The fifty days from Easter Sunday to Pentecost are celebrated with joyful exaltation as a feast day, or better as one “great Sunday.” The Church celebrates the Paschal Mystery on the first day of the week, known as the Lord’s Day. This follows a tradition from the apostles, having its origin from the day of Christ’s Resurrection. Thus Sunday must be ranked as the first holy day of all. The passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ began a new age: the age of a new creation when God and humanity are reconciled in Christ. The mystery of our life in God through Christ in the Spirit is celebrated primarily in the Sunday Eucharist of the believing community.
Congratulations to the following individuals who will be sharing in the Sacraments of Initiation at the Easter Vigil this Saturday night: Those Celebrating Full Christian Initiation: Rose Therese (Jayne) Booker, Albert Eric Gao, Aelred (Cindy) Hart, Mary Faustina (Soohyun) Park, Joao Pedro Reis, Evelyn Smith, and Greer Stone. Christians Celebrating Full Communion with the Catholic Church: Paul Anderson, Prys Hughes Previously Baptized Catholics Celebrating the Sacrament of Confirmation and/or First Eucharist: Maria Luisa Antas, Neil Hanson, Joel Ordillo, Guadalupe Contreras Razo, Reilyn Rones, Elisa Rones, and Israel Angel Valencia
III. LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY (Continued) 37. Some countries have made significant progress in establishing sanctuaries on land and in the oceans where any human intervention is prohibited which might modify their features or alter their original structures. In the protection of biodiversity, specialists insist on the need for particular attention to be shown to areas richer both in the number of species and in endemic, rare or less protected species. Certain places need greater protection because of their immense importance for the global ecosystem, or because they represent important water reserves and thus safeguard other forms of life.
III. LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY 32. The earth’s resources are also being plundered because of short-sighted approaches to the economy, commerce and production. The loss of forests and woodlands entails the loss of species which may constitute extremely important resources in the future, not only for food but also for curing disease and other uses. Different species contain genes which could be key resources in years ahead for meeting human needs and regulating environmental problems.
We are making a difference already thanks to the Green Committee, the Building and Equipment Maintenance Committee and all the generous parishioners who funded both of our solar panel projects! An article in the latest issue of the San Francisco Archdiocese newspaper has a photo of the OLR solar panels and a mention of our parish in about the 8th paragraph.
If you have used eyeglasses you no longer need, you can donate them for the Lions Club eyeglass recycling program. We have collection boxes in all the church vestibules. Lions accept prescription and reading glasses, sunglasses, and plastic and metal frames. Children's glasses are especially needed.
Are you curious to know how your steps to save energy are making a difference? The Palo Alto has a new utility portal where you can see your gas, electric, and water consumption. See how you compare to similar homes, check your historical usage patterns, and get resources and programs to help you save energy and water
27. Other indicators of the present situation have to do with the depletion of natural resources. We all know that it is not possible to sustain the present level of consumption in developed countries and wealthier sectors of society, where the habit of wasting and discarding has reached unprecedented levels. The exploitation of the planet has already exceeded acceptable limits and we still have not solved the problem of poverty.
23. The climate is a common good, belonging to all and meant for all. At the global level, it is a complex system linked to many of the essential conditions for human life. A very solid scientific consensus indicates that we are presently witnessing a disturbing warming of the climatic system. In recent decades this warming has been accompanied by a constant rise in the sea level and, it would appear, by an increase of extreme weather events, even if a scientifically determinable cause cannot be assigned to each particular phenomenon.