As we approach this Fall’s General Election, I know that many of you – like myself – are in the process of discerning the choices before us in the presidential race, as well as in many of the other races and issues that will be decided on November 8. I am writing to you today to put forward principles for your consideration in arriving at decisions that are consistent with Catholic teaching.
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about what the Church will look like in the not too distant future, as my gaze is often focused on all of you who fill these pews Sunday after Sunday. I know (from what I hear) that this parish once had more English Masses every weekend. However, for the last several years, one site has two and one has only one, and we still have quite a bit of empty space.
The Wednesday night S.O.U.P. program (Sharing Ourselves with Undernourished People) is on hiatus for now. So NO S.O.U.P. sessions until further notice. We’ll keep you informed as to when they might resume.
Catechetical Sunday is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the role that each person plays, by virtue of his or her Baptism, in handing on the faith and being a witness to the Gospel. It is a chance for all to rededicate themselves to this mission as a community of faith.
While Fr. Sev Kuupuo is participating in the Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) program at Stanford Health Care this year — training for hospital chaplaincy work, he is living at the parish rectory at St. Albert the Great and presiding at various daily and weekend Masses.
We are pleased to inform you that the Diocese of San Jose has been selected to become a Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Diocesan Capacity Building Initiative participant for the coming year. The purpose of this initiative is to strengthen and focus the partnership between CRS and the Office of Social Ministries, through the participation of parishes and schools. Through this initiative, we hope to make global solidarity, in the context of broader parish-based social ministry, deeper, widely available and more vibrant for all Catholics in the Diocese of San Jose.
Our Pastor, Fr. Matt lead parishioners and 400-500 others on the Palo Alto Multifaith Peace Walk on Sunday, September 11. One of the final stops was at Our Lady of the Rosary Church for a brief prayer service attended by a standing-room-only crowd of perhaps 475 individuals. Thanks to all who participated!
Fifteen years ago today, terrorists hijacked four passenger planes and smashed two into New York's World Trade Center. A third jetliner rammed into the Pentagon outside Washington while a fourth one crash-landed on an empty field in Pennsylvania. By the time the carnage was over, the hijackers had killed 2,977 people in the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil. People, buildings and planes fell from the sky. Terrified strangers became friends as Americans united on a day that changed the world forever.
We still have need for a couple of more catechists or aides, particularly at St. Albert the Great. If we don’t have anyone fill these slots, classes will need to be combined so that we can make certain all of our children have the opportunity to grow in their faith. uring the Sunday morning Masses (except on weekends when there is a Family Mass), children are dismissed from the assembly to hear the Gospel at their level of understanding, to talk about its meaning for their lives, and to pray. Please call Susan Olsen at the Pastoral Center (ext. 25) or email suolsen@dsj.org to volunteer.
Pope Francis reminds us that the commandment “thou shall not kill” pertains to the innocent as well as the guilty, in order to respect the sacredness and human dignity of all people.
Ordinations in Germany have dropped by 50 per cent in the last decade. The decrease reflects a continuous downward trend, with only 122 diocesan priests ordained in 2005 (Germany has an estimated Catholic population of 28 million); five decades ago, in 1965, the number of priestly ordinations was 500