The following figures have been tallied regarding our Sunday Mass attendance for the past month. A heartfelt "thank you" is extended to the many people who made this count possible. As I review our Sunday Mass October Count, I realize, again this year, that there are far too many empty seats. We have 8 Sunday Masses with a capacity for 3,000 people. Our weekly average is 1,317 (45%). We have plenty of room for more of our Catholic sisters and brothers to gather for the most important hour of our week. Please invite a friend, neighbor, or relative to join you at Mass next weekend.
Continuing with the catecheses on the Mass, we can ask ourselves: What is the Mass essentially? The Mass is the memorial of Christ’s Paschal Mystery. It makes us participants in His victory over sin and death and gives full meaning to our life. Therefore, to understand the value of the Mass we must then understand, first of all, the biblical meaning of the “memorial.” It is “not merely the recollection of past events, but in a certain sense renders them present and real.
At church, Catholics should spend their time in silence before Mass, preparing "to meet with Jesus" instead of engaging in "chitchat," the pope said Nov. 15 during his weekly general audience. "Silence is so important," he said. "Remember what I told you last time: we are not going to a show. Silence prepares us and accompanies us."
People who are dying must be accompanied with the love of family members and the care of medical professionals, but there is no requirement that every means available must be used to prolong their lives, Pope Francis said. "Even if we know that we cannot always guarantee healing or a cure, we can and must always care for the living, without ourselves shortening their life, but also without futilely resisting their death," the pope said in a message to the European members of the World Medical Association.
From the day we are born until the day we leave this life, we are on a journey. It is a journey of learning, growing, and developing into the person our loving God created us to be. It is a journey growing in relationship with God and developing all the gifts God has given us. God sent Jesus into the world to walk with us and teach us how to live our lives, and Jesus gave us two laws to live by: love God, and love our neighbors as ourselves.
Each year the Western Association of the Order of Malta goes on pilgrimage to Lourdes, France. As part of our mission to help the poor and the sick, we invite those who are sick, affectionately called Malades, to join us on pilgrimage. There is no cost for the selected malade or to your parish for this pilgrimage.
Organized by the Diocese of San Jose Vocations Office - February 16-18, 2018 in Los Altos Open to discerning a vocation to the priesthood? Give God a weekend! This is a great opportunity for prayer and discernment, confession, and talking with priests and seminarians. Retreat starts Friday evening and concludes Sunday afternoon. The event is free for all men who are interested.
The parish Prayer Shawl Ministry has provided over 80 knitted, crocheted and hand-woven prayer shawls to people in times of great challenges and pain. We are hoping to hear from you if you care to make a shawl for this good work.
The parish Prayer Shawl Ministry has provided over 80 knitted, crocheted and hand-woven prayer shawls to people in times of great challenges and pain. We are hoping to hear from you if you care to make a shawl for this good work.
Now that the interior of St. Thomas Aquinas church is renewed, it is time to focus on replacing the wooden altar table, the ambo (where lectors stand to read the Word of God and from which the priest delivers his homily), and the presider's chair. The STA Interior Committee has been considering options for designs of altar furniture that echo the architectural style of the church.