Catholic san Francisco Northern California’s Weekly Catholic Newspaper
Archbishop issues appeal to ‘move forward together’ Declaring that opponents and proponents of Proposition 8 “need to stop talking as if we are experts on the real motives of people with whom we have never even spoken,” San Francisco Archbishop George H. Niederauer has called on “churchgoers” to “speak and act out of the truth that all people are God’s children and are unconditionally loved by God.”
See full text, Page 3
(PHOTO BY MICHAEL O’LEARY)
In an “open letter” posted Dec. 1 on the archdiocesan website (www.sfarchdiocese. org), the Archbishop described his own role in the recent highly controversial campaign surrounding Prop 8. Its Nov. 4 passage amended the California Constitution to specify that only marriage between a man and a woman “is valid or recognized” in the state. The Archbishop also noted that the Archdiocese of San Francisco “did not donate or transfer any archdiocesan funds” to support Prop 8, strongly criticized “voices in the wider community” which charged Prop 8 backers of “hatred, prejudice and bigotry,” and defended faith communities’ involvement in the political arena.
High court to decide Proposition 8 issues The California Supreme Court has agreed to decide constitutional issues stemming from voters’ Nov. 4 approval of Proposition 8 but has denied requests to suspend enforcement of the initiative until the questions are resolved. In an order issued Nov. 19, the court directed supporters and opponents of Prop 8 to submit written arguments on three questions: • Is Prop 8 invalid because it constitutes
a revision of, rather than an amendment to, the California Constitution? • Does it violate the separation-of-powers doctrine under the California Constitution? • If it is not unconstitutional, what is its effect, if any, on the marriages of same-sex couples performed before the adoption of Prop 8? The court issued its order in three cases protesting Prop 8 as an unconstitutional PROP 8, page 5
San Francisco Archbishop George H. Niederauer anoints the altar of the Porziuncola Chapel Shrine at the National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi with sacred chrism on Dec. 2 as part of the altar dedication rite. The Porziuncola Shrine itself was opened and blessed on Sept. 27. A live nativity scene will be featured at the shrine Dec. 21, 22 and 23 in the evening. A national television documentary to be filmed at the Porziuncola will be aired at 3 p.m. Christmas Eve and 5 a.m. Christmas morning, ABC Channel 7.
Late Nite Catechism’s ‘Sister act’ in a class by itself The co-creator of the popular audience-interactive comedy “Late Nite Catechism” was inspired by her Catholic upbringing and a line from St. Lawrence, a third century martyr who is said to have quipped while being burned on a gridiron, “This side is done; turn me over and have a bite.” “If you’re going to go down, go down with a smart remark,” said Chicago actress Maripat Donovan, who co-authored “Late Nite Catechism” with fellow Chicagoan, journalist Vicki Quade, 15 years ago and continues to pen its sequels. In short, the play is a strict nun teaching a catechism class. The class is the audience. And the nun manages to nurture nostalgia for the days that “Sister ruled” at the same time making her “students” squirm a little. Donovan, who spoke with Catholic San Francisco from her office in Hollywood, said the “Sister” character grew out of her intensely religious upbringing. “We said the rosary on our knees every night,” Donovan said. “I put the time in at Mass. This is payback for that.” Donovan sought to make the play both funny and respectful toward a faith about which she cares
(PHOTO BY MICHAEL VICK/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)
By Michael Vick
Nonie Breen as “Sister” receives donations for real-life women religious after a performance of “Late Nite Catechism” at Mater Dolorosa Parish, South San Francisco.
deeply. Largely for that reason, she said, she and the other actresses who play the role have been warmly welcomed at parishes and Catholic schools across the country to perform the play. Donovan said her own Donovan Entertainment, Inc. owns and operates the show in California and Chicago, while New York-based Entertainment Events runs shows elsewhere. During its 15-year run, the show has played across the United States as well as in Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. The play was originally supposed to run for two weeks in Chicago, but ballooned in popularity and longevity – success beyond the playwright’s wildest expectations. “It’s a dream that hardly anyone ever achieves,” Donovan said. “It’s been a lot of hard work, but it’s the best thing that ever happened to me.” Part of the enduring appeal of the play is an improvised segment during which the “students” may ask questions. There is a certain depth of knowledge necessary to come up with answers on the fly. Nonie Breen knows. She has played the part of Sister for seven years. Preparation for the theological questions is a major part of learning the role, she said, noting that she cracked open the Baltimore LATE NITE, page 20
INSIDE THIS WEEK’S EDITION Cardinal recovering . . . . . . . 5 Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,17 Scripture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Datebook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Program fights homelessness ~ Page 4 ~ December 5, 2008
New CCCYO exec announced ~ Page 5 ~
‘Bolt’ reviewed. . . . . . . . . . . 21
Veterans honored and remembered ~ Page 9 ~ SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS
Classified ads . . . . . . . . 22-23
www.catholic-sf.org VOLUME 10
•
No. 37
2
Catholic San Francisco
December 5, 2008
On The
Class of ’46 from Immaculate Conception Academy: Bernice Johnston is seated on floor; seated on couch are Josie Munger, left, Pat Diggins, Helen Baccaria, Josephine Zaragoza, Louise Ogie, Dotti Fetner, Mission San Jose Dominican Sister Delores Calderwood, Helen Chapman, Pat Sienes; standing, Pat Becketti, left, Mary De La Torre, Joan Sisser, Pat Kauser.
Where You Live By Tom Burke Congratulations to Deacon Bill Mitchell who celebrated his 25th anniversary of ordination Dec. 3. Ordained for the Diocese of Norwich, Conn., Bill has long served the Archdiocese of San Francisco, coming here with his wife, Barbara, in 1986 to direct the Office of Communications and, after leaving that post, conDeacon Bill Mitchell tinuing in service at Our Lady of Loretto and now St. Anthony of Padua, both in Novato. Bill also ministered as deacon at St. Anselm Parish in Ross….The class of ’46 from Immaculate Conception Academy recently rejoined for a reunion and celebration of the women’s 80th birthdays, said classmate Bernice Johnston. Bernice attended St. James Elementary School and then ICA, remembering grade school tuition as a dollar per month and high school tuition as five dollars per month. She and her husband, Bob, who died eight years ago, raised their seven children in St. Gabriel Parish moving to St. Gregory Parish in San Mateo 14 years ago. “I always read the Catholic San Francisco,” Bernice told me. “Many times I see articles and pictures of friends.” Thank you, Bernice! Please keep turning those pages. …Hats off to Gerald
Gerald Gallagher with his son, Kevin.
LIVING TRUSTS WILLS ●
●
PROBATE
MICHAEL T. SWEENEY ATTORNEY AT LAW 782A ULLOA STREET SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94127
(415) 664-8810 www.mtslaw.info FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION
Gallagher, oldest living graduate of St. Paul Elementary School, and among the more than 500 people recently gathered for a Mass of Thanksgiving at St. Paul’s Church commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary who have been instrumental in the school since its 1916 beginnings. Jerry is also an alumnus of Sacred Heart High School – now Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep – and USF, where he was recently honored as the university’s oldest living graduate in California. He and his wife, Kay, were married in 1937 at St. Ignatius Church and made their home in St. Gabriel Parish for their entire married life. “Kay died Jan. 10, 2001 and I still miss her,” Jerry told me. Jerry continued to reside in St. Gabe’s until his move to Saratoga four years ago. His career took him from the Merchant Marines after graduating USF in 1931 through service as court clerk with Superior Court Judge Joe Kennedy, the position he retired from in 1977. “God bless the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary,” Jerry told me in a note to this column. “Long may they live to teach and to carry out their other blessed duties.” Jerry continues to receive Catholic San Francisco and likes staying in touch through its pages. “I love getting the paper,” he said, “and staying up to date with all that’s going on.” Please let me lead a very happy birthday to Jerry. The lad was 95 years old Nov. 18. … Recalling his contributions at the parish and many other levels, 500 people gathered recently to honor Msgr. Mickey McCormick, retired pastor of Mission Dolores Parish, on his 75th birthday and 50th year as a priest. Organizing the event was the San Mateo and San Francisco Cursillo community where Msgr. McCormick has played a major role. Spaghetti and meatballs were the order of the day prepared by a chef team headed by Chuck Fontenot. Father Kieran McCormick, retired pastor of St. Charles Parish in San Carlos and Msgr. Mickey’s brother, led opening prayer. Also on hand were Rose Forbes, the priests’ sister, her husband, Jerry, and many additional
family members. Auxiliary Bishop William Justice was guest speaker. Greg Lyon handled emcee duties with entertainment by Mission Dolores choir with Yohann Anderson and Mike Mirabella. A slide show by nephew K.J. Forbes showcased the uncle-priest’s half-century of ministry. Proceeds benefited the Alliance of Mission District Catholic Schools, “an organization near and dear to Mickey,” Fontenot said….This is an empty space without you! Send items and pictures via e-mail to burket@ sfarchdiocese.org. Mailed items should be sent to “Street,” One Peter Yorke Way, SF 94109. Pix should be hard copy or electronic jpeg at 300 dpi. Don’t forget to include a follow-up phone number. Call me at (415) 614-5634 and I’ll walk you through it.
Msgr. Maurice McCormick with his sister, Rose Forbes, digs into celebratory cake baked by their niece, Molly Doolittle.
Donate Your Car
GIVE THE GIFT OF SILVER
800-YES-SVDP (800-937-7837)
Beautiful, well-priced .925 sterling silver cross pendants, necklaces, earrings & rings, plus hundreds of non-denominational pieces
• FREE same day pickup • Maximum Tax Deduction • We do DMV paperwork • Running or not, no restrictions • 100% helps your community www.yes-svdp.org
Call 415-505-9770 or email mtsegal@comcast.net Order $50+ by Dec. 11 for FREE shipping & delivery by Christmas! Can't decide what to buy? Gift certificates fit all sizes!
Serving the poor since 1860 ST. VINCENT DE PAUL SOCIETY
CATALOG:
AUFER’S
RELIGIOUS SUPPLIES
Serving The Catholic – Christian Community since 1904
West Coast Church Supplies 369 Grand Avenue South San Francisco
Your complete resource of Religious Goods
1-800-767-0660
1455 Custer Avenue, San Francisco 94124 415-333-4494 • FAX 415-333-0402 Hours: M-F 8:30 am – 5 pm Sat. 10am – 4 pm e-mail: sales@kaufers.com www.kaufers.com
Easy access: 3 blocks west of 101 Bibles, Books, Rosaries,Statues, Jewelry, Medals, Crucifixes, Baptism and Christening Gifts
Mon – Fri 9:30 to 5:30 Sat 9:30 – 5
www.mysilpada.com/margot.segal
Are You Over 65 And You Just Don’t Have The Motion In Your Body You Used To? Are you finding Restriction, Arthritis, Fibromyalgia or Other Stiffness as a Result of Lack of Movement? Non Painful Light Touch Physical Therapy For Seniors & Disabled, Covered By MediCare Restore Joint Function & Increase Your Mobility! Maintain Your Quality of Life For Years to Come
Enjoy Your Grandchildren Again! HELPLINES FOR CLERGY/CHURCH SEXUAL ABUSE VICTIMS 415-614-5506 This number is answered by Barbara Elordi, Archdiocesan Pastoral Outreach Coordinator. This is a secured line and is answered only by Barbara Elordi. 415-614-5503 If you wish to speak to a non-archdiocesan employee please call this nunmber. This is also a secured line and is answered only by a victim survivor.
DONATE YOUR OLD AUTO To help St. Denis Catholic High School in Uganda Father Joseph tells us 60% of his students are orphans from AIDS and need your love and help! Classics to Clunkers, running or not. We do everything for you and you’ll receive a tax deduction for your car. Please give us a toll free call today. God Bless!
800-511-4409 www.unchildren.org • United Fund For Children, Inc.
THE AGELESS BODY CENTER FOR PAIN AND MOBILITY Re •
5
in the Stonestown Medical Bldg. 595 Buckingham Way Suite 203 San Francisco (415) 681-0789
December 5, 2008
Catholic San Francisco
3
An open letter from Archbishop Niederauer ‘With God’s grace and much prayer, we can all move forward together’ other Catholic dioceses in California. The Archdiocese Some of our opponents respond with this question: did pay, and appropriately disclose, printing and distribu- Even if these churches saw the California State Supreme Proposition 8 on November’s ballot added 14 words tion of flyers to parishes. Court decision in May as damaging to the institution of to the Constitution of the State of California: “Only marLast May the staff of the Conference office informed me marriage as they understood and valued it, shouldn’t riage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized that leaders and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of they have kept quiet and stayed on the sidelines? Some in California.” In the weeks since the adoption of this Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) had given would say that, in light of the separation amendment the media have carried many speculations their support to the campaign for Proposition of church and state, churches should about the role of the Catholic bishops in California, 22 in the year 2000, and were already conremain silent about any political matter. and about my role in particular, in the passage of this sidering an involvement in connection with However, religious leaders in America proposition. It is my wish to clarify here what was done Proposition 8. Accordingly, I was asked to have the constitutional right to speak and why it was done, and offer some thoughts about the contact leaders of the LDS Church whom I out on issues of public policy. Catholic way forward amid so many misunderstandings and hard had come to know during my eleven years bishops, specifically, also have a responfeelings. sibility to teach the faith, and our beliefs as Bishop of Salt Lake City, to ask them to Five years before my appointment as Archbishop cooperate again, in this election cycle. I did about marriage and family are part of of San Francisco, in the year 2000, Proposition 22 was write to them and they urged the members of this faith. placed on the California ballot. This statute, which their Church, especially those in California, Indeed, to insist that citizens be silent defined marriage as between a man and a woman, to become involved. about their religious beliefs when they passed with 61% of the vote. On May 15th of this year, are participating in the public square It is important to point out here that the California State Supreme Court declared that statute a wide range of churches became active is to go against the constant American unconstitutional and legalized same-sex marriage in in favor of Proposition 8: in addition to political tradition. Such a gag order California. Around the same time, Proposition 8, a con- Catholics and LDS members, evangelical would have silenced many abolitionists Archbishop George stitutional amendment qualified for the ballot. in the nineteenth century and many civil Protestant churches and churches with Niederauer The Catholic bishops of California, organized as the many African-American members joined rights advocates in the twentieth. Quite California Catholic Conference, and speaking through the effort, and, among the Orthodox churches, the Greek a number of important political issues regularly touch their office of public policy in Sacramento, endorsed Orthodox Metropolitan of San Francisco and three other upon the ethical, moral, and religious convictions of Proposition 8 and urged Catholics, and organizations Orthodox bishops signed and published a joint statement citizens: immigration policy, the death penalty, torture of lay Catholics, to work for its passage, by means of in favor of Proposition 8. of prisoners, abortion, euthanasia, and the right to health grass roots activity and That is what was done. care are some such issues. contributions from their Why was it done? Some Members of churches who supported Proposition 8 resources. We bishops ‘…we … need to speak and act voices in the wider com- sincerely believe that defining marriage as only between a also endorsed Proposition munity declare that there man and a woman is one such issue. They see marriage and 4, regarding parental noti- out of the truth that all people could be only one motive: the family as the basic building blocks of human society, fication of a minor child’s hatred, prejudice and big- existing before government and not created by it. Marriage intended abortion (defeatotry against gays, along is for us the ideal relationship between a man and woman, ed at the polls) and we are God’s children and are with a determination to in which, through their unique sexual complementarity, opposed Proposition 6, a discriminate against them the spouses offer themselves to God as co-creators of new “tough on crime” initia- unconditionally loved by God.’ and deny them their civil human persons, a father and mother giving them life and tive inconsistent with the rights. That is not so. The enabling them to thrive in the family setting. principles of restorative churches that worked in Are there many instances in which this ideal fails justice (defeated). favor of Proposition 8 did so because of their belief that to be realized? Of course there are. Single parents, The Archdiocese of San Francisco did not donate or the traditional understanding and definition of marriage is grandparents, foster parents and others deserve praise transfer any Archdiocesan funds to the campaign in favor in need of defense and support, and not in need of being and support for their courage, sacrifice and devotion OPEN LETTER, page 10 of Proposition 8. As far as I know, that is also true of re-designed or re-configured.
By Archbishop George H. Niederauer
4
Catholic San Francisco
December 5, 2008
Advent: Season of Caring Program helps a family on the verge of homelessness Julio Sifuentes, 51, is a single father of two sons, ages 16 and 10. Twenty years ago, with only one friend here in the United States as a contact, Julio immigrated to San Francisco from Chincha Alta, Peru. It was in San Francisco, among its fabled hills and fast-paced way of life, where Sifuentes met his wife and where his sons were born. It is also in San Francisco where the stresses of their life would prove too much for their fragile family. Last year, Sifuentes and his wife separated. Sifuentes has full custody of his eldest son, and partial custody of his youngest son. After years working as a janitor, Sifuentes became a taxi driver in Daly City. Even working long days and nights as a cabbie, he still struggled to keep up with basic living expenses and to provide for his sons. The household was now surviving solely on his income and lawyer fees had severely exhausted family resources. Sifuentes fell behind on his rent. After three months, his landlord gave him three days’ notice of eviction. Not knowing where to turn for help, and afraid of what might happen to his sons Sifuentes confided in a close friend who directed him to an agency in San Francisco. A few referrals later, Sifuentes finally found help at Catholic Charities CYO’s Homelessness Prevention Programs where he qualified for rental assistance. Sophia Suarez, an HPP rental assistance specialist, completed the intake process and worked closely with Sifuentes to gather the necessary paperwork. HPP was able to provide
$1,300 towards back rent. However, because Sifuentes owed more than HPP could assist with, Suarez collaborated with another agency to secure an additional $1,300 to keep the father and his sons in their home. Today Julio is working extra hard to make ends meet, and his sons are going to school. They have the stability of a place to come home to everyday and the security of a roof over their heads. With emotion in his voice, Sifuentes has said of the experience: “After all of the hard moments and very sad times that I have been through — coming to this country, struggling to get by, sadly separating from my wife — throughout all of this, I would like to thank Catholic Charities CYO for helping the community, but especially, for helping me and my family. I honestly don’t know what we would have done had it not been for them.” The CCCYO Homelessness Prevention Program is a partner in the Family Eviction Prevention Collaborative which has won the 2008 Mutual of America Community Partnership Award, recognizing outstanding nonprofit organizations that have shown leadership by facilitating partnerships to build a cohesive community. For more information on the Homelessness Prevention Program and other Catholic Charities CYO outreach, visit www.cccyo.org.
(PHOTO BY JULIE HARRIS)
By Karen Erickson
Karen Erickson directs Catholic Charities CYO’s Homelessness Prevention Program.
Julio Sifuentes
$133,000 raised Catholic Charities CYO’s 12th Annual Vincenzo Wine Tasting & Auction on Nov. 14 raised more than $133,000, which directly benefits at-risk Bay Area youth at St. Vincent’s School for Boys in San Rafael. Guests enjoyed tastings from premier wineries and a gourmet dinner by Dan McCall at the historic Bentley Reserve in San Francisco. Pictured are, from left: Tom Klein and Kate Kelly Klein, proprietors of Rodney Strong Vineyards and honorary event co-chairs; Tori Ritchie, mistress of ceremonies; Kent Eagleson, St. Vincent’s School for Boys director; and Brian Cahill, CCCYO executive director. During the program, Sean Kurmas, a St. Vincent alumnus, spoke intimately of how the school changed his life.
Help change a life this Advent Season I will make my gift of $ to support those in need with: • a check, payable to Catholic Charities CYO • my Visa, Mastercard, or American Express Card Number
Expiration
Signature Name Address City
State
Phone
Zip
Parish Mail your gift to: Catholic Charities CYO • 180 Howard Street, Suite 100 • San Francisco, CA 94105-1617 • Phone 415-972-1200 Donate online at any time: www.cccyo.org/seasonofcaring
Catholic san Francisco
Advertising: Joseph Pena, director; Mary Podesta, account representative Sandy Finnegan, advertising and promotion services
Newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Francisco
Most Reverend George H. Niederauer, publisher Maurice E. Healy, associate publisher & executive editor Editorial Staff: Dan Morris-Young, editor: morrisyoungd@sfarchdiocese.org; Rick DelVecchio, assistant editor: delvecchior@sfarchdiocese.org; Tom Burke, “On the Street”/Datebook: burket@sfarchdiocese.org; Michael Vick, reporter: vickm@sfarchdiocese.org
Production: Karessa McCartney-Kavanaugh, manager Business Office: Marta Rebagliati, assistant business manager; Julio Escobar, circulation and subscriber services Advisory Board: Fr. John Balleza, Deacon Jeffery Burns, Ph. D., James Clifford, Fr. Thomas Daly, Nellie Hizon, James Kelly, Sr. Sheral Marshall, OSF, Deacon Bill Mitchell, Teresa Moore.
Catholic San Francisco editorial offices are located at One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco, CA 94109. Tel: (415) 614-5640;Circulation: 1-800-563-0008 or (415) 614-5638; News fax: (415) 614-5633; Advertising: (415) 614-5642; Advertising fax: (415) 614-5641; Advertising E-mail: penaj@sfarchdiocese.org Catholic San Francisco (ISSN 15255298) is published weekly (four times per month) September through May, except in the week following Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day, and twice a month in June, July and August by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco, 1500 Mission Rd., P.O. Box 1577, Colma, CA 94014. Periodical postage paid at South San Francisco, CA. Annual subscription price: $27 within California, $36 outside the state. Postmaster: Send address changes to Catholic San Francisco, 1500 Mission Rd., P.O. Box 1577, Colma, CA 94014 If there is an error in the mailing label affixed to this newspaper, call 1-800-563-0008. It is helpful to refer to the current mailing label.
for subscriptions or cancellations please call 1-800-563-0008 or 415-614-5638
December 5, 2008
Catholic San Francisco
5
New CCCYO exec named; sees mounting challenges By Dan Morris-Young Seeking ways to provide “sustainability long into the future” for Catholic Charities CYO programs while “in the middle of the most unprecedented economic downturn in our lifetimes” will be a major focus of the new CCCYO executive director when he takes reins of the agency and its $39 million budget on Jan. 15. “You have almost a perfect storm – a growing need in our communities for the people we serve, an increase in the number of clients at a time when it is incredibly challenging for us to raise funds from the local community, the state or from private donors,” said Jeff Bialik who was announced Dec. 1 as the next CCCYO executive director. Bialik, 52, will succeed Brian Cahill, who for the past nine years has headed CCCYO, one of the Bay Area’s largest non-profit social service providers with 30 programs and more than 600 employees in the Archdiocese. “We are very pleased that Jeff will take over as executive director upon Brian’s retirement,” stated CCCYO Board President Cecilia Herbert in a Dec. 1 CCCYO news release. “We feel confident he brings the talent, experience and thoughtful leadership that will ensure Catholic Charities CYO’s ability to continue to serve the needs of the most vulnerable in our society.” She continued, “We were attracted to Jeff as much for his compassion and concern for those in need as his abilities as a strategic leader. We are delighted to have him join us.” As part of the selection process, Bialik met with representatives of CCCYO’s Board of Directors, senior leadership of the agency,
Prop 8 . . . ■ Continued from cover
Jeff Bialik
a search committee, and Archbishop George Niederauer, who is chairman of the Board. “What really pleased me was how absolutely committed every single person is – from top to bottom, from the Board members to staff -- to the fine work that Catholic Charities CYO does,” Bialik told Catholic San Francisco, “and how eager they are to really tackle these issues of both short-term financial and service delivery issues as well as the long-term issue of sustainability.” Bialik said it is “too early for me to speculate” on what programming or staffing adjustments could be faced by the agency. “I am not the executive director yet, and so I am going to be taking advantage of the time between now and Jan. 15 to get as many briefings as I possibly can, get educated as quickly as I can so that when I come on board I will be ready to hit the ground running.” turned Proposition 22, the 2000 California voter initiative that limited state recognition of marriage to opposite-sex couples. Prop 8, which passed by a margin of nearly 600,000 votes out of more than 13 million cast, restored that definition to the state Constitution. In its order, the court said it wants to decide the issues speedily and could hold oral argument as soon as next March.
override of the high court’s ruling in May that same-sex couples have a right to designate their unions as marriage. The parties in the cases include same-sex couples and a number of cities and counties that want to issue marriage licenses under the ruling. They claim Bilingual Staff that Prop 8 denies same-sex Information and Referrals ● Care Coordination couples equal treatment Italian-American Community Services Agency under the law. Providing Services to the Italian Community since 1916 The May ruling overCasa Fugazi ● 678 Green Street ● San Francisco 94133 Tel: 415-362-6423 www.italiancommunityservices.org
A graduate of the University of Washington and the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Bialik most recently served as the vice president for finance and enrollment management, Chief Financial Officer and treasurer at Dominican University in San Rafael where he was responsible for the office of admissions, financial aid, human resources, facilities, financial and business services and $45 million budget for the college. Prior to his position at Dominican, Bialik was the vice president of operations at Golden Gate University for eight years. According to the CCCYO release, “Bialik has dedicated his time and leadership abilities to a number of organizations, including the Marin Education Fund, American Red Cross, North Bay Leadership Council, National Association of College and University Business Officers, Western Association of Schools and Colleges and the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce.” He resides in San Rafael with his wife Mabel and their two children: Ellen, 16, and Adam, 22.
Bialik said he hopes his familiarity with Marin County policy makers and governmental processes will be an asset to CCCYO on projects such as developing senior housing on land owned by its St. Vincent School for Boys there. “I do have some experience with the entitlement process, the environmental impact support process, in Marin County. I actually managed the process at Dominican College in the 1990s that eventually led to approval by the City of San Rafael. I also know many of the players there in terms of the board of supervisors, assemblymen, and others who I hope will be part of the conversation as this process goes further,” Bialik said. He said that during the interview process for his new position he had “sort of joked with the staff” that he has a special interest in the St. Vincent project “not only from the standpoint of my role with Catholic Charities, but I am also a neighbor” and he can “see the campus from my front porch.”
Cardinal Levada recovering from surgery in San Francisco SAN FRANCISCO (CNS) – U.S. Cardinal William J. Levada, prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, continues to make good progress after undergoing back surgery Nov. 14. . “He’s progressing faster than doctors had expected,” said Maurice Healy, archdiocesan director of communications and outreach on Dec. 2. “He’s been walking. He’s doing quite well.” Healy said the 72-year-old cardinal was released from an undisclosed hospital two weeks after the surgery. He had undergone two weeks of rehabilitation following the surgery, he said. Since his release, the cardinal has continued his recovery at the residence of San Francisco Archbishop George H. Niederauer, Healy added. Doctors expect the cardinal to be fully recovered within six to eight weeks of the surgery, he said. “He’s going back to Rome in January as planned,” Healy said. “He’s relaxing. His job is to recover.”
Committed to the spiritual well being of our residents
DONATE YOUR VEHICLE TAX DEDUCTION FOR YOUR CAR, TRUCK OR SUV
GOODWILL INDUSTRIES of San Mateo, San Francisco Marin Counties
&
D O N AT E O N L I N E
vehiclesforcharity.com 1.800.574.0888
Pettingell Book Bindery Klaus-Ullrich S. Rötzscher Bibles, Theses, Gold Stamping. Quality Binding with Cloth, Leather or Paper. Single & Editions. Custom Box Making
2181 Bancroft Way Berkeley, CA 94704 (510) 845-3653
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS DIOCESE OF WORCESTER, MA The Diocese of Worcester seeks an energetic and inspiring Superintendent of Schools to provide vision and leadership to its 28 Catholic elementary and secondary schools and to achieve a new level of excellence. Candidates should have the following attributes: • A fully participating and practicing Catholic, with a vision of how to deliver effective Catholic education within diverse communities • Strong organizational, managerial and interpersonal abilities that inspire confidence among parents, teachers, and administrators • Experience in the development of curriculum, Catholic religious education, and staff formation • Experience with budgeting and resource development • Excellent writing, speaking, and instructional skills • A minimum of five years experience in a senior educational leadership position and a Master’s Degree A complete position description and application details may be found at www.worcesterdiocese.org
Services Include: Spiritual Care/On-site Chaplain Housekeeping and Laundry Service Resident Activity & Social Programs Daily Licensed Nurse on Duty Upscale Meal Program Located on the St. Thomas More Church Campus
Call Today to Schedule a Tour:
415-337-1339 www.almavia.org
Cosponsored by the sisters of Mercy of the Americas & the Sierra Pacific Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church RCFE#: 385600270
6
Catholic San Francisco
December 5, 2008
in brief
‘Weapons easier to get than food’
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The Vatican plans to issue a new document on bioethics that addresses human cloning, stem-cell research and other issues, informed sources said. The Vatican instruction, prepared by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, was scheduled to be published Dec. 12, the sources said.
UNITED NATIONS (CNS) – The current lack of global arms regulations makes it is easier to obtain weapons “than food, shelter and education,” said Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Vatican’s apostolic nuncio to the United Nations. Illicit arms trades have turned tensions into armed conflicts and have compromised peace and development, he said. Archbishop Celestino In a Nov. 19 address to the U.N. Security Council, the Migliore will be the final archbishop praised the U.N. speaker in an Advent General Assembly for adoptlecture series at St. Rita ing a resolution that spells out Parish, 100 Marinda initial steps that need to be Dr., Fairfax. His Dec. taken to regulatie the trade 21, 5 p.m. talk will be and transfer of arms. He titled “Leadership Is said the General Assembly’s Responsibility to Protect.” discussion was timely and vital and was also something the Holy See “fully supports and encourages.” The archbishop said the Holy See “shares the grave concern of conflict-ridden countries” where illicit arms trade and production hinder peaceful settlement of disputes and prolong conflicts.
Case against Vatican proceeds
Bishop decries sterilizations
NEWS
Offer solidarity to Mormons WASHINGTON — The U.S. bishops offered “prayerful support and steadfast solidarity” to the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints in the face of attacks on the church and its members for working to pass California’s Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage. The support was offered in a Nov. 21 letter from Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz, chairman of the bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee for the Defense of Marriage, to Thomas S. Monson, president of the Mormon Church.
Bioethics document expected
WASHINGTON (CNS) – A federal appeals court ruled Nov. 24 that a lawsuit can move forward against the Vatican involving three men who claimed to have been sexually abused when they were children by priests in the Archdiocese of Louisville, Ky. However, the lead counsel to the Vatican in this case said the ruling handed down by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also presents significant challenges for the attorneys in proving the Vatican is liable for damages. Louisville attorney William F. McMurry has brought what is believed to be the first clergy sexual abuse suit that names the Vatican as the sole defendant. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages, claiming a 1962 directive from the Vatican instructed Church officials in Louisville to remain silent about sex abuse complaints in the archdiocese. The document became public in 2003. DEC. 30JAN. 1
NEW YEAR’S RETREAT Standing On The Threshold Fr. Rusty Shaughnessy, OFM Paula Jenkins
JAN. 9-11
FRANCISCAN SPIRITUALITY Franciscan Rule of Life & Gospel Fr. Michael W. Blastic, OFM
JAN. 23-25
CENTERING PRAYER The Rev. Cynthia Bourgeault
JAN. 30FEB. 1
QUADRATOS RETREAT Inner Landscape Of Grace Dr. Alexander Shaia
WASHINGTON (CNS) – The bishop of Tyler, Texas, has concluded that Catholic hospitals in his diocese have violated ethical directives by performing sterilizations. “As a bishop, I am deeply saddened and upset by this news,” said Bishop Alvaro Corrada in a Nov. 21 statement.“ Bishop Corrada’s statement followed an investigation by his diocese after a national Catholic newspaper reported claims last July that thousands of sterilizations, and possibly some abortions, took place in 23 Texas Catholic hospitals from 2000 to 2003. Initially, officials
ST. CLARE’S RETREAT
Santa Cruz 2381 LAUREL GLEN ROAD SOQUEL CA 95073 E-mail stclares@sbcglobal.net Web site: www.nonprofitpages/stclaresretreat Reservations for weekends must be made by mail and accompanied by a $10 non-refundable deposit per person. Suggested retreat donation $115.00 private room, $105.00 per person double room.
DECEMBER 5-7
PRE-CHRISTMAS, MEN & WOMEN: Fr. Patrick Crowley, SS.CC.
14-16
ANNUAL PROMOTERS’ LUNCHEON: Fr. Alberto Cabrera
from Trinity Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler and Christus St. Michael’s Health System in Texarkana told the diocese they were in compliance with the U.S. Catholic Church’s “Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Services.” “Sadly, subsequent investigation reveals that there had been a serious misinterpretation of the ERDs and that in fact many direct sterilizations had been done and continued to be done at the time of the article,” Bishop Corrada said.
Iraqi bishop saddened VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Christians of Iraq were shocked when Muslims started trying to drive the Christians of Mosul out of their homes in early October, an Iraqi bishop told Vatican Radio after meeting Pope Benedict XVI. Chaldean Auxiliary Bishop Shlemon Warduni of Baghdad met the pope Nov. 26. The pope told the bishop, “Iraq is in our hearts. We constantly remember the Christians, praying for them and for peace in the country.” Bishop Warduni told Vatican Radio that between 700 and 800 of the 2,500 Christian families who had left Mosul in October had returned after the government sent troops to protect Christians. “This whole thing made us very sad because we have lived together in peace for centuries,” the bishop said.
Maryknoll council takes office MARYKNOLL, N.Y. (CNS) – Maryknoll Father Edward M. Dougherty of Philadelphia took office Nov. 25 as superior general of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers. Father Dougherty, 59, and three other Maryknoll priests form a NEWS IN BRIEF, page 7
VALLOMBROSA CENTER Retreats and Spirituality Programs Conferences and Meetings Dec. 6, 9am-4pm: “ADVENT DAY OF PRAYER” Prepare the Way of the Lord! Silence, guided meditations and contemplative prayer sessions will help you deepen your longsings for Christ’s coming and prepare you to receive Him anew with open hearts and minds. Carmen de la Vega Neafsey, M.A.
Dec. 31-Jan. 1: “NEW YEAR’S EVE RETREAT” Join us for our annual New Year’s Eve retreat. Together we will remember and give thanks for the graces experienced in 2008. Looking ahead, we will reflect on the call, the plan and the promise of new beginnings. Father Patrick LaBelle, O.P.
Please call or visit our website for information and to register for any of the above events.
VALLOMBROSA CENTER 250 Oak Grove Avenue Menlo Park, CA 94025
•
(650) 325-5614
Fax: (650) 325-0908 Web: www.vallombrosa.org
The Jesuit Retreat Center of Los Altos
CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS (NO Retreat) 2008 THEME:
Awaken to the Sacred
SAN DAMIANO RETREAT
PO Box 767 • Danville, CA 94526 925-837-9141 • www.sandamiano.org
Dec 17-21
Silent, Individually-Directed Retreat Preparation for Christmas for Men/Women - Fr. Kevin Ballard, S.J., - Fr. Joseph Fice, S.J. - Fr. Emmanuel Foro, S.J. - Sr. Ingrid Honoré-Lallande, C.S.J. - Fr. Gerald Hudson, S.J. - Ms. Leelamma Sebastian - Ms. Susan Votaw
Dec 30 Jan 1
We Are Not a Glum Lot! Recovery Retreat for Men/Women - Fr. Thomas Weston, S.J.
Jan 2-4
Spiritual Awakenings in the New Year Recovery Retreat for Women - Fr. Jeffrey LaBelle, S.J.
Jan 9-11
Christ: The Source & Goal of Our Desiring Silent Retreat for Women - Fr. Bernie Bush, S.J. - Sr. Anne Hennessy, C.S.J.
Jan 16-18
Christ: The Source & Goal of Our Desiring Silent Retreat for Men - Fr. Bernie Bush, S.J. - Mr. Michael Cheney
*MERRY CHRISTMAS! (831) 423-8093 • Fax: (831) 423-1541
Join us for our Merry Christmas Happy Hour Wednesday, December 10th 5:30-7:30pm Elk’s Club 450 Post Street Don’t miss the CPBC annual Merry Christmas Happy Hour at the Elk’s Club. Enjoy a fun game guaranteeing you’ll meet two new people, delectable hors d’oeuvres and no-host drinks while networking in this festive space. Don’t miss this end of year celebration!
Free for Members! Non-Members pay $20 or join CPBC for $45 & the event is free! Want more information? Go to www.cpbc-sf.org
Retreats and Meetings
For more information or to make reservations, please call
650-948-4491 email: retreat@jrclosaltos.org Web: www.jrclosaltos.org 300 Manresa Way, Los altos, CA 94022-4659
December 5, 2008
Catholic San Francisco
7
Papal trip to Holy Land discussed By John Thavis VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The Vatican has confirmed tentative plans for Pope Benedict XVI to visit the Holy Land in 2009. Israeli sources said the most likely time for the visit would be in May, with stops in Israel and the Palestinian territories. The pope was invited to visit Israel by Israeli President Shimon Peres in 2007. At that time, the pope made it clear he hoped to make the trip, but Vatican diplomats said the timing would depend in large part on efforts to calm the simmering Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In recent months, Israeli and Vatican officials began making more concrete plans for a papal visit. The contacts were first reported Nov. 27 by the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz and were confirmed by the Israeli Embassy to the Holy See. Ha’aretz said the most likely time frame for the trip was the second week in May. It said the papal nuncio to Israel and the Palestinian territories, Archbishop Antonio Franco, told Peres in
News in brief . . . ■ Continued from page 6 new general council that will lead the society for the next six years. They were elected during the society’s recent 12th general chapter. The other members of the four-man council and their posts are: Father Jose A. Aramburu, 61, of Utuado, Puerto Rico, vicar general; Father Paul R. Masson, 64, of Oil City, Pa., assistant general; and Father Edward J. McGovern, 53, of New York City, assistant general. They will be responsible for leading about 450 priests and brothers serving in 27 countries worldwide.
Overseas aid urged WASHINGTON (CNS) – Officials from several nongovernmental organizations have urged the United States to continue overseas development assistance despite the global financial crisis. One official at a Nov. 24 press conference in Washington said relieving hunger in poor nations could be seen as a national security issue. At the press conference, marking the release of the 19th annual hunger report by Bread for the World, speakers noted that 100 million more people went hungry earlier this year because of fuel and food price spikes, coupled with the growing of crops for fuel rather than for food, and an additional 100 million have gone hungry since the financial crisis started in September.
Adoption agency head resigns EDINBURGH, Scotland (CNS) – Cardinal Keith O’Brien of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, Scotland has resigned as president of a Catholic adoption agency that will comply with British law and consider same-sex couples as parents. Cardinal O’Brien, president of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, said in a Nov. 21 statement he decided to step down from his position at the St. Andrew’s Children’s Society Ltd. after “careful consideration.” Msgr. Michael Regan, an Edinburgh priest, also resigned as a board member of the agency. Media in Scotland reported Nov. 23 that Cardinal O’Brien did not
SCRIPTURE SEARCH By Patricia Kasten
Sainthood cause relocated BALTIMORE (CNS) – Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien of Baltimore Nov. 20 presided over the opening of a new phase in the sainthood cause for Father Patrick Peyton during Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Father Peyton is best known as the “Rosary Priest,” who encouraged families through radio and television programs in the 1940s and 1950s to pray together daily, especially by praying the rosary. According to the archdiocese, the investigation into the priest’s cause for sainthood, which opened in June 2001 in the Diocese of Fall River, Mass., was moved from that diocese to Baltimore by the Vatican. Father George Lucas, who has worked as a facilitator for the cause, told reporters the cause was moved to Baltimore because the archdiocese has more resources and experience with other causes.
$1 million Opus Prize awarded SEATTLE (CNS) – A Catholic woman who has provided a safe haven for child victims of ethnic strife in Burundi has received the $1 million Opus Prize, billed as the world’s largest humanitarian award for social innovation. Marguerite “Maggy” Barankitse received the honor Nov. 18 from Jesuitrun Seattle University and the Opus Prize Foundation. She founded Maison Shalom in 1993 as a home for 25 children orphaned after a violent attack by ethnic Tutsis at the start of a 12-year civil war. Barankitse’s organization has grown into a multiservice agency which runs 500 small houses where children are nurtured and supported.
ISAIAH MESSENGER FORGIVENESS CAMEL’S WAIST WORTHY SPIRIT
MAKE STRAIGHT
WASHINGTON (CNS) – Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of Bishop William K. Weigand of Sacramento. He will be succeeded by Bishop Jaime Soto, who has been coadjutor of the diocese since Oct. 11, 2007, and is one of 26 active Hispanic Catholic bishops in the United States. A coadjutor automatically becomes the head of the diocese upon the retirement or death of its bishop. The announcement was made in Washington Nov. 29 by Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio to the United States. Head of the Sacramento Diocese since January 1994, Bishop Weigand is 71, four years younger than the age at which canon law requires a bishop to offer his resignation. In April 2005 he had a liver transplant. His own liver was damaged by primary sclerosing cholangitis, an uncommon, progressive liver disease that causes scarring near the liver, which affects the organ’s function. He was diagnosed with the disease 27 years ago. In November 2004 doctors decided a transplant was necessary. Despite his illness, Bishop Weigand has routinely put in six-day weeks during his tenure as head of the diocese. But when his coadjutor was named last year, he said was pleased to have assistance in shepherding “this vast 20-county diocese.” During the last month’s meeting of the U.S. Catholic bishops, Bishop Soto was elected chair of the bishops’ Committee on Cultural Diversity, a position he will assume in November 2009.
Independent Living | Assisted Living Memory Care | Skilled Nursing
we believe...
One Family In Mission “Open your heart! Lend a hand!”
age is an
with loving care from local priests, Religious and lay people. These parishes count on your help through the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. A gift of $100 helps provide a month’s support for a each Sunday of Advent!
O
S
O
N
O
F
G
O
D
P
T
your heart” and “lend a hand” to
O
F
E
W
L
Y
E
N
O
H
R
I
our mission family so they may
P
O
O
O
W
E
D
I
D
E
O
R
experience our Lord’s love and
O
H
P
R
K
W
L
N
G
I
P
I
hope in these parishes?
O
E
V
T
G
A
S
N
I
S
H
P
T
L
O
H
J
I
E
I
A
A
E
S
P
I
Y
J
S
V
G
N
I
T
L
O
C
U
S
T
S
E
A
A
N
A
E
E
E
E
T
L
E
B
N
H
J
D
M
P
M
F
R
E
H
T
A
E
L
N
A
H
E
A
D
O
F
Y
O
U
S
A
C
E
L
L
A
G
N
I
D
N
E
S
© 2008 Tri-C-A Publications www.tri-c-a-publications.com
Sponsored by Duggan’s Serra Mortuary 500 Westlake Avenue, Daly City 650-756-4500 ● www.duggansserra.com
Mercy Retirement & Care Center 510.534.8540 | Oakland www.mercyretirementcenter.org
Salem Lutheran Home
mission parish — That’s just $25 for
J
L
honor.
celebrated — where suffering is met
510.534.3637 | Oakland www.salemlutheranhome.org
This Christmas, will you “open
S
Bishop Jaime Soto
Sacramento bishop retires; coadjutor Soto now ordinary
Missions where life is nurtured and
Following is a word search based on the Gospel reading for the Second Sunday of Advent, Cycle B, the beginning of Mark’s Gospel. The words can be found in all directions in the puzzle. SON OF GOD SENDING VOICE PEOPLE BELT HONEY SANDALS
want to be seen to sanction activities contrary to Church teachings. Eleven Catholic adoption agencies in England and Wales and two in Scotland have until Jan. 1 to comply with sexual orientation regulations under Britain’s Equality Act 2006. The regulations prohibit discrimination against homosexuals in the provision of goods and services.
Bishop William Weigand
There are thousands of parishes in the
Gospel for December 7, 2008 Mark 1:1-8
BEGINNING PROPHET AHEAD OF YOU SINS LEATHER LOCUSTS STOOP
early November that the pope had decided to visit the country. The Vatican spokesman, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, confirmed that “diplomatic contacts are under way to study the possibility of a papal trip to the Holy Land during the course of next year.” He gave no details. Father Lombardi declined to speculate on whether the papal visit would include a stop at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem. The Vatican has urged officials at the memorial to remove from a permanent display a photo caption stating that Pope Pius XII did nothing to condemn the Nazis and their slaughter of the Jews. Church officials have called the caption offensive and have defended Pope Pius for working quietly during World War II to help save thousands of people, including many Jews. In October, Father Lombardi reiterated the Vatican’s objections to the Yad Vashem display, but said it was not a decisive obstacle to a papal visit. Pope Benedict has one other scheduled foreign trip on his calendar for 2009, a visit to Cameroon and Angola in March.
AlmaVia of Union City 510.489.3800 | Union City www.almavia.org
The Society for THE PROPAGATION OF THE FAITH …a Pontifical Mission Society
Most Rev. Ignatius C. Wang One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco, CA 94109, Attn: Dept C Enclosed is my Christmas gift for the missions parishes of $_____ Name____________________________________________________ Address__________________________________________________ City_________________________________State_____Zip__________ www.givetothemissions.org • www.onefamilyinmission.org
AlmaVia of San Rafael 415.491.1900 | San Rafael www.almavia.org
AlmaVia of San Francisco 415.337.1339 | San Francisco www.almavia.org
“residents are the heart of our community” Elder Care Alliance, a non-profit organization, is cosponsored by the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, Regional Community of Burlingame & the Sierra Pacific Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. RCFE Lic # 015600255, SNF Lic # CA020000237, RCFE Lic # 015600254, SNF Lic # CA020000442, CCRC Lic #178, RCFE Lic # 015601209, RCFE Lic # 216801868, RCFE Lic # 385600270
8
Catholic San Francisco
December 5, 2008
Debate of war and peace rages between – and within – religions By Michael Vick In a forum held Veteran’s Day at the University of San Francisco, Msgr. Robert McElroy, Ph.D., said the current war in Iraq is not justified within the context of Catholic teaching on war and peace. The priest, on sabbatical from his pastoral duties at St. Gregory Parish in San Mateo while he holds USF’s Lo Schiavo Chair in Catholic Studies and Social Thought, explained that he accepts the Just War Theory, but he does not believe the conflict in Iraq fits that model. “Iraq was not inevitable or necessary,” Msgr. McElroy said. “The reasons we went in were murky. It is not a just cause.” Msgr. McElroy said he does not agree with those within the Christian pacifist tradition who would call all wars unjust. However, he does view pacifism as a “powerful Christian voice.” “It is a corrective force against the deep-seated tendency within the human heart to give in to war,” the priest said. “In no Christian tradition can war be seen as something glorious or positive. We should always see it as irregular, and deeply uncomfortable, even when there is no other choice.”
Msgr. Robert McElroy, Ph.D.
Aaron Hahn Tapper, Ph.D.
USF professor Aaron Hahn Tapper, who joined Msgr. McElroy as a speaker at the forum, said advocates of peace and war are both found within the world’s other two major monotheistic religions, Judaism and Islam. “No single Muslim represents Islam, and no single Jew represents Judaism,” said Hahn Tapper, chair of the Judaic studies department at USF. “Judaism is a religion of war and
Six marriage prep retreats set for 2009 San Francisco Catholic Engaged Encounter, a marriage preparation program serving San Francisco and San Mateo and Marin counties, will hold six weekend seminars in 2009 for couples seeking marriage in the Church and for interested non-Catholics. The program is one of several approved by the Archdiocese of San Francisco for the required marriage preparation for engaged Catholics. The weekend dates for 2009 will be March 13-15; April 17-19; May 29-31; June 26-28; Sept. 11-13, and Nov. 13-15. The cost per couple is $450, which includes meals and lodging. Couples who cannot afford to attend may request a scholarship from their priest. Many attending couples also donate to CEE to sponsor couples who cannot pay the full price, said CEE officials. CEE weekends are held at Vallambrosa Retreat Center
in Menlo Park. Founded in 1967 by Jesuit Father Chuck Gallagher, the program pairs both young and experienced married couples with engaged couples for a weekend retreat. The married couples, who coordinate the weekend along with men and women religious, teach the soon-to-be married couples techniques to achieve intimacy and deal with inevitable conflict. For more information, visit www.sfcee.org or e-mail Catholicsfee@aol.com.
McCoy Church Goods Co. Inc. Competitive Prices & Personalized Service
Serving the Ingleside community of San Francisco, since 1913, St. Emydius is a multi-cultural, multi-racial, all inclusive faith-sharing community. Daily Mass At 8:30 am 4:00 pm Saturday Vigil Mass 8:30 am Sunday Mass 10:30 am Sunday Mass
Three beautiful halls for all types of functions. Wonderful Italian Catered Food
To reach us from 19th Ave., take Holloway Ave., (near S.F. State, heading East), to Ashton Ave., left on Ashton to De Montfort Ave.
www.iascf.com
415-585-8059
Business Card Directory
4 p.m. Saturday Vigil Mass in San Francisco!
286 Ashton Avenue, San Francisco (one block from Ocean Ave.)
25 Russia Avenue, San Francisco
Manager: Rich Guaraldi, Jr. Past Grand President of the YMI
GET HOME BEFORE DARK! ST. EMYDIUS CATHOLIC CHURCH
25 RUSSIA AVENUE SAN FRANCISCO Since 1937
FREE PARKING
a religion of peace. Islam is a religion of war and a religion of peace. For every gun there has been an olive branch.” Hahn Tapper is the founder of Abraham’s Vision, a group dedicated to fostering better understanding between Jews and Muslims. He said the complex nature of Jewish and Islamic responses to war and peace could be traced to seemingly conflicting passages within the sacred books of each religion. “Neither of these religious texts exist in a vacuum,” he said of the Hebrew Bible and the Koran. Hahn Tapper alluded to prophetic passages in the books of Isaiah and Joel, whose visions contrast sharply. “Unlike Isaiah, Joel prophesizes that the farmer will turn his plowshare into a weapon, rather than the other way around.” Hahn Tapper said such contrasting visions can also be found in the Koran, and in the practice of modern Muslims. He said this comes from a long history of differences in interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia, and the concept of Jihad, interpreted variously as “holy war” or “inner struggle.” “From the very inception of Islam through today, the majority of scholars maintain that the Shariac legitimacy of Muslims waging war has always been up for debate,” Hahn Tapper said. “Even if we gravitate toward the most overtly violent interpretations of Jihad, those of the infamous groups such as al-Qaida, the Islamic jurists that run these groups agree that the ultimate goal of Jihad is peace.” While these intra and inter-religious battles over war and peace rage on, Msgr. McElroy is heartened that one thing remains relatively constant. “Amidst all the debate in this country between people who think the Iraq War was a good or a bad idea, there is a wide consensus of respect and support for our military men and women,” the priest said. “They’re not the ones who get to make the decisions as to what wars we go into.”
1010 Howard Avenue San Mateo, CA 94401
To reach us from 280 S. (at City College) exit Ocean Ave. going West, turn left on Ashton to De Montfort Ave., (1/2 block up).
(650) 342-0924
YOU ARE ALWAYS WELCOME TO JOIN US!
Real Estate
Mechanical Contractor
RICHARD J. HUNT, G.R.I. Broker Associate (Serving the Bay Area Since 1968)
(415) 682-8544
For Advertising Information, Please Call
richhuntsr@cs.com
415-614-5642
Homes & Income Properties Sales and Exchanges
OVER 35 YEARS EXPERIENCE 1390 Noriega Sreet San Francisco, CA 94122
sushi
Catering
Construction
MARCHETTI
CATERING San Francisco 415-822-3710 Fax 415-822-3711
Redwood City 650-366-6540 Fax 650-366-6799
www.arguellocatering.com
CONSTRUCTION INC.
Serving the needs of the San Francisco Archdiocese Since 1969 State License 270088
650-588-3893
December 5, 2008
Catholic San Francisco
9
(PHOTOS BY RICK DELVECCHIO)
Veterans Day
Standing at the ready during the Holy Cross Cemetery Veterans’ Day service are the Travis Air Force Base Honor Guard and bugler John Capobianco.
Father Albert Vucinovich, a Navy captain and chaplain who died in August, is one of 2,700 veterans buried at Holy Cross. A wreath was placed on his grave at the close of the service.
Peace at the heart of service
(PHOTO BY CHRISTINE STINSON)
By Rick DelVecchio
Epiphany Elementary School students Michael and Andrew Bonillas place flags on military graves in preparation for the service. Sons of Holy Cross maintenance supervisor Kelly Bonillas, they were among 10 Epiphany students who participated in the project.
Nearly 150 people attended the Veterans Day memorial service at Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma Nov. 11. Presiding were four Catholic priests who serve as military chaplains: USN Capt. (Ret.) John J. O’Neill of Sacred Heart Parish in Olema; USN Cmdr. Alex J. Legaspi of St. Andrew Parish in Daly City; USN Lt. Eduardo Dura of St. Patrick Parish in San Francisco; and USAF Lt. Col. Michael Padazinski, judicial vicar for the Metropolitan Tribunal of the Archdiocese and archdiocesan chancellor. Father O’Neill cited the Prayer of St. Francis, saying the foremost prayer of the men and women who serve in the military is for peace. Father O’Neill eulogized Father Albert
Parish Advent Speaker Series continues The Advent Speaker Series at Most Holy Redeemer Parish, 100 Diamond St., San Francisco, will continue on Dec. 10 with a 7: 30 p.m. talk by Rabbi Shelley Waldenberg who teaches Hebrew Scriptures at Holy Names University in Oakland. On Dec. 17 at 7:30 p.m., Bishop Thomas Gumbleton will speak. The retired auxiliary bishop of Detroit, Mich., is a founder of Pax Christi USA
Bishop Thomas Gumbleton
LEARN ROSARY MAKING A Catholic Tradition Contact us for a catalog and introductory offer!
LEWIS & COMPANY Dedicated to Rosary Making!
(800) 342 - 2400 rosaryparts.com
QUALITY HOME CARE SERVING THE BAY AREA SINCE 1996 * Attendants * Companions * Hospice * Respite Care
Competitive Rates All service providers carefully screened We are insured and bonded Full Payroll Service 2021 Taraval Street #2, SF www.irishhelpathome.com
Tel: 415 759 0520
and one of the authors of the U.S. bishops’ pastoral letter, “The Challenge of Peace.” The well-known international peace activist addressed an audience of more than 120 on Dec. 1 at St. Rita Parish in Fairfax as the first speaker in that parish’s Advent lecture series. San Francisco Archbishop Emeritus John R. Quinn Rabbi Shelley opened the Most Holy Waldenberg Redeemer series on Dec. 3. Lectures are free. The public is invited. For more information, call (415) 863-6259 or visit www.mhr.org.
P. Vucinovich, a fellow USN chaplain, who died in August at 71. Father Vucinovich was the retired pastor of St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Burlingame and was an enthusiastic presider at Holy Cross Veterans’ Day services since 1996. After the memorial service, a delegation led by Father Padazinski placed a wreath on Father Vucinovich’s grave. A blue balloon anchored by a tin of Spam, in a tribute to his military service, marked the grave. At the close of the service, the presiders read Father Vucinovich’s name and of those of 24 other recently deceased veterans buried at Holy Cross. A small American flag fluttered at the foot of each of the 2,700 veterans’ graves at the cemetery, covering the grounds with color and movement. Students from San Francisco’s Epiphany Elementary School placed the flags.
Christmas Remembrance Service Dec. 13 A Christmas Remembrance Service “in memory of those who have died and in prayerful support for those who grieve” will be held Dec. 13 at 11 a.m. at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery in Colma, according to a cemetery news release. Father John Talesfore, pastor and rector of St. Mary’s Cathedral, San Francisco, will officiate at the service to be held in the cemetery’s All Saints Mausoleum Chapel. The names of persons who participants wish to be remembered as well as personal messages may be written on Christmas ornaments that will available. Colored by school children, ornaments may also be requested by persons unable to attend the service by calling (650) 756-2060 or visiting www.holycrosscemeteries.com.
10
Catholic San Francisco
December 5, 2008
Papal trip to Holy Land discussed making more concrete plans for a papal visit. The contacts were first reported Nov. 27 by the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz and were confirmed by the Israeli Embassy to the Holy See. Ha’aretz said the most likely time frame for the trip was the second week in May. It said the papal nuncio to Israel and the Palestinian territories, Archbishop Antonio Franco, told Peres in early November that the pope had decided to visit the country. The Vatican spokesman, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, confirmed that “diplomatic contacts are under way to study the possibility of a papal trip to the Holy Land during the course of next year.” He gave no details. Father Lombardi declined to speculate on whether
By John Thavis VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The Vatican has confirmed tentative plans for Pope Benedict XVI to visit the Holy Land in 2009. Israeli sources said the most likely time for the visit would be in May, with stops in Israel and the Palestinian territories. The pope was invited to visit Israel by Israeli President Shimon Peres in 2007. At that time, the pope made it clear he hoped to make the trip, but Vatican diplomats said the timing would depend in large part on efforts to calm the simmering Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In recent months, Israeli and Vatican officials began
Open letter . . . ■ Continued from page 3 in raising the children for whom they are responsible. Still, the proponents of Proposition 8 subscribe to a definition of marriage that recognizes and protects its potential to create and nurture new human life, not merely a contract for the benefit of a relationship between adults. Whatever others may say, the proponents of Proposition 8 supported it as a defense of the traditional understanding and definition of marriage, not as an attack
on any group, or as an attempt to deprive others of their civil rights. The fact remains that, under California law, after the passage of Proposition 8, same sex couples who register as domestic partners will continue to have “the same rights, protections and benefits” as married couples. Proposition 8 simply recognizes that there is a difference between traditional marriage and a same sex partnership. What is the way forward for all of us together? Even though we supporters of Proposition 8 did not intend to hurt or offend our opponents, still many of them, especially in the gay community, feel
the papal visit would include a stop at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem. The Vatican has urged officials at the memorial to remove from a permanent display a photo caption stating that Pope Pius XII did nothing to condemn the Nazis and their slaughter of the Jews. Church officials have called the caption offensive and have defended Pope Pius for working quietly during World War II to help save thousands of people, including many Jews. In October, Father Lombardi reiterated the Vatican’s objections to the Yad Vashem display, but said it was not a decisive obstacle to a papal visit. Pope Benedict has one other scheduled foreign trip on his calendar for 2009, a visit to Cameroon and Angola in March.
hurt and offended. What is to be done? Tolerance, respect, and trust are always two-way streets, and tolerance respect and trust often do not include agreement, or even approval. We need to be able to disagree without being disagreeable. We need to stop talking as if we are experts on the real motives of people with whom we have never even spoken. We need to stop hurling names like “bigot” and “pervert” at each other. And we need to stop it now. For our part, we churchgoers need to speak and act out of the truth that all people are God’s children and are unconditionally
loved by God. While we argue among ourselves, the people who need our help with hunger, unemployment, homelessness and other problems wait for us to turn together toward them. More particularly, we Catholics in the Archdiocese of San Francisco need to minister to the needs of all Catholics in this local Church. Whoever they are, and whatever their circumstances, their spiritual and pastoral rights should be respected, together with their membership in the Church. In that spirit, with God’s grace and much prayer, perhaps we can all move forward together.
Funeral Services Directory In Historic Colma
The Leading Catholic Funeral Directors of the San Francisco Archdiocese
affordable solutions Church | Cemetery | Cremation Service
Handmade Artisan Urns | Specialty Caskets 30 Years Expertise providing Healthy Grief Support When Loss Occurs 7747 Mission Street Colma, CA 94014 FD 1522
111 Industrial Road Suite 5 Belmont, CA 94002 FD 1923
650.757.1300 | fax 650.757.7901 | toll free 888.757.7888 | www.colmacremation.com
McAVOY O’HARA Co. SE RV IN G W IT H T R U S T A N D CO NFIDENC E S IN CE 1 8 5 0
Madeline, Bill and Dan Duggan, Duggan’s Serra Mortuary of Daly City, sponsored their Sixth Annual Remembrance Service on November 9, 2008 assisted by the Duggan’s Serra staff. The Remembrance Service was hosted at Our Lady of Mercy Church in Daly City with approximately 500 people in attendance. Families of individuals who passed away over the last twelve months were invited to participate in a prayerful manner as part of coping with the difficult and often trying times felt during the Holiday Season. It is Duggan’s Serra Mortuary’s way of providing ongoing support to the families they assisted during the year. This event was created to reach out to all, regardless of their religious affiliation, because “death and grief affects us all in the same manner, no matter if we are Catholics, Baptists, Greek Orthodox or without a structured religious base” as Dan Duggan stated.
E vergreen Mortua r y 4 5 4 5 GEARY B O ULE VARD at T E N T H AV E N UE For information prearrangements, and assistance, call day or night (415) 668-0077 FD 523
The goal of this event was to provide an essential element of “helping our families in their own individual process of grieving” as Bill Duggan of Duggan’s Serra Mortuary, remarked. In an effort to reach out to the community at large, the Duggan’s Serra Family invited families to bring canned food and new toys and added to the contributions of the families’ donations to Daly City Fire Department, Operation Santa Claus and to the North Peninsula Food Pantry and Dining Center of Daly City. All were invited to join in fellowship for the event concluding with a lovely catered reception compliment of Duggan’s Serra Mortuary through Knight’s Catering, San Francisco that was held in Our Lady of Mercy Church Hall.
Duggan’s Serra Mortuary 500 Westlake Ave., Daly City FD 1098
650/756-4500
www.duggansserra.com
The Catholic Cemeteries
◆
Archdiocese of San Francisco
www.holycrosscemeteries.com
Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery Intersection of Santa Cruz Avenue, Menlo Park, CA 94025 650-323-6375 A
Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery 1500 Mission Road, Colma, CA 94014 650-756-2060
Tr a d i t i o n o f F a i t h
Mt. Olivet Catholic Cemetery 270 Los Ranchitos Road, San Rafael, CA 94903 415-479-9020
Th r o u g h o u t O u r L i v e s .
December 5, 2008
Catholic San Francisco
11
obituary
John H. McGuckin, Jr., remembered for caring and generosity By Rene Picazo John H. McGuckin, Jr., died peacefully in his sleep in San Francisco on Dec. 1 after a battle with cancer. A long time resident of San Francisco, John was born in Philadelphia on Nov. 8, 1946 and later moved to Michigan and attended Brother Rice High School (where he later served on the board of directors). John attended Harvard College where he graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa and received his law degree from Harvard Law School. John was a deeply spiritual person and generously gave of time and resources to various charities and Catholic Church organizations. John had a deep commitment to protecting the Catholic community in the Holy Land as evidenced by his leadership of pilgrimages to Jerusalem and his service as Knight Grand Cross and Lieutenant of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, Northwestern Lieutenancy. Most recently, John served on the International Board of Trustees for Bethlehem University, the Catholic university in the West Bank. John was recently quoted, “For those of us who are Christian, everything began in the Holy Land and the Christian Community there is under tremendous social, economic and political pressure and needs our help.” In a recent message to Knights and Ladies of the Equestrian Order, Archbishop George Niederauer praised John’s “long and distinguished service” to the order and its ministry. John actively served the Archdiocese of San Francisco as a member of the Finance Council, as chairman of the Archdiocese
John H. McGuckin, Jr.
Deposit/Loan Fund Governance Committee, and as a member of the Board of Directors of Catholic Charities for which he received the Archbishop’s Ring of Charity honor. John also served on the Board of Advisors of St Anne’s Home, San Francisco, and was a member of the Knights of Malta. In 1999, John was awarded the St. Thomas More Award for achievements in the field of law and commitment to faith. Professionally, John was a preeminent corporate attorney. He served as senior executive vice president, general counsel
ST. IGNATIUS COLLEGE PREPARATORY BASKETBALL CLINIC FOR GRAMMAR SCHOOL COACHES Sunday, December 14, 2008 8:30 AM to Noon
and secretary of UnionBanCal Corporation and Union Bank of California for 24 out of a distinguished 27 years of service. He joined The Bank of California as its chief trust counsel in 1981. He became general counsel and secretary of The Bank of California in 1984 and was promoted to executive vice president in 1996. He became executive vice president and general counsel of Union Bank of California in 1996, and executive vice president and general counsel of UnionBanCal Corporation in early 1998, and senior executive vice president in January 2008. He was appointed corporate secretary of both companies in September 2000. In 1993, he was the first in-house counsel elected to the Board of Governors of the State Bar of California, serving a threeyear term. He had previously chaired the State Bar’s Committee on Continuing Legal Education in 1992-1993 and served on the State Bar’s Legal Trust Fund (IOLTA) Commission. He was Vice President and Treasurer of the State Bar of California in 1995-1996, chairing the Administration and Finance Committee. Lawyer by vocation, but historian by avocation, John’s books help preserve the development and history of Catholicism in Northern California: “Edward J. LeBreton: Benefactor and Friend” (2005), a history of
the founder of St. Anne’s Home; “Working for God Alone: The Little Sisters of the Poor in San Francisco, 1901-2001”(2001), the histories of St. Paul Parish, San Francisco, and St. Anthony Parish, Mendocino. John is survived by his sister, Anne Marie Zahradnik, her husband Bruce and nephew Hill of Seattle, Wash.; his sister-in-law Denise McGuckin; and nephews Boone, Ry and Lee as well as by many friends in San Francisco and Mendocino he included in the joys and sorrows of his life, especially Msgr. Thomas S. Merson (d. 2004), Rene and Zinia Picazo, Edward and Yeli Wang, Michael Fox and Carol Ann Walton. His parents, Jack and Til McGuckin, and his two younger brothers, Jim and Richard, predeceased John. A vigil service was to be held last evening, Dec. 4, at St. Agnes Church. A funeral Mass is scheduled for 10 a.m. today, Dec. 5, at St. Mary’s Cathedral, San Francisco. Burial is to be at Hillcrest Cemetery in Mendocino. Memorial gifts may be made to the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. Archbishop Niederauer will be principal celebrant at the funeral Mass and offer the homily. San Francisco Auxiliary Bishop William Justice and retired Archbishop John R. Quinn were also to be celebrants. All three are members of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.
ST. IGNATIUS COLLEGE PREPARATORY WINTER BASEBALL HITTING CAMP For 6th and 8th Grade Boys December 29 - 31, 2008 Session #1 9 am - 11 am Session #2 Noon - 2 pm At the Dana Family Indoor Batting Center on the St. Ignatius Campus 2001 - 37th Avenue, San Francisco $
125 per camper per session 175 if attending noth sessions
$
At St. Ignatius 2001 - 37th Avenue, San Francisco NO CHARGE Hosted by the Basketball Coaches at St. Ignatius John DeBenedetti, Head Boys’ Coach Rob Marcaletti, Assistant Boys’ Coach Bob Drucker, Former Head Boys’ Basketball Coach Tim Reardon, Former Head Coach, Boys’ & Girls’ Basketball For further information or to sign up, e-mail rvergara@siprep.org
For further information or to sign up, e-mail rvergara@siprep.org
Notre Dame Elementary An Independent Catholic School
OPEN HOUSE January 10, 2009 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Apply Online for Fall 2009 Entrance Exam: Saturday, January 10th 8:30 a.m.- 11:50 a.m. Visit www.serrahs.com to find out about our... •Honors & AP Classes •College & Career Center •Finanacial Aid •Dances and Retreats •More than 36 Clubs and Activities •14 Sports •Tri-School Program •Christian Service •Visual and Performing Arts •Technology Program Educating Young Men In San Mateo County For Over 65 Years 451 West 20th Avenue, San Mateo (650) 345 - 8207
“Teach them what they need to know for life.” St. Julie Billiart
1200 Notre Dame Avenue • Belmont, CA 650.591.2209 • www.nde.org
12
Catholic San Francisco
December 5, 2008 PAID ADVERTISEMENT
Cross Recognized, Endorsed by U.S. Catholic Bishops As Cross International Catholic Outreach has continued to extend the range of its relief work to help the poor overseas, a growing number of Catholic bishops in the United States are taking notice and commending the organization for its efforts. “We’ve had many endorsement letters come in the last year or so, and our staff is encouraged by the kind words and well wishes these bishops have shared,” explained James Cavnar, president of Cross International Catholic Outreach. “It motivates us to want to push harder and do even more.” Most Reverend Gerald Barbarito shared: “Seeing Christ in the poor and extending assistance in His name is the very core of what we are about as Church. You are to be commended.” Most Reverend Timothy Dolan was equally enthusiastic, saying: “I am pleased to wholeheartedly endorse Cross International Catholic Outreach.
It is my hope that the clergy will familiarize themselves with Cross and its outreach and share Cross’ message with their parishioners.” Most Reverend Tod Brown has a similar position, explaining: “As a universal Church, it is our duty to become aware of and support the missionary works of the church. I heartily endorse Cross International Catholic Outreach, its worthwhile mission and its dedicated preachers.” Most Reverend Curtis Gillory, singled out the ministry’s good stewardship of funds, saying: “I realize the great assistance that Cross International Catholic Outreach provides for the poor at a very cost effective rate. I want to be supportive of Cross in whatever way we are able to do so.” Cavnar is inspired by these endorsements and the notes of encouragement coming in from other U.S. bishops, but he feels the praise should really be aimed at the thousands of American Catholics who
His Eminence William Cardinal Keeler at a recent meeting with Pope Benedict XVI. Cardinal Keeler is now the official patron of Cross International Catholic Outreach.
contribute to Cross and make the ministry’s work possible. “None of what we do would be possible without the donations we receive from the men, women and children in parishes from across this country. Those gifts, large or small, are what give us the financial power to send the food, dig the
wells for water, build the houses, deliver the medicines, open the schools — everything,” Cavnar said. “I say, God bless those benefactors. God bless their generosity and their willingness to sacrifice for the benefit of others. Their commitment to helping the poor has made all of this possible.”
Amazing “Before & After” Photo Illustrates Impact of Catholic Outreaches Serving The Poor Overseas Jim Cavnar looked at the two photographs on this desk and found it hard to believe they were taken of the same boy. One child is gaunt, glassyeyed and limp in the arms of a caretaker. The other boy is healthy, alert and focused on play.
“...doctors didn’t think he would survive through the week.” James Cavnar, President of Cross
How could this possibly be the same child — Javier from Honduras? “We see before and after photos like this often, but I never cease to be amazed by them. It makes you marvel at the human body’s ability to rebound from trauma. It makes you realize that even someone who appears to be at death’s door can be rescued and revitalized,” explained Jim Cavnar, president of Cross International Catholic Outreach. “When Javier was brought in to the Prince of Peace Nutrition Center that Cross supports, he was 10 months old and weighed less than 9 pounds. The doctors didn’t think he would survive through the week, but the staff at Prince of Peace did a marvelous job in nursing him back to health. The before and after pictures were taken only four months apart — you can see the profound difference their care made for yourself.” As one of America's leading Catholic relief agencies, Cross International Catholic Outreach is literally in the business of creating success stories like this one in developing countries around the globe. Cross achieves this goal by enlisting support from U.S. Catholics who share Cavnar's concern for the poor and his passion for rescuing children from needless suffering and death. It channels its support through Catholic partners already in place overseas — outreaches like the Prince of Peace Nutrition Center that cared for Javier. “Prince of Peace is a wonderful organization with a committed staff, but their programs would be paralyzed
Javier’s “before and after”photos provide a shocking reminder of how the poor live — and how important our help is in their lives.
without a regular stock of food, medicines and other supplies. They couldn’t properly feed or care for the children,” Cavnar explained. “Providing those resources is Cross International Catholic Outreach’s role. Our support helps them obtain the food and other supplies they need to treat children like Javier. It’s all about teamwork. The churches overseas provides the daily services, and Cross and its donors help provide the materal resources needed for their outreaches.” Cavnar is clearly grateful to the American Catholics who have chosen to support the Cross International Catholic Outreach’s work. He emphasizes them often, pointing out that they are the real key to every success story. “Dramatic turn-arounds like Javier’s are only possible because people step foward and offer a helping hand. The donor is the catalyst or trigger. Their financial support is criticial in turning a
tragic ‘before’ into a triumphant ‘after’ for a child like Javier. So I don’t take their role lightly. I give the credit where the credit is due — to those who contribute to make success stories like this possible,” Cavnar said. “In the simplest terms, without the donor there wouldn’t be a ‘before and after’ story at all. Javier wouldn’t have recovered. He wouldn’t have survived.” According to Cavnar, the scope of work being funded by American Catholics has been growing in recent years. As more and more people learn about Cross International Catholic Outreach in their local parish or through stories in Catholic newspapers, they add their support, allowing Cross to further expand its outreach into new countries, touching more lives. “With more support from American Catholics, we can take this outreach to whole new levels,” Cavnar said. “When
a parish wants to launch a new feeding center, we can partner with them and supply the food. When a poor rural village is facing problems with an unsafe water source, we can dig the well or tap the spring to bring relief. Whether the need is for a clinic to treat the poor or for a school to serve an impoverished community, we can be there to help. “Whatever their need, Cross has the potential to turn a tragic situation into something wonderful,” he added. “We offer American Catholics the same opportunity. It’s a chance to do something meaningful and profound in God’s name and for His glory.” Readers interested in supporting Cross International Catholic Outreach, can use the brochure inserted in this issue or send tax-deductible gifts to: Cross International Catholic Outreach, Dept. AC00527, PO Box 63, Akron, OH 44309-0063.
December 5, 2008
Catholic San Francisco
13
PAID ADVERTISEMENT
U.S. Catholics “Spark A Miracle” — Ultimately Blessing Families On Other Side Of The Globe In the stifling heat of a Mozambique summer dawn, the shrill cry of a hungry baby startles the young man from his dreamless sleep. It is still dark outside the flimsy hut, and his body screams for more sleep. But there are hungry children who will soon awaken, and he needs to prepare what little food is available. Suppressing the momentary temptation to escape from the overwhelming responsibility of this new day, he takes the baby a rusty cup half-filled with the last of the milk. He still grieves the loss of the baby’s mother, and wishes she were here to help him. It isn’t a selfish wish. At age 14, Camal Tila only wants what any young teenager in Mozambique would crave — a few less responsibilities, more time with his friends in the village and a decent education, the starting point for greater opportunities in his life. He wasn’t yet ready for this role of head of household to his younger siblings. Camal Tila, whose own father, mother and three younger siblings all died of AIDS within the last six years, now cares for 12 younger siblings and child relatives, including his baby sister. Hardly beyond childhood himself, Camal must now struggle to keep the family intact and alive. His dreams of independence and a family of his own fade with each passing day, leaving him to pray for a miracle and some small beacon of hope. “Tragically, Camal’s heartbreaking story is repeated across much of Africa, where AIDS is decimating the population in many countries — and we are determined to help as many of these poor orphans as possible,” explained Jim Cavnar, president of Cross International Catholic Outreach, one of the nation’s leading relief ministries to the poor. “Thankfully, it’s possible for us to make a difference. Serving as a tool in God’s hands, we can help answer the prayers of these children — spark a miracle, if you will, on their behalf.” As Cavnar explains it, the “miracle” came to the Tila family through the generosity of American Catholics who responded to Cross’ plea for help in diocesan newspapers and on Christian radio. “We explained the plight of the children and the contributions we received enabled us to partner with a Catholic orphan-care ministry in Mozambique called Reencontro. Among other things, the support allowed us to build a safe, concrete block house for Camal and his family, and to supply food and medical care to meet their basic human needs,” Cavnar said. “Providing mentoring and building simple houses to keep orphan families together is just one of several creative solutions that Reencontro has employed since its inception in 1988, when a devout Catholic woman, Olinda Mugabe, was compelled by a love of Christ to do what she could for the orphans in Mozambique. She and her group are a treasure and a blessing to the poor, and it’s our privilege to help them with their outreach.” Describing the support provided by Cross as “help” is an understatement. When the ministry first encountered Reencontro, it served 600 to 700 children. The support from Cross has allowed the group to expand its capacity significantly in a few short years — it
Camal (at right) is just one of thousands of orphans who have been helped by Cross. The orphan housing program is particuarly effective — it allows entire families of orphans to stay together.
now is a lifeline to more than 7,000 children like Camal. For this, Cavnar again credits the many American Catholics who make up the Cross family of benefactors. “You could say that Cross International Catholic Outreach is one of God’s funnels. He pours resources through us to help the poorest and neediest people on earth. The orphan crisis in Africa staggers our imagination and at times almost defies belief. But we remember that this is God’s work and we are simply His channel. So we continue to do everything we can with the gifts God gives us,” he says. “Seeing things this way also helps us to keep the correct perspective on our work. Helping just one orphan family may not seem like a world-changing accomplishment to a skeptic... but we know Camal Tila and his brother and sisters. We know that the help they received changed their world forever, and we can celebrate that human triumph.” Ultimately, the goals of Cross International are to further expand its outreach to AIDS orphans through other partnering ministries and to avoid putting these children in institutions if at all possible. As Cavnar explains, “keeping orphans in their own culture and in the homes of relatives or family friends is really the best option, and most Christian ministries are committed to that strategy. That’s why we give a priority to supporting organizations that integrate orphaned children into existing families within their own villages or districts.” The problem is that most poor African families are already struggling under the weight of poverty and find it difficult to add one more mouth to feed, let alone two or three. If they hesitate to accept another child, it isn’t because
they are unwilling — they are simply unable to make ends meet on their already limited resources. One director of a program in Zambia described how ministries found a solution: “We have made the care of orphans a partnership in which we all share the responsibility and burden. We assure the families that if they will provide basic shelter, we will provide what they can’t give the children: the extra food, the access to health care, additional clothing and fees and supplies needed to provide an education.” Because the costs are shared, the amount needed to provide food, clothing, health care, education or other services is surprisingly small — just $68 per child per year! “It is amazing what can be done for so little. Most people are also shocked to learn how little it can cost to supply a house and keep a family of orphans together. It’s just $3,500 to $5,000 to build a multi-room, cement-block house,” Cavnar said. “This is another value to working through partnering African ministries run predominately by volunteers. It allows you to stretch donated dollars and have a bigger impact in the lives of the poor.” “I hope every American Catholic who has supported us in this outreach will
join me today in celebrating Camal’s new home and the hope it represents for that family of orphans. I hope they will see it for what it was — an act of God’s mercy made possible by God’s faithful people. And I hope they will see it as one significant step in a greater, more wide-reaching plan,” he added. “We celebrate one victory, knowing that scores of other children have yet to be helped. And we can do that because we have no doubt that God will touch other hearts to respond generously, answering the prayers of other children like Camal. There is no more compassionate body of believers than the Catholic Church, and I am confident my Catholic brothers and sisters in the U.S. will continue to respond where the needs are greatest. Jesus came to save the whole world, one lost soul at a time. He is our example, so we will never lose heart.”
How to Help: Your help is needed for Cross International Catholic Outreach to bring Christ’s mercy to the poorest of the poor. Use the enclosed postage-paid brochure to mail your gift or send it to Cross International Catholic Outreach, Dept. AC00527, 490 White Pond Drive, PO Box 63, Akron, OH 44309-0063.
14
Catholic San Francisco
December 5, 2008
Catholic san Francisco Northern California’s Weekly Catholic Newspaper
Pray for peace in Holy Land The Holy Land is sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, but a tragic decades-old conflict has brought violence and suffering to two of its peoples – Israelis and Palestinians – who yearn for a just peace. A durable peace agreement is essential for the future wellbeing of all the peoples of the Holy Land, including the Christian community, which has experienced rapid emigration due to the difficult political and economic conditions imposed by the conflict. One year ago, the United States convened an international conference in Annapolis, Md. and launched a new political process aimed at achieving a two-state peace agreement by the end of 2008. The last time a major peace initiative was attempted was in 2000. When those talks failed, violence erupted and prospects for peace became dim. Over the last year, Israeli-Palestinian negotiations have been taking place and efforts to improve the situation on the ground undertaken. There has been some progress, but a comprehensive agreement in the near future is unlikely. However, the Annapolis process provides an important groundwork for continued engagement by the next Administration. A two-state solution that establishes a viable Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel and resolves the core final status issues, including borders, security, water, refugees and Jerusalem, is the best hope for achieving peace in the Holy Land and fostering a more stable and secure region. Christian leaders and congregants from across the country are joining together this Advent and New Year season to urge the new president to make Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking an immediate foreign policy priority. American Christians, together with Jews and Muslims, have an important role to play in praying for peace and in raising their voices with elected officials and with the wider public. For more information on this endeavor and other ecumenical Christian advocacy efforts, go to www. cmep.org. To learn more about how the Catholic Church is responding to this issue, visit www.usccb.org/sdwp/international/mideast.shtml. Sometimes we forget that as followers of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, we are all children of Abraham. But like the Israelites to whom the prophet Isaiah speaks, we have all too often “hardened our hearts” toward our sisters and brothers. We have seen our differences, not our commonalities. In our relations with one another, we have fostered intolerance instead of welcome, and division in the place of willingness to work together. Isaiah reminds us: “We are the clay and you the potter: we are all the work of your hands.” Advent is a season of new beginnings, and it is a time when we can remember that we are humble, created beings; we are not the master potter and we do not have the ability to clearly see the entirety of God’s vision. No single religious community can achieve peace in the Holy Land on its own; instead, all must work together to reach a shared commitment to peace. We are called to pray unceasingly. But what does prayer do? It invites God’s presence; it asks for action on the part of the divine. It also challenges us; it melts our hearts, transforms our consciences from the inside out, and moves us to act. It is in prayer that the veil is removed and our eyes are opened to see all persons, whether the same as us or different, as made in the image and likeness of God and with inherent dignity. In true prayer, we cannot help but to see God’s face in all people, even those whom we may perceive as our enemies. Prayer turns us into God’s hands and feet in the world. God is the “joy of my soul,” says the Prophet Isaiah (61:10). From inner transformation comes outer action. We are inspired and moved in prayer to go into the world and to right what is wrong. We do so renewed, no longer weighted by our doubt or despair, but renewed by faith and certain that what God asks of us can be achieved. During this Advent season, let us, as Christians, remember humility and present ourselves before God as humble servants. Let us focus on being malleable, approaching God — and one another — with open and willing hearts. Let us enter into prayer and ask the Holy Spirit to open our hearts and minds and to give us the gifts that we need to perform the work of peace in the Holy Land. To God, the Father of Abraham, our prayer during Advent is this: Father of All, may you once again gather “the tribes of your heritage.” Bring us to the table, that we may work together as the children of Abraham. The commentary above is drawn from information provided by Churches for Middle East Peace in partnership with the Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. MEH
Stats belie truth This letter is in response to Msgr. Bruce Dreier’s Nov. 21 letter to Catholic San Francisco. Msgr. Dreier is correct when stating that demographics in the city continue to change and current economic conditions make Catholic education less affordable. However, indicating that some schools are at capacity while others have lower enrollment without citing specific reasons for enrollment change can be very misleading. Archbishop Riordan High School’s enrollment is lower than its 2002-2003 enrollment, but the change was largely due to a strategically planned assessment of our enrollment. ARHS constantly reviews its curriculum and methodologies to provide a quality, Catholic, college preparatory education to young men. We determined that being a medium-sized school (closer to 600 students) is ideal for our mission. Identifying students that are the best fit for our programs is crucial. So, while raw numbers reflect a decrease in enrollment, they do not accurately portray the mission and current realities of each individual school. Dion Sabalvaro Director of Admissions Archbishop Riordan High School San Francisco
Consult broadly
Letters welcome Catholic San Francisco welcomes letters from its readers. Please: ➣ Include your name, address and daytime phone number. ➣ Sign your letter. ➣ Limit submissions to 250 words. ➣ Note that the newspaper reserves the right to edit for clarity and length. Catholic San Francisco One Peter Yorke Way San Francisco, CA 94109 Fax: (415) 614-5641 E-mail: morrisyoungd@sfarchdiocese.org
What price PC? Hail the conquering heroes. Once again, Reverend Louis Vitale and friends return from a mission trespassing on military posts (“Father Vitale detained,” Nov. 21.) Apparently, this time they did not do any damage; five months in jail from a previous foray must have had its effect. To trespass on and desecrate government property, even in the name of peace, can justify any anti-Christian hate group that decides to invade and desecrate a Christian university or church. The most recent victim is the Mormon church because of that church’s opposition to same-sex marriage. Father Vitale should know that Christ never invaded a Roman legion outpost, or harassed its leaders. Father Vitale must also know the holiest words in Christendom were spoken by a soldier, a centurion of the Roman legion. What price political correctness? Raymond D. White San Francisco
L E T T E R S
I want to commend the Priests Council for initiating a study of the viability of our archdiocesan Catholic elementary schools (“Archdiocesan schools study sent to Archbishop,” by Maureen Huntington, Nov. 21). I heard the report from Betsy Boyle and Mary Katherine Keating of Catholic Education Consulting Services, that did the study, at our deanery meeting on Nov. 20. They gave a comprehensive picture of the fiscal viability and Catholic culture of our schools. There were, however, two areas not addressed by the study, and I would like to suggest that the “think-tank” being formed to generate creative strategic plans and actions seriously consider them. First, to include parental and student input as to the culture and spirit of the schools and why people choose Catholic schools for their children. Perhaps including parents and students from each deanery cluster on the task force could address this. They will have insight beyond data and will be motivated to ensure the very best for their children. The second is part of the Catholic culture’s outreach to the poor. There were no statistics presented on how many scholarships were provided and to whom. It seems some schools may have endowments for this purpose, but our Catholic schools seem to be accessible only to the rich. It seems we should be working toward reaching out to offer it as a hand up to those in need, just as we seem to reach out to a percentage of non-Catholics. Perhaps having some community members on the task force could help to address this issue. Laurie Coulter Redwood City (Ed. note: According to a spokesperson for the Department of Schools, the report
Send your letters to:
“did indirectly address the issue of financial assistance to families as part of the budget process and temporal assets of each school.” It was noted that tuition assistance is available from several sources including the BASIC Fund, the Guardsmen, various foundations and the Archdiocesan Endowment Fund. The AEF has made available between $800,000 and $1 million each of the past three years for tuition support. Some individual schools have their own endowment programs. The spokesperson also said the report encourages “various constituencies” including parents and students take part in the “think tank” and strategic planning processes.)
Father Bourgeois
If Vatican officials believe in the rightness of their position to exclude women from ordination, why forbid any discussion of the issue? The ordination of women is not a matter of divine revelation. Yes, Jesus picked 12 male apostles, but there were also women who followed him and evangelized. Of course, women of that time were not allowed to travel unescorted by a male relative, so it is not surprising that, 2,000 years ago, 12 of the original apostles were male. Those strictures no longer apply. As a woman in today’s Catholic Church, I feel I am being asked to eat at the back of the restaurant. Maryknoll Father Roy Bourgeois (“Father Bourgeois defies Vatican,” Nov. 21) is speaking out in the same way Dr. Martin Luther King did for those who were forbidden to sit at the front of the restaurant. Sadly, he appears destined for Dr. King’s same fate. Instead of a bullet, however, the assassination comes in the form of excommunication by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Laurie Joyce San Anselmo
Veiled extremism I was shocked to read the Nov. 21 column titled “The Two Americas” by George Weigel in a Catholic publication. It began by identifying our president-elect with a “culture of death” and ended with a statement implying that Barack Obama is a demon who has “taken up residence in the United States of America,” I assume meaning he is not a born citizen of our country – shades of extremist campaign charges labeling Obama as a Muslim and as not a valid citizen! Weigel’s care for “adult education” from the pulpit is a frightening image and it is part of a wider fundamentalist effort to divide our citizens into warring hate groups. Shame on him and on your publication. Joanne Seward Palo Alto
First things first I wish to address George Weigel’s Nov. 21 comments in Catholic San Francisco. I always thought there was a separation of church and state in this country. Render LETTERS, page 17
December 5, 2008
Catholic San Francisco
15
Spirituality for Life
Ad usam – words to live by Several years ago a young Benedictine monk shared this story in class:He lived in a monastery that kept a strict rule. Their observance of poverty and obedience required that he ask permission of his abbot before purchasing anything, even the smallest object. If he wanted to buy a new shirt, he needed the Abbot’s permission. If he needed stationery supplies from the storeroom, a pen or some paper, he needed permission. For years, he felt that this was belittling. “I felt like a child,” he said. “It seemed silly to me that a grown man should have to ask permission to buy a new shirt! I looked at men my own age who were married, raising children, paying for houses, and I felt our rule reduced me to a child. I resented it. But eventually his attitude changed. I came to realize there is an important spiritual and psychological principle in our rule, in having to ask permission to buy or use something. Ultimately none of us owns anything and nothing comes to us by right. Everything is a gift, including life itself. Everything should have to be asked for and nothing should be taken for granted. We should be grateful to God just for giving us a little space. Now when I ask permission from the abbot, I no longer feel like a child. Rather I feel that I am more properly in tune with the way things should be in a gift-oriented universe where nobody has a right to ultimately claim anything as his own. Everyone should have to ask for permission before buying or using anything.”
His story reminded me of an incident in my own life. When I was a novice in our Oblate novitiate, our novice-master tried to impress upon us the meaning of religious poverty by making us write two Latin words, ad usam, inside every book given us for our own use. The words translate into “For use.” The idea was that although a book was given to you for your personal use, you were never to think you actually owned it. Real ownership lay elsewhere. You were only a steward of someone else’s property. And this idea was then extended to everything else you were given for personal use –clothes, sports equipment, things from your family, even toiletries and toothbrush. You got to use them, but they were not really yours. You had them ad usam. One of the men in that novitiate eventually left our community and went on to become a medical doctor. He remains a close friend. One day in his office I picked up one of his medical textbooks. I opened the cover and there were the words: ad usam. I asked him about it. He made a comment to this effect: “Even though I no longer belong to a religious order and no longer have the vow of poverty, I still like to live by the principle the novice-master taught: in the end, we don’t really own anything. These books aren’t really my own even though I’ve paid for them. They’re mine to use, temporarily. Nothing really belongs to anybody. I try not to forget that.”
These stories help remind us of something deep down we already know but tend to forget; namely, that what ultimately undergirds all spirituality, all morality, and all authentic human relationship is the unalFather terable truth that everyRon Rolheiser thing comes to us as gift so that nothing can ever be owned as ours by right. Life is a gift, breath is a gift, our body is a gift, food is gift, any love given us is a gift, friendship is a gift, our talents are a gift, our toothbrush is a gift, and the shirts, pencils, pens, medical textbooks we use are each a gift. We get to have them, ad usam, but we should never nurse the illusion we own them, that they are ours, that we can claim them by right. Metaphorically there should be an abbot in each of our lives from whom we should ask for permission to buy or use anything. That could be a recipe for health. Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser can be contacted through his website www.ronrolheiser.com.
Potpourri
Sinking market, soaring prayers As Wall Street gyrates like wind chimes in a breeze and the stock market roller-coasters along leaving sinking portfolios and melting 401Ks in its wake, both the needy and the greedy are suddenly aware of the futility of dependence on the SEC and Freddy-Fanny to keep us fed and housed. That’s not to say we should not make wise and diversified investments for the future, but while so doing we also need to recognize the losing combination of innuendo, misinformation and corruption that fuels the fires of greed and materialism that drive our dollars down until they are not even worth the paper they are printed on. Along with that sad scenario comes the “woe is me” mindset so gloomily expressed in Ecclesiastes 1:8: “All things are full of weariness…what has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun.” That goes for the mix of the economy, wars, terrorist attacks and other misfortunes, a combination designed to make us believe there will be no “Happy Days Are Here Again” for this generation and generations to come.
Who says? Well, the media for starters. If we are to give-in to the angst blasting from our papers, TV sets, Internet and radios that all is bad and nothing will ever get better, then as C.S. Lewis warned and “Screwtape” hoped, we are still worshiping at the shrine of materialism. Meanwhile, as the demon players cackle at our flailing descent into a possible financial hell, the ripple effect of panic and prayer is ready to catapult us from the distress of Ecclesiastes to the beacon of hope in Psalms 90: “Satisfy us in the morning with steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish thou the work of our hands upon us, yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.” This is where we turn the tables on “Screwtape.” This is where we focus on God instead of mammon, for it is God who has given us life, and God who is most aware of our needs and who, as promised by his word, supplies us what we require when we turn to him in humble and trusting supplication.
The dire straits of misfortune can either darken our days and harden our hearts, or they can open our hearts to the bounty that is to come as we sing with the Psalmist, “The eyes of all wait upon Thee; Jane L. Sears and Thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest Thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.” Perhaps it’s best to read that Psalm and others of encouragement with our morning coffee before we brace ourselves for the bleak reports waiting to jump out at us from Money Magazine or the Wall Street Journal. Jane L. Sears is a freelance writer and member of Our Lady of Angels Parish, Burlingame.
The Catholic Difference
To live freedom nobly The vagaries of scheduling put me in Europe for the week before the Nov. 4 election. In conversations in both Rome and Kracow, I was struck by the frequency with which friends and colleagues said that Americans would be electing the leader of the world, not just the leader of the United States. Why did they say this? It’s not because such sentiments reflect a realist appraisal of the facts of American power, although the people with whom I spoke were well enough aware of that – and grateful for it. Rather, the idea that Americans would be electing the world’s leader bespoke their convictions that, unlike Europe, America is not morally exhausted, and that America can still embody a nobler, more humane idea of freedom. In light of our election results, some might well ask whether such sentiments are misplaced. Or forget, if you can, the election, and consider the fact that one of America’s most lucrative exports is pornography; what does that say about us as a culture? On the other hand, my friends and colleagues are well aware of what’s what in the United States – and they nonetheless insist that America is the world’s leader. The late John Paul II had a similar view of America. When he came to the papacy in 1978, he had, I think, a typical European intellectual’s idea of the United States as a bit raw, a bit vulgar, and not all-that-interesting culturally. The life of the mind, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla seemed convinced, was far livelier in Europe, on both sides of the iron curtain, than it was in the American
republic. But Wojtyla-become-John-Paul-II began to change his thinking, perhaps during his first extended encounter with the United States as pope, in October 1979. And over the years, John Paul came to understand that America had a spiritual vitality that old Europe lacked – a spiritual vitality that had infused at least some American intellectuals with a contemporary idea of freedom virtually identical to the pope’s own. Thus, in the aftermath of the Cold War, John Paul encouraged his fellow-Poles and other citizens of the new democracies of east central Europe to establish contacts with U.S. Catholics to build a trans-Atlantic community of conversation and action in defense of freedom rightly understood. John Paul II gave voice to his mature appreciation of the United States, and his convictions about the challenges before us, in a December 1997 address, delivered when he received the credentials of Lindy Boggs as the new U.S. ambassador to the Holy See: “No expression of today’s [American] commitment to liberty and justice for all can be more basic than the protection offered to those in society who are most vulnerable. The United States of America was founded on the conviction that an inalienable right to life was a self-evident moral truth, fidelity to which was a primary criterion of social justice. The moral history of your country is the story of your people’s efforts to widen the circle of inclusion in society, so that all Americans might enjoy the protection of law, participate in the responsi-
bilities of citizenship, and have the opportunity to make a contribution to the common good. Whenever a certain category of people – the unborn or the sick and old – are excluded from George Weigel that protection, a deadly anarchy subverts the original understanding of justice. The credibility of the United States will depend more and more on its promotion of a genuine culture of life, and on a renewed commitment to building a world in which the weakest and most vulnerable are welcomed and protected.” The “moral history” of America: that is what we ought to ponder at Thanksgiving. For America is, was, and always will be a moral experiment – an experiment in our capacity to live freedom nobly. As my European friends intuited prior to our election, the results of that experiment will shape the whole world. So let us pray with Katherine Lee Bates, “America, America, may God thy gold refine ‘Til all success be nobleness, and ev’ry gain divine.” George Weigel is Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C.
16
Catholic San Francisco
December 5, 2008
Second Sunday of Advent Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11; Psalm 85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14; 2 Peter 3:8-14; Mark 1:1-8 A READING FROM THE BOOK OF ISAIAH IS 40:1-5, 9-11 Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her service is at an end, her guilt is expiated; indeed, she has received from the hand of the Lord double for all her sins. A voice cries out: In the desert prepare the way of the Lord! Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God! Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill shall be made low; the rugged land shall be made a plain, the rough country, a broad valley. Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. Go up on to a high mountain, Zion, herald of glad tidings; cry out at the top of your voice, Jerusalem, herald of good news! Fear not to cry out and say to the cities of Judah: Here is your God! Here comes with power the Lord God, who rules by his strong arm; here is his reward with him, his recompense before him. Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs, carrying them in his bosom, and leading the ewes with care.
A READING FROM THE SECOND LETTER OF PETER 2 PT 3:8-14 Do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day. The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard “delay,” but he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a mighty roar and the elements will be dissolved by fire, and the earth and everything done on it will be found out. Since everything is to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be, conducting yourselves in holiness and devotion, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved in flames and the elements melted by fire. But according to his promise we await new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you await these things, be eager to be found without spot or blemish before him, at peace.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM PS 85:9-10-11-12, 13-14 R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation. I will hear what God proclaims; the Lord — for he proclaims peace to his people. Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him, glory dwelling in our land. R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation. Kindness and truth shall meet; justice and peace shall kiss. Truth shall spring out of the earth, and justice shall look down from heaven. R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation. The Lord himself will give his benefits; our land shall yield its increase. Justice shall walk before him, and prepare the way of his steps. R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
A READING FROM THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK MK 1:1-8 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way. A voice of one crying out in the desert: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.’” John the Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. People of the whole Judean countryside and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins. John was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. He fed on locusts and wild honey. And this is what he proclaimed: “One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Scripture reflection DEACON BILL TURRENTINE
Repentance, fiery prophet lead us toward Jesus’ birth Nearly 2000 years after John the Baptist lambasted sinners along these shores, I came down the bank of the Jordan River. It was a frigid March morning. Many of my companions seemed to hear the words of John still hanging in the air. Fleeing the wrath to come, they waded into the river, dipped below the surface of the muddy water and burst up again into the chilly air. I could almost see the fiery prophet of the desert admonishing them. But what would that prophet say to me? I had a head cold and was sitting by the riverside wrapped in a warm coat, dabbling my fingers in the river. I had a feeling, however, that John did not regard repentance as a spectator sport and that he demanded a conversion more than finger deep. The Jordan River is the boundary that the People of Israel crossed under their leader, Joshua, after a long exile in the desert. Crossing the Jordan River, they took possession of the Promised Land. Spiritually speaking, Christians must cross this River of Repentance to enter the Promised Land that Jesus (Joshua in Hebrew) has opened for us. We human beings often spend much of our energy hiding our faults from ourselves and others. When we hide from truth, we can start to see God as an enemy whose light would expose us. Repentance, on the other hand, means trusting in God, trusting to the extent that we are willing to diligently drag our faults out of the darkness into God’s light. By cooperating with God’s truth in acknowledging our sins, we see God as he is: eager to forgive and to heal. We then see not just the truth about ourselves but also the saving truth about Jesus, who has taken upon himself the eternal consequences of our sins so that
we can share in the eternal joy of his faithfulness. We do not need to travel all the way to Israel and plunge into the Jordan River to engage in repentance. The most gracefilled form of repentance involves finding a Catholic priest and asking him to hear our confession. It is not necessarily a pleasant process. The muddy waters of muttered sins do not look inviting. The cold air of truth nips our exposed flesh. It would be easier to sit by the side and just dabble our fingers in the water. But we rise again in the joy of those beautiful words, “…and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Reunited with Jesus Our Savior, we take possession of the Holy Land. The voice of John the Baptist still echoes down the centuries and grows more insistent during Advent, a privileged time for repentance. The Christmas tree, of course, is optional. Presents are nice but not strictly necessary. Christmas Eve dinner is pretty important but it need not be fancy. But the Sacrament of Confession is the essential preparation for the coming of Jesus. For those who are aware of grave sin, it is the promise of new life and necessary to receive Communion. But even for those who are in a state of grace, it is the best way to get the stable of our souls cleaned out and ready to receive the Savior. The repentance preached by John prepares the way for Jesus. Clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, fresh from a holiday meal of locusts and wild honey, this fiery prophet of the desert is looking your way. Deacon Bill Turrentine serves at St. Rita Parish, Farifax.
Advent: week 2 Preparing our hearts for the birth of Jesus Christ The following Advent Wreath prayer is intended to help busy households make Advent a prayerful time during the rush of Christmas preparations. The language is fairly simple to be used by individuals for personal reflection or by groups of adults or adults with children. Leader: Today begins the second week of the season of Advent. To help each of us prepare our own hearts for the birth of Christ, we take these few moments each week to pray together. • Light the first two candles on the Advent Wreath. (Choose a different person for this task each week?) • (optional) Read aloud Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11; 2 Peter 3:8-14; Mark 1:1-8. (A different person might read each passage.) • Leader: If you close your eyes and imagine you are living in the time of John the Baptist, it is easy
to hear a deep, booming voice shouting, “Prepare the way of the Lord!” In the Bible passages for this second week of Advent we hear John the Baptist repeating those words of Isaiah the prophet. They both remind us that we’d better work seriously to make straight our own paths and to clean up the wastelands in our own lives. St. Paul tells us how to do that: live holy lives. Closing prayer: (Leader may read all, or others in the household may each read a segment) Father in heaven, during this second week of Advent, help us see clearly the times when we have sinned. Accept our sorrow for having pulled away from you, and give us firm resolve to stay close to you. God above, help us conduct ourselves in holiness. We long to be the people you expect us to be. Help us as we strive to make our souls spotless and our hearts
and minds at peace. Help us, Lord, to remember we were baptized for a reason. Help us realize our baptismal call to live as a child of God. And, dear God, don’t let us miss
chances this week to be welcoming to other people and to work in harmony with everyone. Help us as we try to change our ways so that we are good examples of people who love and follow the Lord.
December 5, 2008
Letters . . . ■ Continued from page 14 unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s. We are a nation of immigrants. Our people come from every corner of the globe. We see every culture, every creed and every religion. President-elect Obama will be a president of all the people. He has a formidable task ahead of him and he needs the backing of all people to insure that this country can be set in the right direction. To restore our standing in the world. To help all of our citizens who are in dire straights. Millions of people out of work. Hundreds of people losing their homes. First things first. Once the country is back on solid footing, we can work on other problems. Frances J. McHugh Daly City
Second opinion? With reference to Tom Miller’s Nov. 14 letter in which he contended for a lay jury to second-guess the courts, does he also go to nonlicensed doctors and dentists for treatment? Or, does he rely on laymen when he is ill? Jerome F. Downs San Francisco
Vote showed disgust In the Nov. 21 Catholic San Francisco, Cardinal Francis George states, “The recent election was principally decided out of concern for the economy….” On the facing page, George Weigel attributes the election of Obama to “tribal voting” in the population centers of the Northeast and Midwest and laments the failure of Prop 4 in California. The fact is that the election reflected Americans’ disgust with an immoral and illegal war that has cost the lives of 4,000plus of our young and untold thousands of Iraqi civilians –a legitimate life issue. The disgust was magnified by the administration’s embrace of torture and rendition and alienation of our traditional allies. The bishops initially opposed the war but lapsed into embarrassed silence after the serious damage to their moral authority by the widespread protection of child abusers was revealed. The California Catholic Conference spent in excess of $200,000 in support of Prop 8 (a non-life issue) and precious little on Prop 4 which failed. Perhaps the bishops need to readjust their priorities regarding life issues. Robert M. Rowden San Rafael
Back to basics The Jesus who I know is nonjudgmental. Everyone was/is welcome at his table, and he preached love for all people. God gave each of us a brain to make our own decisions. It would be helpful if the bishops would spend their time preaching the basics of Christ’s teachings. Dottie Schaefer Foster City
Pray! My first reaction to the outcome of election 2008 was fear. Where was our country heading? Next came the tears, mourning for the 50 million unborn babies murdered and the threat of millions more in the years to come, tears for the threat to the disabled and the elderly. It took a few minutes for me to go on my knees and ask God for forgiveness for my not trusting him, forgiveness for all those, including 50 percent of Catholics who voted for worldly, secular values instead of godly values, and forgiveness for my not getting more involved in promoting a candidate who was pro-life. A consolation was the passing of Prop 8, but defeat of Prop 4 sent the message that the fight had begun. This fight must be fought on the knees. The opposition will not give up as evidenced by the demonstrations across the nation rejoicing in the election of a very pro-choice president and demonstrations in California denouncing the passage of Prop 8. Are large demonstrations the way to call attention to the importance of issues or only a way to release anger? St. Paul says that in this spiritual warfare after putting on the whole armor of God, we are to “stand and pray.” Now is the time we who are called Christians need to stand or sit or kneel and
pray, pray, pray then pray some more; pray the rosary, pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, pray the Psalms, go to Mass as often as possible, go to confession. Pray for peace. Pray for an end to the holocaust of abortion. Pray that God’s will be done! Juanita Douglass Redwood City
God loves us all I want to add my support of the many Catholics who have the courage to speak out on the subject of gay marriage, who remind us that God loves us all. How ashamed I was to see the might and power of the Catholic and Mormon churches thrust into the fight to deny gay couples the right to marry. I became so angry when Sunday after Sunday we heard sermons and announcements regarding the “Church’s position” on this issue. What about God’s position? If you believe, as most doctors and people do, that the gay lifestyle is not a “choice” and that homosexuals are born in God’s image, then how could you deny them the right to live in a faithful, loving union with a partner? Are we so short sighted as a community of faith to think we have the right to deny other people the rights enjoyed by those of us who chose to marry? Our society has a huge divorce rate and many of our young children live together and do not marry. What are we telling them? I hope the bishops reconsider their decision and open the doors to gay and straight couples alike. We have lost some of the best and brightest young men in the priesthood who left to marry. Why is the Church so emphatic about the subject of marriage and so lukewarm regarding the war in Iraq, the injustice in Darfur, the poverty around the world? I hear no sermons condemning those issues. Only abortion and gay marriage seem to be uppermost on the minds of the clergy. I hope that as a Catholic I can once again be as proud of my Church as I am of my country, which has elected an African-American to the highest office in our land. Mary Ann Fitzgerald Foster City
Biggest sin
Marxist heresy Thank you for printing the extensive interview with the new president of the U.N. General Assembly, Father Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann. It was an eye-opening article. This man seems to have become a victim of the ideology he promotes. His perverse and hateful thinking shows what can happen to one who substitutes the Marxist heresy of liberation theology for the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. The soul is disfigured by following falsehood, and our Lord is offended. A person so afflicted cannot express himself without recourse to the jargon of revolution. Speaking of revolution, I thought the Sermon on the Mount spoke to the transformation of the soul in Christ, not to the transformation of society by revolution or social intimidation. It seems to me that the United Nations that Father Brockmann represents is no longer the same noble organization founded in 1945. It now stands for the aggressive promotion of abortion around the world through the U.N. Population Fund, UNICEF and the U.N. Human Rights
17
Committee. I imagine that Father Brockmann felt the less-than-humanitarian spirit of the U.N. recently, when his own Nicaragua came under attack by the U.N. Human Rights Committee for upholding a ban on abortion. Sonia Braa San Francisco
pro-abortion presidential candidate and justifying it as “a matter of conscience.” God only knows how many unborn lives could have been saved with just one more pro-life Supreme Court justice. Shameful. Alan J. Smith San Francisco
Bigotry
Priests and politics
My name is Mike Verhille. I am a family man. I grew up in a Catholic family. Some of my earliest memories are of Friday-night fish fries at the KC Hall in Ottumwa, Iowa. We have tried to teach our children values I learned from the people there. What the Knights have done to the people of California (in regard to Proposition 8) is inexcusably mean spirited and bigoted. My nephew is gay. He is a kind man who has never brought any harm on another soul. He has not killed any babies, he has not caused any harm to anyone. The harm done to people is real. The bigotry and intolerance are unforgivable. I will be happy to teach my children that gay people can live full happy lives together, but cannot be married due to the bigotry and intolerance of the Catholic Church and the Knights of Columbus. Do you really think this is what Jesus Christ wants? Michael Verhille, MD Kentfield
The divisive reality of partisan politics seems to be a waste of a priest’s specialized education and a violation of his vows to stand as an imitation of Christ in this confused and deliberately hostile world. A priest should set an example for harmonious and prayerful living which tends to mend and heal divisions; not taking sides and exacerbating arguments, debates and conflicts. Politics are ephemeral while a priest’s ultimate purpose is the one eternal and never-changing truth. If a priest is openly partisan (even enthusiastically and adamantly so), he is violating his duty to the whole congregation by alienating those in opposition and leaving them frustrated and disgruntled. Priests violate their vows through divisiveness regardless of how sincerely they may feel for a candidate. They are supposed to be praying for everybody. They are not supposed to be playing the secular game of politics no matter how urgently a particular election might seem. A priest is not, and should never be, a politician. Unfortunately, there are priests who consider themselves “secular priests” and even go so far as to imply that Peter and Paul and even Jesus himself were “secular priests.” This is preposterous. For even though Jesus said I come with a sword (Matt. 10:34); (Luke 12:51-53), it is not the duty of a priest to exacerbate discord but to try to harmonize it. God has already judged, even from the foundation of the world, because he knew the end from the beginning. Our priests need to be honorable and holy men, not conniving politicos. There are plenty of them, so why should a priest corrupt his vows by stooping to the level of politicians? This is not what priests are trained to do, not what they are paid to do, and certainly not what they took vows to do. Steven J. Catalano Manteca
Rude and hostile
L E T T E R S
Nov. 14 Catholic San Francisco front-page article, “U.N. General Assembly leader: ‘Together hunger and poverty constitute biggest sin on earth.’” Hogwash! As a teenager I knew that to deny a little human in the womb the breath of life and the right to exist was the biggest sin on earth. This ugly sin brought forth in me disgust. The U.N. General Assembly leader, who wants to be called “Father,” is not sanctioned by our one holy and apostolic Catholic Church.How was he able to waste so much paper and ink in Catholic San Francisco? As a practicing Catholic, disgust, in me, has come forth again. Roy Petri San Anselmo
Catholic San Francisco
It has come to our attention that at the recent annual Interfaith Breakfast for Hunger, Gavin Newsom, the mayor of San Francisco, chose to go to the podium and deliver a tirade against Prop 8. Not only was this unrelated to the purpose of the breakfast, but it was outrageously rude and hostile to the supporters of Prop 8 who were present, such as Archbishop Niederauer. Furthermore, this speech came from someone who is supposed to be a public servant and uphold the law! But sadly, the worst part is that this self-described Catholic revealed that he either doesn’t know or doesn’t believe the Catholic faith. Thank you, Archbishop Niederauer, for remaining steadfast in our faith in the face of such overt persecution. We commend you for your leadership and will continue to pray for you daily. Jessica Munn Foster City
Ban divorce
Whew! That was a close one. For a while it looked like traditional marriage was a goner, just like dinosaurs and the Model T. But enough Californians decided to save traditional marriage from those who want to change it to something it isn’t. But wait, there is more work to be done. Traditional marriage has a bigger, more hideous foe. Traditional marriage advocates and supporters need to band together even more tightly than ever before. Religions of all kinds need to unite. Christians, Jews, Mormons, Muslims and Buddhists all must work together to save traditional marriage from demise. Since traditional marriage is between one man and one woman, there needs to be another constitutional amendment to protect it. This “changeling” has been redefining traditional marriage ever since King Henry VIII. How many people re-wed after a divorce, forsaking the one man and one woman ideal? Look at how many children have to live in divorced households? Look at the change in the landscape of the family unit! Stand up for traditional marriage. Sign petitions for a constitutional amendment to ban divorce. Stephen Brainerd Livermore
The issue: unborn lives Letter writer Mike DeNunzio (Nov. 7) gave a valid explanation to the “equal respect” given to both presidential candidates by the archdiocesan Office of Public Policy and Social Concerns and other Catholic opinion leaders over the abortion issue: they were promoting “their personal political preference.” Too often during this election cycle I heard Catholic leadership cheering for the
Duty: oppose evil In your recent story quoting Jesuit Father John Dear in the headline, “It’s time for all of us to grow up and take Jesus at his word,” I was stunned by Father Dear’s comment that non-violence actually worked against the Nazis during World War II. Perhaps Father Dear could explain that to the 12 million men, women and children who died in the Nazi concentration camps of Auschwitz, Treblinka and Dachau. They tried non-violence and look where it got them. Father Dear’s beliefs are naïve, dangerous and historically inaccurate. Nobody likes or wants to go to war. But Father Dear should recognize that he has a Christian duty to oppose evil, and when that evil is determined to use brutal violence to impose its will on others, whether it’s the Nazis, the Communists our the current threat of Islamic terrorism, a just war claim can be made to protect people’s safety and freedom. It was the Revolutionary War that brought the United States into being. The Civil War ended slavery. World War II and the Korean War liberated millions from enslavement and death. Would Father Dear have preferred that we lost those conflicts leading to millions more dead and enslaved? Father Dear says you cannot be a Catholic and kill. No, Father, you can’t be a Catholic and not take up arms against evildoers who would enslave and murder others. E.F. Sullivan San Francisco
www.olrm.org If you are not already familiar with Our Lady’s Rosary Makers, click on the address above. This special apostolate helps supply inexpensive rosaries to missionaries, and teaches interested persons and groups how to make rosaries of various qualities. Perhaps you and others around you will be interested in their services. Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us! Brother John Samaha, SM Cupertino
18
Catholic San Francisco
December 5, 2008
Walk and work for life (PHOTO BY MARTA REBAGLIATI/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)
Eva Muntean, center, founder of the Walk for Life West Coast, and Diana Nagy, a speaker at this year’s event Jan. 24, are guests on “Mosaic” Dec. 7 at 5 a.m. on KPIX CBS 5. Tom Burke is host. Nagy, a singer and composer, tells of a son she gave up for adoption when she was 16 years old. The Walk for Life website is www.walkforlifewc.com. Organizers have scheduled a Dec. 14 “planning party” at St. Gabriel Parish, 2559 40th Ave., San Francisco, from 2-4:30 p.m. for high school youth, parents and educators. For information, call (415) 664-2100 or e-mail highschools4life@gmail.com. Mosaic is a co-production of the Office of Communications of the San Francisco Archdiocese and KPIX.
Catholic San Francisco invites you
to join in the following pilgrimages HOLY LAND December 31, 2008 – January 9, 2009
Tour 90404
Departs San Francisco 10-Day Pilgrimage
2,699
only $
($2,799 after Sept. 21, 2008)
Fr. Larry Young, Spiritual Director Visit: Tel Aviv, Caesarea, Mt. Carmel, Tiberias, Upper Galilee, Jerusalem, Masada
Garden of Gethsemane
April 29-May 10, Glory 2009 Tours
SOUTHERN ITALY
Tour 90502
January 15 – 24, 2009
e c e e Gr and
2,299 Catholic San Francisco
only $
($2,399 if deposit is not paid by Oct. 2, 2008)
Fr. Chris Crotty C.P.M., Spiritual Director
Rome
Visit: Rome, Naples, Pompeii, Bari, Mt. St. Angelo, San Giovanni, Lanciano, Cascia, Assisi, Orvieto Rome (Papal audience)
GREECE • TURKEY CRUISE April 29 – May 10, 2009 only
4,249
$
d n a l e r
Fr. Ron Williams, Spiritual Director Includes outside cabin and shore excursions
Visit: Athens, Istanbul, Mykonos, Patmos, Kusadas, Rhodes, Heraklion, Santorini, Piraeus, Corinth
IRELAND
May 12 – 21, 2009
Athens
only
2,999
($3,099 after Feb. 1, 2009)
Fr. Martin Gillespie, Spiritual Director Visit: Shannon, Cliffs of Moher, Galway, Croagh, Patrick Kylemore Abbey, Connemara, Bunratty Folk Park, Killarney, Ring of Kerry and more
For a FREE $2,999 ifbrochure deposit is paid by 2-1-09 on these pilgrimages contact: Catholic San Francisco
(415) 614-5640 Please leave your name, mailing address and your phone number
TRAVEL DIRECTORY For advertising info please call 415.614.5642
• Our strength is in quality control and in our low prices.
y e k r u T
• We organize our tours and pilgrimages to fit budgets, cover pilgrimage destinations wanted and fulfill special tour request of the groups. PILGRIMAGE TO THE HOLY LAND with Rev. Fr. Dominador Corrales, Associate Pastor St. Andrew Church Jan 22-31, 2009 $2,390. plus air taxes
GREECE, GREEK ISLAND AEGEAN CRUISE & TURKEY with Rev. Fr. Alex L. Legaspi, Pastor St. Andrew Church Footsteps of St. Paul, Virgin Mary’s House in Ephesus March 10-21, 2009 $2,790 + $95. port charges + air taxes
LAKE TAHOE RENTAL Vacation Rental Condo in South Lake Tahoe. Sleeps 8, near Heavenly Valley and Casinos.
Call 925-933-1095
For Advertising Information $4,249 if deposit is paid by 1-19-09 Please Call 415-614-5642
Departs San Francisco 10-Day Pilgrimage
$
• Glory Tours personally runs and controls the tour operation.
THE HOLY LAND & EGYPT WITH NILE CRUISE March 5-21, 2009 $3,890 + air taxes
($4,349 after Jan. 19, 2009)
I
specializes in overseas pilgrimage sites that have a distinct Catholic and Christian interest. • We serve churches, organizations, group leaders, travel agencies on wholesale basis and also help individuals join our tours.
Departs San Francisco 10-Day Pilgrimage
Departs San Francisco 12-Day Pilgrimage
CST # 2082730-40 580 California Street, Suite 500 San Francisco, CA 94104 Phone: 415-358-6804 Fax: 415-358-6805 Toll Free: 1-866-352-5952
See it at RentMyCondo.com#657
2009 HOLY LAND PILGRIMAGES With Franciscan Fr. Mario DiCicco, O.F.M. President and Rector
THE FRANCISCAN SCHOOL Berkeley, CA
OF
THEOLOGY
May 30–June 10 and September 19–30 Both Departures Originate from Chicago O’Hara Airport
************ Follow the Footsteps of St. Paul In Turkey During This Year of St. Paul Cradle of Early Christianity April 17-29, 2009 Departures from San Francisco and Chicago
California Registered Seller of Travel Registration Number CST-2037190-40
Write / Call for Free Brochures Fr. Mario DiCicco, O.F.M., 1712 Euclid Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94709-1208 (510) 848-5232 • E-Mail: mdiccio@fst.edu
(Registration as a Seller of Travel does not constitute approval by the State of California)
Fr. Mario has a PhD in the New Testament, has lived in the Holy Land with the Franciscans and has 33 years of experience in leading pilgrimages to the Holy Land.
December 5, 2008
Advent Opportunities Sundays, 3:30 p.m.: Concerts featuring musical artists from the Bay Area and around the world at St. Mary’s Cathedral, Gough and Geary Blvd. in San Francisco. Open to the public. Free-will offering helps support Cathedral’s music ministry. Call (415) 567-2020, ext. 231. Dec. 21: David Phillips, organist; Dec. 28: David Hatt, organist. Dec. 5, 6, 7:30 p.m.: Christmas Concert at Notre Dame de Namur University’s Cunningham Chapel, 1500 Ralston Ave. in Belmont. Tickets are $20/$10 students and seniors. For more information, call (650) 508-3729 or e-mail concerts@ndnu.edu. Dec. 6, 5:15 a.m.: Annual Guadalupana Pilgrimage from All Souls Church, 315 Walnut St. in South San Francisco to St. Mary’s Cathedral, Gough and Geary Blvd. in San Francisco, where Mass will be celebrated at 2 p.m. Pilgrimage commences at approximately 6 a.m. following morning commemoration of Our Lady of Guadalupe at All Souls. Return shuttles from the Cathedral to All Souls will run from 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. Call (415) 333-4868. Dec. 6, 6 p.m.: Mass and reception honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, 40th Ave. and Balboa St. in San Francisco. Rite and evening includes music by mariachi musicians, Aztec dancers and food. Bring your family and friends. Call (415) 387-5545. Dec. 6, 7: The Paulist Center at Old St Mary’s, 614 Grant Ave. in San Francisco, hosts author Alice Camille who will sign her new “Forgiveness Book” following the Saturday 5 p.m. vigil Mass and Sunday’s 8:30 and 11 a.m. Masses. For information, call (415) 288-3845 or 288-3850. Dec. 7, 10 a.m. – noon: Make something meaningful at San Domenico School’s green gift-making workshop on campus at 1500 Butterfield Rd., San Anselmo. “Make Your Own Local Healing Teas” will give an overview of Marin County’s local healing herbs. Participants will help harvest wild herbs from the campus grounds and then dry and bag them up nicely with a tea strainer or tea ball, an ultra local gift that’s good for Mother Earth. All ages are welcome. Cost ranges from $10 to $30; call (415) 717-3919 to register. Dec. 10, 17, 7:30 p.m.: The Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose invite women considering religious life for Lectio Divina - Scripture faith sharing at the main parlor of the motherhouse, 43326 Mission Blvd. in Fremont. For more information, contact Sister Beth Quire, OP at (510) 657-2468 or beth@ msjdominicans.org. Dec. 13, 5:30 p.m. Simbang Gabi Commissioning and Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral, Gough and Geary Blvd. in San Francisco, welcoming the novena that is prayed the nine days before Christmas. Archbishop George Niederauer will preside. “Experience the spirituality that speaks to all people of every ethnicity,” said Nellie Hizon, a coordinator of the devotion. Contact Nellie at (415) 699-7927 or Doug Benbow at (415) 567-2020. Dec 13, 14: Paulist Father Larry Boadt, president of Paulist Press, will sign his new book “Life of Saint Paul” at The Paulist Center at Old St. Mary’s, 614 Grant Ave. in San Francisco, following the Saturday 5 p.m. vigil Mass and Sunday’s 8:30 and 11 a.m. Masses. For information, call (415) 288-3845 or 288-3850. Dec. 14, 2 p.m.: Christmas concert featuring the choirs and musicians of San Mateo’s St Bartholomew Parish, 300 Alameda de las Pulgas at Crystal Springs Rd. Program features Respighi’s “Laud to the Nativity” with soloists: Shirley Crosetti, Ellen Hargus, Marilyn Vicas, soprano; Gloria Guaraldi, Deidre Lobo, mezzo; Rich Guaraldi, Matt Hethcoat, Matt Tutino, tenor. Performing are the Festival Choir, Contemporary Choir, Children’s Choir, and Faith Formation Choir. Conducted by Tim Cooney with organist Jim Dahlstrom. Free-will donations appreciated. Dec. 14, 4 p.m.: “Lessons and Carols” at St. Cecilia Church, 17th Ave at Vicente in San Francisco featuring the St. Cecilia Choir under the direction of
Catholic San Francisco
19
members is free. Non-member tickets are $20 or join CPBC for $45 and the event is free. Evening includes appetizers, games and no-host drinks. For more information, visit www.cpbc-sf.org. Dec. 11, 11:30 a.m.: Annual Christmas Luncheon of the Good Shepherd Guild at the Olympic Club, Lakeside. Tickets are $60. Valet parking included. Guild invites members to bring a friend! Contact Judith Terracina at (415) 753-2081.
Datebook
Arts & Entertainment
Mission Dolores Choir performs its 17th Annual Candlelight Christmas Concert on Dec. 14 at 5 p.m. at Mission Dolores Basilica, 16th St. at Dolores in San Francisco. Auxiliary Bishop William Justice is a former pastor of Mission Dolores. “The choir’s artistry is unparalleled,” Bishop Justice said. “Their Christmas concerts are must-see events as they are one of the best ways to evoke the joy and spirituality of the season.” Tickets are $25, $18 and $15. Conductor is Jerome Lenk. The ensemble performs Dec. 6 at 7 p.m. at St. Gabriel Church, 40th Ave. at Ulloa in San Francisco. Tickets are $15. Parking available at both locations. Call (415) 621-8203 or visit www.missiondolores.org. Russell Ferreira. Parking available. Call (415) 6648481 for more information. Dec. 16, 7 p.m.: Posadas Christmas celebration at Mission Dolores Basilica, 16th St. at Dolores in San Francisco. Mariachi Band and holiday song with candy-filled piñata for the children are among highlights of the evening. Tamales, pastries, and snacks will be served. Parking available in schoolyard. For more information, call Bob or Kati Huerta at (415) 239-9107 or Gloria DeLeon at (415) 334-3549. Dec. 16 to 24, 6 a.m.: “Simbang Gabi at St. Stephen Church, Eucalyptus at 23rd Ave. by Stonestown in San Francisco.” Now on its 12th year, eight parishes help sponsor the novena: St. Anne of the Sunset, St. Brendan, St. Cecilia, St. Emydius, St. Finn Barr, St. Gabriel, St. Stephen and Star of the Sea. Liturgies include scenes from the Gospel of the day. Archbishop George Niederauer will celebrate Mass on Dec. 24 followed by a “Pasko sa Baryo” potluck Christmas party with cultural dances, music and festival. Contact Nellie Hizon at (415) 699-7927. Dec. 19, 7:30 p.m.: St. Charles Parish, 880 Tamarack Ave. in San Carlos, presents its annual Christmas concert celebrating Advent and Christmas music including carols both old and new, some for listening and some for singing along. Adult and children’s choirs, under the direction of Claire Giovannetti, will perform. Admission is free. An offering will be taken for the support of parish music programs. Call (650) 591-7349, ext. 32 for more information. Dec. 19 – 25, and Jan. 4: Our Lady of the Pillar Knights of Columbus Council 7534 announces its annual “Live Nativity Scene” at OLP, Kelly and Church St. in Half Moon Bay. Presentations include
music and singing with special presentations Dec. 20 from 2 – 4 p.m., with the Mansfield Family, and Dec. 21 from 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. with the Our Lady of the Pillar Choir. For more information, including times of presentations, call Mel Schwing at (650) 726-6765 or Jose Diaz at (650) 728-0274. Dec. 20, 6:30 p.m.: Join the Divorced and Separated Catholics of the Archdiocese of San Francisco and celebrate the Christmas season with a social hour, potluck dinner and sing-a-long at St. Dominic Church, lower level, Bush and Steiner St. in San Francisco. Please call for more information: Gail Castro at (650) 591-8452 or Vonnie McGee (650) 873-4236.
Food & Fun Dec. 6, 7: “In the Land of Snow and Dreams,” St. Brendan School Christmas Boutique, Saturday 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.; Sunday 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. at 234 Ulloa at Laguna Honda Blvd. off Portola Dr. in San Francisco. Choose from a vast selection of handcrafted Christmas gifts, ornaments, decorations, holiday wreaths and garland, plus children’s games, excellent raffles and food courts with merry servers. Proceeds benefit St. Brendan School. Free admission. Call (415) 731-2665. Dec 7, 9:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.: Sunday brunch at St. Anne of the Sunset Church Moriarty Hall, 850 Judah St., entrance at Funston Avenue, to benefit the St. Anne School junior high trip to Washington, D.C in the spring. Food and beverages will be available for purchase. Event includes entertainment, raffle and picture taking with Santa. Parking in schoolyard. Call (415) 420-7925. Dec. 10, 5:30 p.m.: Catholic Professional and Business Club meets for “Merry Christmas Happy Hour” at the Elk’s Club, 450 Post St. Admission for
Celtic Voices Children’s Choir is for youngsters in grades 3 – 8. The group specializes in music of Irish heritage. Rehearsals take place in San Francisco’s Sunset District Wednesdays from 3:45 – 4:45 p.m. For more information, contact Mary McKeever at mairemusic@aol.com or (415) 379-4484. Dec. 9, 7:30 p.m.: A musical review featuring the Broadway music of John Kander and Fred Ebb composers of such shows as “Cabaret” and “Chicago” at Notre Dame de Namur University’s Taube Conference Center, 1500 Ralston Ave. in Belmont. Admission is free. Call (650) 508-3729 or e-mail concerts@ndnu.edu. Feb. 27, 7:30 p.m.: “The Gospel of Mark” performed by Michael Reardon and directed by Patrick Lane at Notre Dame des Victoires Church, 566 Bush St. in San Francisco. Reardon and Lane have performed the spellbinding proclamation of Michael Reardon Scripture more than 1,000 times around the world. A meet-the-artists reception follows the play. Admission to the two-hour event is free; free-will offerings will be accepted. Call (415) 397-0113 for more information.
Trainings/Lectures/Respect Life First Saturdays: San Mateo Pro-Life prays the rosary at Planned Parenthood, 2211 Palm Ave. in San Mateo at 9 a.m. and invites others to join them. The group is also open to new membership. Meetings are held the second Thursday of the month except August and December at St. Gregory Parish’s Worner Center, 138 28th Ave. in San Mateo at 7:30 p.m. For more information, call Jessica at (650) 572-1468. Dec. 14, 4 – 7 p.m.: Planning party for high school students interested in participating in the Jan. 24 Walk for Life West Coast. Call or e-mail contacts below for location. Each high school is encouraged to send representatives to this event and other interested high school students are cordially invited to attend as well. Parents and educators also welcome. For information, call (415) 664-2100 or e-mail highschools4life@gmail. com. For more information about Walk for Life West Coast go to www.walkforlifewc.com Jan. 24, 11 a.m.: Fifth Annual Walk for Life West Coast begins at San Francisco’s Justin Herman Plaza lawn at the Embarcadero. To organize groups or get further information, e-mail info@walkforlifewc.com or call (415) 586-1576.
Datebook is a free listing for parishes, schools and non-profit groups. Please include event name, time, date, place, address and an information phone number. Listing must reach Catholic San Francisco at least two weeks before the Friday publication date desired. Mail your notice to: Datebook, Catholic San Francisco, One Peter Yorke Way, S.F. 94109, or fax it to (415) 614-5633, or e-mail burket@sfarchdiocese.org.
ARCHDIOCESE OF SAN FRANCISCO 2009 DELUXE DIRECTORY INCLUDES: Archdiocesan Officials and Departments, Catholic Charities, Parishes & Missions, Parish Staff Listings. Latest E-mail Addresses, Phone Directory Yellow Pages, Mass Schedules. Schools: Elementary, High Schools, Universities & Colleges. Religious Orders, Religious Organizations, etc. . . .
ORDER FORM
Please send me
copies of the Directory
Name
Address
City
Zip Code
Credit Card #: Signature:
Copies @ $20.00 Each: $ Includes Postage and Handling
Method of Payment: ❑ Visa Exp. Date:
❑ Mastercard
❑ Check ❑ Money Order
Phone #:
C ATHOLIC S AN F RANCISCO , O NE P ETER Y ORKE W AY , S AN F RANCISCO , CA 94109
20
Catholic San Francisco
December 5, 2008
Late nite . . . ■Continued from cover Catechism, studied the lives of the saints, and researched Catholic doctrine available online. She also stays current on topics that touch on Catholic theology and life. “The Catechism shows are an homage to growing up in the strict discipline of the Catholic school system circa the 1950s to the 1960s, where you had fully habited nuns or priests as educators,� Breen told Catholic San Francisco. “When you came to class, well, you had better be prepared. We have fun. We don’t make fun.� Breen said she sometimes feels better prepared than some who actually present Church teaching for real. “It is a comedy and I am not really teaching a catechism class,� she said, although it is common for her to encounter Catholics who think the Immaculate Conception refers to the Virgin Birth rather than Mary being sinless from her first moment of existence.
Such “students� in her “class� are put on a humorous hot seat. Breen, who had an aunt who was a nun and several cousins who were in the priesthood, said she was “knocked out� by the material in “Late Nite Catechism� when she first saw it performed in Chicago by Donovan. Creator Donovan said the demanding theological preparation, coupled with theatrical considerations, make it difficult to find actresses capable of pulling off the part. About a dozen actresses have been trained for the role with Donovan acting as “Mother Superior.� “You have to carry a one-person comedy, which is not easy,� Donovan said. “You also have to be a Catholic. You can’t fake it. People will know if you’re faking it.� For her stage work as “Sister,� Donovan received the Los Angeles Critics Award for Best Solo Performance as well as the New York Outer Critics nomination for Best Solo Performance. Some time ago Donovan initiated an effort that has become a hallmark of “Late
Alexander Sung, Piano Burke Schuchmann, Cello Present
an Evening of Music by Beethoven s 3ONATE FOR #ELLO AND 0IANO /P IN & s 3ONATE 1UASI UNA &ANTASIA FOR 0IANO /P IN % &LAT s 3ONATE FOR 0IANO /P IN ! s 3ONATE FOR #ELLO AND 0IANO /P IN # Alexander Sung, winner of international competitions in Munich and Leipzig, has been an accomplished pianist and harpsichordist for more than 30 years. “His use of dynamic contrasts as a constructive principal proved effective on one level while his tone remained warm and sonorous‌â€? The New York Times
“Burke Schuchmann provided three major musical encounters and in the process showed a big warm tone, technique to burn... And the will to burn it...everything about the performance was convincingly and appealingly human.� Sacramento Bee
The Green Room War Memorial Veterans Building, 401 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco, CA 94102
Maripat Donovan as “Sister�
Nite Catechism� shows. As “the class� funnels out the door, “Sister� raises money for real Sisters. Aging and retired nuns often face financial problems, Breen said. “Some orders are in better shape than others, but the situation is dire for some. The audiences across our country have been extremely generous.� To date, more than $3 million has been raised. The play has also been a source of revenue for local churches and schools that host the production. Donovan said this began in Chicago, and grew slowly as people came to trust her and her pool of actresses. “Religious people, nuns especially, are reticent to jump on the bandwagon,� Donovan said, citing examples of plays about the Church that did not entertain respectfully, but rather derided. “They don’t want to be tricked or duped. Once they realized who we were, we were embraced with open arms by all kinds of Catholic churches all over the country.� Among those who have welcomed the play are real-life women religious. Social Service Sister Celeste Arbuckle, a “Late Nite Catechism� fan and director of the
Archdiocese of San Francisco’s Office of Religious Education and Youth Ministry, called the charitable work “fantastic.� “What a great way to honor the religious communities that have given so much,� Sister Celeste said, adding that she appreciates the way “Sister� makes jokes about the Church and women religious, while still remaining true to the spirit of the faith. “It’s always good to laugh at yourself, and where we were in our history,� Sister Celeste said. Referring to a recent performance, she lauded the level of commitment “Sister� showed in getting the theology right, something that would be daunting, even to a professional. “I was scared to death she would call on me and I wouldn’t have the right answer,� she laughed. Breen said the part of “Sister� has taken her across the country. “I have met the most incredible people and it has brought me great joy and made me quite an optimist,� she said. “The world can be pretty scary. Having a couple of laughs just keeps it all in perspective.� For more information about “Late Nite Catechism,� visit www.funnynun.com or www.latenitecatechism.info.
Saturday, December 6 @ 8:00 PM Tickets: (415) 392-4400 or www.cityboxofďŹ ce.com General~$25.00 | Senior (65+) and Student (full-time)~$20.00
Pro-life march Dec. 14 in San Mateo
San Mateo Pro-Life will sponsors its annual December march under the banner of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the unborn child. 3PONSORED BY 0ALOMARIN #HAMBER -USIC &OUNDATION s 0ALOMARIN-USIC YAHOO COM Recitation of the rosary accompanies the Dec. 14 walk, starting at 2 p.m., from St. Gregory Church, 28th and Hacienda in San Mateo, to Planned Parenthood one mile away at 2211 Palm Ave. The rosary continues at the site and on the return Your chance to own an incredible walk to St. Gregory. Pro-life signs are available for anyone wishing to carry one. All are invited. For more work of art by master portrait information, call Jessica Munn, SMPL chair, at (650) 572 -1468. artist Stanley Gordon.
Concert made possible by: Pan PaciďŹ c Bank, Mr. Joe Ching, President CEO s -RS #ARLA #HEN 3ENIOR 6ICE 0RESIDENT 5"3 )NTERNATIONAL )NC s 4HE -ADISON #OMPANY 2EALTORS
Only 3,000 will ever be made! r .S (PSEBO IBT QBJOUFE TPNF PG UIF NPTU JNQPSUBOU MFBEFST PG UIF UI DFOUVSZ BOE IJT XPSL IBT CFFO GFBUVSFE JO QSFTJEFOUJBM MJCSBSJFT BOE đOF BSU HBMMFSJFT ăJT ( DMFF WFSTJPO PG UIF 1PSUSBJU PG +FTVT JT iUIF TQJSJUVBM NBTUFSQJFDF PG IJT MJGFu r ăF XPSE ( DMFF JO 'SFODI NFBOT BT iDMPTF UP UIF PSHJOBMu PS JO UIJT DBTF‡UIF .BTUFS "MM QPSUSBJUT BSF JODIFT Y JODIFT PO 5PSJOP NBU TUSFUDIFE DBOWBT CFBVUJGVMMZ GSBNFE r &BDI QBJOUJOH JT IBOETJHOFE OVNCFSFE BOE DPNFT XJUI B DFSUJđDBUF PG BVUIFOUJDJUZ 4VSF UP POMZ HSPX JO WBMVF BT B GBNJMZ USFBTVSF JO UIF ZFBST BIFBE
Limited Edition! Call Now! Have this magniďŹ cent piece of art in your home in time for the holidays.
1-888-316-8828
PRO LIFE MARCH “A short pro-life march is held every December by San Mateo Pro Life under the banner of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Pre-Born Child. We pray the rosary as we process from St. Gregory’s in San Mateo (at Hacienda and 28th Avenues) over to Planned Parenthood (at 2211 Palm Ave.), a distance of about one mile. We continue the rosary in front of Planned Parenthood, and also during our return to St. Gregory’s. We provide pro-life signs for anyone desiring to carry one.
This year the march will be from 2 to 3 p.m. on Sunday, December 14. Everyone is welcome to join us.
December 5, 2008
Film
TV
Books RADIO
Catholic San Francisco
Music
21
stage
‘Bolt’ provides animated adventure and good message NEW YORK (CNS) – The endearing animated adventure “Bolt” (Disney) can be taken as a children’s parable about the challenges, and consolations, of growing up. As the titular canine makes the transition from an exciting, but predictable fantasy world to a confusing new reality, he’s forced to rely on inner strength and the good will of friends. The star of a television series where he plays a dog with superpowers, Bolt (voiced with childlike gentleness by John Travolta) has been raised to believe he truly possesses unique abilities, such as a steel-melting stare and a sonic-boom bark. He thinks the show on which, each week, he rescues his beloved owner, Penny (voice of Miley Cyrus), is real. When the pooch is accidentally shipped across country and finds himself on the streets of New York, he’s bewildered by his inability to control what’s happening. He’s also desperate to get back to Penny, convinced she’s in peril without him.
(CNS PHOTO/DISNEY)
By John Mulderig
Bolt, Mittens and Rhino in a scene from the Disney animated adventure “Bolt.”
An encounter with three Brooklynaccented pigeons leads him to selfish alley cat Mittens (voice of Susie Essman) whom he takes prisoner because, Bolt thinks, all
cats are in league with Penny’s nemesis, evil scientist Dr. Calico (voice of Malcolm McDowell). Bolt gains a more willing ally in Rhino
(voice of Mark Walton), a TV-watching hamster utterly star-struck on meeting his idol. As Bolt learns to believe in himself, Mittens changes from captive to friend and scene-stealing Rhino, in raptures over the presumed adventures ahead of them, demonstrates his tenacious loyalty. Some early scenes involve chase sequences and cartoon action that might frighten the youngest children. But directors Chris Williams and Byron Howard’s frequently amusing, technically solid debut feature – which is being shown in both 3-D and conventional formats – is otherwise entirely unobjectionable. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-I – general patronage. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG – parental guidance suggested. Mulderig is on the staff of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. More reviews are available online at www.usccb. org/movies.
‘The Elixir of Love’: a heady but delicious wine By Father Basil DePinto On Dec. 11, 1920 Enrico Caruso suffered a hemorrhage of the throat during a performance of Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore. He sang three more times at the Met that season and then returned to his beloved Naples where he died the following August. Nemorino was one of the great tenor’s favorite roles and many singers have followed him in clinging to it as a sign of their commitment to the Italian bel canto tradition. Not many have succeeded in maintaining the high standards demanded by that acme of vocal artistry. But this year the San Francisco Opera came pretty close. It was fortunate to have the services of Ramon Vargas in their production of the opera. Mr. Vargas was born in Mexico, but as soon as he begins to sing you know he has an Italian soul! A naturally beautiful voice combined with a masterful technique result in a vocalist of singular artistic achievement. If all that sounds rather heady, be assured that Mr. Vargas sang a Nemorino of fully down to earth, comic vitality. He was having fun with this role and so was the audience. Using the English title, “The Elixir of Love,” the scene was inexplicably relocated from an Italian village to the Napa Valley and decorated with red, white and blue bunting. Nevertheless the cast, unusually fine across the board, turned in an impec-
cably Italianate account of Donizetti’s delicious score. The plot of the opera turns on the contrast between the plain country bumpkin, Nemorino, totally smitten by the lovely Adina, and the wily, handsome Sergeant Belcore. Events will decide which of them wins the heart of Adina, who is not only the prettiest girl in town, but clearly far smarter than either of her suitors. The casting here is crucial and was admirably served by the choice of protagonists. Mr. Vargas is chubby and short, his Nemorino not at all glamorous to look at; the young baritone Giorgio Caoduro as Belcore is a slender knockout, clearly a favorite with the women on both sides of the footlights. But the solid judgment of Adina is central to the resolution of the affair. She finds it easy to reject the ungainly Nemorino, but she is not at all taken in by the oily advances of the sergeant. Even so, she feels a certain sympathy for the boy who pursues her with such devotion, and in the end she makes the right choice. The elixir of the title is brought to town by a snake oil salesman so patently a fraud that he can function only as a plot device. But Doctor Dulcamara is a great role for a comic basso and Alessandro Corbelli, although somewhat light of voice, fully projected the ability of the shyster to convince Nemorino that he could win Adina by
imbibing lustily of his Two Buck Chuck. The heroine of the tale was sung with lovely grace by the Albanian soprano Inva Mula. Although unknown in this country, she has had a good career in Europe and acquitted herself admirably in this delightful role. Donizetti’s early 19th century world is very far from ours. Musically speaking it is rare to find musical, and especially vocal, art cultivated as it was in this production. Public life too has lost much of the charm and all of the sweetness of the unsophisticated village scene. Well, we have other gains to offset the losses, but how good to be reminded that the old ways are not lost forever, and that music still “hath charms to soothe the savage breast.” Father Basil DePinto is a frequent contributor to the arts.
Ramon Vargas
“Your Song of Love” New Instrumental CD By Father Bob Fabing, S.J. On Saturday Dec. 13th 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. At Kaufer’s 1455 Custer Avenue San Francisco www.kaufers.com Fr. Fabing is a Jesuit Priest. He has founded 61 marriage counseling and family therapy centers in the U.S., Europe, Asia, Africa and Central America. He has produced several CDs: Indwelling, Be Like The Sun, Song of the Lamb, Winter Risen, Everlasting Covenant, Adoramus, Shadow of My Wings, Your Song of Love and Let Me Follow.
AUFER’S
Saint Philip’s Church Presents . . . Sounds of the Season . . . Our Annual Christmas / Advent Concert “A Saviour of the Nations, Come” An Advent / Christmas Hymn Festival, Adult Choir “The Christmas Solo” Children’s Choir
RELIGIOUS SUPPLIES
Serving The Catholic – Christian Community since 1904 1455 Custer Avenue, San Francisco 94124 415.333.4494 • FAX 415.333.0402
Sunday, December 7 at 4:00 p.m. Admission Free
725 Diamond Street @ 24th Street (415) 282-0141
22
Catholic San Francisco
December 5, 2008
Catholic San Francisco
LAKE TAHOE RENTAL
classifieds
FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION Call: 415-614-5642 Fax: 415-614-5641
Vacation Rental Condo in South Lake Tahoe.
heaven can’t wait
Sleeps 8, near Heavenly Valley and Casinos.
Serra for Priestly Vocations
Call 925-933-1095
Please call Archdiocese of San Francisco
See it at RentMyCondo.com#657
Fr. Tom Daly (415) 614-5683
Email: penaj@sfarchdiocese.org
Caregiver Elderly Piano Available Care Lessons Personal care, daily activities, physical assistance, shopping, errands, lite housekeeping. 15 yrs. experience Call 510.706.4426
Personal care companion, Help with daily activities; driving, shopping, appointments. 27 years Alzheimer’s experience, references, bonded.
(415) 713-1366
Maintenance Services Party Rentals GARIBALDI MAINTENANCE CO.
SM
FINE SERVICE, BETTER EVENTS.
Complete Janitorial – Window Cleaning Quality Service Since 1946
“Large Enough to Matter, Small Enough to Care”
TABLES SEATING LINENS SETTINGS SERVEWARE STAGING
FREE ESTIMATES (415) 441-2454 www.garibaldimaintenance.com
1- 800-717-PARTY
Fully Insured & Bonded
Garage Door Repair Discount
ABBEY party rents sf
411 ALLAN STREET DALY CITY, CA 94014 FAX 415-715-6914 TEL 415-715-6900
WWW.ABBEYRENTSSF.COM
Lic #376353
Lifetime Warranty All New Doors/Motors
One Price 24 /7
415-931-1540 0% Financing Available
Roofing
FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION Call 415-614-5642 Fax: 415-614-5641 E-mail: penaj@sfarchdiocese.org
painting and remodeling
Carpet Cleaning Commercial & Residential Serving SF & San Mateo Co. St. Charles Parishioner
(650) 593-5959
Healthcare Agency
Painting & Remodeling •Interiors •Exteriors •Kitchens •Baths Contractor inspection reports and pre-purchase consulting
Auto Service HABELT’S AUTO SERVICE 3865 Irving St. at 40th Ave. – Since 1964 –
415-664-1735
The Irish Rose
Home Healthcare Agency Specializing in home health aides, attendants and companions. Serving San Francisco, Marin & the Peninsula.
Contact: 415.447.8463 P LEASE P ATRONIZE O UR A DVERTISERS !
GALA AUCTION EVENTS
Plumbing Gala auctions GALA AUCTION EVENTS GALA AUCTION EVENTS anti S Plumbing and Heating BIZZARROS 415-661-3707
Michael T. Santi
Since 1972 Ca License # 663641 24 Hour Emergency Service
GALA EVENT SPECIALISTS
TAKE YOUR GALA AUCTION TO THE NEXT LEVEL
Bizzarros Auctions has been working with hundreds of non-profits and schools since 1984. We provide expert consultation cutting edge technology, and a phenomenal auction team for your event.
BEST PLUMBING, INC. Your Payless Plumbing
Lic. # 872560
➤ Drain-Sewer Cleaning Service ➤ Water Heaters ➤ Gas Pipes ➤ Toilets ➤ Faucets ➤ Garbage Disposals ➤ Copper Repiping ➤ Sewer Replacement ➤ Video Camera & Line locate PROMPT AND UNPARALLELED SERVICE
(650) 557-1263 EMAIL:
bestplumbinginc@comcast.net Member: Better Business Bureau
Plumbing • Fire Protection • Certified Backflow
John Bianchi Phone: 415.468.1877 Fax: 415.468.1875 100 North Hill Drive, Unit 18 • Brisbane, CA 94005 Lic. No. 390254
HOLLAND Plumbing Works San Francisco ALL PLUMBING WORK PAT HOLLAND
CA LIC #817607
BONDED & INSURED
415-205-1235
Insurance Services Multi-Policy Discounts Insure both your home and auto with Allied Insurance and save! With Allied Insurance, more really is better.
MUZIO & ROVERO INSURANCE SERVICES, INC. P.O. Box 1178, Mill Valley, CA 94941 (415) 388-2096
Call today for a free quote
“You made our event more successful than I would have been. I’m hoping we can book you for next year’s auction.” HILLSDALE HIGH SCHOOL “I can’t begin to thank you for the outstanding job you did for us as auctioneer at the UCSF Neinman Marcus event. We netted $145,000.” UCSF
“You and your “gang” were great to work with and a lot of fun. We raised over $490,000” SAN FRANCISCO ZOO
www.alliedinsurance.com
Auto
Home
Business
Farm
Counseling INDIVIDUAL, MARRIAGE AND FAMILY COUNSELING • Find practical solutions for some of life’s tougher problems and situations • Short-term counseling for lasting solutions. • 20 years experience.
David Nellis M.A. M.F.T.
Construction
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
MORROW CONTRUCTION
www.counselingforchristians.com
Specializing In Wood Fences
(650) 994-6892 lic. 343633
NOTICE TO READERS Licensed contractors are required by law to list their license numbers in advertisments. The law also state that contractors performing work totaling $500 or more must be state-licensed. Advertisments appearing in this newspaper without a license number indicate that the contractor is not licensed. For more info, contact:
Contractors State License Board
800-321-2752
(415) 242-3355
When Life Hurts It Helps To Talk • Family • Work • Depression • Anxiety
• Relationships • Addictions
Dr. Daniel J. Kugler Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Over 25 years experience
Confidential • Compassionate • Practical (415) 921-1619 1537 Franklin Street • San Francisco, CA 94109
Do you want to be more fulfilled in love and work – but find things keep getting in the way? Unhealed wounds can hold you back - even if they are not the “logical” cause of your problems today. You can be the person God intended. Inner Child Healing Offers a deep spiritual and psychological approach to counseling: ❖ 30 years experience with individuals, couples and groups ❖ Directed, effective and results-oriented ❖ Compassionate and Intuitive ❖ Supports 12-step ❖ Enneagram Personality Transformation
Painting
Lila Caffery, MA, CCHT
S.O.S. PAINTING CO.
San Francisco: 415.337.9474 Complimentary phone consultation www.InnerChildHealing.com
GALA Handy AUCTION EVENTS Man
Interior-Exterior wallpaper hanging & removal
“Please accept our heartfelt appreciation. Our 2004 event was an overwhelming success. The event raised close to $90,000.” SPECIAL OLYMPICS “You team helped make “Celebrate the New Sequoia Ball and Auction” extremely successful. The event netted a record breaking $ 1.2 million” SEQUIOA HOSPITAL FOUNDATION
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company AMCO Insurance Company Allied Property and Casualty Insurance Company Depositors Insurance Company Nationwide Agribusiness Insurance Company Des Moines, Iowa 50391-1100 Lic. # 0599101
Complete Auto Repair
(415) 786-0121 • (415) 586-6748
(415) 341-5427.
(650) 355-4926
Safe Non-Toxic, No Shampoo, Dry in Hours not Days Broken Spring/Cable? Operator Problems?
SERVICE DIRECTORY
Private caregiver, over 6 year’s experience. Responsibilities include safeguarding client, shopping, appointments, medications, light housekeeping, meals, and planning activities. References available. 415-386-0207
DALY CITY, unfurnished master bedroom for rent w/private bath, $ 650/mo. plus utilities.
John Holtz Ca. Lic 391053 General Contractor Since 1980
Garage Door
Repair
PIANO LESSONS BY
CAROL FERRANDO. Conservatory training, masters degree, all levels of students. CALL (415) 921-8337.
Room Elderly for Rent Care
Lic # 526818 Senior Discount
(650) 363-2001 www.BizzarrosAuctions.com bizzarros@earthlink.net
415-269-0446 650-738-9295
www.sospainting.net FREE ESTIMATES
Painting, roof repair, fence (repair/ build) demolition, carpenter, gutter (clean/ repair), decks, skylight repairs, landscaping, gardening, hauling, moving, janitorial. All purpose.
Call (650) 757-1946 Cell (415) 517-5977 NOT A LICENSED CONTRACTOR
December 5, 2008
Catholic San Francisco Classifieds FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION
Call: 415-614-5642 Fax: 415-614-5641 Email: penaj@sfarchdiocese.org
Catholic San Francisco
NOVEN AS PUBLISH A NOVENA Pre-payment required Mastercard or Visa accepted
Cost $26
If you wish to publish a Novena in the Catholic San Francisco You may use the form below or call 415-614-5640 Your prayer will be published in our newspaper
Name Adress Phone MC/VISA # Exp. Select One Prayer: ❑ St. Jude Novena to SH ❑ Prayer to St. Jude
❑ Prayer to the Blessed Virgin ❑ Prayer to the Holy Spirit
Please return form with check or money order for $26 Payable to: Catholic San Francisco Advertising Dept., Catholic San Francisco 1 Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco, CA 94109
Help Wanted We are looking for full or part time
RNs, LVNs, CNAs, Caregivers In-home care in San Francisco, Marin County, peninsula Nursing care for children in San Francisco schools If you are generous, honest, compassionate, respectful, and want to make a difference, send us your resume:
St. Jude Novena
Prayer to the Holy Spirit
May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be adored, glorified, loved & preserved throughout the world now & forever. Sacred Heart of Jesus pray for us. St. Jude helper of the hopeless pray for us. Say prayer 9 times a day for 9 days. Thank You St. Jude. Never known to fail. You may publish.
Holy Spirit, you who make me see everything and who shows me the way to reach my ideal. You who give me the divine gift of forgive and forget the wrong that is done to me. I, in this short dialogue, want to thank you for everything and confirm once more that I never want to be separated from you no matter how great the material desires may be. I want to be with you and my loved ones in your perpetual glory. Amen. You may publish this as soon as your favor is granted. M.A.B.
M.A.B.
Prayer to the Blessed Virgin never known to fail. Most beautiful flower of Mt. Carmel Blessed Mother of the Son of God, assistme in my need. Help me and show me you are my mother. Oh Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and earth. I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to help me in this need. Oh Mary, conceived without sin. Pray for us (3X). Holy Mary, I place this cause in your hands (3X). Say prayers 3 days. M.A.B.
Prayer to St. Jude Oh, Holy St. Jude, Apostle and Martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, near Kinsman of Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor of all who invoke your special patronage in time of need, to you I have recourse from the depth of my heart and humbly beg to whom God has given such great power to come to my assistance. Help me in my present and urgent petition. In return I promise to make you be invoked. Say three our Fathers, three Hail Marys and Glorias. St. Jude pray for us all who invoke your aid. Amen. This Novena has never been known to fail. This Novena must be said 9 consecutive days. Thanks. M.A.B.
Tahoe Ski Rental
Prayer to St. Jude Oh, Holy St. Jude, Apostle and Martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, near Kinsman of Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor of all who invoke your special patronage in time of need, to you I have recourse from the depth of my heart and humbly beg to whom God has given such great power to come to my assistance. Help me in my present and urgent petition. In return I promise to make you be invoked. Say three our Fathers, three Hail Marys and Glorias. St. Jude pray for us all who invoke your aid. Amen. This Novena has never been known to fail. This Novena must be said 9 consecutive days. Thanks. S.L.
Prayer to the Blessed Virgin never known to fail. Most beautiful flower of Mt. Carmel Blessed Mother of the Son of God, assistme in my need. Help me and show me you are my mother. Oh Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and earth. I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to help me in this need. Oh Mary, conceived without sin. Pray for us (3X). Holy Mary, I place this cause in your hands (3X). Say prayers 3 days. S.G.
LAKE TAHOE 4-bedroom house on the West Shore. Available for winter ski season, daily, weekly or for the holidays. Sleeps 8. Near Squaw, Alpine and Homewood.
415.453.5587
Help Wanted
ADVERTISING SALES
MERCY HIGH SCHOOL Burlingame, CA 94010 (650) 343-3631
For The Largest Publisher of Catholic Church Bulletins
This is a Career Opportunity! • Generous Commissions
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
• Excellent Benefit Package
Jeannie McCullough Stiles, RN Fax: 415-435-0421 Email: info@sncsllc.com Voice: 415-435-1262
23
• Minimal Travel • Stong Office Support • Work in Your Community
Call 1-800-675-5051 Fax resume: 707-258-1195
SACRISTAN OF ST. MARY OF
THE ASSUMPTION THE CATHEDRAL Full time position with benefits open at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption. Position would require detailed person who has the ability to relate well with people in a diverse, worship environment. The successful applicant should be a practicing catholic, and have some knowledge of the Roman Catholic church and it’s rituals, although training will be provided. Be able to lift up to fifty pounds, have a valid California driver’s license, fluent in English. Some custodial duties, familiarity with maintenance and cleaning, a plus. Requires flexibility in scheduling, able to work weekends, holidays. Resumes should be sent to Liturgy Director, c/o St. Mary Cathedral, 1111 Gough Street, San Francisco, CA, 94112. Fax: 415-567-2040 or, email: dbenbow@stmarycathedralsf.org, no phone calls please. Complete job description and job application, available at the Cathedral office, 1111 Gough St., lower level, during regular business hours, 9a.m.– 5p.m., Monday – Friday.
Mercy High School, an all-girls Catholic college preparatory secondary school has an opening for the position of Assistant Principal for the 2009-2010 academic year. Under the direction of the Principal, the Assistant Principal has overall responsibility for the daily operations of the school. The Assistant Principal shares responsibility for the integration of spirituality, faith and learning within the school through successful academic and student-life programs. Additionally, this position is responsible for the planning, coordination and execution of the school’s educational policy. The Assistant Principal will ensure a vibrant program and culture of professional and leadership development for the faculty and staff.
Minimum requirements: ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖
California Teaching Credential Administrative Services Credential and/or Masters Degree preferred Minimum three years experience in elementary or secondary teaching and/or administration ❖ Practicing Catholic
Additional requirements:
OFFICE SPACE AVAILABLE Approximately 2,000 to 3,500 square feet of space (additional space available if needed) at One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco (between Gough & Franklin), is being offered for lease — preferably to a non-profit entity. Space available includes four enclosed offices, open work area with seven cubicles, large work room, and storage rooms on the bottom level of the Archdiocese of San Francisco Chancery/Pastoral Center. We also have mail and copy services available, as well as meeting rooms (based on availability). Space has access to kitchen area and restroom facilities. Parking spaces negotiable. Ready for immediate occupancy with competitive terms. For more information, contact Katie Haley (415) 614-5556; email to haleyk@sfarchdiocese.org.
❖ Ability to demonstrate inspirational leadership particularly to students, faculty, staff and parents ❖ Strong skills in participatory decision making, educational innovation plus curriculum planning, implementation and evaluation ❖ Exceptional interpersonal skills including direct and open communication and effective public speaking Position is year-round with some evening/weekend meetings and events required during the academic school year. Salary commensurate with experience and education of applicant. All resume materials must be received by Jan. 9, 2009. SEND RESUME AND COVER LETTER TO: Kay Carter, Director of Human Resources, Mercy High School, 2750 Adeline Drive, Burlingame, CA 94010; email: kcarter@mercyhsb.com or fax 650-343-2316.
24
Catholic San Francisco
December 5, 2008
We invite you to gather with us on Saturday, December 13th at 11:00 a.m. in All Saints Mausoleum Chapel at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery in Colma. Reverend John Talesfore will facilitate our Christmas Remembrance Service as you join others to remember and share grief's journey and be comforted.
During this holiday service, the names of those you wish to remember and
your message of love may be written on ornaments made by school students. You will be invited to place your ornament on our Memory Trees during the service. These Christmas Trees represent the ongoing hope of life and will remain in All Saints Mausoleum Chapel from December 13th until January 7th. If you are unable to attend the service, please feel free to stop by the Cemetery Office to pick up an ornament and write your greetings. We will be happy to hang the ornament for you. There is always a staff member available in All Saints Mausoleum on weekends and holidays to assist you. They will also have memory tree ornaments available for your messages through December 31st. We ask our Dear Lord to bless all of you during this beautiful season. May the celebration of Christ's birth remind you that we will all be born into a new life. For more information, please call (650) 756-2060