evening of the ninth of April
and the evening of the twelfth of April.

Each Easter—as on each Sunday—
the Holy Church makes present the great and saving deed
by which Christ has for ever conquered sin and death.
From Easter are reckoned all the days we keep holy.

Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent,
will occur on the twenty-fifth of February.
The Ascension of the Lord will be commemorated
on the twenty-fourth of May*.
Pentecost, the joyful conclusion of the season of Easter,
will be celebrated on the thirty-first of May.
And this year the First Sunday of Advent
will be on the twenty-ninth of November.

Likewise the pilgrim Church proclaims the Passover of Christ
in the feasts of the holy Mother of God,
in the feasts of the Apostles and Saints,
and in the commemoration of the faithful departed.

To Jesus Christ, who was, who is, and who is to come,
Lord of time and history,
be endless praise, for ever and ever. Amen.

*In the western dioceses of the United States, the celebration of the Ascension is moved to the seventh Sunday of Easter.

Wedding Anniversary Mass - February 14, 2009

2008-12-19T15:35:00.000-08:00

25 and 50+ Silver and Golden

Wedding Anniversary Celebration
Aniversario de Bodas de Plata y Oro

February 14, 2009 / 14 de Febrero, 2009
10:00 am

Cathedral Basilica of Saint Joseph / Catedral Basílica de San José
80 South Market Street, San José

Couples celebrating Silver (25 years) and Golden (50 years or more) Wedding Anniversaries are invited to the celebration. / Las parejas que celebran su Aniversario de Bodas de Plata (25 años) o de Oro (50 años o más) están invitadas a asistir a la celebración.

Each couple will receive a certificate signed by the Bishop. A reception follows the Mass. / Cada pareja recibirá un certificado firmado por el Obispo y están invitadas a la recepción.

For information call / Para su información llame: Sylvia Blanch, 408-983-0128.

Click here to register online, or download a registration form in Word or in PDF format.

Bilingual Mass Workshop with Pedro Rubalcava – January 10, 2009

2008-12-10T10:17:00.000-08:00

Why should we celebrate mass

in more than one language?

Bilingual Mass Workshop
with Pedro Rubalcava

Saturday, January 10
10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., lunch included
Saint Mary Parish in Our Lady’s Chapel
$15 registration.

Register by calling (408) 847-5151

or email Rose Barry, rose@stmarygilroy.org

or Becki McLoughlin, muzak@stmarygilroy.org.

A prayer for voters

2008-10-29T16:55:00.000-07:00

Here is a prayer for voters, written by Rev. Daniel Coughlin of the Archdiocese of Chicago. Fr. Coughlin serves as the Chaplain of the House of Representatives.

Almighty and ever–living God, bound in faithful love to Your people, be attentive to our deepest needs; for as a nation we place all our trust in You.

Since election day approaches, we pray for all those who have placed their name before the people; to seal their commitment of public service for the common good. Purify the intentions of those who deserve the public trust. Transform self interest into compassion for Your people, as You make them harbingers of our future.

Empower each voter with Your Spirit; so that as the free people of Your creation they may recognize truth and personal integrity in those they choose. May the representative government they place in service mirror their own commitment to search out the ways of peace with others and establish an economic stability where justice will flourish for all.

May a new era of patriotism dawn upon the United States; a patriotism strong enough to carry us through difficult times and flexible enough to embrace authentic creativity. Drawing upon the resources of university and business, may the legal and social development of Your people help all citizens realize their full potential in Your sight. For Your wisdom is revealed to us and in us both now and forever. Amen.

Hat tip to Rocco.

Advent Morning of Prayer

2008-10-29T09:22:00.000-07:00

Advent Morning of Prayer:

Prepare the Way
(Sponsored by the Northern Catechetical Cluster

and the Office of Parish Services)

Thursday, December 4
9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Villa Holy Names, 82 Prospect, Los Gatos, CA 95030

We invite Catechetical Directors and Coordinators, Master Catechists,

Liturgy and Social Justice Coordinators, Youth and Young Adult Coordinators,
Directors of the Catechumenate, and team members

Fr. Joe Fice S.J. will lead us in reflection

Morning hospitality and lunch will be provided

(Please bring your own coffee cup)

Online registration is available at this site.
Please register by Monday, November 24, 2008

Registration fee is $22.00
Make check payable to the Diocese of San Jose
Mail to the Diocese of San Jose, Attention: Iracema Gurbiel
900 Lafayette St. Suite 301, Santa Clara, CA 95050

Free conference to build a stronger parish - November 13, 2008

2008-10-09T19:39:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, November 13, 2008, J.S. Paluch and World Library Publications are sponsoring a FREE day-long event at the new Oakland Cathedral Conference Center and Worship Space. The conference is especially for:

catechists and catechumenate (RCIA) ministers,
business managers and development directors, and
music ministers and all parishioners who love to sing.

They are providing this free day of formation to thank all those in the Bay Area who have supported their company by using their bulletin service and music ministry resources.

Building a Stronger Parish

Thursday, November 13, 2008
10:00a to 3:30p Workshops
7:00p to 9:00p Concert with John Angotti

Cathedral of Christ the Light
Conference Center and Worship Space
180 Grand Avenue, Oakland, CA 94612

Cost: Free! including lunch!

Daytime Workshops:
Apprenticeship: Model for RCIA and All Catechesis (Jerry Galipeau)
Celebrating the Rites of the RCIA (Jerry Galipeau)
Unlocking the Power of your Parish Census Data (Tom Gull)
It's in the Bulletin (Tom Gull)

Evening Concert:
WLP Autumn Song Fest with
John Angotti, Jerry Galipeau,
and friends

RSVP by Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Jennifer Estevez
800-675-5051 or estevezj@jspaluch.com

Click here for a PDF brochure with more information.

WHAT ABOUT THE ROSARY?

2008-10-06T16:13:00.001-07:00

What About The Rosary?
Brother John M. Samaha, S.M.

Origin of the Rosary
The Rosary, the blessed beads that quietly slip between our fingers as we pray over the mysteries of Jesus’ redemptive life, has an ancient origin. Most likely it originated in the ancient East, perhaps in India, and not in the medieval West. It was and still is a popular prayer device among the Muslims, who use the Arabic term masbahat , which means to give praise. Devout Muslims used the masbahat in repeating the attributes of God, just as it was used by the early Christian hermits. Following the Crusades the Rosary found its way to the West. The missionary who worked hardest to spread this devotion was Abed El-Ahad, Saint Dominic, and his Dominican companions.

The Rosary became a popular method of prayer and spread quickly in the West during the Middle Ages. For Christians it has always been “the Gospel strung on beads.” It is a simple and easy prayer that can be employed for vocal prayer or silent contemplation by individuals, families, and communities.

Papal Encouragement
Since the 16th century the popes have frequently encouraged the faithful of East and West to pray the Rosary. The first was a Dominican pope, Saint Pius V, who wrote a papal letter about the Rosary in 1569 shortly after the Council of Trent, and instituted the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.

In the late 19th century after the First Vatican Council the illustrious Pope Leo XIII wrote more than ten encyclicals and instructions promoting the use of the Rosary.

To make pastoral applications of the Marian teachings of the Second Vatican Council Pope Paul VI in 1974 authored the apostolic exhortation Devotion to Mary (Marialis Cultus). Paul VI discussed the Rosary at some length as a summary of the Gospel comprised of prayers based on Gospel texts. He urged the faithful to pray the Rosary, and especially recommended the family Rosary in these words:

“We would like now to join our voice to the voices of our predecessors and strongly recommend the prayer of the Rosary in the family…because the Christian family is a family church….If the family neglected this communal prayer, it would lose its character as a Christian family.”

“In addition to the prayer of the Divine Office (Liturgy of the Hours) …the Rosary of the Virgin Mary would be the most preferable communal prayer for the Christian family.”

Pope Paul VI concluded his recommendation by saying: “We would like to repeat that the Rosary is an excellent and magnificent prayer….”

Pope John Paul II, enthusiastic devotee of our Blessed Mother, in 2002 issued a pastoral letter entitled The Rosary of the Virgin Mary, in which he proclaimed October 2002 until October 2003 the Year of the Rosary, and put forth the Luminous Mysteries based on the public life of Jesus.

Our present Holy Father, Benedict XVI, values the prayer of the Rosary as a means of contemplating Jesus with Mary’s eyes. For him pondering the mysteries of the Rosary calms a “restless spirit, allows the soul to settle into tranquility…and grants a vision of God.” He associates the Rosary with consolation and healing, an inner refuge which enfolds us “in the rhythm of the prayer of the whole Church.” “I do it quite simply,” he said, “just as my parents used to pray.”

The Rosary Today
While some Eastern Christians who erroneously consider the Rosary foreign to Eastern spirituality, quite the opposite is the reality. The Rosary is a prayer for all peoples and for all seasons.

Early on, the Rosary was a common method of prayer in the East among Christians and non-Christians. Even though it came to us through Western missionaries, it was and still is an easy and rich method of prayer to help the faithful fathom the mysteries of God along the journey of salvation. And we do so with a special companion, the Mother of God and our Mother. Praying the Rosary, particularly in the family, is an excellent method of bringing us together in the faith under the protection of her who always and everywhere intercedes for all people. Let us spare no effort to remain close to her.

Prayers in time of financial crisis

2008-10-06T15:49:00.000-07:00

These prayers by Diana Macalintal first appeared in Today's Parish Minister, 40:6, October 2008.

A Prayer When Money Is Tight

Gracious God,
you tell me to look at the birds in the air
who don't work or sow,
yet they are fed each day by your hand.
But Lord, they can fly where they need to go,
while I still need to put gas in the car.
And you say to look at the flowers in the field
who don't worry about what they will wear,
yet you clothe them in splendor and majesty.
But Lord, lilies might dress up my dinner table,
but they won't feed my hungry family.
Giver of all good gifts,
I know you can't give me wings to fly
or a life free of worry.
So please give me instead
a heart overflowing with trust in you.
Though I may not get all the things that I ask for,
I know you will give me everything that I need.
When money is tight and anxiety is near,
open my heart to give freely of myself
that I might be abundantly rich in you. Amen.

A Prayer When You Have Nothing Left To Give

Lord, I have nothing left to give.
I'm exhausted and worn out.
Yet so many still ask for more.
Grant me that last ounce of strength
that sustained you enough on the cross
to offer one last word of forgiveness,
that I may be gentle with others
and with myself.
And when that too is spent,
help me stay present even in my emptiness,
and let my presence be the first and last gift
I have to give. Amen.

Sunday Reflections and Social Ministry - Catholic Charities

2008-09-25T18:16:00.000-07:00

Many of you in San José will know Elizabeth Lilly from liturgical, catechumenate, justice, and pastoral circles. She is now more actively working with parishes to help them foster and support their justice activities through her role with Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County. Because she is a liturgist at the core, she has been working on helping parishes make the connection between liturgy and justice clearer. Part of her motivation comes from the United States Bishops’ 1993 document, Communities of Salt and Light: Reflections on the Social Mission of the Parish.

Sunday Reflections and Social Ministry
October – 2008

For weekly bulletins, faith sharing groups, prayer at meetings, bible study, lectors, outreach actions…anywhere the word of God calls us to act with charity and justice. Community and Parish Partnerships Elizabeth Lilly, 408-325-5262, elilly@ccsj.org.

October 5, 2008
“The people are the cherished plant.” Isaiah 5

Catholic Charities story: Cathy, a single mother of two young girls was overwhelmed when they would throw tantrums several times a day. With the help of a dedicated case manager, Cathy has become much more confident in her parenting skills, has started to form deeper, richer relationships with her daughters and both girls have made great improvements. Cathy and her Family Partner are currently involved in getting an Individualized Education Plan for the older daughter. Cathy has been taking more responsibility in the process.
Catholic Charities opportunity: First 5 Family Partners case managers help parents assess their situations, learn about community resources, and make a plan of action. Empowering people to fully participate in the life of the community is one of the goals of Catholic Charities. For more information contact Charlene Moore, 408 283-6150, cmoore@ccsj.org.

Get the entire collection of reflections for October 2008 as a Word doc by clicking the graphic below.

Permission is given to download and reprint for your parishes and communities.

Advent Liturgy Workshop – October 30, 2008

2008-09-25T13:57:00.000-07:00

Advent Liturgy Workshop

Attention all music ministers, choir directors,
and liturgy coordinators!

You are all invited to a FREE workshop exploring
the meaning, rituals, and music of Advent.

Diana Macalintal, Associate for Liturgy for the Diocese of San José, will help participants discover the primary liturgical symbols of Advent, examine the unique characteristics of the Advent liturgies, and prepare appropriate music for the season.

October 30, 2008, Thursday
7:00p to 8:30p
Saint Maria Goretti Church
2980 Senter Road, San José, 95111.

To RSVP and for more information, contact Theresa Vu
Theresa_vu@yahoo.com or 408-390-1643.

Click here for a printable flyer.

The #1 thing you can do today to make the world a better place

2008-08-27T11:57:00.000-07:00

Okay, call me a sap, but I simply love the Olympics. Not so much the sports part of it, although there were some remarkable moments in the competitions. I'm talking more about the way the whole idea of the Olympics makes me feel. In a word, it makes me feel hopeful--hopeful that the world can be a better place.

At the end of the closing ceremonies (which, let's be honest, did not compare even remotely to the opening ceremonies), one of the NBC commentators said about this world-changing spirit of the Olympics: If we can be this way for 16 days, why not three weeks? Why not a month? Why not longer?

I do believe that good Olympics, like good liturgy, gives us a little glimpse of what the Kingdom of God could be like on earth. And once we get a glimpse, we want more.

Continuing that note, ZenHabits has a post about the #1 lifehack (slang for something that improves your life) you can implement today for making the world a better place. It's not written from a religious point of view, but we in the Church can certainly be reminded of how simple it can be to do something today to make the reign of God more visible in our world today.

Novena for Faithful Citizenship

2008-08-26T15:56:00.000-07:00

A new prayer resource is available on the Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship Web site. The USCCB is inviting Catholics to pray before the November election a novena for life, justice, and peace called the Novena for Faithful Citizenship. It is podcast and available for download.

The novena runs for nine days and can be used consecutively, one day each week, for nine days prior to the election, or in any way that works best for a community or individual.

The novena can be downloaded online at... http://www.faithfulcitizenship.org/resources/podcasts .

For other Faithful Citizenship resources and materials visit www.faithfulcitizenship.org.

Notre Dame University 37th Annual Conference - June 15 - 17, 2009

2008-08-26T15:41:00.000-07:00

Paul as Liturgical Theologian
June 15 - 17, 2009
at the University of Notre Dame

From June 28, 2008 to June 29, 2009 the Church will be celebrating a Jubilee Year in honor of the apostle Paul, to commemorate the bimellenium of his birth. As its contribution to this commemoration, the Notre Dame Center for Liturgy is dedicating its 2009 conference to exploring "Paul as Liturgical Theologian."

Presentations will consider Paul's teachings on Christian worship and liturgy, and how the Church community's worship serves as matrix for his theology.

Keynote Speaker :
Fr. Robert Taft, S.J., Pontifical Oriental Institute, Rome

Plenary Session Speakers:
Beverly Roberts Gaventa, Princeton Theological Seminary
"Faith comes by what is heard, and what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ."
Romans 10:17 (The Word in Worship)

Fr. Paul McPartlan, Catholic University of America
"The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?"
1 Corinthians 10:16 (One Body: Ecclesial and Sacramental)

Aurelie Hagstrom, Providence College
"To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good."
1 Corinthians 12: 7 (One Body: Gifts, Ministries, Responsibility)

Fr. John Behr, St. Vladimir's Orthodox Seminary
"As a plan for the fullness fo time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth."
Ephesians 1:10 (The Eschatological Dimension of Liturgy)

Click here for more info.

The Complete Works of the Bible: New Abriged One-Minute Version

2008-08-22T16:40:00.001-07:00

Bible In A Minute - barats and bereta

Hat tip to Concord Pastor. Click the link for the lyrics.

Day of Reflection for RCIA Ministers - September 6, 2008

2008-08-22T15:19:00.000-07:00

All catechumenate leaders and team members, priests, deacons,

and catechists are invited to a FREE diocesan day of reflection

Second Annual Day of
REFLECTION & INSPIRATION
“WORKERS IN THE VINEYARD OF THE LORD”

Saturday, September 6, 2008, 9:00am – 1:00pm
Santa Teresa Catholic Church

794 Calero Avenue, San Jose, 95123

Inspirational Speaker: Rev. Christopher Bennett

Reflection: Sr. Sharon Skain, SNDdeN

Hospitality and free Lunch provided

9:00am - Check in and Gathering

9:30am - Welcome and Prayer

9:45am - Scripture, Reflection, Questions, Speaker

12:30pm - Closing Prayer and free Lunch

Please RSVP by Tuesday, September 2, 2008, to Sue Marrion

sue@marrion.com or 650-694-7479

Please join the diocesan Catechumenate Committee as we prepare and look forward to another fruitful harvest, laboring in the joys of God’s vineyards. Each of us, as masters and workers, needs to nourish ourselves at this time of year. We expectantly look forward to a full harvest from our catechists and catechumens, knowing that each year, the vines we plant with love and care, require us to guide and nurture them so we are rewarded with an abundant fruitful harvest.

“No wine is better than the fruit used to make it.”

As part of the diocesan Liturgical Commission, the Catechumenate Committee's role is to assist parishes in the formation and implementation of an effective RCIA process through offering assistance, support, and the knowledge of an experienced team, some of whom have experienced this process themselves. Let the diocesan Catechumenate Committee help answer your questions and concerns, for example:

“How can I help my team grow spiritually and confidently?”
“What is my Faith calling me to do?”
“How can we encourage others to join us in the fields?”

Choral Festival and Mass - November 15

2008-08-21T16:12:00.000-07:00

Pueri Cantores, the national student choral organization of the Catholic Church, invites your parish or school treble choir to participate in a Choral Festival and Mass for singers ages 8-18.

Below is a link to the Pueri Cantores San Francisco Youth Choir Festival emailer, which details our upcoming festival at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in San Francisco, Saturday, November 15, 2008.

CHORAL FESTIVAL
Archdiocese of San Francisco
Dioceses of Fresno, Sacramento,
Monterey, Oakland, San Jose,
Santa Rosa, Stockton and Reno

Click here to view more information.

Bringing Voice to Faith - September 6

2008-08-20T10:14:00.000-07:00

Want a Voice in this Church you love?

Want to learn about...
Creating collaborative, effective, Parish Councils?
Celebrating the gifts of women?
Insuring intelligent and intelligible homilies?

Join us in this exciting follow-up

to last year’s lay-convened conference

Bringing

Voice to Faith

The Second Annual
Northern California Lay Convocation

Saturday, September 6, 2008

9:00am to 3:45pm
University of San Francisco

FREE PARKING for the first 300 registrants

For more info, visit http://www.norcallayconvocation.org/

A Concert / Retreat with Tony Alonso!

2008-08-15T14:40:00.000-07:00

St Simon Parish invites you to...

A Concert/Retreat with Tony Alonso!

October 3, 2008

7:00pm Concert

October 4, 2008

9:00am-12:00pm Retreat

(followed by luncheon)

Click below for a map to St. Simon

1860 Grant Rd Los Altos, CA by MapQuest

All Parishes, all ages welcome.

Free Admission

Please click here for a flyer.

For information please contact

Amy Stacke: astacke@stsimon.org

Suzanne Fitzgerald: Litmusic@aol.com

Tony Alonso is one of the most prominent voices in contemporary liturgical music today. He is the author of several books, music collections and CDs, and has presented in many conferences and events throughout the US & Europe. In addition to his passion for sung prayer, Tony has a deep interest in engaging young people in the life & liturgy of the church. He currently serves as Director of Music for the Campus Ministry Team in Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles.

What is "real catechesis"?

2008-08-12T06:36:00.000-07:00

Every so often, Pope Benedict XVI does a Q&A session with locals. His latest was at the Cathedral in Bressanone, Italy, with the clergy of that diocese. One priest asked the Pope what to do with people who ask for a sacrament but whose faith is superficial.

Here's the Pope's translated response, courtesy of Whispers:

Well, I can’t give an infallible answer right now, I can only try to respond based on what I see. I have to say that I’ve followed a path similar to yours. When I was young I was rather more severe. I said: the sacraments are the sacraments of the faith, and when the faith isn’t there, where there’s not practice of the faith, the sacraments can’t be conferred. When I was Archbishop of Munich I always discussed this with my pastors, and there too there were too factions, one severe and one more generous. I too in the course of time have realized that we have to follow instead the example of the Lord, who was very open also with the people who were at the margins of Israel at that time. He was a Lord of mercy, too open – according to many of the official authorities – with sinners, welcoming them or allowing himself to be welcomed by them at their dinners, drawing them to himself in his communion.

Thus I would say in essence that the sacraments are naturally sacraments of the faith. Where there is no element of faith, where First Communion would just be a party with a big lunch, nice clothes and nice gifts, then it can’t be a sacrament of the faith. But, on the other hand, if we can see even a tiny flame of desire for communion in the church, a desire also from these children who want to enter into communion with Jesus, it seems right to me to be rather generous. Naturally, for sure, it must be part of our catechesis to make clear that Communion, First Communion, is not automatic, but it demands a continuity of friendship with Jesus, a path with Jesus. I know that children often have the intention and desire to go to Sunday Mass, but their parents don’t make it possible. If we see that the children want it, that they have the desire to go, it seems to me almost a sacrament of desire, the ‘vow’ of participation at Sunday Mass. In this sense we naturally should do everything possible in the context of sacramental preparation to also reach the parents and – let’s say – also awaken in them a sensibility for the path that their children are taking. They should help their children to follow their own desire to enter into friendship with Jesus, which is the form of life, of the future. If the parents have the desire that their children should make the First Communion, this somewhat social desire should be expanded into a religious desire to make possible a journey with Jesus.

I would say, therefore, that in the context of catechism with children, the work with parents is always very important. It’s an occasion for meeting the parents, making the life of faith present also to the adults, so that they themselves can learn anew from the children – it seems to me – and to understand that this great solemnity makes sense only, and it’s true and authentic only if, it’s realized in the context of a journey with Jesus, in the context of a life of faith. The challenge is to convince the parents a bit, through the children, of the necessity of a preparatory path, which reveals itself in participation in the mysteries and begins to foster love for those mysteries.

This is a fairly insufficient response, I would say, but the pedagogy of the faith is always a journey, and we have to accept today’s situation, but we also have to open it up little by little, so that it’s not directed at the sole aim of some exterior memory of things, but so that the heart is truly touched. In the moment in which we become convinced, the heart is touched, it’s felt a bit of the love of Jesus, and it’s experienced a bit of desire to move in this direction. In that moment, it seems to me, we can say that we’ve accomplished a real catechesis. The true sense of catechesis, in fact, should be this: to carry the flame of the love of Jesus, even if it’s small, to the hearts of children, and through the children to their parents, thereby opening anew the places of the faith in our time.

An Empty-Nester's Prayer

2008-08-11T12:41:00.000-07:00

This prayer by Diana Macalintal first appeared in Today's Parish Minister, 40:4, April/May 2008.

A Parent’s Prayer When Children are Leaving Home

Gracious God,
you blessed me
with the gift of my child
and entrusted me
with his/her care.
Now he/she leaves this home
and begins a new life
apart from me.
Surround him/her
with good people
and watch over him/her each day.
And let him/her know that I will always be near
whenever he/she may need me.
Heal any hurts we may harbor with one another
and forgive our failings as we learn
to be in a new kind of relationship with each other.
And when the sight of his/her empty room
pierces my heart with sadness,
may I find comfort in knowing that my child is your child too,
filled with your grace and sheltered by your love. Amen.

If fonts were human

2008-07-26T07:22:00.000-07:00

No, not baptismal fonts.

Hat tip to Oh Gizmo.

Emergency call for housing of refugees

2008-07-25T06:57:00.000-07:00

I received this message in my email today. Can you help?

The staff of Catholic Charities Refugee Resettlement Program sends their warm hellos and thanks for your past support of newly arrived refugees.

Many of you have been wonderful advocates for refugees for years, and it will come as no surprise to you that we are in the midst of our annual "refugee bulge." We resettle close to 70% of our annual caseload from July to September each year. (The federal calendar closes on Sept. 30, and no one flies after that until the President signs the new year's Presidential Determination - hence the overseas push out of the camps.)

Can you help us this summer?

Our two Refugee Transitional Homes are full to capacity, and Santa Clara County's housing situation is very, very difficult this year. We're finding it next to impossible to rent affordable apartments or homes on short notice. For example, we have a family of six (parents and 4 kids, ages 10 months to 13 years) from Bhutan arriving tomorrow, Friday. Their housing fell through today, and now we are scrambling to find a place for them in the next 24 hours.

Would you consider helping this family - or an individual refugee, or couple, or mother and child - during this time? Do you have extra room where you could house someone for a month or two and help us to welcome them into the country? We are expecting refugees from all over the world this month, including Burma, Bhutan, Sudan, Iraq - and we desperately need a hand.

You won't be alone - our case managers will help them with English classes, jobs, school enrollment for kids, housing - and lives will be transformed. Theirs, and yours - I know.

Thanks for considering this request, and for your past support.

Warm regards,
Coleen

Coleen Higa, Community Relations Manager
Refugee Foster Care Program
Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County
2625 Zanker Rd., Ste. 201
San Jose, CA 95134
408.325.5159
coleen@ccsj. org
www.ccsj.org

Managing Low Gluten Hosts at Mass

2008-07-23T16:57:00.000-07:00

Todd Flowerday, who writes at Catholic Sensibility, has a regular feature called The Armchair Liturgist. Think of it as Monday-morning quarterbacking for Catholic geeks like you and me.

In this installment, he asks the question of how you handle giving Communion to those with wheat allergies who need low- or no-gluten hosts.

Here's a past article on the US Bishop's FAQ on Celiac Sprue Disease.

Click here to participate in the conversation at Todd's blog and to read the wisdom of his readers who have figured out how to make the Eucharistic table more hospitable to our brothers and sisters with this special need.

E-Waste Collection

2008-07-23T16:34:00.000-07:00

Saint Lawrence the Martyr Youth Ministry is hosting a free e-waste collection on Saturday, July 26th from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

This will serve to keep all your old electronic waste out of landfills as well as benefit the Youth of Saint Lawrence.

Contact Bruno Martinez for more information: (408) 869-8254 or bmartinez@saintlawrence.org.

Video Clips from World Youth Day 2008

2008-07-23T16:23:00.000-07:00

Here's a collection of videos compiled by Judy Swazey, liturgy director at Saint Martin of Tours Parish in San José. Congratulations to all the pilgrims! Prayers for safe travel back home.

A new litany of saints? I dare you... :)

2008-07-19T09:06:00.000-07:00

Doing Becker at an andante (walking) tempo doesn't seem so difficult anymore.

Hat-tip to Concord Pastor.

A Song of Peace for the 4th of July

2008-07-04T09:45:00.000-07:00

This has always been my favorite song for this day. You might even find it in your hymnal next to all the other patriotic songs. Peace to you and to all our lands.

(performed by the San Francisco School of the Arts)

Some background info on the lyrics here.

And a beautiful arrangement here...

(performed by The Southwest American Choral Director's Association Collegiate Choir)

Tune: FINLANDIA, Jean Sibelius (1899)
Vv. 1-2: Lloyd Stone (1912-1992)
Vv. 3-5: George Harkness

This is my song, O God of all the nations,
a song of peace for lands afar and mine;
this is my home, the country where my heart is;
here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine:
but other hearts in other lands are beating
with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.

My country's skies are bluer than the ocean,
and sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine;
but other lands have sunlight too, and clover,
and skies are everywhere as blue as mine:
O hear my song, thou God of all the nations,
a song of peace for their land and for mine.

This is my song, O God of all the nations,
a prayer that peace transcends in every place;
and yet I pray for my beloved country --
the reassurance of continued grace:
Lord, help us find our one-ness in the Savior,
in spite of differences of age and race.

May truth and freedom come to every nation;
may peace abound where strife has raged so long;
that each may seek to love and build together,
a world united, righting every wrong;
a world united in its love for freedom,
proclaiming peace together in one song.

This is my prayer, O Lord of all earth's kingdoms,
thy kingdom come, on earth, thy will be done;
let Christ be lifted up 'til all shall serve him,
and hearts united, learn to live as one:
O hear my prayer, thou God of all the nations,
myself I give thee -- let thy will be done.

Ideas for observing the Year of St. Paul

2008-07-04T09:43:00.000-07:00

Pope Benedict XVI has declared June 29, 2008 (Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul) through June 29, 2009 the Year of Saint Paul. During this Pauline Year, how will your parish highlight the Pauline elements of our Church? Sure, you can bring in speakers and biblical scholars, or have a special Bible study course on Paul's letters, or go to a diocesan workshop on Paul.

But what are the things we already have at hand, without paying anything extra or adding another event to our calendar, that can help us celebrate Saint Paul?

Here are some no- or low-cost, simple ideas for you to do right now to honor this Pauline Year.

Blessings for World Youth Day delegates

2008-07-03T16:16:00.000-07:00

Got a group of people traveling to Australia for this year's WYD? Send them off with a blessing. The Book of Blessings, chapter 8, has two orders for blessing pilgrims. And here's a blessing for travelers adapted from the blessing of pilgrims that you can also use.

Classifieds (outside diocese): Director of the Office of Worship

2008-07-03T15:00:00.000-07:00

Position available: Diocese of Raleigh, Director of the Office of Worship

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh, NC is seeking a Director of the Office of Worship to assist the Bishop in the role as principle liturgist of the Diocese. The position will report to the Vicar General.

The Diocese of Raleigh was established in 1924 and encompasses the eastern half of the state of North Carolina. It includes 54 counties, is divided into eight deaneries with a total of 96 parishes, missions and stations and seven centers for campus ministry. The registered Catholics in the Diocese have doubled in number since 1990, now standing at 188,000. In the past 15 years, more Spanish-speaking people have settled in North Carolina than in any other state in the Union.

The Director of the Office of Worship serves as a resource on liturgical matters to the Diocesan Bishop and to the parishes of the Diocese. The Director will also provide leadership and support in coordinating all Episcopal and Diocesan liturgies, recommending particular norms and praxis in keeping with the universal liturgical norms of the Church, and conduct liturgical formation on the Diocesan and parish levels in appropriate collaboration with Diocesan offices.

The successful candidate is a practicing Roman Catholic in good standing with a true love for God, His Church, and the Sacred Liturgy; will have completed a Bachelor’s degree in Theology, preferably a Master's or Licentiate degree in Liturgy or Liturgical Theology. In addition, the successful candidate will have three to five years of significant experience in planning and coordinating Diocesan and/or parish liturgies; has an understanding of the Spanish language and Hispanic liturgical customs, with fluency of the language preferred; and have strong leadership and communication skills.

The Director should be an example of leadership and professionalism in the execution of all his/ her duties and work effectively with staff members, parish representatives and volunteers. Attractive characteristics of such an individual include having an understanding and appreciative attitude with an openness to learn.

Salary range is $40,000 to $50,000, commensurate with education and experience.

A letter of interest and resume should be sent in confidence to: Frank Shannon, Principal, EduSearch, Email: fshannon@edusearchonline.com

Resources for the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of the Lord

2008-05-19T08:35:00.000-07:00

The Liturgy Office of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales has put together an extensive set of resources for the celebration of the Year of the Eucharist, especially the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ that takes place in the United States on Sunday, May 25, 2008. (In England and Wales, the solemnity takes place on the Thursday after the Most Holy Trinity. The booklet referenced below includes several sections on how to make weekday holy days more significant in the life of the parish.)

You can find all their resources here (you will need Adobe Reader to access some of the materials). Below is an excerpt from their booklet on Celebrating the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of the Lord.

===

The Liturgies of the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of the Lord
Each of the three elements described below requires, and will repay, careful preparation. The greatest attention should be paid to the preparation of the liturgy of the Mass. A planning sheet is provided at the end of this booklet

I. Liturgy of the Hours
The Offices of the Solemnity are found in the Volume III of the Divine Office. The Offices may be prayed in their own right, but may also be prayed during a time of Exposition. In addition they provide a resource for prayers and readings for other times of prayer.

II. Mass
a) Proper texts
The Proper of the Mass is found on pp 348-9 of the Roman Missal. One of the two Prefaces of the Holy Eucharist should be used (P 46 and P 47, Roman Missal, pp 467-9).

b) Penitential Rite
Themes related to the Solemnity are to the fore in a number of examples of Form C of the Penitential Rite, examples c ii, c vi, c viii (Roman Missal, pp 361-4).

c) Solemn Blessing
Any of the Solemn Blessings I – V for Ordinary Time may be used or of the Prayers over the People 1-24 (Roman Missal, pp 574-5 and 579-83 respectively).

d) Music
Some general notes are offered here. More detailed guidance on music and the Liturgy of the Eucharist may be found in the document Music and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Particular care should be taken on this day with regard to the music used at Mass, and especially during the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Priority should be given to singing the key sung elements of the Common of the Mass – the Gospel and Eucharistic Acclamations, and the Gloria. In the Communion Rite best practice should be followed with regard to the Communion Song and the Period of Silence or Song after Communion.

Care should be taken to choose a Communion Song which can begin immediately after the communal recital of ‘Lord, I am not worthy to receive you...’ and continue until all the assembly have received Communion. So as not to encumber the assembly with books or service sheets during the procession the song may be led by a cantor or choir and include a repeated response or refrain from the assembly.

Suitable settings include:
Settings of Psalm 115 (116) (The Blessing Cup)
Settings of Psalm 33 (34) (Taste and See)
Amen, Amen So Shall It Be — Foster
Take and Eat — Joncas
How Blest — Schiavone
Eat This Bread — Taizé
Come Christ’s Beloved — Walsh

Although the Communion Song can be followed by another Song after Communion it may be preferable to allow a time of silence to allow for members of the assembly to offer their prayer of thanksgiving in silence, and to contemplate of the mystery celebrated. (This would be particularly appropriate if a time of extended exposition was to follow after Mass, or if a final hymn was to be sung.) If hymns are being sung then it is better for them to be sung as Entrance or Final Hymns rather than at other times.

III. Procession
A Eucharistic Procession ‘is a prolongation of the celebration of the Eucharist: immediately after Mass, the Sacred Host, consecrated during the Mass, is borne out of the Church for the Christian faithful to make public profession of faith and worship of the Most Blessed Sacrament’ (Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy, 162)

Wherever it is possible in the judgement of the diocesan Bishop, a procession through the public streets should be held, especially on the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ as a public witness of reverence for the Most Holy Sacrament, for the devout participation of the faithful in the eucharistic procession on the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ is a grace from the Lord which yearly fills with joy those who take part in it’. (Redemptionis Sacramentum, 143)

The Church’s guidance for such processions is given in the ritual book Holy Communion and Worship of the Eucharist outside Mass (part of the Roman Ritual).

It will normally begin immediately after the celebration of a Mass. It should normally go from one church to another, but may return to the same church where it began.

a) Music
No particular songs are required to be used during the procession, but suitable ones would include those listed above for use during Communion. Again it is helpful if the songs are sung by a choir with a chant for all participants (as many will be familiar with from the practice in Lourdes). Traditional hymns might most easily be sung at the beginning or end of the procession, when the congregation is stationary.

b) Good order of the procession
As already noted the decision as to whether a public procession may proceed belongs to the Bishop. Matters that he is likely to take into consideration are the likelihood of the procession provoking reactions of disrespect of the Church or blasphemy towards Christ present in the Blessed Sacrament.

When a public procession cannot be held, the tradition of holding eucharistic processions should not be allowed to be lost. Instead, new ways should be sought of holding them in today’s conditions: for example, at shrines, or in public gardens if the civil authority agrees.(Redemptionis Sacramentum, 144)

Well in advance of any planned procession, the appropriate permissions must also be obtained from any necessary civil authorities – for example the local council or police force for processions taking place on public roads. The civil authorities will indicate the necessary health and safety measures that should be observed for the well-being of worshippers and the general public.

Your summer RCIA reading list

2008-05-16T07:38:00.000-07:00

Summer is the perfect time to build up your reading library and to update your own formation by reading--and re-reading--some of the essential resources for your ministry.

I am always shocked, but unfortunately not too surprised, to hear that a person preparing a liturgy, or some aspect of it, like the music or sacramental preparation for it, has not read the actual text of the rite they are planning. (Shocked! Shocked, I tell you!)

Reading the rites will actually make your job easier. Yet too many liturgical musicians, catechetical ministers, and even liturgists and clergy have not actually read the RCIA (the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults). If they are working in a typical parish, they will be planning and preparing at least six rites during the year that come directly out of the RCIA. But preparing for these rites without actually reading the Rite out of the actual Rite book is a bit like trying to learn about the Bible without actually opening a Bible.

Now I've been guilty of this too in my younger years. Like many people, I simply pulled out the script that the previous liturgist put together. Or I did what I remembered seeing at a workshop, convention, or institute. Or I did what the pastor said was "the way we have always done it here in this parish." But, at worst, much of what I was doing was actually not what the Rite was calling for. At best, I wasn't understanding the intent of the Rite and therefore couldn't authentically adapt it for that particular assembly.

So your very first book at the top of your RCIA reading list must be the RCIA itself. If you're still not convinced, click here to get six more reasons you must read the RCIA.

And for more essential reading for anyone working with the RCIA and its rites, go here to check out TeamRCIA.com's essential resources for the RCIA. TeamRCIA.com breaks down the list by showing you what's essential for everyone to read, then listing resources for getting started, for teams, sponsors, preachers, ministers working with children, liturgists, and other sacramental preparation coordinators.

Speaking with authority--another take on it.

2008-05-13T23:37:00.000-07:00

"Jesus then went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee. He taught them on the sabbath, and they were astonished at his teaching because he spoke with authority" (Luke 4:31-32).

[tip to Concord Pastor who tipped The Deacon's Bench.]

Blogito ergo sum

2008-05-10T09:44:00.000-07:00

The Vatican Web site has long been available in English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese. Well, dust off your Wheelock's textbook because now you can read the Vatican Web pages in Latin.

Scripts and the Pope's Ordo

2008-05-08T15:05:00.000-07:00

One of the things I often do is prepare a ritual script for the Bishop or other presiders, especially for more complex liturgies like the Chrism Mass or Rite of Election. It really is an art to put together readable and clearly laid-out scripts for presiders.

I think those who designed the Pope's Ordo (order of rituals) for his recent U.S. visit did a great job. If you haven't seen it yet, click here to see the complete set of scripts (in pdf) that the Pope used throughout his visit here.

Liturgical Coordinators' Gathering - May 6, 2008

2008-05-01T13:04:00.000-07:00

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) recently issued a document on music called "Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship" (pdf). A striking paragraph at the beginning of this comprehensive work says this:

The Paschal hymn...does not cease when a liturgical celebration ends. Christ, whose praises we have sung, remains with us and leads us through church doors to the whole world, with its joys and hopes, griefs and anxieties....Charity, justice, and evangelization are thus the normal consequences of liturgical celebration. Particularly inspired by sung participation, the body of the Word Incarnate goes forth to spread the Gospel with full force and compassion. (8-9)

How do you see charity, justice, and evangelization being the consequences of the liturgies your parish celebrates? How does the music that your assemblies sing help them go through your church doors to continue the Paschal hymn of Christ in the world?

Liturgical Coordinators’ Gathering
“Music and Liturgy that does

Charity, Justice, and Evangelization”
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
10:00a - 12:00p

Saint Catherine of Alexandria, Parish Center

17400 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, 95037

Please RSVP with Bernard Nemis
408-983-0126, or online.

You will come away from this meeting with:

Three ways to judge the appropriateness of music for your assembly;
Four ways to improve the assembly's sense of ritual music;
Five strategies for making liturgical singing more just;
Eight things to do this summer to improve your liturgy by next September;

Bring your ideas, best practices, and questions. If you have any questions about these gatherings, please contact Diana or 408-983-0136.

Musical by Julie Wind and Joanne Culver - May 10, 2008

2008-04-24T10:31:00.000-07:00

Who Do You Say That I Am?

Saturday, May 10th

7:30 p.m.

Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph

A free musical performance. This story brings to life the women of the Gospels, demonstrating the value of women to the ministry of Jesus and how they serve as role models for men and women today. The gifts of these women were not refused by the Lord.

Written by Joanna Culver and Julie Wind.

The Ageless Apostle Paul

2008-04-21T09:44:00.000-07:00

Brother John M. Samaha, S.M.

Pope Benedict XVI has proclaimed a Pauline Year in preparation for the 2000th anniversary of the great apostle’s birth. Church historians reckon that St. Paul was born around 10 A.D. in Tarsus, now located in Turkey. Following his conversion to Christianity he became the Church’s foremost evangelizer in spreading the gospel among the Jews and the Gentiles.
The Pauline year will run from June 29, 2008 (feast of Saints Peter and Paul), to June 29, 2009. The purpose is to highlight Paul’s life and his contribution to the spread of Christianity in the first century, and to remind us of our baptismal obligation to spread the Good News.
When Pope Benedict XVI visited the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls to pray at the tomb of the great apostle and to honor his missionary legacy, the Holy Father reflected that “The Church is by nature missionary. Its primary task is evangelization. In the third millennium the Church feels with renewed strength that Christ’s missionary mandate is more pressing that ever.”
The Pauline Year invites us to recall the genius and sanctity and zeal of the Apostle of the Gentiles. The Pope encourages us to imitate what he taught, and to renew our missionary spirit.

The perennial power of Paul
How did Saint Paul do it? What did he speak, write, and do to attract so many to Christianity? He was a dynamic evangelizer, the premier Apostle of the Gentiles. Sitting in a pew, or participating in a Bible study circle in the third millennium, it can still be difficult to fathom the meaning he loaded into terms like “flesh,” “spirit,” and “the world.” But, promise biblical scholars like Father Joseph Fitzmyer, a Pauline authority, there is power to be found in Paul’s letters of faith, proclaimed years before the gospels were composed.

What he said yesteryear fits this year
The meaning of Saint Paul’s letters is the same today as they were for his contemporaries. They cannot be different. The 1993 Pontifical Biblical Commission instruction, The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church, explains the “actualization” of the word of God. It wants to help us understand what the Bible is saying to us today in the third millennium. God did not speak through the inspired writers only for the people for 2000 years ago.
Beginning with what the scripture text meant for its own time, actualization invites us to do three things: hear the text from within one’s own situation, identify the aspects of the present situation underscored by the text, and draw from the text the meaning that guides us to the will of God. Although the biblical texts have been composed in the languages and circumstances of the past, they reveal their message for us today as we apply their message to present-day circumstances and express it in today’s language.

What was Paul telling us?
Paul describes for us the effects of Christ’s redemptive act, what he did for humanity. He comments on the various effects of the redemption as looking at the event from ten different angles. From one angle he explains that Christ justified us – justification; from other angles, he depicts salvation, reconciliation, expiation, redemption, freedom, sanctification, transformation, new creation, and glorification.
Each angle of vision derives from Paul’s Jewish or Hellenistic background and education. He tells us that Jesus Christ justified us, that he made it possible for us to stand before God the judge and hear a verdict of acquittal as one would in a court of law today following a trial. Is there a difference among all these images or facets of the saving act of Jesus? Not really. Christ Jesus did this, and Paul simply uses different images to convey the results.
In examining Paul’s theology, the experts tell us to recast what Paul preached into a form that Paul himself did not use. In this way we attempt to synthesize his teaching.
What Paul proclaimed to his contemporaries, he proclaims to us today.

Paul’s conversion
The Acts of the Apostles gives us three different stories of Paul’s conversion. We find the episode on the road to Damascus in chapter 9, and the others in chapters 22 and 26 recall the incident. But these are Luke’s accounts of Paul.
Only once does Paul write about what happened to him, and this is recorded in Galatians 1. Paul speaks of his call from God. He does not use the word “conversion,” but speaks of his “call.”
Paul is unaware of Luke’s description, and Paul makes no mention of an incident on the road to Damascus. Mainly, Paul recounts his call because he is insisting that he is an apostle, “not from human beings nor through a human being, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead” (Gal 1:1). Some people were denying that Paul is an apostle. Paul insists that he is, and struggled to be recognized on the same level as the twelve apostles.

Paul’s letters preceded the gospels
Paul’s letters have special significance because they were written before the gospels. He gave us an interpretation of Christ before the early Church had recorded the story of Christ. The letters that most scholars agree were written by Paul himself (1 Thessalonians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Romans, and Philemon) were written between 51 and 58 A.D. The earliest gospel, Mark, was written about 65 A.D. Our earliest portrayal of Jesus of Nazareth, then, is given us by Paul. For this reason, Paul is the first theologian of the Christian faith.

Paul’s theological vocabulary
In Romans 9:5 Paul talks about the Messiah according to the flesh. Naturally he means his human descent from David as David’s progeny.
Paul also talks about the flesh in opposition to the spirit. He does not mean the Holy Spirit, but the characteristics of the human being that at times he calls the flesh and at other times the spirit. Paul does not work with the Greek or Roman idea of body and soul. He regards the human being as a unit. In referring to the human being as flesh or spirit or mind, he is mentioning different aspects of a composite that he does not separate into parts.
When Paul refers to the human being as flesh, he means humanity’s earth-oriented tendencies. When he talks about the human spirit, he means that aspect of the human being’s openness to God and God’s influence. When he refers to the human being as heart, he means the emotive and affectionate aspect of the person. When he talks about the mind, he means the intellectual capacity.

The core of Paul’s theology
What is the heart of Paul’s theology? He himself responds, “We preach Christ crucified.” His proclamation is that God has not done this before in human history, that God has entered human history in a new form. God sent his Son and that Son died for us on the cross. The consequence is the Resurrection.
The key to Paul’s theology is expressed in terms of what he himself frequently stated in various ways. For example, in 1 Corinthians 1:21-24, Paul says, “For, since in the wisdom of God, the world did not come to know God through wisdom, it was the will of God through the foolishness of the proclamation to save those who have faith. For Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”
The cross puts Christ Jesus himself at the center of God’s way of salvation. God works the salvation of humanity through Christ Jesus. Everything in Paul’s teaching is oriented to his Christ-centered understanding of salvation.

What would Saint Paul tell us today?
This is not an easy question to answer. But really he has already told us. We would like to locate answers to the problems of our current times in a facile manner by looking into the Bible. But this requires study, reflection, and prayer.
When we read Paul today, we are reading him through the lens of patristic teaching, theological reflection, and the dogmatic tradition of the Church – the Christian wisdom of centuries. Paul gives indication of what is pertinent to our condition, but he does not give the full answer.
The purpose of discussing Paul’s theology is to offer a descriptive presentation of Paul’s Christian faith and to determine especially what Paul meant when he addressed the Christians of this day. This also challenges us to ascertain what his theology means for us here and now.
Paul’s theology is an exposition of the inspired biblical heritage of early Christians that has an existential meaning for our faith today. Paul’s theology is part of biblical theology. In biblical theology we find two poles or aspects: one is descriptive – it describes; the other normative – it prescribes. Paul’s meaning for the faith of people today cannot be anything other than the meaning he intended for his contemporaries.

Reading the letters of Paul today
It is not a simple matter to grasp Paul’s meaning immediately. His letters are not a quick and easy read. When we examine the proclamation of prodigious Paul in his letters, we need to realize that we need an accurate translation and some professional guidance. We cannot grasp his message in a simple glance.
There are some passages of the New Testament to keep in mind when approaching St. Paul. In 2 Corinthians 1:13 Paul says, “For we write you nothing but what you can read and understand, and I hope you will understand completely, as you have come to understand us partially….” Then look at 2 Peter 3:15: “And consider the patience of our Lord as salvation, as our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, also wrote to you speaking of these things as he does in all his letters. In them there are some things hard to understand that the ignorant and unstable distort to their own destruction just as they do the other scriptures.” So we can see that even as Paul’s letters were being collected by the early Church the faithful did not find them easy to understand.
The Acts 8:30-31 when Philip is evangelizing the Ethiopian eunuch, who is reading Isaiah 53, we are told, “Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ He replied, ‘How can I, unless someone instructs me.’”
We cannot simply open the Bible and expect to understand everything right off the bat. The Greek text of Acts says literally, “Unless someone guides me.”
Saint Paul helps us to recall the wonder of our creation and the greater wonder of our redemption. He inspires us to ponder the Paschal Mystery and to ask God to bring to perfection the saving work he has begun in us.

Passionate, prodigious, perennial Paul, pray for us!

$25 Lectionaries

2008-04-19T16:02:00.000-07:00

You can't beat the price. Liturgical Press is having an inventory reduction sale through June 30, 2008.

You can get the ceremonial edition of the Lectionary for Mass at about half off (from $49.00 to $24.50). And the chapel editions are just $17.49 (down from their original price at $69.95!).

Go check out what else they have on sale. There's lots of great foundational liturgical studies texts too.

Here's the link to the Lectionaries sale page.

Do you have your Pentecost Sequence ready?

2008-04-09T11:30:00.000-07:00

Click here to read about the tradition of singing sequences in the liturgy, and learn which two are required to be sung.

Ascension Sunday - May 4, 2008

2008-04-09T11:18:00.000-07:00

In the western dioceses of the United States, the celebration of the Solemnity of the Ascension is transferred from the Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter to the Seventh Sunday of Easter which falls this year on May 4. The readings and prayers for the Ascension should be used on May 4 in place of those for the Seventh Sunday of Easter.

Fun fact:
Only in the ecclesiastical Provinces of Boston, Hartford, New York, Newark, Philadelphia, and Omaha is the Ascension celebrated on the Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter.

What is an ecclesiastical province?
An ecclesiastical province is a way of grouping dioceses under the jurisdiction of an archdiocese. San José is in the ecclesiastical province of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Click here to see what other dioceses are in our province.

The Liturgy Files: Why are some holy days moved to Sunday and others remain on their proper date?

2008-04-09T11:14:00.000-07:00

Part of my job is to answer email. Some of these emails are simple Q&A. In these Liturgy Files, I'll share some of the most helpful Q&As.

Q: Why do we celebrate the Feast of the Assumption on the actual weekday (August 15), instead of transferring the celebration to the following Saturday/Sunday celebration like we do for the Ascension? What are the parameters for other times when we do transfer a feast day celebration from weekday to Saturday/Sunday celebration?

A: The pertinent current legislation in the United States is as follows (warning: this is more information than you will ever want to know about this):

From the Code of Canon Law, Canon 1246

§1: Sunday is the day on which the paschal mystery is celebrated in light of the apostolic tradition and is to be observed as the foremost holy day of obligation in the universal Church. Also to be observed are the day of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Epiphany, the Ascension and the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, Holy Mary Mother of God and her Immaculate Conception and Assumption, Saint Joseph, the Apostles Saints Peter and Paul, and finally, All Saints.

§2: However, the conference of bishops can abolish certain holy days of obligation or transfer them to a Sunday with prior approval of the Apostolic See.

The United States Bishops’ Conference has taken three actions regarding this canon:

Action 1

In accord with canon 1246, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops decrees that the holy days of obligation to be observed in the United States are:

the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God;

the Solemnity of the Ascension;

the Solemnity of the Assumption;

the Solemnity of All Saints;

the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception;

the Solemnity of Christmas.

The Solemnity of the Epiphany shall be transferred to the first Sunday following January 1;

the Solemnity of Corpus Christi shall be observed on the second Sunday following Pentecost.

Approved: November 1983
Promulgated: March 1984

Action 2

On December 13, 1991 the members of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops of the United States of American made the following general decree concerning holy days of obligation for Latin rite Catholics:

In addition to Sunday, the days to be observed as holy days of obligation in the Latin Rite dioceses of the United States of America, in conformity with canon 1246, are as follows:

January 1, the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter, the solemnity of the Ascension

August 15, the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

November 1, the solemnity of All Saints

December 8, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

December 25, the solemnity of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Whenever January 1, the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, or August 15, the solemnity of the Assumption, or November 1, the solemnity of All Saints, falls on a Saturday or on a Monday, the precept to attend Mass is abrogated.
Approved: July 1992
Promulgated: January 1993

Action 3

In accord with the provisions of canon 1246 §2 of the Code of Canon Law, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops of the United States decrees that the Ecclesiastical Provinces of the United States may transfer the Solemnity of the Ascension of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ from Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter to the Seventh Sunday of Easter according to the following procedure.

The decision of each Ecclesiastical Province to transfer the Solemnity of the Ascension is to be made by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the bishops of the respective Ecclesiastical Province. The decision of the Ecclesiastical Province should be communicated to the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments and to the President of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Approved: July 1999
Promulgated: September 1999

The Pope's video message to the US

2008-04-09T10:27:00.001-07:00

Before his trip to the East Coast next week, the Pope sends the US Church a video message. The video is five and a half minutes. Click here for a transcript courtesy of Rocco Palmo at Whispers in the Loggia.

And if you are a Catholic with a sense of humor, click here (also courtesy of Rocco) to see the Washington, DC, Metro ad for the upcoming papal visit that the local archdiocese asked be pulled from circulation. I've heard opinions on both sides. You can decide for yourself.

Classified: Pipe Organ

2008-04-08T16:59:00.000-07:00

Looking for a pipe organ?

We have one for you to buy (cheap). It’s in fair working order, but is too small for our church. Contact Rose Barry, rose@stmarygilroy.org, 408.847.5151, for more information.

Confirmation of Adults - May 11, 2008

2008-04-03T17:20:00.001-07:00

On Pentecost Sunday, May 11, 2008, Bishop Patrick J. McGrath will welcome adult candidates for Confirmation to the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Joseph.

Confirmation of Adults

Sunday, May 11, 2008, 3:00p

Cathedral Basilica of Saint Joseph

80 South Market Street, San José

Registration form below.

Some things to know:

The liturgy will begin at 3:00p and will be a Liturgy of the Word with the Rite of Confirmation.
Candidates and their sponsors need to arrive by 2:30p to check-in and be ready for a brief rehearsal.
Please supply each candidate with a nametag on which is written the name they want the Bishop to use when they are confirmed. It should be written or typed clearly in a large font (at least 18 point in a simple non-calligraphy font).
Each candidate must be accompanied by at least one sponsor; they may bring two sponsors.
Several rows of each section of the Cathedral will be reserved by parish for candidates, their sponsors, and two members of the parish Confirmation team. Families, friends, and parishioners are welcomed and can sit in the unreserved sections.
At least one member of your confirmation team should be present to assist your candidates. Pastors and parish priests are encouraged to attend.
Please review with your confirmandi and sponsors the responses for the Confirmation Rite (see Rite of Confirmation, #21-#30).
Dress is Sunday best. (Wear something you would wear if you were visiting the Pope)
The chancery does not give Confirmation certificates. If your candidates want a record of their Confirmation, you are welcomed to provide them with your own parish certificate.
Each parish is responsible for recording the Confirmation date along with necessary information in your parish register. The place would be the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Joseph. Bishop Patrick J. McGrath would be the person who confirmed.
There is free parking on the street or in the city parking lots on San Fernando Street between First and Third Streets. Click here for more information on parking in downtown San José.

Registrations are required for candidates and sponsors. To register your candidates and their sponsors, please do one of the following:

fill out and submit the online form below no later than May 1, 2008;
or, download this Word document by clicking this graphic

and sending the completed document to the Office of Pastoral Ministry, attn. Bernard Nemis, 900 Lafayette Street, Suite 301, Santa Clara, CA 95050-4966, no later than May 1, 2008.

Questions? Contact Diana Macalintal, 408-983-0136.

Beatitude Mass - April 19, 2008

2008-04-03T15:18:00.000-07:00

Henry Mollicone's
Beatitude Mass

A choral work illuminating the plight of the homeless...

This soulful choral and orchestral work imparts stories and emotions gleaned through a series of interviews with homeless individuals, poignantly synthesized into its two leads: Adam and Evelyn. Symbolically named, these characters underline a major theme of the piece, which Mollicone describes as "the similarities - the universality - between all people."

Conducted by Leroy Kromm, the performance features Nancy Wait-Kromm, soprano, and Paul Murray, baritone, as well as members of the SCU choral ensembles, San Jose Symphonic Choir, Monterey Symphony Chorus, and full orchestra accompaniment by an array of professional community musicians.

The evening opens with a performance by the SCU Chamber Singers, under the direction of Thomas Colohan, and the dance piece Light, Seeking Light... choreographed by Kristin Kusanovich, and features a photo exhibit by Renee Billingslea's Exploring Society through Photography class.

Saturday, April 19, 2008
Mission Church, 8pm
Suggested donation, $25
All proceeds donated to homelss advocacy organizations.
www.scu.edu/cpa/beatitude.cfm

Tabat Scholarship for Students of Liturgy - 2008

2008-03-28T17:43:00.000-07:00

Below is an announcement for a $1000 scholarship for those participating in graduate studies in liturgy. In 2003, I was awarded the Tabat scholarship which helped me in my studies at St. John's University, School of Theology, in Collegeville, Minnesota. The scholarship has been awarded every year since 2002 by the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions, a national organization made up of the diocesan commissions of the United States that collaborate with the US Bishops' Committee on the Liturgy--that is, it was awarded each year except for the one year that NO ONE applied!

This is FREE money, and if I know graduate students, especially graduate liturgy students, you can use all the free money you can get! So apply. You just might be pleasantly surprised.

I encourage those of you who have a vocation to serve the Church as parish liturgy directors to explore pursuing an advanced degree in liturgy, theology, or liturgical studies. We are blessed to have Santa Clara University, the Graduate Theological Union, and the University of San Francisco in our own backyard. All of these offer advanced degrees in the field of liturgy or theology.

Some other schools to consider that offer graduate degrees in liturgy are St. John's University in Minnesota, Chicago Theological Union, University of Notre Dame in Indiana, the Catholic University of America, and Washington Theological Union, both in Washington, DC. Some of these and many other schools throughout the country also offer summer-only programs or online courses to help you complete a graduate degree on your own schedule. Some even offer full or partial scholarships for laypersons pursuing graduate studies in liturgy or ministry.

Contact me if you want to talk about what it's like to do graduate studies in liturgy.

The Tabat Scholarship

Sister Joan Tabat, a School Sister of St. Francis, was a pioneer and a tireless worker for liturgical renewal. She held numerous musical and liturgical credentials and was a well-respected and honored member of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians (NPM). Most of all, Sister Joan excelled in the day-to-day pursuit of excellence as a pastoral musician. She had an amazing ability to bring out the music in people. Oblivious to conservative or progressive titles, Sr. Joan was driven by a deep wisdom and love for the church and commitment to the principles of Vatican II. Sr. Joan died in an automobile accident on September 25, 2000.

A grant of $1,000 in honor of Sr. Joan Tabat, SSSF, will be awarded at the national meeting of the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions in Milwaukee in October, 2008. The purpose of the grant is to provide assistance with the purchase of books, the continuation of research, or the payment of tuition.

The Tabat scholarship is awarded to a student pursuing a graduate degree in a program of liturgical studies to prepare for service in the Church of the United States in an academic, diocesan, or parish setting.

Applicants should send the following to the FDLC National Office, 415 Michigan Avenue, NE, Suite 70, Washington DC 20017 (nationaloffice@fdlc.org) no later than June 30, 2008:

A curriculum vitae;
A short description of how the grant will be used;
Two letters of recommendation, in a sealed envelope, from professors or from someone knowledgeable about the person's work.

Download a pdf flyer of the scholarship information by clicking the link below.

Catechumenate Support Group - April 3, 2008

2008-03-25T15:00:00.000-07:00

Did you survive it?! I saw seven baptisms last Saturday, and it was glorious!

But as you know, we're not done yet. We still have the period of post-baptismal catechesis and mystagogy to help keep our neophytes well-tended to and strong.

At our next Catechumenate Support Group, let's look back on the year and evaluate our parish catechumenate processes. What do we need to be planning for now to improve for next year? What worked well this year that we want to replicate next year? What would you have changed in your process and rites if you had known what you know now?

Everyone who attends the meeting will receive a FREE article on how to upgrade your RCIA. Get some practical answers to these and your other questions at the next Catechumenate Support Group Meeting.

Catechumenate Support Group Meeting
"What I Would Have Done Differently"
Thursday, April 3, 2008
7:00p – 8:30p

Saint Christopher Parish, Msgr. Allen Center
2278 Booksin Avenue, San José 95125

RSVP with Bernard Nemis at 408-983-0126
or online here

Other Catechumenate Support Group dates for the year:

~~Thursday, June 5, 2008, 7:00p – 8:30p, potluck dinner, Saint Albert the Great, Palo Alto~~ canceled

Faithful Citizenship Workshop – April 3, 2008

2008-03-25T14:32:00.001-07:00

You are most cordially invited…

To all parish staff, parish social justice liaisons, community leaders and friends, lay ministers, ILM students, and ALL justice advocates – everyone:

I would like to call your attention to a workshop that is timely and important.

During this election year, the Council of Priests, the office for Evangelization, Justice and Peace of the Office for Pastoral Ministry and the Vicar for Clergy office are co-sponsoring workshops for clergy and laity on the document “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States”, issued by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. It is a timely document that calls every Catholic to prepare for the upcoming presidential election by reflecting on forming consciences for faithful citizenship. It poses challenging questions and offers a framework for responding to the political questions of our day.

This day will be presented by Dr. Stephen Colecchi, director of the Office of International Justice and Peace of the USCCB, where he coordinates USCCB policy on international issues. Dr. Colecchi holds a doctorate in ministry from St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore. A prolific author in the area of Catholic social teachings, social justice and political responsibility and the infusion of Catholic social teaching into Christian education programs, he is the author of A Leader’s Guide to Sharing Catholic Social Teaching and In the Footsteps of Jesus, a Parish Resource Manual.

The workshop will be held on Thursday, April 3, 2008, at Our Lady of Peace Family Learning Center, Santa Clara.

Dr. Colecchi has made himself available to us for the following sessions:

2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. – Presentation on the Middle East situation and the War in Iraq
7 p.m. to 9 p.m. – Faithful Citizenship Workshop

He will also be doing a morning presentation for the priests, deacons, and seminarians of the diocese. The bishop has urged their attendance.

Click here for a printable flyer.

For more information, see http://www.faithfulcitizenship.org/.

Thank you.

Linda Batton

Sunday Reflections and Social Ministry - Catholic Charities

2008-03-25T14:32:00.000-07:00

The most important setting for the Church’s social teaching is not in a food pantry or in a legislative committee room, but in prayer and worship, especially gathered around the altar for the Eucharist. It is in the liturgy that we find the fundamental direction, motivation, and strength for social ministry. Social ministry not genuinely rooted in prayer can easily burn itself out. On the other hand, worship that does not reflect the Lord’s call to conversion, service, and justice can become pious ritual and empty of the Gospel.

Below is a sample bulletin reflection she offers that you can use each week that connects God’s story found in the Sunday readings with our story found in the real-life events of a person affected by the work of Catholic Charities and gives information on how you can become part of this story by proclaiming the Gospel in concrete ways in Santa Clara County.

Get the entire collection of reflections for Easter 2008 as a Word doc by clicking the graphic below.

Permission is given to download and reprint for your parishes and communities.

Sunday Reflections and Social Ministry
Easter – 2008

For weekly bulletins, faith sharing groups, prayer at meetings, bible study, lectors, outreach actions…anywhere the word of God calls us to act with charity and justice. Community and Parish Partnerships Elizabeth Lilly, 408-325-5262, elilly [at] ccsj [dot] org.

March 31, 2008
“Peace be with you.” John 20

Catholic Charities story: Grace was grieving the cancer death of her 40 year old daughter, and while depressed and overwhelmed by her loss, she was suddenly raising two teenage grandchildren. The girls, too, were grieving and could not manage their school work. The Kinship Resource Center case manager referred Grace to the Center for Living with Dying and the teens to a mental health agency. She then helped Grace obtain legal guardianship for the girls. After 5 months of intensive case management, both young women are doing well in school, and Grace reports that her stress levels have decreased significantly.

Catholic Charities opportunity: For information about “kinship families” (grandparents, aunts, uncles, or siblings raising family member children) and the available resources, contact Marina Hurtado, (408) 325-5164, mhurtado [at] ccsj [dot] org. In May visit the KRC new location at Paseo Senter, 1900 Senter Road in San Jose near Saint Maria Goretti church.

A Good Friday Reflection

2008-03-21T12:08:00.000-07:00

The following is a reflection presented by Diana Macalintal at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Joseph, in San Jose on Good Friday, 2007.

Is there anything beautiful about suffering?

Year after year, for two thousand years, millions of people around the world gather on this day to commemorate the suffering and torture of one man. Why is his pain and agony so attractive to us?

O sacred head surrounded by crown of piercing thorn
O bleeding head so wounded, reviled and put to scorn.
No comeliness or beauty your wounded face betrays.
Yet angel hosts adore you and tremble as they gaze.

A 12th century mystic named Bernard of Clairvaux wrote those words as he meditated upon the image of the dying face of Christ. What is it about this human, fragile, bloody face that makes even the angels tremble?

On a fall day in October, 2006, I think the angels trembled.

On that day, in a small town named Paradise, Charles Roberts entered an Amish schoolhouse at around 10:00 AM carrying a shotgun, a handgun, wires, chains, nails, and flexible plastic ties which he would use to bind the arms and legs of his hostages. He ordered the hostages to line up against the chalkboard and sent away from the classroom a pregnant woman, three parents with infants, and all 15 male students. The gunman, a father of three children, remained inside the school house with the remaining ten female students. The youngest was six; the oldest was 13.

The first police officers arrived about ten minutes later and attempted to communicate with Charles through the PA system in their cars. Charles ordered the police to pull back, and if they didn’t within two seconds, he would begin firing. They did not comply, and he began shooting.

Charles killed three girls, and then he shot himself. Two more girls died the next morning. The youngest victim was six. The other five girls were in critical condition.

News reports stated that most of the girls were shot “execution-style” in the back of the head. But according to Janice Ballenger, the deputy coroner in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, she counted at least two dozen bullet wounds in one child alone before asking a colleague to continue for her. Inside the school, she said, “there was not one desk, not one chair, in the whole schoolroom that was not splattered with either blood or glass. There were bullet holes everywhere, everywhere.”

There is nothing beautiful about this. Suffering, pain, and death are not God’s will for us, nor was it the Father’s will for his Son, Jesus. Just as on that day on Golgotha, heaven surely must have wept on that morning in Pennsylvania.

The angels wept. But the next part of the story is what made them tremble. What happened next could only have been the will of God, for no human could have done this alone.

Barbie Fisher was one of the girls who survived the massacre. She told the story of how her sister, Marian, the oldest hostage in that school room, had begged Charles to shoot her first so that he might spare the younger girls. So he did. After seeing her sister shot, Barbie asked Charles to shoot her next. She received bullet wounds in her hand, leg, and shoulder.

Two days later, the grandfather of Marian stood in their home with her lifeless body laid on her bed being prepared for her burial. He called over the youngest of his family to come and stand next to Marian. Speaking to all those in the room, he looked intently at the children and told them, “We must not think evil of this man.”

Later that day, a reporter asked this weary, grey-bearded grandfather, “Have you forgiven this man who killed your granddaughter?” He turned his face away from the camera not wanting the attention. “Yes,” he replied. “How can you do that?” the reporter asked. “With God’s help,” he answered.

Yet angel hosts adore you and tremble as they gaze.

What made the angels tremble was love—absolute, complete, love.

Here at the cross, we encounter the ultimate revelation of God’s love. It is where God proves that God will do anything for us, even die, no matter what we do, just so he could love us. God takes this instrument of torture and death and turns it into a throne of mercy and grace. God takes defeat and despair and turns it into triumph. God takes the death of one and turns it into life for all.

At the cross, God takes our pain, our desperation, our horror, our hate, our confusion, our fear, places it all onto a cross and transforms it into beauty, truth, and goodness. God takes death and turns it into forgiveness, mercy, and peace.

That grandfather and the Amish community attended the funeral of Charles Roberts who killed five of their own. They took in his widow and their three children into their own families. They helped them pay for Charles’ funeral expenses and have even begun a fund to support the killer’s family now that they are left with no father.

The cross given to that community and their response to it doesn’t make sense, does it? How can something so heinous, something so ugly turn into something so beautiful? Because God is God…and God is Love…and the act of the cross is no longer a matter of reason and logic, but a matter of love.

We who follow Christ do not shy away from the pain and suffering of the world. As Jesus did, we embrace it with open arms. On this day, most especially, when we gather to tell the story of Jesus’ passion and death, we stare it in the face together, we do not look away, and we respond—as best we can, trembling not with human fear and hatred but with the incomprehensible, immense love of God.

***

Sometimes, try as hard as we might, we can look into the pain and suffering of this world, of our own lives, and not see the beauty. The ugliness can be so unbearable that we can’t see or feel God’s love.

At these moments, it’s so easy to lose hope and despair. But there is another choice.

Maria Thompson is a spiritual director in Seattle who counsels people who are grieving because of death or loss. She describes her work like this: “Standing at death’s door is the most intimate and sacred space to stand. It is an act of being, not an act of doing.” She continues, “I am a person who stands at death’s door; that is my job. I am a person who helps people in the darkness of death find the movement of eternal life. So, I sit on the ash heaps. Patiently. As long as they need me to, that is where I sit.” (from Presence manuscript)

When we face the cross and promise to remain there “in the ash heaps,” no matter how absent God seems, we also enter into a promise with each other—a promise to bear the cross together. For the cross requires relationship.

For Christians, relationship is always the cross—the intersection, the interaction, the giving and taking, the forgiving and sacrifice—between people and between God and God’s people. The cross is a struggle of opposites and differences—but a struggle that gives birth to new life, to new and renewed relationship.

In Jewish tradition, the very act of creation was born out of the relationship between God and Chaos. Listen tomorrow night to the first reading. In the beginning was God, and there with God was nothingness. The union between God—the fullness of all there is—and nothingness gave birth to life, night and day, earth and water, plants and humans. And our whole life through, we are constantly placing before God all of our nothingness and asking God to again make something new out of it.

When Christ was nailed to the cross, what was born out of that union between God and all that was not God was the Church—us—people who look upon death and see life; people who experience pain together and offer in return love.

As offspring then of Christ, our first task is to acknowledge the radical love of God by having the confidence to approach this throne of grace and pray for each other, even if our prayer is only, “My God.”

The Church makes its most intense prayers on this day. Later this afternoon, after hearing again the story of God’s love nailed to the cross, our Bishop will lead us in the Great Intercessions which are prayed only today. These are ten solemn prayers for the world in which we ask God, through supplication and silence, kneeling and raised arms, to take the world’s chaos and re-create it anew. It is the Church’s way of being there, in hope where there’s only despair, in faith when it feels as if death has won.

***

Now you might want to stand back, because I’m not sure if what I’m about to say will cause me to be struck down by lightning.

I don’t like the song, Were You there? I think it’s a lovely song and nice to sing. But every time I hear that opening line—“Were you there when they crucified my Lord?”—all I can say is, “Nope!”

No, I wasn’t there at Golgotha thousands of years ago. No, I didn’t see him nailed to the tree. No, I didn’t see him laid in the tomb.

But I do tremble.

Because I am here in 2007 in San Jose, and God knows there are enough people today being crucified right before our eyes. You only have to turn on your TV, or log onto the Internet, or go to work, or step out your door, or even just wake up in the morning.

There are people right now out there, in here, who are being nailed to trees of depression and abuse, to debt and divorce. We know real people, maybe it’s even you, who are being sealed up in tombs of unemployment, cancer, loneliness, who suffer a slow death because of the inability to forgive or to ask for forgiveness. Our world is still, after four years, being crucified to the cross of war, our Church is still being nailed to a tree of scandal and secrecy, our cities and homes are still being buried by violence, poverty, broken families, and broken hearts.

No, I don’t need to go back to Calvary to be where Jesus is crucified. Calvary is right here, right now.

But so is the resurrection. When any of us take up the cross of Christ, we proclaim our faith in his resurrection.

But what is the cross? What is your cross?

Bishop Kenneth Untener once said that the cross is that to which we say, “Anything, Lord. I’ll do anything…but that.”

That that is the cross. It’s the thing that you can’t imagine doing because you’ve been hurt too much, because you’ve been betrayed, because you’re too angry, because it feels just too good to hang on to bitterness, because you’re too busy, because you’re too scared. “Anything, Lord. I’ll do anything…but that.”

The reason we remember the day Jesus died at the Place of the Skull is because on that cross—on Jesus’ “anything-by-that”—we learn the way to resurrection, because when we embrace Christ and his cross, we never embrace it alone. We embrace the cross together, with this community. It is through individual people that we see up close the body of Christ for ourselves. But it’s through the community—when we gather to tremble at the love of God and offer our meager, imperfect prayers—that we receive strength and faith enough to live as the body of Christ for the world.

It’s hard to follow Christ; it’s hard to embrace the cross. Tomorrow night thousands of people around the world who have decided to follow Christ will stand at the edge of a dark black pool of water, a deep chasm of nothingness, and just before they are submerged into that abyss, they will be asked, “Do you believe in God, in Jesus, in the Spirit?”

I guess it would be pretty easy for them and for us to say “I do.” But if we heard those words for what they really mean, we all might hesitate in our response. Those seemingly-simple questions mean this: “Will you proclaim God’s justice even in the midst of persecution?” “Will you welcome the stranger?” “Will you follow the example of the saints and martyrs who gave their lives for the faith?” “Will you allow yourself to be nailed upon your anything-but-that?”

If we and those preparing to be baptized tomorrow night dare to say, “Yes, I believe,” we really have no choice but to love, but to serve, but to give our all. We have no choice but to give our lives to the poor, the weak, the sinner, the criminal, the adulteress, the tax collector, the unwed mother, the AIDS victim, the drug addict, the homeless man, the coworker who annoys us, the father who abused us, the friend who betrayed us, the stranger who scares us, the person who terrorizes us, the person who is most unlike us.

For on Good Friday, we do not pretend that Christ is not risen. We stand here before the cross and bow low before it precisely because we know and believe that Christ is risen. We venerate this instrument of death, embrace it with trembling hands, and kiss it with timid lips precisely because we believe that the cross is not a dead end, but a sign pointing to God who is the source of our salvation and the community in which God lives.

The Spirit that was breathed upon us from the cross when Jesus commended his spirit into the hands of the Father drives us to turn to each other—to turn to those who are not our mother and take them into our lives as if they were our own. That Spirit of Christ calls us to turn toward those who are not our children and to call them our own beloved. That Spirit of Christ handed over to us moves us to search out those who were the friends of Christ—the sinner, the diseased, the stranger, the outcast—bend down to wash their feet, embrace them and call them friend, and even lay down our very lives for them, our friends.

Behold the Cross on which hung our salvation.
Come, let us adore.

Determining the Date of Easter

2008-03-07T13:00:00.003-08:00

DETERMINING THE DATE OF EASTER

by Brother John M. Samaha, S.M.
reprinted with permission

People often puzzle over the different dates on which Easter is celebrated. The different dates are determined by the different calendars used for reckoning Easter.

Biblical Background
In the Old Testament, the Jews celebrated the feast of Passover, or Pasch, in remembrance of their deliverance from Egypt. The Book of Exodus, chapter 12, tells the story.

Thereafter the celebration of Passover was begun on the fourteenth day of Nisan (Abib), the Paschal full moon following the spring equinox (Leviticus 23:5-8; Deuteronomy 16:1-8). Spring equinox is when day and night are equal.

The Jewish calendar, however, since it was a lunar calendar consisting of twelve or thirteenth months per year, caused difficulties in determining the day of the spring equinox. Consequently, Passover celebrations would begin on the full moon of either March or April of the Julian calendar.

The Gospel of St. John explicitly states that the death of Jesus coincided with the Paschal celebrations of the Jewish people (John 13:1; 19:31).

Early Christian History
The Christians in Asia Minor, Caesarea, Syria, and Mesopotamia observed Easter on the first day of the Jewish Passover. But the Christians in Rome and Egypt celebrated Easter on the Sunday after the Jewish Passover.

Pope St. Anicetus (155-166) supported the celebration of Easter on the Sunday after the Jewish Pasch. Pope St. Victor (189-198) upheld this practice.

Controversy ensued, and Pope St. Sylvester I resolved the matter at the first ecumenical council at Nicaea, Asia Minor, in 325. The general council decreed that Easter be celebrated on the first Sunday following the Paschal full moon after the spring equinox.

The Julian Calendar
From that time for 1,247 years Easter was celebrated on the same Sunday in the entire Christian Church -- East and West. According to the Julian calendar, March 21 was considered the day of the spring equinox in the Roman Empire.

Eventually the inaccuracies of the Julian calendar witnessed Christians in the sixteenth century celebrating Easter on different Sundays.

In 46 B.C. Julius Caesar had originated the Julian calendar. The astronomers of his time calculated the solar year to have 365 days and six hours. Every fourth year became a leap year with 366 days. This was remarkably close, but each year was too long by 11 minutes and 14 seconds. This small difference accumulated to one day in 128 years. In addition the astronomers figured that the moon cycle of 19 years was exact, that is, that the full moon returned to the identical day and hour after 19 years. However, the cycle was too long by one hour and 29 minutes. This difference amounted to one day in 308 years. By the sixteenth century astronomers were alarmed that the Julian calendar was out of congruence with the seasons of the years by ten days, and with the cycles of the moon by four days.

The Gregorian Calendar
In 1582 Pope Gregory XIII asked the leading astronomers to correct these inaccuracies, and he proclaimed some changes in the Julian calendar. Regarding the solar year ten days were dropped from the calendar, and that year October 5 became October 15. In the future three leap years would be omitted every 400 years. To rectify the moon cycle the calendar full moon was drawn back four days. In the future the calendar full moons were to be drawn back one day eight times in 25 centuries. With these reforms the Julian calendar was brought very close to the astronomical solar year and the astronomical moon cycle.

The Gregorian calendar took its name from Pope Gregory XIII, who proclaimed it to the world.

The Catholic countries of Europe quickly accepted the new Gregorian calendar: Italy, France, Poland, Spain, and Portugal. The Protestant countries—Germany, England (including North America), Denmark, Sweden, Norway—adopted it about 200 years later. The non-Christian countries of Japan, China, Siam (Thailand), Turkey, Egypt, etc., accepted it about 350 years later. The Orthodox countries—Greece, Bulgaria, Russia, Ukraine, and the patriarchates of Constantinople, Antioch, and Alexandria—adopted it in the twentieth century in civil and historic matters only. They still observe religious feasts (Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, etc.) according to the Julian calendar. This divergence can place the celebrations of Easter as much as five weeks apart.

In determining the date of Easter the discrepancy between the Julian and Gregorian calendars grows each year.

Conclusion
Easter is early this year, 2008. Actually it can be one day earlier, March 22; but that rarely happens. This year is the earliest Easter we will experience in our lifetime.

The next time Easter will be this early, March 23, will be in 2228. The last time it was this early was 1913.

The next time Easter falls a day earlier, March 22, will be in 2285. The last time it was celebrated on March 22 was in 1818.

But what is really important is that Christ is risen. He is truly risen.

Good Friday Intercession for the Diocese of San José

2008-03-07T12:12:00.001-08:00

Bishop Patrick McGrath asks that the following intercession be added to the General Intercessions for the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday, March 21, 2008.

This intercession has been formatted to match the pattern (either sung or spoken) of the intercessions that are found in the Sacramentary. Please translate this prayer as needed for Good Friday celebrations in other languages.

XI. For Special Needs

For all who suffer from war, violence, or terrorism, that God will give them courage and strength; that those who serve their nations in the military will return safely to their homes. [Pause]

Let us pray.

O God, you are the source of the hopes and dreams of the people that you have made. Watch over our world, and lead us in the ways of life and peace, that all may serve you in love. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

For your Laetare week: simple laughter

2008-03-05T14:49:00.000-08:00

*Someone emailed this video to me, but beware of other versions of this video floating around the Internet. The one emailed to me had a Web address that sent you to a not so innocent site. Thankfully, I found the version above without the tricky little url.

Calling all Singers - Upcoming Diocesan Liturgies

2008-03-04T17:20:00.000-08:00

Calling all singers! We've begun the diocese's busy season of liturgies. And for each of these, we need music ministers to assist with singing in the Diocesan Choir. Look at the dates below and see if you would be able to share your skills.

Chrism Mass
Choir Rehearsal:
Monday, March 10, 2008, 7:00p - 9:00p

Celebration:
Tuesday, March 11, 2008, 7:30p

Neophyte Mass
Choir Rehearsal:
Saturday, April 5, 2008, 3:45p - 4:30p

Celebration:
Saturday, April 5, 2008, 4:30p

Ordination to the Diaconate

Ordination to the Priesthood
Choir Rehearsal:
Tuesday, May 13, 2008, 7:00p - 9:00p

Tuesday, May 20, 2008, 7:00p - 9:00p

Celebrations:
Diaconate: Saturday, May 17, 2008, 9:30a

Priesthood: Saturday, May 24, 2008, 9:30a

Confirmation of Adults
Choir Rehearsal:
Sunday, May 11, 2008, 2:00p - 3:00p

Celebration:
Sunday, May 11, 2008, 3:00p

All rehearsals will be in Loyola Hall, the parish hall of the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Joseph (80 South Market Street, San José).

People interested in participating in any of these events can contact Julie Wind at (408) 283-8100 x2205.

Catechumenate Support Group - March 6, 2008

2008-03-04T16:15:00.000-08:00

We're down to the wire now and waiting for Easter! Are your Elect ready to take the plunge?

As you know, all our work doesn't end with initiation at the Easter Vigil. Everything we do is geared toward training disciples for mission! What are we training the catechumens to do? It's no less than making the Reign of God more visible in our world.

At our next Catechumenate Support Group, we'll look at ways to train the catechumens in the works of justice and a lifetime of discipleship. As part of our discussion, we will see up close one group that is making the Reign of God very visible in downtown San José.

Everyone who attends the meeting will receive a FREE photocopiable bulletin insert on Mystagogy to be given to the assembly. Get some practical answers to these and your other questions at the next Catechumenate Support Group Meeting.

Catechumenate Support Group Meeting
"Initiated Into Mission"
Thursday, March 6, 2008
12:30p – 2:00p

Washington United Youth Center
921 South First Street Street, San José 95110

The Center is behind the Biblioteca,

and the parking lot is behind the Wienerschnitzel.

RSVP with Bernard Nemis at 408-983-0126
or online here

Other Catechumenate Support Group dates for the year:

Thursday, April 3, 2008, 7:00p – 8:30p, location tba
Thursday, June 5, 2008, 7:00p – 8:30p, potluck dinner, location tba

Parish representatives for Chrism Mass 2008

2008-03-04T15:14:00.000-08:00

Three representatives from each parish are requested to present the oils for blessing during the Chrism Mass on Tuesday, March 11, 2008, at 7:30p. They should be selected in advance for this responsibility and be seated in their reserved seats in the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Joseph, 80 South Market Street, San José, by 7:10p.

Click here for a seating chart (PDF) showing each parish's reserved seats for their oil representative.

Please note that a $5 flat fee is now charged at all downtown public parking lots after 6:00p. Other private parking lots may charge more. Parking on the street is still free after 6:00p.

It is recommended that those presenting the oils represent some link to the oil to be blessed, for example:

Oil of the Sick: A minister to the sick, elderly, or hospitalized; or a parishioner who was anointed in the last year.

Oil of Catechumens: A parish catechumenate team member; or a catechist working in baptismal preparation. Because the dismissal of catechumens follows immediately after the procession and blessing of oils, catechumens and Elect are discouraged from being the parish representative to carry the oils.

Sacred Chrism: A neophyte initiated at last year’s Easter Vigil; or a candidate for Confirmation; or a catechist working in Confirmation preparation. Because the dismissal of catechumens follows immediately after the procession and blessing of oils, catechumens and Elect are discouraged from being the parish representative to carry the oils.

If you have any questions, please contact Diana Macalintal at 408-983-0136.

Liturgical Coordinators' Gathering - March 4, 2008

2008-02-21T17:08:00.000-08:00

Are you surviving this wacky liturgical year? I'm barely hanging on! But this Lenten season is about hope. And an early Lent means an early Easter! So let us persevere in hope...

Liturgical Coordinators’ Gathering
“Water, Oil, Bread, Wine:

Triduum Basics and Beyond”
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
10:00a - 12:00p

Saint John the Baptist, Pavalkis Hall

350 South Abel Street, Milpitas, 95035

Please RSVP with Bernard Nemis
408-983-0126, or online.

You will come away from this meeting with:

Five ways to keep the Easter Vigil from breaking the 180-minute-mark;
Three ways make Communion the highpoint of initiation;
Ten Triduum dos and don'ts;
Four strategies for making mystagogy happen in the Sunday Mass;
Seven liturgical goals for Confirmation;
Eight tips for wonderful weddings.

Bring your ideas, best practices, and questions. And here is the date for the next Liturgical Coordinators' Gathering for the year:

Tuesday, May 6, 2008, Saint Catherine of Alexandria, Morgan Hill

If you have any questions about these gatherings, please contact Diana or 408-983-0136.

Infant Baptism Workshop

2008-02-19T13:41:00.000-08:00

The associates of the Office of Pastoral Ministry and a team of parish infant baptism leaders are offering the following Infant Baptism Workshops for presiders and infant baptism preparation teams.

Saturday February 23rd in English at St. Justin parish hall 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Tuesday March 6th in Spanish at Most Holy Trinity Church 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Come learn more about:

Welcoming Families
Preparing Parents
Celebrating the Rite
Connecting with Families after Baptism
Infant Baptism Resources

Online registration available for the English workshop at the Diocese of San José website.

Please invite those who might be interested.

Please click here for the English version of the flyer.
Please click here for the Spanish version of the flyer.

Liturgy, Cold, and Flu

2008-02-13T16:16:00.000-08:00

As we continue through the winter cold and flu season on our way to the warmer days of spring, it's a good time to review some common sense liturgical practices and issues to help everyone stay healthy and to care for one another as we gather each week for Mass and other parish activities.

If you are sick, take care of yourself
Encourage those who are sick with a cold or the flu to care for the Body of Christ by first taking care of their own body. Reassure them that the obligation to participate in Mass is not required for those who are sick. In fact, the Church honors sickness and those who are sick with special rites and prayers and cares especially for those who are unable to come to Mass because of sickness.

For Church ministers, it's often hard for us to stay home and care for ourselves when we're ill. We tend to push ourselves over our limits because we want so much to do our ministry and to help others. But let's also remember the safety announcement we hear before every flight: "Put your mask on first, then assist others." Take care of yourself so that you can take care of others.

Now don't go posting signs up in your Church doors or bulletins like this one I saw in big, red, bold letters: "Please do not come to Mass if you are sick!" There are better ways to communicate this message. Here is one suggestion:

Take care of yourself and one another. If you are sick, or know someone who is ill for whatever reason, please contact [insert name here] of the parish staff at [insert phone number and email address here] so our parish can pray for you and your caregivers.

If you are sick, do not worsen your illness by trying to get to Church. One of our priests or pastoral ministers would be happy to bring the Word of God and Holy Communion to you if you need to stay home because of illness or because you are caring for a sick family member. Also, if you are seriously ill, the Church wants to celebrate with you the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. Contact the parish office at [insert phone number here] so we may care for you and your loved ones during your time of illness.

Wash your hands often, especially if you are a greeter, usher, or Communion minister
Soap, water, and a good scrubbing are the best defense against the cold and flu viruses. Scrub your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds—the time it takes to say two quick "Hail Marys." If you are not near soap and water, use an alcohol-based hand cleanser or disposable hand wipe. Keep a small bottle or packet in your purse or pocket.

Don't cough or sneeze into your hands
Use a tissue to cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze, then throw it away. If you don't have a tissue handy, do what food-service workers are taught to do: cough or sneeze into your shirt sleeve and avoid touching the area of fabric you coughed into.

Avoid shaking hands with others at Mass if you are sick and have been sneezing or coughing
This is just common sense, and you wouldn't be considered anti-social if you are sick. But try not to go overboard either on the giving or receiving end. If you are sick, greet each other warmly before Mass as usual, but avoid hand to hand contact. Use a tissue if you need to sneeze or cough, and throw it away. At the Sign of Peace, you can offer a simple bow of the head to those around you. If you have come in direct contact with someone who has been sneezing or coughing, avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with your hands until you can wash them. This is a good practice at anytime since germs can spread when we touch our eyes, nose, or mouth.

Refrain from receiving Communion on the tongue or Communion from the cup if you have a cold or a cough
Although receiving both the consecrated host and wine are encouraged, you only need to receive one form if you are unable to receive both. If you are accustomed to receiving Communion on the tongue, prevent spreading your saliva to the hand of the Communion minister by receiving Communion in the hand while you are sick.

Pray for the sick and evaluate your ministry to the sick
This cold and flu season is also a good time for parishes to evaluate its ministry to the sick and its full use of the rites and options in the Pastoral Care of the Sick. Remember also to include at Mass and other parish liturgies intercessions for those who are sick, for their caregivers, for those who have died because of sickness, and especially for those who suffer with no one to care for them.

If Communion ministers need to clean their hands during Mass, where, when, and how should they do this?
The best way for Communion ministers to clean their hands during the Mass is in their pew, using a sanitizing liquid or antibacterial wipe, just before they come to the sanctuary. The reason for this is that it becomes distracting and inappropriate to see a line of Communion ministers standing near the altar, first, getting a squirt of sanitizing liquid in their hands (it looks almost like Communion), then, vigorously rubbing their hands just before Communion begins. I've also heard reports of Communion ministers trying the shake off the excess liquid from their hands as they are about to receive Communion. This is just bad form and often looks ridiculous.

Remember, if Communion ministers have practiced good hygiene during the Mass and are not sick, there is no obligation for them to wash their hands again during Mass. But if they need to wash their hands during Mass, give your Communion ministers their own travel-size bottle or packet of wipes so they can clean their hands more discreetly in their pews. If this cannot be done, Communion ministers can wash their hands in the sacristy as they come forward to the sanctuary. Anything you do should not delay any part of the Communion Rite or distract from the focus at the altar.

Whatever you do, don't place a bottle of sanitizing liquid on the altar (I have seen this!) or among the Communion vessels and other sacred items on the side table (I have seen this too). These areas are visually too prominent, and all you will see from the assembly's vantage point is the soap bottle.

Should the presider wash his hands as well or does the ritual purifying at the lavabo suffice?
If he has practiced good hygiene and common sense during the Mass and he is not sick, there is no need for him to wash his hands before distributing Communion. (The ritual washing of hands during the preparation of gifts is a ritual act of purification; it is not intended to be a hygienic action.) If he is sick, it's best that he not be presiding at the Mass. If this is not possible and he must preside while he is sick, the duty of distributing Communion to the assembly can be done by other ordinary ministers: assisting deacons and concelebrants at the Mass. If these are not available, he may permit extraordinary ministers to distribute Communion to the assembly.

How can we prevent panic or alarm during the cold and flu season?
If concerns arise, assure parishioners and your ministers that the usual liturgical practices of the Catholic Church are not dangerous to one’s health when exercised with ordinary common sense. Yet in order to help lessen the spread of naturally existing germs that are more prevalent during the cold and flu season, everyone should be more attentive to their own daily health practices, especially if they themselves are sick.

Catholics cannot be Catholic by themselves. We must gather together in order to worship as Jesus directed us. We cannot lock ourselves away into our own personal “upper rooms” in order to safeguard our health, nor can we put others at risk by our own behaviors. Since we are a communal Church, I hope these are helpful reminders to you to catechize parishioners all year long about good hygiene and standard considerate behavior when one is sick. Help parents teach children about good etiquette when one is healthy and when one is sick.

The axiom, lex orandi lex credendi, tells us that our liturgy teaches us what we believe. Our rites teach us to remain faithful to each other “in sickness and in health.” Our Scripture readings proclaim to us, “fear not, the Lord is in your midst.” We need not fear each other. We do need to care for each other—this cold and flu season and all throughout the year. As a Church, we embrace sickness and death, for the sick themselves, in their very bodies, exercise a special ministry. They are visible signs of God’s enduring love, a love so strong that it took on the frailty of human life and suffered our daily aches, pains, and illnesses all the way to death. As a people of faith, let us honor the God who became human by caring for each other.

These related articles may also be helpful:

Chrism Mass 2008 - Collection of Oil Vessles

2008-02-11T13:07:00.000-08:00

In preparation for the Chrism Mass on Tuesday, March 11, 2008, 7:30p at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Joseph, please be sure that your parish oil vessels are undamaged, well-cleaned (you won't believe some of the things we find growing in some vessels!), and delivered to the Office of Pastoral Ministry, in the carrying boxes in which they were presented last year labeled with your parish's name.

Click here to find out how to dispose of old Holy Oils, for tips on how to clean your oil vessels, and what you should do with the water used to clean them.

Please bring your empty, sparkling clean oil vessels to the Office of Pastoral Ministry, 900 Lafayette Street, 4th floor, Suite 405, Santa Clara by noon on Friday, February 29, 2008.

ADA will pick-up your vessels:
The Annual Diocesan Appeal office is offering convenient pick-up of your oil vessels at your parish during their regularly-scheduled ADA pick-ups every Tuesday. Simply give the courier your vessels along with your ADA collection.

Attention Institutions:
Hospitals, religious communities, and other institutions who wish to have oils blessed for use in 2008 are asked to bring stocks, carefully cleaned, to the Office of Pastoral Ministry by noon on Tuesday, March 4, 2008. Stocks will be available for pick-up from the Office of Pastoral Ministry on Wednesday, March 12 after 1:00p.

When will you get your new oils?
You can pick up your vessels with the newly blessed oils for 2008 after the Chrism Mass at the reception in the Cathedral's parish hall. Please coordinate with your parish leadership who will be the person responsible from your parish to retrieve the parish's oils at the Chrism Mass.

Lenten regulations

2008-01-30T16:43:00.000-08:00

The season of Lent focuses primarily on two aspects of Christian life. First, we remember our Baptism and reflect on it with those who are preparing to be baptized. Second, we consider how well or poorly we have lived out our baptismal promises, and we observe more intensely the Christian penitential disciplines in order to live more faithfully the vows we made, or will make, at Baptism. By emphasizing these two points, the Church prepares for the great Easter season when those who are not Christian are baptized and those who are already Christian renew their baptismal promises.

Because we often fail to live out our baptismal call, we sin in ways that affect our relationship with God, with each other, and with the world. Therefore, the penance that we do during Lent helps us not only to move toward conversion and obedience to God but also to express outward signs of reconciliation with the Church, with society and those around us, and with creation. Thus, during Lent the Church encourages us to follow more intensely three disciplines of penance: prayer, fasting, and works of charity and love.

Prayer
During Lent, we are encouraged to participate more often in the Eucharist, not only on Sunday but also on traditionally penitential days, such as Friday. This is an especially beneficial time to celebrate the Sacrament of Penance as well as the other liturgies of the Church, such as Evening Prayer and adoration and benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. Other devotions, such as stations of the cross, vigils, and prayer services are encouraged. Individual practices are also suggested, such as daily prayer, Scripture reading, spiritual reading, alms-giving, personal self-denial, and increased care and service to the sick and poor.

Fasting and Abstinence
Denying or limiting oneself from food is a traditional penitential practice. During Lent, those between the age of 18 until the day after one’s 59th birthday are obligated to observe a day of fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

Fasting means that one full meatless meal per day may be eaten. Two other meatless meals, sufficient to maintain strength, may be eaten, but together they should not equal a full meal. Liquids, including milk and fruit juice, may be taken between meals. If health or ability to work are affected, one is not obligated to fast. Private, self-imposed observance of fasting on all weekdays of Lent is strongly recommended. Pastors and parents should ensure that children who are not bound by the laws of fast and abstinence are catechized in an authentic sense of penance, conversion, and reconciliation. Abstinence from eating meat is to be observed on Ash Wednesday and all Fridays during Lent. All the faithful, from the day after their 14th birthday, are bound by Church law to abstain from meat on these days.

Easter Duty and Holy Communion
All the faithful, after they have participated in First Communion, are obligated to share in Communion at least once a year. This law must be fulfilled during the Easter season unless it is fulfilled for a just cause at some other time during the year. In the United States, with regard to this law, the Easter season is the period from the First Sunday of Lent until Most Holy Trinity Sunday (the Sunday after Pentecost).

Sacrament of Penance
After Baptism and a diligent examination of conscience, members of the Christian faithful are obligated to celebrate the Sacrament of Penance if one consciously commits a serious sin which has not yet been confessed or acknowledged in individual confession. It is recommended that venial sins are also confessed. The faithful who are old enough to understand that they have sinned are obligated to confess serious sins at least once a year. Persons who are aware of having committed serious sin cannot celebrate Mass or receive Communion without prior sacramental confession, unless there is a grave reason they cannot do so or there is no opportunity for them to do so.

Clic aquí para reglamentos Cuaresmales.

Gospel of Matthew – February 15, 2008

2008-01-29T16:29:00.000-08:00

You are invited to a spectacular and dramatic presentation of scripture, light, and movement when Michael Reardon prayerfully and powerfully proclaims The Gospel of MATTHEW, directed by Patrick Lane.

This is a contemporary translation of scripture, proclaimed in the oral tradition of the early church, designed with music, lighting, and costuming. A reception to meet the artists will follow the event.

On Friday, February 15 at 7:00 p.m. at Holy Family Catholic Church, 4848 Pearl Ave in San Jose. The public is invited to attend, and to experience the power of the Word. There is no cost for this performance.

Help your assembly prepare for the Rite of Election

2008-01-22T15:27:00.000-08:00

In a few short weeks, the Catholic Church around the world will celebrate one of its most important rites--and yet most parishioners will never witness it.

The Rite of Election marks the final turning point in a person's journey toward becoming a Catholic. Every Catholic diocese around the world will celebrate this liturgy on the First Sunday of Lent with those it will baptize only 40 days later.

Our Bishop Patrick J. McGrath of the Diocese of San José will name 436 catechumens (226 adults and 210 children) to be the Elect. Along with their godparents, families, and friends, the diocese will celebrate three liturgies of the Rite of Election during the first week of Lent.

Learn more about the Rite of Election, and help your assembly understand better this rite. Here is an article I wrote on the primary symbols of the Rite of Election. At this link, you can also download a free, ready-to-copy handout that you can reprint for your parish. Permission is given to make as many copies as you need.

The Rite of Election is truly is one of the secret gems of the liturgical year in our diocese. It is one of the most joyful celebrations we do. Know that your parishioners are invited to come to any of the liturgies for the Rite of Election in the Diocese of San José. More information on when your parish's catechumens are scheduled to be at the the Cathedral for the Rite of Election is here.

January 22: Intercessions for Life

2008-01-22T11:10:00.000-08:00

Intercessions for Life
January 22, 2008

Day of penance for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion, and of prayer for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life.
from the USCCB (PDF file)

For our Holy Father, our Bishop ________,
Our Pastor, ___________,
and all the priests of our diocese:
that Christ might make them courageous witnesses of the Gospel of Life;
We pray to the Lord:

For President Bush
and Senators _____ and _________:
that the Gospel of Life might guide and inspire them;
We pray to the Lord:

For pregnant teens:
that they might receive the grace they need
to love and protect the child God has placed in their care;
We pray to the Lord:

For the unborn child who is deformed or ill:
that we might treasure the delicate and
wonderful gift which God brings to us in them;
We pray to the Lord:

That all husbands and wives
might see themselves as co-workers with God
in the act of creation;
We pray to the Lord:

For those tempted by abortion:
that God might teach us how to love them;
We pray to the Lord:

For those who are haunted by the memory of an abortion;
that they might be given the grace
to seek healing in Christ;
We pray to the Lord:

For priests hearing a confession of abortion:
that they might be strong, loving, and wise;
We pray to the Lord:

January 22 - Day of Penance and Prayer

2008-01-22T11:04:00.001-08:00

In all the dioceses of the United States of America, January 22 (or January 23, when January 22 falls on a Sunday) shall be observed as a particular day of penance for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion, and of prayer for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life. The Mass “For Peace and Justice” (no. 22 of the “Masses for Various Needs”) should be celebrated with violet vestments as an appropriate liturgical observance for this day.

General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 373

Of Rosaries and Skateboards - Roe v. Wade

2008-01-22T11:02:00.000-08:00

from the USCCB's Life Issues Forum
January 11, 2008

Of Rosaries and Skateboards
By Tom Grenchik

A few days before Christmas, four skateboarders rescued a crying newborn baby who had been wrapped in a paper bag and abandoned in a neighborhood dumpster on one of the coldest nights of the year. The quick-thinking New York teens called 9-1-1, waited for the ambulance, and then accompanied the baby girl to the hospital where they learned that she survived only because of their alertness and their actions. None of these boys ever expected to be called on in such a dramatic way. Appropriately, they were considered heroes for saving the baby’s life.

Even if we don’t make it into the evening news, we are all called to be just as alert and active in protecting human life. There are always opportunities to respond. The 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade reminds us that our courts and legislatures still cling to the lie that human life can be discarded whenever it is inconvenient. Abortion is still protected in our land. Had that dumpster been located behind an abortion facility, the skateboarders would have been labeled as meddling trespassers trying to undermine “choice,” instead of being hailed as heroes.

To mark this sad anniversary, many of us will join in the March for Life in Washington D.C., San Francisco, or similar marches in many cities across the country. Many of us will work in our legislatures to expand protection for unborn children, or to prevent abortion-rights activists from enshrining abortion at the state level, because they fear the coming demise of Roe. Many of us will serve at our neighborhood pregnancy help centers, maternity homes, prenatal care programs, shelters, and food pantries so those in need will know there are alternatives to abortion and many people willing to help. Many of us will speak to our neighbors, classmates, co-workers, relatives and friends about the life and dignity of each human person. Many of us will pray and offer loving assistance outside the doors of abortion facilities, the legally protected “dumpsters” of Roe v. Wade. Many rosaries will be prayed to usher in a springtime of faith and a culture of life.

And our prayers are being heard. There are many signs that our culture continues to grow in a pro-life direction. Those who promote abortion are, with good reason, fearful that Roe v. Wade is nearing the end. They fear a massive generation of young people who reject the culture of death. They fear the witness of countless women, men and family members who mourn the loss of their children to abortion. They fear the growing attention to the humanity of unborn children on the Internet, in magazines, news reports, and the ultrasound images expectant parents and grandparents forward to friends. And they fear the growing trend to view each child, even those with health problems, as a gift, and not a threat. These “fears” should give us great encouragement. Pro-life prayers and actions are working. Rosaries and skateboards are building a culture of life!

Tom Grenchik is the Executive Director of the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Go to www.usccb.org/prolife to learn more about the bishops’ pro-life activities.

Prayer for Christian Unity – January 23, 2008

2008-01-18T16:08:00.000-08:00

Several congregations in the Alum Rock neighborhood of San Jose will observe the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity with a service of Prayer for Christian Unity to be held at St Elias the Prophet Melkite-Greek Catholic Church, 4411 Hyland Avenue, at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 23.

All are welcome to come and pray with our sisters and brothers from Alum Rock United Methodist Church, Foothill Presbyterian Church, Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, St Elias Melkite Catholic Church, St John Vianney Roman Catholic Church, and St Philip’s Episcopal Church.

The Rev. Margo Tenold, Co-Director of the Santa Clara County Council of Churches, will be the main speaker. The people of St Elias Church will host a coffee hour after the service.

Pro-Life Mass and Prayer Walk – January 22, 2008

2008-01-18T16:07:00.000-08:00

A Pro-Life Mass at St. Nicholas Church in Los Altos on Tuesday, January 22nd at 11:30a.m. will mark the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion. Following the mass, a silent Prayer Walk will proceed eight blocks to the Los Altos City Hall at 12:30 p.m. St. Nicholas Church is located two blocks south of Main Street on the frontage road west of Foothill Expressway.

For more information, please call St. Nicholas Church at (650) 948-2158.

Fair Trade Palms for Palm Sunday

2008-01-18T16:06:00.000-08:00

The CRS Fair Trade Program is once again endorsing Eco-Palms as a way to promote economic justice on Palm Sunday. Parishes can make Palm Sunday a day of celebrating economic justice for farmers and stewardship of God’s creation in Guatemala and Mexico. Eco-palms are harvested in a way that rewards workers for the quality of the palms they harvest rather than the quantity, which helps to limit the amount of palms taken from a forest.

Eco-palm communities have taken upon themselves to learn about harvesting practices that minimize impact on the natural forest where the palm grows, and biodiversity of the region and improve the local communities’ standard of living. To have your Eco-palms fill the sanctuary with justice this Palm Sunday, you need to order by FEBRUARY 20, 2008.

For more information and an order form, visit www.crsfairtrade.org.

Late Nite Catechism 2 – February 7-8, 2008

2008-01-18T09:30:00.000-08:00

Sisters of the Holy Names is sponsoring LATE NITE CATECHISM 2 on February 7 and 8 at St. Mary’s Howley Hall, 219 Bean Avenue in Los Gatos. Proceeds will benefit the retirement funds for the Sisters of the Holy Names.

Call (408) 395-2868 or visit Holy Names for tickets or more information.

Classifieds (outside diocese): Director of the Office of Worship (several)

2008-01-15T14:10:00.000-08:00

Position Available: Director of the Office of Worship for the Diocese of Raleigh

The Diocese of Raleigh is comprised of the 54 eastern-most counties of North Carolina and serves a rapidly growing and culturally diverse population in 76 parishes and 19 missions, chapels, and stations.

The Director of the Office of Worship is to assist the Diocesan Bishop in his role as the principle liturgist of the Diocese. The Director serves as a resource on liturgical matters to the Bishop and to the parishes of the Diocese. The Director is responsible for coordinating all episcopal and diocesan liturgies, recommends particular norms and praxis in keeping with the universal liturgical norms of the Church, and is able to conduct liturgical formation on the diocesan and parish levels in appropriate collaboration with diocesan offices.

The successful candidate is a practicing Roman Catholic in good standing with a true love for God, His Church, and the Sacred Liturgy. The successful candidate will have a master's degree or equivalent in liturgy or liturgical theology, have experience in planning and coordinating liturgies, have an understanding of Spanish language and Hispanic liturgical customs or be willing to learn, and have strong leadership and communication skills.

Applicants are invited to send a resume and references to Director of Human Resources, Diocese of Raleigh, 715 Nazareth Street, Raleigh, NC 27606. Fax: 919-821-9716; e-mail: leo [dot] tapler [at] raldioc [dot] org.

Position Available: Director of the Office of Worship for the Diocese of Grand Rapids

The Diocese of Grand Rapids is seeking a full-time Director of the Office for Worship responsible for implementing liturgical norms and promoting and supporting the liturgical life of the diocese. The director advises on liturgical matters to the bishop, clergy, and parishes, and works in concert with diocesan commissions that support and enable expressions of faith. The director also establishes relationships with diocesan music and liturgy leaders, plans educational opportunities and directs the work of the diocesan Church Art and Architecture Commission.

Candidates must possess an advanced degree in liturgy or a related area, have a high level of energy, ability to organize structures and to sustain working relationships. Must be an active member of the Roman Catholic Church with the ability to educate others on liturgical practices, and proven experience in implementing liturgy. Collaborative leadership at a diocesan or national level is desired.

The diocese is located in lower Michigan along the beautiful western lakeshore, and serves over 170,000 in the 102 parishes and missions in an 11 county area. The Cathedral of Saint Andrew, located in downtown Grand Raids, serves Bishop Walter Hurley and the people of the diocese.

Send cover letter, resume, and salary requirements to:

Human Resources
Diocese of Grand Rapids
660 Burton St. SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49503

Or

dogrhr [at] DioceseofGrandRapids [dot] org

Position Available: Liturgy Office Director for the Diocese of Salt Lake City

The Diocese of Salt Lake City is seeking a Director for the Office of Liturgy to assist the bishop, clergy, and parishes in fostering sound liturgical practice throughout the diocese. The Office of Liturgy collaborates with the Liturgical Commission and its three subcommittees in providing resources and catechetical and formational programs aimed to promote full, active, and conscious participation in the liturgical life of the Church throughout the diocese.

Qualifications:

Master’s degree in Liturgical Studies or equivalent,
A practicing Catholic imbued with an understanding and appreciation of the Church’s theology, principles, rites, and practices,
Familiarity with current liturgical documents and ritual texts,
Experience as a parish liturgy coordinator or diocesan director or equivalent,
Multi-cultural sensitivity; ability to understand, speak, and read Spanish very helpful,
Pastoral, organizational, and administrative skills,
Ability to travel to parishes throughout the state of Utah.

If interested submit resume and letter of intent to:

Liturgical Commission Search Committee
Msgr. J. Terrence Fitzgerald
Diocese of Salt Lake City
27 C Street
Salt Lake City, UT 84103
FAX (801)328-9680

Classifieds: Grand Piano Available

2008-01-15T13:51:00.000-08:00

A grand piano in excellent condition is available for donation to a parish. If your parish is interested please email Sr. Pat Mitchell at mitchellp [at] dsj [dot] org. The deadline for requests is Friday, January 25, 2008.

Eight items necessary for flawless Lenten environment

2008-01-08T16:35:00.000-08:00

Lent calls us to clear away the things that distract us so that we can focus on the intense, retreat-like atmosphere of the season. Here are eight items necessary to help you prepare a great Lenten environment.

Clean and clutter-free pews, vestibules, sanctuaries, and reconciliation rooms.

Water in all the fonts.

A dignified Book of the Gospels.

A dignified Book of the Elect and a place to highlight it.

If possible, incense (the good stuff), fresh charcoal, and a beautiful thurible and stand.

Fresh candles, especially for the fourth Sunday of Lent.

A substantial cross (preferably the one to be venerated on Good Friday), especially for the final week of Lent (cf., Liturgical Music Today, 48).

A moment of substantial communal silence and stillness before Mass.

And some things to use less of:

sand

cactus

dead, dried, or fake things

oil lamps shaped to look like candles

rocks in the font

sand in the font

banners with symbols or words on them

vestments with symbols or words on them

altar and ambo cloths with symbols or words on them

Ten ways to do liturgical movement without breaking out the ballet slippers

2008-01-08T16:24:00.000-08:00

Liturgical movement is not primarily the choreographed movements of trained dancers. It is the integral gestures the liturgical ministers and assembly members make together, such as the Sign of the Cross and the various processions of the Mass. Here are 10 ways to pay more attention to the liturgical movement already present in the Mass.

Have a welcoming line at the entrances of the Church, not a barrier of liturgical ministers that people have to walk around.

Model dignified genuflecting to the tabernacle (only before and after Mass) and bowing to the altar as you enter the worship space.

Make processions look more like processions. “Choreograph” them with the same care as we do with wedding processions.

Choreograph the liturgical ministers’ bowing/kissing of the altar at the gathering procession.

Let the Sign of the Cross be done slowly and with large gestures.

Train lectors and cantors to move slowly, confidently, and gracefully. If possible, have them avoid fumbling with unnecessary items (e.g., putting books under the ambo shelf; getting books out from under the ambo shelf; carrying sheet music to the ambo).

Make the Gospel procession an actual procession.

If they need it, practice incense skills with the deacon and presiders. If you don’t have a deacon, train older acolytes to incense the assembly gracefully and confidently.

Train the assembly to bow at appropriate times, i.e., during the Creed, as they are being incensed, during the Consecration if they are standing, before receiving Communion.

Practice the Communion Rite with the Communion ministers, the deacon, and the presider, especially the Fraction Rite and distribution of Communion to the extraordinary ministers of Communion. (Going to the Purell bottle, or receiving a squirt of antibacterial soap should not be a noticeable action during the Communion Rite.)

Three ways Lenten music is different from the rest of the year

2008-01-08T16:10:00.000-08:00

Sometimes we think that Lent is primarily celebrated in hushed, quiet tones. But actually, the beginning of Lent--Ash Wednesday--starts off with the sound of the horn.

The music of Lent is not "easy-listening." It should be a clarion call to attention. Below are three ways Lenten music is different from music during the rest of the year.

Lenten music is not sad, anemic, or depressed. It is powerful, focused, and intentional. (“Blow the trumpet in Zion!” Joel 2:15, from Ash Wednesday)
- Try doing more unison or a cappella singing.
Silence enfolds and punctuates Lenten music and ritual. Sobriety tempers musical extravagance.
- Try ending the Mass in silence, that is, omit the closing song. (This only works if the ministers’ exit from the worship space is done with solemnity and intention.) Avoid masking the silence with other sound, such as rain sticks or hand drums. Perhaps have the choir members join the dismissal procession with the ministers.
Ritual music dominates the Lenten liturgies. The catechumenal rites require more use of sung acclamations and chanted or sung intercessions.
- Try incorporating more of the Mass’ chanted dialogues, for example, “The Word of the Lord…” or “The Lord be with you….”

Five things every Lenten homily must do (and how to help your homilists do them)

2008-01-08T15:32:00.000-08:00

All homilies have common elements that should be included regardless of the liturgical season (see Introduction to the Lectionary for Mass, 24-27; General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 65-66; Fulfilled In Your Hearing [PDF file])

But the season of Lent has some specific elements and principles that would inform the way the Lenten homilies are prepared. Below are five possible principles. Share your own comments by clicking on the "Comments" link at the end of the post.

Focus on the Elect (even if you don’t have Elect at that Mass or in your parish) and their preparation for baptism at Easter.
- If they haven’t met them yet, introduce your Elect and their godparents to your homilists, or tell your homilists a little about their faith journey and some of the struggles they have been through.
- Invite your homilists to any gatherings with the Elect, especially to sessions in preparation for the scrutinies.
- If you don’t have any Elect at your parish this year, find out the names of the Elect in a neighboring parish. Have your parish adopt them for the season of Lent by praying for them by name at every Mass.
Emphasize the assembly’s baptismal commitment, how it’s lived out on the personal, social, and communal levels, and prepare them to renew their baptismal vows at Easter.
- Don’t remove the water from the font!
- Invite back any neophytes and families who baptized their babies in the past year to Lenten gatherings and prayers. Remind the assembly that they made a commitment to help them live out their baptismal promises by their care and example.
- At staff meetings and other gatherings with your homilists, do faith sharing on the issues of the day—those in the parish, in your neighborhood, in the country, and across the world. How does our baptismal call make a difference in these situations?
Name God’s grace as much as you name sin. How is God acting already in the life of this community? How are God’s actions in this community calling its members to conversion, to turn away from sin and return to the Gospel?
- Keep your eyes open for God at work in the parish, and tell your homilists about it.
- Share your own stories of conversion in your life. Gather with other parishioners and the homilists to do faith sharing and reflection over the upcoming readings.
- Help your homilists keep in mind Fulfilled in Your Hearing, 52 (The preacher does not so much interpret Scripture, as in a bible study. Rather he interprets the lives of the assembly through the Scriptures). Therefore, help him know the lives of your parishioners.
Include your own call to conversion and your own story of resurrection.
- When you see God working through the daily lives of your homilists, say so.
- Give positive feedback, and be specific about it. That is, instead of just saying, “Nice homily, Father,” say why you liked it. What in his homily helped you hear the Gospel more clearly, or gave you more hope, or challenged you to change, or moved you to act?
- Encourage your homilists to share their own faith stories in their homilies.
Point to the paschal mystery, and lead the assembly to give thanks at the altar. What are we called to die to this Lent? And what would resurrection look like? How is sacrifice and new life already happening in the community and in the world? Look ahead to the liturgies of the Triduum.
- Name ways the community “washes feet” in their daily lives. How is the cross present in the neighborhood? Where are there signs of new life in the world?
- Reflect on how the parish has been challenged over the last year. What ways has God called them to sacrifice? In what ways has the parish fallen short of that call to conversion?
- Name how Christ has brought new life to the parish over the last year. What are some things the parish is most thankful for?

Other ways to help your homilists:

Give them more time off or distribute some of the tasks they don’t need to do so they can have more time to work on their homilies.

Pray and talk with them more. Encourage them more regularly.

The Jesuits' General Congregation

2008-01-05T11:18:00.000-08:00

On Monday, January 7, 2008, 226 delegates representing the 19,000 Jesuits worldwide will gather in Rome to say goodbye to their Father-General Peter-Hans Kolvenbach who is stepping down after serving as the society's leader for 25 years. The gathering of delegates, only the 35th of its kind in the Jesuits' 470-year history, will set the course for the society and will elect its new Father-General. The election is similar to that of a papal conclave in that the delegates cannot be dismissed until a Jesuit has received the majority vote. Further, no one goes home until the Pope himself approves the choice.

Rev. Paul L. Locatelli, SJ, president of Santa Clara University, will be one of the delegates. (And one of our Diocesan Liturgical Commission members and Santa Clara University student, John Michael Reyes, will also be in Rome during the gathering studying there during the winter quarter.)

Rocco Palmo of Whispers in the Loggia has put together a couple of nice posts here and here on the upcoming gathering.

See also what Rev. James Martin, SJ, has to say about the gathering. And for great information on this event, see Creighton University's website, GC 35 Info.

The gathering begins with Mass after which Father-General Kolvenbach will light a lamp at the tomb of Saint Ignatius at the Gesu Church. The lamp, and others like it in Jesuit chapels throughout the world, will remain lit for the duration of the congregation. Below is the prayer that the Father-General will pray at Saint Ignatius' altar. You might light your own lamp and pray for the Jesuits that the Holy Spirit will lead them through their discernment and election.

VOTIVE MASS OF THE NAME OF JESUS
PRAYER AT THE LIGHTING
OF THE LAMP AT THE ALTAR OF SAINT IGNATIUS

Father-General:

Father and Master Ignatius,
discerner of the ways of God,
faithful friend of the Lord,
and humble servant of Christ and the gospel
beneath the banner of the cross;
you who untiringly sought the greater glory of God
through discernment and prayer,
and were docile in obedience to the Lord and his spouse the Church;
you who did not seek riches or honor,
but preferred poverty with the poor Christ
and humiliations with Christ humiliated,
provided only that the most holy name of Jesus,
in which our salvation is placed,
was proclaimed to all;
intercede for us with the Father of mercies,
so that in this time of grace
we may seek and find in all things
God’s divine presence
and know his sovereign will.

To the Eternal King of all things
we entrust this least Society,
created not by human hands,
but by the powerful hand of Christ our Lord
in whom we place our hope.
May Christ conserve and prosper
what he has begun
for his greater service and praise
and for the salvation of souls.

To you, Father Ignatius, and to the Society of saints in heaven
we entrust ourselves,
so that, confirmed in faith,
refreshed in hope,
and inflamed by evangelical charity,
we may love and serve the Lord in all things
and renew each day
our prayer of offering:

All together:

“Take, Lord, receive
all my liberty,
my memory, understanding,
my entire will—
all that I have and possess;
you have given to me,
to you, Lord, I return it.
all is yours now;
do with it what you will.
Give me only your love and your grace;
that is enough for me.”
Father General:
We ask this in the name of Christ Jesus, our Lord.

Father General lights the votive candle and incenses the tomb of St. Ignatius.

Sunday Reflections and Social Ministry - Catholic Charities

2008-01-03T17:11:00.000-08:00

The most important setting for the Church’s social teaching is not in a food pantry or in a legislative committee room, but in prayer and worship, especially gathered around the altar for the Eucharist. It is in the liturgy that we find the fundamental direction, motivation, and strength for social ministry. Social ministry not genuinely rooted in prayer can easily burn itself out. On the other hand, worship that does not reflect the Lord’s call to conversion, service, and justice can become pious ritual and empty of the Gospel.

Below is a sample bulletin reflection she offers that you can use each week that connects God’s story found in the Sunday readings with our story found in the real-life events of a person affected by the work of Catholic Charities and gives information on how you can become part of this story by proclaiming the Gospel in concrete ways in Santa Clara County.

Get the entire collection of reflections for Winter Ordinary Time as a Word doc here. Permission is given to download and reprint for your parishes and communities.

Sunday Reflections and Social Ministry
Winter Ordinary Time – 2008

For weekly bulletins, faith sharing groups, prayer at meetings, bible study, lectors, outreach actions…anywhere the word of God calls us to act with charity and justice. Community and Parish Partnerships Elizabeth Lilly, 408-325-5262, elilly [at] ccsj [dot] org.

January 20, 2008
“I will make you a light to the nations.” Isaiah 49

Catholic Charities story: Carolyn brings her father to the Day Break III Center in Sunnyvale several days a week. While her father, who suffers from Alsheimer’s disease, has a good lunch and some social interaction, Carolyn can rest and tend to her other responsibilities. Day Break III provides a much needed and appreciated respite for the caregiver.

Catholic Charities opportunity: Day Break III, licensed adult day care celebrated the official opening this last week at 535 Old San Francisco Road in Sunnyvale. To learn more about their services contact Ginger McClure, 408-530-8734 or gmcclure [at] ccsj [dot] org. To volunteer check the volunteer opportunities at http://www.ccsj.org/. Other Day Break programs are in downtown San Jose and at St. Francis of Assisi church in the Evergreen area of San Jose.

Catholic Social Teaching: Dignity of the Human Person

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity - January 18-25, 2008

2008-01-03T16:14:00.000-08:00

The following is a letter from Bishop Patrick J. McGrath to all pastors of the Diocese of San José regarding the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Click here for a signed, pdf copy of the Bishop's letter.

January 1, 2008

Dear Father,

As you are aware, each year the Church celebrates January 18-25 as the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. This week of prayer constitutes an ideal time to bring to our people an awareness of the ecumenical mission of the Church. In addition, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity provides us with an excellent opportunity for our parishes and institutions to deepen our ecumenical spiritual life in union with our fellow Christians.

The 2008 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity marks 100 years since the Society of the Atonement began praying for Christian unity. Today, the tradition continues with the encouragement of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the World Council of Churches’ Faith and Order Commission.

The theme for the 2008 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:12a, 13b-18).

With this in mind, I write to encourage you and to give you permission to observe Sunday, January 20, 2008, as a special day of prayer for Christian Unity and to substitute the prayers of the Mass of the Second Sunday of Ordinary Time with the prayers of the Mass for the Unity of Christians (#13, Masses and Prayers for Various Needs and Occasions, A or B, Sacramentary, p. 889-891). In addition, you are free to use either the Preface for Christian Unity (#76 in the Sacramentary) or the new Eucharistic Prayer I, “The Church on the Way to Unity,” with its proper Preface.

I would also request that you include a petition for the unity of all Christians in the Prayer of the Faithful on that day.

Lastly, although the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity traditionally focuses on our relations with other Christians, I would like to encourage you to keep in mind the importance of doing all that we can to maintain good relations with the leaders of the many non-Christian religions that abound in Santa Clara County.

I thank you for your generosity in ministry and, in particular, for your attention to the ecumenical and inter-faith endeavors.

With every best wish and kind regard, I remain,

Sincerely yours,

Patrick J. McGrath
Bishop of San José

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Below are some intercessions you can include in the Sunday Masses during the weekend of January 19-20, 2008. Please feel free to adapt and translate these according to your needs.

For the entire body of Christ into which all Christians are baptized: [pause]
for the grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ;
for an appreciation of our differences,
the acknowledgement of our need for each other,
and the untiring effort to be one body united in one Spirit.
We pray to the Lord.

For all who have been hurt by the division among Christians: [pause]
for ecumenical families and households;
for church leaders and their congregations;
for the light of salvation to descend upon all the nations
and the Spirit of God over all the ends of the earth.
We pray to the Lord.

In addition, the Web site of the Graymoor Ecumenical and Interreligious Institute may be helpful for you in your planning. Resources include homily notes specifically for January 21, 2008, which coincides with Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday and prayers and reflections in Spanish and English.

Today can be your best day ever

2008-01-01T17:40:00.000-08:00

So 2008 has begun, and I'm sure some of you have already made new year's resolutions. 2007 seemed to go by like a blur for me, and 2008, with its earliest-possible Lent, looks like it won't be any different. There are just too many things on my plate and not enough time or energy to savor each day. I tried journaling, but that didn't last more than a few days. But I found some helpful tips at zenhabits, a blog about getting your life organized, simplified, and happier.

Check out his post about "10 Simple, Sure-fire Ways to Make Today Your Best Day Ever.

Blessing of Calendars on the Feast of the Epiphany

2008-01-01T16:53:00.000-08:00

This prayer by Diana Macalintal originally appeared in Today's Parish Minister, Vol. 40, No. 1, January, 2008

Blessing of Calendars on the Feast of the Epiphany

In every age, O God,
you have been our help.
To the wise men of the East,
your star rose at the appointed time to lead them to your Son.
To those at the Jordan, your Spirit descended upon Jesus
to show us that indeed the time of your kingdom had come.
And at the wedding banquet of Cana,
time stood still as the guests drank fully
from the bottomless cup of joy Christ provided.

You created all time and set the stars in motion,
and yet not one second of our life goes by without your care.

Bless then our time-keepers—
our calendars and clocks, watches and daytimers,
computers and cell phones, notepads and notebooks.
Help us not be slaves to them
or to fill them so much that we miss your presence here and now.
But let us use them to help us be in the right place at the right time
where we can do your will and witness you at work in our world.
May we remember each moment and never forget
that you are with us until the end of time.

This we pray in the name of Christ, yesterday and today,
the beginning and the end, Alpha and Omega.
To him be glory and power
through every age for ever and ever. Amen.