August 7, 2009 by Catholic San Francisco

Catholic san Francisco Newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Francisco

(CNS PHOTO/OWEN SWEENEY III, CATHOLIC REVIEW)

Two hundred years of faith: Sisters of Charity celebrate bicentennial of order

Sister Sherry Barrett, a Daughter of Charity, leads the opening procession for a Mass Aug. 2, celebrated at the Basilica of the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Md., marking the 200th anniversary of the foundation of the Sisters of Charity.

By George P. Matysek Jr. EMMITSBURG, Md. (CNS) – Peering through a glass display case, 9-year-old Gloria Whitfield was impressed with an old letter that rested on a 19th-century wooden writing desk. Composed by St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, the May 3, 1803, note, written in a flowing black script, was addressed to one of the saint’s daughters on the girl’s birthday. “May almighty God bless you, my child, and make you his child forever,” it said. Establishing an up-close connection with the first U.S.-born saint was a thrill for Gloria, a parishioner of St. Timothy in Centerville, Va. The youngster was equally impressed by a locket with St. Elizabeth Ann’s hair, relics and other historic artifacts on display at the visitor center of the Basilica of the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg. “It’s cool,” said Gloria. “She did a lot

for Catholic schools. She helped a lot of people.” Gloria was one of about 1,000 people from across the country and around the world who converged in Emmitsburg Aug. 2 to celebrate a special Mass honoring the 200th anniversary of Mother Seton’s arrival in the small town. The celebration also commemorated the 200th anniversary of the establishment of the community of the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph’s – the first new community for women religious in the U.S. The liturgy was the highlight of a weekend of events that also included the showing of a specially commissioned 30-minute documentary on the life of Mother Seton and the dedication of the Seton Legacy Garden behind the stone farmhouse where she founded the Sisters of Charity July 31, 1809. In his homily, Auxiliary Bishop Denis J. Madden of Baltimore said the key to SISTER OF CHARITY, page 8

State’s budget ‘solution’ hits poor and children say Catholic leaders By Michael Vick Advocates for the poor, including Catholic lobbyists representing California’s Catholic Bishops, have spoken out against major cuts to California’s welfare-to-work program, CalWORKs, in the state’s new budget. Signed July 28 after tense negotiations between Governor Schwarzenegger and the Democratic-controlled Legislature, the budget slashes $528 million from CalWORKs, which formerly had received about $2.9 billion in state resources. Steve Pehanich, senior director for advocacy and education with the California Catholic Conference, the lobbying arm of the state’s bishops, said the deep cuts to the program are a reflection of political maneuvering in the state that put off budget concerns until draconian cuts were nearly unavoidable. “‘Crisis’ and ‘budget’ have become synonymous in Sacramento,” Pehanich said. “We recognize the reality that it is definitely a bad budget year, but our position is that society is judged by how it takes care of the most vulnerable.” Pehanich said that though many have raised the issue of fraud and abuse of the welfare system in California, in his experience recipients are honest people simply unable to survive financially. “Most really want to get jobs,” Pehanich said. “I don’t know a lot of CalWORKs participants who like being on CalWORKs.” The program provides temporary financial assistance, employment services and job skills training to low income parents of minor children. The assistance is limited to 60 months, but under reforms passed as part of the new budget the benefits will last 48 months, with a 12 month hiatus followed by an additional 12 months of payments.

knew there were going to be cuts. The problem now is how Also, for the first time since the program was created, those cuts are going to impact us on the local level.” benefits for minor children can be reduced if the parent is not in full compliance with the work The Western Center on Law and Poverty, requirements of the program, a minimum a lobbying office and legal service focused of 32 hours work per week. Previously, on poverty issues, addressed on its website benefits for the adult portion of the benefit the fallout of the budget cuts to programs could be suspended for non-compliance, like Healthy Families and CalWORKs. but new regulations allow for the suspen“Enrollment into Healthy Families is sion of half the child benefit if parents frozen and in the first eight days of the remain in non-compliance for 90 days. wait list more than 22,000 children were Linda Wanner, CCC’s associate direcwaitlisted,” the center said. “Without tor for governmental relations, said the cuts outside funding the enrollment freeze will to children are of particular concern. continue, turning away hundreds of thou“As budget negotiations were taking sands of children. In addition, more than place behind closed doors, we kept hearhalf a million currently enrolled children ing that the safety net for California’s will be disenrolled.” most vulnerable people was preserved,” Regarding CalWORKs, the center puts Wanner said. “In actuality, it was gutted it bluntly. Steve Pehanich with drastic cuts affecting our children. It “The most difficult of the cuts are those is a sad day for the poor children of California.” to the CalWORKs program,” the center said. “They mark According to the Legislative Analyst’s Office, the end of CalWORKs as we knew it.” California’s non-partisan fiscal and policy advisor, the cuts In a July 6 letter to the State Senate, the Western Center to CalWORKs will remove grants for more than 110,000 on Law & Poverty challenged assertions made by Governor families and more than 234,000 children. Schwarzenegger that CalWORKs is contributing to the state’s George Wesolek, director of the Archdiocese of San budget crisis. In public comments, the Governor called the Francisco’s office of public policy and social concerns, program “fast growing” and a “budget problem.” said he is also disturbed by the budget cuts to programs The WCLP letter noted that due to the recession the for children. CalWORKs caseload has “increased to 526,473 families, “The healthy children’s cut is a major blow since we’re the first increase in nearly 15 years. But this caseload pales trying to expand healthcare coverage,” Wesolek said of the in comparison to the caseloads under the old AFDC pro$194 million cut from the Healthy Families program, which gram, in which caseload in 1994 exceeded 900,000 families. provides health insurance to California’s neediest children. Even in the height of the greatest recession in 70 years, the “We’re very aware that it was almost an impossible situastate is not seeing anywhere near the caseload size that the tion. Everybody’s backs were up against the wall, and we counties previously managed.”

INSIDE THIS WEEK’S EDITION “On the Street” . . . . . . . . . . . 2 God on the go . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Charismatic renewal . . . . . . . 7 Year for Priests . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Letters & commentary . 14-15

News in brief: ‘Anti-Christian violence’ ~ Pages 4-5 ~ August 7, 2009

Day laborer copes with recession ~ Pages 12-13 ~

Books: ‘Angels’ and modern saint ~ Page 21 ~

ONE DOLLAR

Scripture & reflections . 16-17 Datebook of events . . . . . . . 20

NEXT ISSUE AUGUST 21 VOLUME 11

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No. 24

Catholic San Francisco

August 7, 2009

Archdiocesan Board of Cemeteries and the Knights of Columbus. Dolores maintains the vestments at St. Dunstan and is in her 38th year as a volunteer at Mills Peninsula Hospital. Family gathered for a celebration at St. Dunstan Parish Center on June 7…. Congrats to Dominic CheungLaCounte, just graduated from St. Vincent de Paul Elementary School and soon a freshman at Stuart Hall High School, on being named a chorister in the National Catholic Youth By Tom Burke Choir. The ensemble was founded 10 years ago by Benedictine A little less busy is Sabina Burns, who Father Anthony Ruff recently completed her three-year term as presiat St. John’s Abbey dent of Women of the Diaconate in the Diocese a n d U n ive r s i t y i n of Oakland. Sabina and her husband, Deacon Collegeville, Minnesota, Jeff Burns, archivist for the Archdiocese where the choir rehearsof San Francisco, minister at St. Lawrence es and attends classes. O’Toole Parish in Oakland, where Sabina has The selection process been a member of the faculty at the parish school includes written applicafor more than 25 years. Jeff, ordained for the tion, recommendations Diocese of Oakland in 2003, and Sabina celeand an audition. The brate 23 years of marriage August 16…. Happy ensemble has performed 60 years married June 5 to Dolores and Don and led song at Masses at Junkin, longtime parishioners of St. Dunstan locations in Minnesota, Parish in Millbrae. Dolores is a long-ago Jersey Illinois and Wisconsin girl and the two were married in the Garden State Don and Dolores Junkin throughout June and at St. Stephen Church in Kearny, two years after meeting when Dolores visited San Francisco. “It was love July. Dominic’s proud folks are Christine Cheung and at first sight,” said Daniel Capodanno in a note to this David LaCounte….Father Heribert Duquet celebrated column about the couple’s milestone. Don is a former his 70th year as a priest at St. Anne’s Home June 27. The chair of the Archdiocesan Building Committee and still Parish Missionary Society priest was ordained on June serves as a member of the panel. He is also a member of the 29, the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, in 1939. “What a great priest he has been and still is,” said Katherine Atkinson, director of cemeteries for the Archdiocese of San Francisco and close friend of Father Duquet’s. At the helm of the event were Maureen and Tom McGuire and their children, Ava, Celine, Joseph, and Lily. The special care afforded all residents of St. Anne’s Home by the Little Sisters of the Poor is something we can all be grateful for, Kathy also noted. While we’re at it, “Happy Birthday” to Father Duquet who was 95 years old July 15….Many people are seeing better thanks to the recent goodwill of Julia, Anna and Maya Roy of St. Cecilia Parish, who collected more than 100 pair of prescription eyeglasses Happy 50 years married to Inger and Charlie Penner longtime parishioners for the needy. The lot of lenses of Our Lady of Angels Parish in Burlingame. Family from as far as Wisconsin went to Luxottica, a group that and New York gathered in Carmel to celebrate the milestone. Fresh from the gets vision help to the poor both celebration, the couple bookend grandchildren, Katherine, Charlie, Will, and here and around the world. Mighty Thomas while Penners Ted, John, Matthew, and Gabrielle take spots up front. proud are their parents, Helen

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Congrats to Tim Denterlein who graduated summa cum laude from Syracuse University’s Whitman School of Management May 10. Mighty proud are mom, Arti, dad, Tom and sister, Priscilla, a 2008 graduate of Fordham University.

and Jojo Roy. …And I gotta’ thank retired dentist and San Francisco Serran, Paul Crudo, for a good laugh. In e-mails with regard to a Datebook entry in early July, Paul wished me a “good Fourth” and that I may also “enjoy a good fifth or part thereof” referring, of course, to the long-ago fifth –of-a-gallon bottles used for distilled spirits. When I mentioned that “Too Young, To Drink Four Roses” was a popular high school yearbook verse of my era he responded, “May have been Four Roses then, Tom, but, now, I’m afraid, it’s `Ancient Age!’”… This is an empty space without you. Send items via e-mail to burket@ sfarchdiocese.org and by ground to “Street,” One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco 94109. Electronic photos should be jpegs at 300 dpi. No zip files, please. Hard copy photos are also welcome sent to the Peter Yorke Way address. I can be reached at (415) 614-5634.

Young Joe McGuire with Father Heribert Duquet at priest’s ordination party June 27.

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August 7, 2009

Catholic San Francisco

CCCYO expert helping India bishop investigate high rate of youth suicide in a remote tribal area By Rick DelVecchio The search for solutions to a high number of suicides among young people in a remote region of India has prompted the region’s Catholic bishop to join hands with the psychologist who heads counseling services for Catholic Charities-CYO in the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Bishop George Palliparambil, who leads a Catholic community of 70,000 in the Diocese of Miao in northeast India, met with CCCYO’s Dave Ross during a July visit to the Archdiocese to establish a sister diocese relationship. During a long meeting they explored the problem affecting one of the most isolated tribes in the Miao diocese, the Idu-Mishmi, and worked out details on how the bishop can expand an investigation under way by non-governmental organizations that provide social services in the region. “We have a well-organized social service society,” the bishop, known as PK George, said in an interview with Catholic San Francisco. “We’re trying to put everybody to it so all are efforts produce the same result.” Some 20 suicides have been reported in the past year among the Idu-Mishmi, a tribe with a small population spread over a wide area, the bishop said. “Twenty suicides in a year looks very big to them,” said the bishop, who was ordained a Salesian of Don Bosco priest in 1982 and appointed bishop in 2005. “For that tribe, for that region, it’s a big concern. So we are doing our best to find out what the reason could be and if any help is available. We do not know yet why it’s happening.” Investigators, now including Ross, are in the early stages of trying to understand what role the tribe’s culture may be playing in the crisis.

The Idu-Mishmi are “very traditional and they adhere to their culture – maybe too much,” the bishop said. According to roing.nic.in, the official website for the Lower Dibang Valley District of India’s Arunachal Pradesh region, the IduMishmi are “people of sober nature (who) still maintain deep-rooted aesthetic values in their day-to-day life with great pride and honor.” They worship the goddess NaniIntaya as the sole creator of the universe. The bishop said that although Catholicism is making inroads in the region, there are relatively few converts among the Idu-Mishmi. The bishop’s meeting with Ross focused on the high suicide rate among young women, Ross, who is clinical director of behavioral health care services for CCCYO, told Catholic San Francisco. In addition to his role with CCCYO Ross remains on the professional staff at Mills Peninsula Hospital as an affiliate member of the Department of Psychiatry, where he served on the suicide and complications committee for several years. He said the bishop related the case of a 17-year-old girl who had committed suicide in ritualistic fashion by eating poisonous plants found in the jungle. “The reason this woman killed herself was she was sold at age 5 to a future groom,” Ross said. “So this groom was 70, and she wasn’t happy about that. He already had two, and maybe three, other wives.” He said that although the bishop did not have statistics, this scenario is “not untypical.” Ross said the bishop told him that tribal elders are worried “that the tribe may become extinct because they’re not having young woman have babies.” Ross said the bishop discussed how

Dave Ross, who heads counseling services for Catholic Charities-CYO in the Archdiocese of San Francisco, is helping a Catholic bishop in India investigate a high incidence of suicide among youth in a remote tribal area.

media exposure may be affecting the state of mind of young people. “Once they find out there’s a bigger world out there...they’re not happy just to live their lives marrying some guy,” he said. Idu-Mishmi society is patriarchal and property is inherited by the son from the father, according to the government website. Marriage typically is negotiated or arranged. Another factor is that women in the tribe are subservient, Ross said. “So here are these kids growing up and then they become young women and off they go to live a life of subservience to this guy, and their only purpose is to make babies and work,” he said.

If the tribe’s culture is part of the problem, it also must be part of the solution, said Ross, who is building on work on community mental health by Harvard psychologist Gerald Kaplan. “How can you change this in a way that’s still being sensitive culturally?” Ross asked. “What I came up with is a way to explore what would it take to appease the 70-yearold guy so he doesn’t get the wife but gets a quid pro quo. I think that’s the only way to begin to deal with this. So she’s being sold, but on the community level you’re buying her back. “You’re looking at years of changing this culture around. You can’t just go in there and say, ‘Stop doing this.’”

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Catholic San Francisco

NEWS

August 7, 2009

in brief

LAGOS, Nigeria – A Catholic official in northeastern Nigeria has asked the Borno state government to pay for 11 Christian churches burned by Islamic extremists. Father Heladuwa John William, administrator of the Diocese of Maiduguri, also said it was wrong to conclude that the five days of violence in late July were not related to religion because “no single mosque was reportedly damaged.” Father William made the appeal Aug. 1. Red Cross and military officials said that in Maiduguri alone, more than 700 people were killed in an uprising by Boko Haram, an extremist Islamic group that opposes Western education and insists on the imposition of Shariah, or Islamic law. The violence began July 26 in the city of Bauchi, when Boko Haram members staged attacks after the arrest of some of its members. In his statement, released to journalists Aug. 3, Father William said the exact number of the dead in metropolitan Maiduguri was difficult to prove since there was no formal procedure for recording deaths.

UK bishops express concern LONDON – Britain’s Catholic bishops have said a proposed European Union equality directive could force Christians to act against their consciences. In a joint submission for a public consultation on the proposed Equal Treatment Directive, the bishops of England, Wales and Scotland said the directive could become an “instrument of oppression” and that its provisions were “wholly unacceptable.” The directive is designed to ban discrimination across the 27-member bloc on the grounds of sexual orientation, age, religious belief and disability. The provisions of the directive would extend beyond employment law and the provision of goods and services and also would regulate social conduct. In their submission to the U.K. Government Equalities Office, made public July 31, the bishops said the directive could stifle religious liberty and freedom of expression. They said they would be powerless to stop witches from reserving the use of church property, for instance, or from insisting that people at church events behave in a way consistent with Christian teaching.

(CNS PHOTO/MOHSIN RAZA, REUTERS)

Protest of burned churches

Relatives surround the caskets of victims who died in attacks this week against Christians in Gojra, in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Several Christians died in attacks carried out by Muslims in the town, after unsubstantiated allegations that local Christians had desecrated the Quran.

Vietnamese diocese denounces prosecution of Catholic group WASHINGTON – Seven Catholics who were detained after a violent police raid at a disputed Vietnamese church site will face criminal charges, a Vietnamese official announced July 28. The group was taken into custody July 20 after trying to erect a cross and other religious symbols at the ruins of Tam Toa, a parish in the Diocese of Vinh destroyed by U.S. bombers during the Vietnam War, according to news reports. The bishop’s office in the Vinh Diocese immediately denounced the decision to prosecute the group. The group’s detainment sparked protests and more violence in the days that followed, including the beating of two Catholic priests. In a series of coordinated marches throughout the Vinh Diocese, about 500,000 people gathered to demand the release of the group and to call for an end to police attacks on Catholics, according to news reports. The government maintains that the Tam Toa church is national property and was dedicated as a war memorial in the late 1990s. Auxiliary Bishop Dominic M. Luong of the Diocese of Orange, Calif., the sister diocese of the Archdiocese of Hanoi in Vietnam, said the Vietnamese government never introduced such a law.

‘Rid world of nuclear stockpiles’ WASHINGTON (CNS) – Drawing from the church’s long-held teaching on the morality of war, a member of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace called upon attendees at a nuclear deterrence symposium to work to rid the world of nuclear weapons. Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien of Baltimore told an audience of 500 peoptle gathered for the military-sponsored symposium in Omaha, Neb., July 29 that the abolishment of nuclear weapons was an issue of “fundamental moral values that should unite people across national and ideological boundaries.” “Our world and its leaders must stay focused on the destination of a nuclear weapons-free world and on the concrete steps that lead there,” he said. “Especially in a world with weapons of mass destruction and at a time when some nations ... are reportedly seeking to build such weapons, we must pursue a world in which fewer nuclear states have fewer nuclear weapons.”

Effort to block funds fails WASHINGTON – An effort to withhold U.S. family planning funds from Planned Parenthood of America failed in the House of Representatives in late July by a vote of 183 in favor and 247 opposed. Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., had proposed the amendment to the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education appropriations bill for fiscal year 2010. The bill passed later that day by NEWS IN BRIEF, page 5

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August 7, 2009

■ Continued from page 4 a vote of 264-153. “The largest abortion provider in America should not also be the largest recipient of federal funding under Title X, as I believe a majority of the American people would attest,” Pence said in remarks on the House floor. “The time has come to deny all federal funding to Planned Parenthood of America.” Title X of the Public Health Services Act provides federal grants to programs that provide comprehensive family planning and related preventive health care services. Pence noted that current law and regulations prohibit the use of Title X money to directly fund abortions. However, he noted that federal funding indirectly supports Planned Parenthood’s abortion activities.

‘Do all to be in Jesus’ presence’ SAN ANTONIO – Catholic clergy and laypeople must imitate the spirit that led friends of the paralyzed man in the Gospel account to do “everything they could so that the man could be in the presence of Jesus,” because “real joy comes when we make Jesus the center of our lives.” That was the message from Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of San Antonio to participants in the recent annual conference of the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy, a support and education organization for U.S. Catholic priests and deacons. Archbishop Gomez called the story – in Chapter 9 of Matthew’s Gospel, the paralyzed man was lowered through a hole in the roof of the house where Jesus was teaching – a “graphic example” of healing. Christ told the man, “Have courage, child, your sins are forgiven.” Why, the archbishop asked, is this pardon the first gift Christ gave the man? After all, it prompted the Pharisees to anger and an accusation that Christ was blaspheming. “What does

forgiveness have to do with making the man walk again? Sin is a real disease that makes us spiritually blind, deaf, mute and lame. We are disabled so that we cannot perform the works of mercy. Sin is a disability making us unable to reach out to God or our neighbor,” he added.

Saving wounded soldiers’ lives PORTLAND, Ore. – He rebuilds the blown-up and regenerates the maimed. Someday, he hopes to restore the brain-damaged, all using designs from the Almighty – designs found in nature. Dr. Kenton Gregory, a researcher at Catholic-run Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland, has gained kudos for inventing a new bandage that quickly halts bleeding. Compared to the cloth gauze that had been used from the days of Alexander the Great until the Gulf War, the bandage is a miracle. Hurt soldiers often write to Gregory and his colleagues, or even visit to give testimony about the new bandages. “My top priority is taking care of injured U.S. soldiers with wounds that will haunt them for the rest of their lives,” Gregory told the Catholic Sentinel, newspaper of the Portland Archdiocese. The bandage is a good example of the work done at the Oregon Medical Laser Center, which Gregory founded and which is located at Providence St. Vincent. The dressing’s material is based on a design almost as old as life itself, the shells of shrimps and insects. The compounds in the bandages have a positive electrical charge, while red blood cells have a negative charge. The two bond like magnets, stopping the flow. The bandages also grab the membranes of bacteria, blotting out infection.

Liturgical adaptations SAN FRANCISCO – In a July 27 letter to pastors, San Francisco Archbishop George H. Niederauer removed the liturgical adaptations affecting the offering of

(CNS PHOTO/BOB ROLLER)

News in brief . . .

Catholic San Francisco

Expertise honed by years of resolute follow-up work with natural disaster victims has landed Catholic Charities USA a five-year federal contract potentially worth more than $100 million. The contract governs declared disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and earthquakes. In this photo, a Catholic Charities worker gives water to victims in Mississippi in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Holy Communion under both species and the touching of hands during the Sign of Peace or while praying the Our Father. The adaptations were put in place May 1 of this year. The Archbishop said that after consultation with medical experts, he felt it was reasonable to remove the restrictions at the present time. Archbishop Niederauer also noted that the threat of H1N1 (Swine Flu) could re-emerge and said, “if changing circumstances indicate, the adaptations may be re-imposed.” He urged the continuation of ordinary precautions for the protection of health.

‘Neighbors in Action’ SAN FRANCISCO – Particitpants in a national program called Young Neighbors in Action visited the Archdiocese of

San Francisco this summer to take part in a week of service and prayer. The Archdiocese hosted two separate groups, with 144 youth and adults involved, from New York, Ohio, Washington and California, said Liz Hannan, a parishioner at Our Lady of Angels Parish in Burlingame, who is site coordinator for the group in the Archdiocese. San Francisco Archdiocese youth involved in the project performed their service in Yakima, Wash. Hannan said what distinguishes the group is its focus on Catholic social teaching. After their work days participants took part in classes where they shared the seven principles of Catholic social teaching. – Catholic News Service and Catholic San Francisco

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Catholic San Francisco

August 7, 2009

By Nancy Frazier O’Brien WASHINGTON (CNS) – One of the oldest and most read books in the world now has a new, high-tech look. And it weighs only 5 grams, or one-hundredth of a pound. “God on the Go” is a USB flash drive containing the complete Bible in the New Revised Standard Version or the New Testament of the New American Bible. It is currently available only for PCs but a Mac-compatible version is expected out this summer. Inventor Mark Mastroianni, a member of St. Edna Parish in Arlington Heights, Ill., said in a telephone interview with Catholic News Service that the idea for “God on the Go” came to him in prayer when he was asking God how he could bring together his Catholic faith and his background in technology and product development. “Why not combine the Bible with commonly used and readily accessible technological platforms?” he recalled thinking. After months of research and talks with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which holds the U.S. copyright on the New American Bible, “God on the Go” was born. Mastroianni was pleased to learn that the device also offers the ecologically aware a “green” alternative to the printed Bible, since the thin pages of most Bibles require the use of a specialty ink that is “very toxic to users

and in the manufacturing process.” “God on the Go” also has special appeal for the millennial generation, no longer used to reading the printed word and instead accustomed to getting all their information in front of a computer screen, he said. The USB flash drive offers a number of advantages over a hefty version of the printed Bible, Mastroianni said. It can be carried around on a key chain, and because the Bible only takes up 10 percent of the space on the flash drive, the user can add his or her own photos, songs or important documents to carry along with the Bible. It also includes a verse/subject index, allows users to bookmark favorite passages and can take users directly to the daily New American Bible readings on the USCCB Web site. Mastroianni worked with Dominican Father Jordan J. Kelly, director of the Office of Evangelization in the Archdiocese of Chicago, on the project “almost from day one” and pilot tested “God on the Go” with a group of students at Marian Catholic High School in Chicago Heights during the fall semester of 2008. The “feature that got the greatest response” from the 200 sophomores who tested it, according to Mastroianni, was a “mini-concordance” which gives users the ability to scroll through a list of feelings and to be linked to a Bible passage relevant to that emotion.

(CNS PHOTO ILLUSTRATION/BOB ROLLER)

Catholic combines faith, high-tech savvy to invent new Bible format

‘God on the Go’ USB flash drive contains the complete Bible in the New Revised Standard Version or the New Testament of the New American Bible.

“I never thought the Bible could be this cool,” he reported one student as saying. Through www.4Marks.com, a Catholic social networking site, users of “God on the Go” also can trade their lists of favorite Bible passages with their friends. The device can also be customized for group sales to parishes, schools and universities, Mastroianni said. “The face of the physical drive can be etched” with a name or logo, he added. Mastroianni hopes to have the full New

American Bible available on a “God on the Go” device by sometime next year, pending the U.S. bishops’ and Vatican approval of a new translation of the Old Testament. “God on the Go” is available through Acta Publications, www.actapublications. com, and at bookstores. The New Testament of the New American Bible costs $24.95, with a 1 gigabyte capacity, and the complete Bible in the New Revised Standard Version is $39.95, with a 2 gigabyte capacity. For more information, visit www.WordofGodToGo.com.

From stone tablets to Kindle: Is it still the Bible? By Angela Cave WASHINGTON (CNS) – When his friend knew someone who was using drugs, Andrew Carlson opened his laptop and navigated his browser to encouraging Bible verses. Carlson said he likes to search online for certain words in the Bible and switch to different translations in one click. His younger brother uses an iPod touch Bible application all day, but still dusts off his print Bible right before bed. Carlson, a 19-year-old nondenominational Christian from Coral Springs, Fla., doesn’t know many others who read the Bible online. Though book publishers face an uncertain

future because of the Internet, digital reader devices and cell phones, Bible publishers and readers told Catholic News Service there is still something worthwhile about reading it in print. “For me, it’s so much more personal,” said Stephanie Hart, an evangelical Christian from Keene, N.H. “It feels more like the love letter God has written us, you know? The Internet is a fabulous tool for research and for quick references, but, for me, sitting down with my little Bible somewhere quiet, without the distractions of a computer or other electronic devices, is the best feeling.” For some, it’s about ownership and sentimentalism: Bibles are often given as

August 22 & 23,

gifts for first Communions, confirmations and weddings. Alex Neu, a 17-year-old from the Diocese of Helena, Mont., said using Web sites such as Facebook is a good idea to expose people to the Bible, but he would never switch from his four leather-bound Bibles to a computer screen. His weekly Bible studies wouldn’t be the same. And Mass wouldn’t be the same, either. “I can’t imagine a priest reading from a teleprompter,” said Benedictine Father Joseph Jensen, executive secretary of the Catholic Biblical Association, adding that the book is used to take oaths. “It’s such an important and deeply ingrained aspect of our culture. People will always want to pick it up and read it.” Father Jensen admits that search features on Bible Web sites are more sophisticated and adaptable than concordances. But he said this should not replace serious Scripture reading. There also is still a digital divide in many parts of the world, whereas books are relatively inexpensive, said Cliff Knighten, director of the Catholic Book Publishers Association. His 60 publisher-members have been working through the technological changes and the

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AUG. 22

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Retreats and Spirituality Programs

AUG. 28-30

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LATER ADULT LIFE WORKSHOP Fr. Rusty Shaughnessy, OFM Sr. Kristin Cholewa, CSJ

AUGUST 28-30 A Retreat For Family & Friends of Alcoholics Fr. Tom Weston, S.J. Alcoholism is a family disease, and it takes a long and deep toll on those who love alcoholics, work with alcoholics, are related to alcoholics, and who have been on an emotional roller coaster with them. Whether the alcoholic is one of our parents, or our spouse, or one of our children, we need support and refreshment and recovery. This weekend will look at the tools and treasures of Al-Anon. We will have some conversations, some prayer, some quiet, and some time to rest and to share our experiences, strength, and hope.

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possibility that digital devices may eventually outweigh print in sales. “I don’t think that any of us are convinced that ink-on-paper Bibles and books are going to go away completely,” Knighten said. For the American Bible Society, ceasing publication is still a foreseeable option, spokeswoman Autumn Black said. The society publishes 3.5 million Bibles annually and has been a pioneer in new technology, starting with a line of CD-ROMs in the early 1990s and recently incorporating MP3 player products, an RSS reader, online devotionals, a daily e-mail passage and cell phone text messages. The society also manages Facebook and Twitter accounts. Still, Black said, company surveys show that even the most technologically savvy – teenagers and young adults – want to read the Bible in book format. “Some people really just want to simplify it back to having it in their hands,” she said, adding that it boils down to speaking the “heart language” of a reader. “The question is, is the heart language of our youth the Internet?” KINDLE: BIBLE, page 7

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Catholic San Francisco

Charismatic renewal conference set for September in San Francisco in 1982 which led me into a more personal relationship with Our Lord.â&#x20AC;? Participation in Charismatic Renewal has helped von Emster accept a call to the permanent diaconate. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A number of years ago a priest friend suggested that I look into the diaconate but it didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seem like the right time. Then two years ago, I took the big plunge and was accepted into the diaconate formation program. I enjoy it very much and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve noticed that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m viewing my church in a broader fashion than before. None of this would have happened if I hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t had the opportunity to personally grow through the renewal.â&#x20AC;? Among the annual conferenceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new additions are workshops in Vietnamese joining English and Spanish as languages of the days. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There are growing Vietnamese communities in Marin, San Jose and the East Bay,â&#x20AC;? von Emster said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The San Francisco Renewal has been supporting the Vietnamese community for years.â&#x20AC;? The daysâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; theme, â&#x20AC;&#x153;It Is Mercy I Desire,â&#x20AC;? reflects Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mercy â&#x20AC;&#x201C; â&#x20AC;&#x153;a generosity that extends beyond what is called for by justice,â&#x20AC;? according to von Emster. â&#x20AC;&#x153;God chooses us to reveal his mercy through our actions. We are reminded though, that the generous acts are to be rendered not as a burden but in the spirit of giving.â&#x20AC;? Norma Guerrero is a member of St. Veronica Parish in South San Francisco

By Tom Burke â&#x20AC;&#x153;It Is Mercy I Desire,â&#x20AC;? the 2009 Holy Spirit Conference sponsored by the Charismatic Renewal of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, will take place Sept. 18, 19 and 20 at Archbishop Riordan High School in San Francisco. Guest speakers include Father Dan Nascimento, pastor of St. Brendan Parish in San Francisco; Oratorian Father Peter Sanders of Monterey, Robert C. Canton of Stockton, Samia Mary Zumout, Father Minh Bui of the Diocese of Orange, and Dominic Berardino. Tracks are available in English, Spanish and Vietnamese as well as sessions for youth. San Francisco Auxiliary Bishop William J. Justice will preside at the conferenceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s closing Mass. Archbishop Riordan High School is located across from San Francisco City College and is almost alone on its block. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We sometimes sing joy-filled worship music with gusto and we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t interfere with any neighbors,â&#x20AC;? said Ernie von Emster who is coordinating the three-day gathering. More than 1,000 people are expected for the meetings, von Emster said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been active in my parish, St. Charles Borromeo in San Carlos, since the late seventies,â&#x20AC;? von Emster said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I started participating in a charismatic prayer group

Kindle: Bible . . .

Sales of print Bibles coming out of Saint Maryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Press, the Minnesota-based Bible publisher geared toward Catholic teenagers, are actually increasing, thanks in part to the awareness that the Internet builds. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on every publisherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mind that more and more of society is moving toward digital,â&#x20AC;? said John Vitek, the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s president. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We recognize that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re at the tail end of the Gutenberg era,â&#x20AC;? he said, in a reference to the first Bible printed with movable type. Recognizing the need to deliver any way the customer wants it, Saint Maryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Press offers a searchable server to Catholic schools and an online training program for young people who want to lead Bible studies and faith-sharing groups. But at the end of the day, the Bible is different from any other book, Vitek said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Print is lasting, meaningful, powerful. In that sense, having a physical hard copy of the Bible â&#x20AC;&#x201C; thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s still a great value out of reverence,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I wonder if Moses ever thought the stone tablets would disappear,â&#x20AC;? he mused.

n Continued from page 6

For Hope Valloney, a college junior from the Diocese of Providence, R.I., the answer is not really. She Googles passages and would consider reading the Bible on a reader like Amazon Kindle if she ever bought one, but she likes to highlight and mark up her book. Cindee Case, director of the youth and young adult ministry office in the Diocese of Youngstown, Ohio, said she has called up the Bible online more than in print for the last three years. She still enjoys reading it in print for personal reflection and retreats, but goes online if she knows where a passage is or wants to search for one. Case said she can only foresee the complete disappearance of the printed Bible if Catholic schools stop using them to teach or schools stop using textbooks. Even then, she said, there will always be families passing down Bibles as heirlooms. They just might not buy a new one.

SCRIPTURE SEARCH

Conference Speaker Oratorian Father Peter Sanders

and a member of Charismatic Renewal since 1983. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The main thing renewal has done for me is making me more open in my worship of the Lord. My faith has also become stronger and I have more openness in my dealings with the

teachings of the Church.â&#x20AC;? Guerrero said Charismatic Renewal is worthy of a look by all Catholics noting that it has not only helped her but her â&#x20AC;&#x153;family has become stronger, too.â&#x20AC;? Oratorian Father Peter Sanders holds graduate degrees from Berkeleyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology, the University of San Francisco, and Santa Clara University. Robert C. Canton of Stockton brings more than 20 years experience with Charismatic Renewal to his talks on Renewal and prayer groups. Samia Zumout is a graduate of University of San Francisco Law School who gave up her law career â&#x20AC;&#x153;to follow Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s will by serving him on a full-time basis.â&#x20AC;? Father Minh Bui was born in Vietnam, came to the United States as a refugee in 1991 and was ordained for the Diocese of Orange in 2001. He has been involved with Charismatic Renewal for more than a decade. Masses daily - Friday, 7 p.m.; Saturday 11:30 a.m.; Sunday 2 p.m. Tickets are $35 for all weekend sessions or $25 per day. Youth tickets at $10 per day include lunch. Archbishop Riordan High School is at 175 Phelan Ave. across from San Francisco City College in San Francisco. Call for information: English (415) 467-2099 Hispanic (415) 297-1709 Youth (415) 350-8677 Vietnamese (408) 661-6751 and visit www.sfspirit.com.

Crisis pregnancy outreach training set Cathy McConn, the founder of â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Gabriel Project,â&#x20AC;? a parish assistance effort for pregnant women, will host a training seminar at St. Maryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cathedral, 1111 Gough St. in San Francisco Sept. 12. Parishes taking part in the Gabriel Project program create awareness through signs, pamphlets and a toll-free hotline that assistance is available for women in crisis pregnancies. Pregnant mothers are matched with trained women in the parish who keep in ongoing contact with the mother throughout her pregnancy. Participating parishes provide spiritual, emotional and material support during the pregnancy. The Gabriel Project has chapters in 17 states. Several parishes in all three counties of the Archdiocese of San Francisco already participate in the program. These parishes include St. Rita in Fairfax, St. Sebastian in Kentfield, Our Lady of Loretto in Novato, St. Luke in Foster City, Good Shepherd in Pacifica, St. Gregory in San Mateo, St. Augustine in South San Francisco, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Mill Valley, and St. Ignatius and St. Brendan in San Francisco. The session for volunteers and pastors begins with a continental breakfast at 8:30 a.m., followed by training from 9:30 to 2:30 p.m., with a break for lunch at 11:45 a.m. The cost of the session is $20. Scholarships are available. For more information, contact Vicki Evans at (415) 614-5533 or evansv@sfarchdiocese. org. Participants are asked to RSVP by Sept. 8.

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Catholic San Francisco

August 7, 2009

‘Youth Encountering Spirit’ weekend provides spiritual, practical skills By Michael Vick Nearly 90 youth from Mercy High School and 11 local parishes gathered at the San Francisco school July 18 and 19 for a series of discipleship training workshops sponsored by the Archdiocese of San Francisco’s Office of Religious Education and Youth Ministry. The weekend session, “Youth Encountering Spirit,” featured speakers on issues such as spiritual gifts, effective communication skills and the safe use of the Internet. Greg Walton, musician and composer for Oregon Catholic Press and Saturday’s keynote speaker, discussed techniques for opening one’s life to spirituality and prayer. Other speakers included Mary Oldham, a Catholic Relief Services volunteer with experience in Uganda,

who discussed methods of social action taken in solidarity with the poor, including fasting and purchasing fair trade products. Vivian Clausing, the archdiocese’s associate director of youth ministry and catechesis, told Catholic San Francisco the purpose of the meeting was to equip parishes and schools with ideas for spiritual programs. “We tried to make the workshops very hands on, with opportunities for the kids to practice what they were learning,” Clausing said. “It was wonderful to bring presenters, students, ministers and educators together to share their faith and reflect on how we can call forth the gifts of youth in our Church today.” For additional coverage, see a video posted in the multimedia section of the CSF website, www.catholic-sf.org.

Sisters of Charity . . . ■ Continued from cover St. Elizabeth Ann Seton’s success was her “unlimited love and faith in God.” “We celebrate the miracle of love personified in the person of Mother Seton,” said Bishop Madden, who was joined in the sanctuary by Cardinal William H. Keeler, retired archbishop of Baltimore, retired Auxiliary Bishop William C. Newman of Baltimore and Vincentian Father G. Gregory Gay III – a Baltimore native and worldwide superior general of the Romebased Congregation of the Mission, known as the Vincentians, and the Daughters of Charity. “She responded to God’s will for her at every station of life,” Bishop Madden said. Born into a prominent Anglican family in New York, Elizabeth married William Magee Seton at age 20 and had five children. When her husband contracted tuberculosis, he took his wife to Italy in an effort to find a cure in a warm climate. He died in Italy in 1803, leaving her widowed at age 29. Bilingual Staff Information and Referrals ● Care Coordination

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During her time in Italy, Elizabeth was inspired by the Catholic faith. On her return to the U.S., she decided to become a Catholic and was received into the church in New York in March 1805. Archbishop John Carroll of Baltimore invited her to Baltimore to serve as a school mistress. The school flourished and her feelings of support from God inspired her to start the religious congregation. She took her first religious vows at St. Mary’s Seminary in March 1809 and in the summer of that year moved with a small band of sisters to Emmitsburg. During this time she began the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph. She modeled her order on the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul in Paris. St. Elizabeth Ann established St. Joseph’s Academy and Free School, the first free Catholic school for girls staffed by sisters in the United States. Many trace the modern Catholic school system in America to St. Elizabeth Ann’s Emmitsburg institution. Her sisters opened the first Catholic orphanage in the nation, located in Philadelphia, and also provided ministry in health care, serving as nurses at St. Agnes Hospital in Baltimore.

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Sister Claire Debes, provincial leader of the Daughters of Charity in Emmitsburg, called St. Elizabeth Ann an “extraordinarily courageous woman, yet an ordinary person.” “Elizabeth Ann Seton could see beauty in so much of life,” Sister Claire said. From St. Elizabeth Ann’s original religious community grew several independent communities in North America, and today about 4,000 Sisters and Daughters of Charity minister in North America, according to Sister Betty Ann McNeil, Daughters of Charity archivist for the Emmitsburg province. They are active in education, parish life, social justice, health care and other ministries. Sister Betty Ann said the bicentennial celebration was “very personal” for her. She was a teenager in Emmitsburg when Pope John XXIII beatified Mother Seton in 1959. Sister Betty Ann also was one of the youngest Daughters of Charity to attend Mother Seton’s canonization by Pope Paul VI Sept. 14, 1975, in Rome. “The sisters told us in 1959 that some of us would have to take their places to continue the community,” Sister Betty Ann told The Catholic Review, Baltimore’s archdiocesan newspaper. “Fifty years later, I look out and say to these young people, how many of them are going to take our places?” “I hope it’s also been a celebration of call and response,” she said, “of responding to God’s call to live the word and sacrament.”

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Malta Knights lead Lourdes trip From left: Kevin White, Asher McInerney, Reid Spencer, Kristina Aguirre, Mary White, Paul Verga, Bart Ryan, Bishop Ignatius Wang, James Ryan, Richard Guzzo.

Praise for Priests: “A Jewel in the Valley” By James Slattery

It was destination Lourdes for young adult pilgrims travelling with the Western Association of the Order of Malta July 15 – 25. “The Youth Pilgrimage is intended to bring healthy young adults to Lourdes to work with the volunteer service of Lourdes,” said Kevin White, a Knight of Malta, who with his wife, Mary, a Dame of Malta, co-directed the trip. White said expectations are the trip will become an annual event eventually bringing some 35 young adults to the hallowed site each year. The young adults’ duties at Lourdes are directed by shrine leadership and include helping sick from and to the local train station, assisting in the baths of Lourdes, and assisting with the many people pro-

cessing to the pools where St. Bernadette encountered Our Lady in 1858. Asher McInerny, 26, attended the pilgrimage from St. Dominic Parish in San Francisco. His parents, Sally and John, are members of the Order of Malta. “We worked extensively at the train station which was nice because I had not worked there before,” McInerney, a veteran of several of the Order of Malta’s spring pilgrimages, said. “I had many touching experiences. I hope to be blessed enough to return for this event next year and yes I made many new friends.” Retired San Francisco Auxiliary Bishop Ignatius Wang served as spiritual director on the trek. “The young adults had a special name – B-Wang – for the bishop during the trip,” Kevin White said. “They loved him.”

Interfaith workshop looks at job loss help San Francisco’s Interfaith Council will host a workshop for Bay Area religious congregations looking to help members cope with the economic downturn Aug. 25 at St. Dominic Parish in San Francisco. Representatives from St. Dominic, Grace Cathedral, Congregation Emanu-El and Providence Baptist Church will be on hand to discuss their respective programs. The meeting will be in the Sierra Room at 2390 Bush St. from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. Register at www.sf-interfaith.org/register. Rev. James DeLange, chair of the council, said the idea for the meeting came from similar efforts on the part of religious congregations in New York City. He found several local congregations involved in unemployment assistance programs, and hoped to showcase their efforts to a wider audience. He said out of this half-day gathering, there would be some additional sites

around the city helping the unemployed. DeLange noted that religious groups are equipped to handle the unemployment crisis in ways other groups are not. “With religious organizations, there is an immediate credibility,” he said. “There is no agenda other than helping people.” DeLange said congregations can offer space for the unemployed to network with other jobseekers and with employers, and also to maintain social connections that can be strained because of loss of work. “It’s important that people who are searching for jobs are not doing it in isolation,” DeLange said. “Those of us in religious communities understand the importance of community. Most jobs are filled not with want ads or on the Internet, but through someone who knows someone.”

S TERLING

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I live and work out of San Geronimo Valley in West Marin. Several years ago a wonderful thing happened to our St. Cecilia’s/St. Mary’s parish. The Archdiocese of San Francisco assigned us a new priest. His name is Father Cyril O’Sullivan, affectionately known as “Father O.” When I first met him I asked if “working poor” parishioners such as my wife and I were as important to the parish as very wealthy people. Without a splitsecond hesitation he assured me that we were equally important. “Father O” reaches out to people. He talks to parishioners and encourages us to speak back. He’s improving our church’s reputation in the Valley. We work with the local cultural center and their food drive. He’s established relations with the local Presbyterian Church and the Jewish congregation. We have monthly BBQ’s in the summer. His homilies are interesting, often tinged with humor, but always reverent and relevant to our lives in the Valley. He’s welcomed back those who’ve fallen away from the Church as well as newly

confirmed Catholics. He’s improved the physical beauty of our parish. He’s improved the music ministry. He’s wonderful with children. One of the most touching things I’ve ever seen is when he invites the youth to the front of the church at Christmas and Easter and talks informally about Jesus and the Holy Family. The children’s responses are both beautiful and hilarious. In conclusion, God bless America. God bless the wisdom of the Archdiocese of San Francisco for assigning him to us; and God bless Father Cyril O’Sullivan, a true “Jewel in the Valley!” Editor’s Note: On June 19 of this year, Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed a yearlong focus on priestly ministry to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests. During this “Year for Priests,” Catholic San Francisco will publish special coverage of the priesthood and priests in various ministries. We also will publish occasional appreciations by parishioners and others. Contact the editor at Catholic San Francisco, One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco CA 94109 or email healym@sfarchdiocese.org.

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Catholic San Francisco

August 7, 2009

Toward a “new Pentecost” Symbols speak louder than words. In Rome, the “Eternal City,” there is a veritable symphony of symbols that transport visitors into a dance of saints and martyrs gone by. On Isola Tiberina – Rome’s only island on the Tiber River – is the intimate and inspiring Church of St. Bartholomew. The remains of this martyrapostle of Jesus have rested here since the year 983. If you come to the Tiberina Island from the East, you cross a beautiful bridge called “Ponte Fabricio” built 67 years before the birth of Christ. Across the bridge are the By Deacon historic Jewish quarter and the Great Synagogue Nate Bacon of Rome. It was here that Pope John Paul II made history with his 1986 visit, and professed our Christian debt of gratitude to our ‘elder brothers,’ the Jews. This island-bridge-church resonates with us. To be a “bridge” is a critical and time-honored vocation. In our age of instantaneous social networking, however, this role can be obscured, and at times appear obsolete. Nonetheless, those people whose lives connect us to others in deep ways offer us an invaluable gift—they open us to the presence of the Holy Spirit in one another. The entire ecumenical enterprise might be summed up as one of bridge-building. Near the Tiberina, one can see the remains of an even more ancient bridge which spanned the river, called simply “Ponte Rotto” (the “broken bridge”). As individuals and as churches, we can all recall the relational bridges that have been broken in our personal and collective past. Ponte Rotto stands as a stark reminder of our human frailty and ultimate reliance upon the grace of the Holy Spirit to establish any lasting bonds of charity and unity. Nonetheless, unbelievable progress has been made in this ecumenical bridge-building endeavor over the past 50-100 years. The miracle of Vatican II unexpectedly carried our Church into the already thriving Ecumenical movement. The Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium) and the Decree on Ecumenism (Unitatis Redintegratio) brought new insight into the presence of the One Church of Christ outside the boundaries of the Roman Catholic Church. The Decree on Non-Christian Religions (Nostra Aetate) sought to illuminate and strengthen those elements of commonality we share with other faith traditions, especially the Jews. The formation of what became the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue made concrete this new bridge-building enterprise. The word “pontifical” immediately brings to mind the Roman Pontiff, the Pope. But an often forgotten etymology reminds us that the root of this word is “bridge.” As a sign of unity for the Church, the successor of Peter is called to be a bridge-builder, and so are we. Pope John Paul II was a tremendous model of being pontifical in this sense. No other pope in modern times

Sign Solutions

Ponte Fabricio in Rome crossing to Isola Tiberina and St. Bartholomew Church.

labored so unceasingly in the pursuit of Christian unity, and dialogue with other religions. His classic encyclical, Ut Unum Sint (“That they may all be one”), captures in words what his life expressed in action. Unequivocally he calls on all Catholics to engage in the pursuit of Christian Unity ... we are all called to be bridges. He also recognizes that the way papal primacy has been exercised has often presented a serious stumbling block to ecumenism. He invites the greater ecumenical community to engage in a “patient and fraternal dialogue” with him “to find a way of exercising the primacy, which while in no way renouncing what is essential to its mission, is nonetheless open to a new situation.” Our own former Archbishop John R. Quinn responded to this call with his excellent treatise, “The Reform of the Papacy.” Ut Unum Sint also emphasizes the unique role of martyrdom in the ecumenical endeavor: saying “this communion is already perfect in what we all consider the highest point of the life of grace, martyred unto death, the truest communion possible with Christ who shed his blood . . “ In order to symbolize this ultimate demonstration of unity, the Pope commissioned St. Bartholomew Church on the Tiberina Island to become a shrine for the Christian martyrs of the 20th and 21st Centuries. By honoring recent martyrs from diverse Christian traditions, this hallowed place challenges us as disciples of our Lord to love one another, and to be willing to lay down our lives for His sake, and that of the Gospel. The Saint Emilio Community under whose care this shrine was given birth, and who serve the faithful at St. Bartholomew’s, is one of the most eloquent living examples of such commitment to transformative unity.

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This lay movement began 41 years ago with high school students reaching out to the poor on the outskirts of Rome, and now claims over 50,000 members in 70 countries. They are committed to prayer, friendship with the poor, ecumenism, and dialogue. In addition to stellar ministry at the grassroots, they have also played critical roles in peace agreements in Africa, and in unceasing opposition to the death penalty. Beginning in 1987, they have annually perpetuated Pope John Paul II’s Inter-Faith Prayer for Peace. One small corner of Rome—a bridge, an island, a synagogue, an apostle, a shrine, and a living community— symbols exhorting us to imitate our Lord. At Pentecost, the liturgy reminds us how the Holy Spirit brought believers into unity, breaking down barriers of language and culture. Pentecost is God’s answer to Babel, where humankind pridefully sought unity apart from God and found itself mired in confusion. Cardinal Walter Kasper, head of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, said recently, “Over the years, through the many ecumenical dialogues we have created an impressive stack of critical documents and agreements. Without diminishing their importance, we must remember that the Holy Spirit did not come as paper, but as fire. And fire burns up paper! What we need is a new Pentecost!” Let us pray that the Holy Spirit will infuse us with the fire of God’s love and empower us to be bridge builders of love and charity – so that the world may believe. For the past year, Deacon Nate Bacon has been studying ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue at the Angelicum University in Rome.

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Catholic San Francisco

Working paper outlines information being sought from religious orders style of governance; its practice in the daily life of its members; and the process for dealing with WASHINGTON (CNS) – Orders of women sisters who disagree publicly or privately with religious in the United States will be asked to comcongregational decisions, especially in matters Early this year the Vatican announced the start of an apostolic plete a comprehensive questionnaire that looks at regarding church authority. visitation examining U.S. orders of women religious. There are six areas of religious life in preparation for a series – Vocation promotion, admission and formation four phases to the study. of apostolic visits set to begin in January. policies: covering policies for admission to the Topics to be considered are outlined in a workorder, how the formation program offers members Initial meetings and communication with COMPLETED ing document distributed July 28 to the 341 leadthe foundations of the Catholic faith and doctrine religious superiors ers of the religious congregations to share with through the study of Second Vatican Council docutheir members. The topics are related to the life ments, the Catechism of the Catholic Church and Religious congregations respond to questionnaire and operation of the orders: identity; governance; post-conciliar documents. SEPTEMBER- seeking empirical data and information about vocation promotion, admission and formation poli– Spiritual life and common life: covering the OCTOBER 2009 identity, mission, governance, finances, spiritual cies; spiritual life and common life; mission and expression of the Eucharist; how the religious life and activities to promote vocations ministry; and finances. community strengthens common life through the Members of the orders are being asked to reflect celebration of the Eucharist; prayer and the sharing JANUARY 2010- Visitation teams meet with selected religious on the working document. A separate questionnaire of gifts and resources; participation in daily Mass JANUARY 2011 communities based on the working document will be distributed and the sacrament of penance; and participation in to superiors general Sept. 1. liturgy according to approved liturgical norms. Compilation and delivery of report with recomMID-2010Distribution of the questionnaire Sept. 1 will open – Mission and ministry: covering the specific MID-2011 mendations to the Congregation for Institutes of the second phase of a comprehensive study of U.S. purpose of the congregation; whether current aposConsecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life institutes of women religious announced in January and tolic work expresses the congregation’s charism ordered by the Vatican’s Congregation for Institutes and mission; and steps being taken to ensure that Source: Apostolic Visitation of Institutes of Women Religious in the United States ©2009 CNS of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life the congregation’s charism will continue as the under its prefect, Cardinal Franc Rode. congregation has fewer sisters. Known in Latin as an “instrumentum laboris,” the July – Financial administration: covering the stewardship of Mother Clare also declined to discuss specifics related 28 working document will help the orders prepare to answer to the study’s cost, including how it is being financed. She resources and financial administration; financial concerns; the Sept. 1 questionnaire, said Mother Mary Clare Millea, said, however, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is and the transfer of ownership or control of property within superior general of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of not funding the effort. the last 10 years. Jesus and the apostolic visitator charged by the Vatican with Mother Clare said she met, talked with or heard in writing “Anyone who has contributed has not wanted their name directing the study. from 244, or 72 percent, of the country’s superiors general to be publicized,” she said. “The reason we’re doing this is we want to help assess “The congregation is conducting the visitation so they’re during the six months after the study was announced. “That’s and promote the vitality of all the sisters,” she told Catholic ultimately responsible for financing it,” she explained. “We pretty impressive for a voluntary phase,” she said. News Service July 31. “The conversations I had with the major superiors have have a project that is going to last three years. We are welcomMother Clare, a Connecticut native whose religious insti- ing the support of individual dioceses, individuals or groups been very helpful in shaping the ‘instrumentum laboris’ tute is based in Rome, said the superiors will have until Nov. who would be willing to help defray the expenses.” and the topic questions we’ve presented, to understand the 1 to complete the questionnaire and return it to the apostolic The first phase of the study, completed July 31, involved reality before we set out to ask them specific information,” visitation office in Hamden, Conn. a series of voluntary meetings, telephone conversations or Mother Clare told CNS. “Once we get all the questionnaires, we will analyze and written exchanges between Mother Clare and superiors genAlthough the questionnaire will be completed by select which congregations to visit,” Mother Clare said. eral. The apostolic visits encompass the third phase and the congregational leaders, Mother Clare also is encouraging The apostolic visits are scheduled to begin in January and compilation and delivery of a final report, expected in mid- individual sisters to respond to issues raised in the working continue throughout 2010, according to the study timeline 2011, will mark the fourth and final phase of the study. document. established by the apostolic visitation office. “It’s very important that each sister know that if she has The working document offers a series of questions in six “For some congregations, their participation will end areas for each religious community to consider as it prepares anything she wants to tell me about her congregation she with the questionnaire,” she said. “We want to get a cross to answer the questionnaire: can do so freely and confidentially,” she said. section (for the visits).” “We feel that every sister is a part of this visitation,” – The identity of the religious institute: covering the The working document was developed and reviewed by order’s understanding of religious life; the future concerns Mother Clare explained. “We won’t be able to meet indiclergy, including bishops, and women religious, Mother of the congregation; its understanding and expression of the vidually with every sister in every congregation. We won’t Clare said. She declined to identify who was involved in vow of chastity and the virtue of obedience; and the order’s know exactly what we will hear from sisters. We want them the process. involvement or plans for reconfiguration or mergers with to know that their voices will be heard.” “We feel it’s prudent to let them remain anonymous,” another congregation. she said. – Governance: covering the effectiveness of an order’s

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Catholic San Francisco

August 7, 2009

His pockets often empty, a day laborer copes with the recession ay workers, like people at all economic levels in the job market, have been hit hard by the recession. Photographer José Luis Aguirre of Catholic San Francisco and El Heraldo Católico tells the story of Enrique Lora, 48, who bikes from his home in East Palo Alto to Redwood City every day to try to pick up odd jobs from employers in the casual labor market centered at 5th Avenue and Middlefield Road.

Photos and story by José Luis Aguirre. Enrique Lora’s day begins before 7 a.m. as he gets ready to bike to 5th Avenue in Redwood City, where he anxiously waits for anyone to pick him up and offer him work. Lora is one among more than 100 day laborers, or journaleros, who frequent that area of the city daily hoping not to go home with an empty wallet. According to this Mexican immigrant who has lived in East Palo Alto for the past five years, there was plenty of work in the past but much of it has dried up. “I was working almost every day but now I find work only once or twice a week,” he said. “You can say it’s down by 70 percent.” Lora is the main provider for his wife and two kids in Mexico. But he says it is nearly impossible to be a provider when he is earning an average of $15 per hour working a few hours a week. Even though he stands on 5th Avenue every day, including weekends, in his effort to attract employers who have casual jobs to offer an unskilled laborer, he earns $50 to $200 a week. Some weeks, he earns nothing. Whatever he earns, he keeps a minimum for himself – he contributes $350 a month toward the apartment he shares with four other people – and sends the rest home to Mexico.

Catholic San Francisco

Sharp drop in immigration from Mexico The flow of immigrants from Mexico to the United States has dropped sharply since mid-decade, but despite tougher border enforcement and a harsh economy there is no sign that more Mexican-born migrants are returning home from the United States, according to a new report by the Pew Hispanic Center. Enrique Lora, whose story is featured here, personifies the trend: although he has been without regular employment for five years and survives by picking up casual labor, he sees more opportunity here than back home in Mexico City. The new report, based on government data from the United States and Mexico, found no support for the theory that hard times in the United States are driving people back across the border. The Mexican-born population in the United States, which had been growing earlier in the decade, was 11.5 million in early 2009, the Pew report found. That figure is not significantly changed from the 11.6 million Mexican immigrants in 2008 or the 11.2 million in 2007. Mexico is by far the leading country of origin for United States immigrants, accounting for a third of all foreign-born residents and two-thirds of Hispanic immigrants, according to the report. The report found that the United States is the destination for nearly all people who leave Mexico, and about one of every 10 people born in Mexico lives in the United States. Many immigrants come from Mexico to stay, but large numbers move both ways throughout the year, in a seasonal pattern known as circular migration, the report found.

“We come here to spend the few years we have left. We are not bad people.” But as bad as Lora finds the economy here, he has no desire to go to back to Mexico City to earn a living. “It is worse in Mexico,” said Lora, who used to sell fruit and once worked as a driver for a well-known construction company. “Moreover, because of my age nobody wants to hire me.” When he first arrived in the United States in 2004, Lora worked as a gardener. But the company soon went bankrupt. Lora turned to the streets to earn a living. “As day laborers we’ve got to do what no one else would like to do,” he said. “For me the worst has been unclogging pipes and putting up with the stench. And yet they say that we take away someone else’s job, but the truth is nobody else would want to do that.” With tears in his eyes he remembered the family he left back home. “I go out looking for work every day because I have a commitment to my children who I haven’t seen in many years,” said Lora, who cooks and watches TV in his free time. “Without money where can I go?” At the time of this interview Lora had been without work for the three days. His last working day landed him $32 for two hours’ effort. Day laborers are exposed to a multitude of risks. Lora, too, has been vulnerable. Some time ago a man and a woman posing as FBI agents robbed him of $300 he had earned for two days’ work. A year after his arrival a dog bit him, and the trip to the hospital left him with a $200 debt that he still owes. Recently he fell from his bike and injured his arm. The day workers on 5th Avenue are not without resources. They get meals from the Salvation Army and nearby St. Anthony of Padua Church, where Lora is a parishioner. The Multicultural Institute in Berkeley provides food and groceries. Still, these men seek work and the opportunity to support themselves and their families. “We ask the government to sign an immigration reform,” Lora said. “We are not criminals. We come here to spend the few years we have left. We are not bad people. “We just want to be treated for what we are, people,” he said. “We have families and we want to get ahead with our lives.” On the day of the interview, Enrique Lora was resigned to another day without work. “We’ve got to have faith,” he said, “because it is the Holy Spirit that moves us.” For more information, and to learn how to hire a day worker, visit the website of the Multicultural Institute at www.mionline.org, click on the Programs tab and then click on the page for the Day Worker/Day Laborer program. To view and download these and other photos from José Luis Aguirre’s day workers set, visit Catholic San Francisco’s Flickr page: www.flickr.com/photos/catholicsf/ sets/72157621769324747/

GRAPHIC FROM PEW HISPANIC CENTER

Enrique Lora, a day laborer in Redwood City, says work is down 70 percent.

Lora bikes to Redwood City every day from his apartment in East Palo Alto. The plastic bag on his belt is for containers he collects for pocket money

Lora recently fell off his bike and bruised his arm.

Lora shows the police report from his robbery by people impersonating FBI agents. They stopped him, asking for his immigration papers and made off with $300.

Lora says it is nearly impossible to provide for his wife and two children in Mexico when he earns an average of $15 per hour working a few hours a week.

Catholic San Francisco

August 7, 2009

Catholic san Francisco Newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Francisco

Washington Letter What message to Congress? By Nancy Frazier O’Brien WASHINGTON (CNS) – During the August Congressional recess, what should Catholic Americans be telling their representatives and senators about health care reform? Cardinal Justin Rigali, Chairman of the U.S. Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, last week wrote to members of Congress urging them to retain longstanding government policies on abortion and conscience rights. Regarding efforts to reform U.S. health care, he described health care as a basic right belonging to all human beings, from conception to natural death. “We need health reform that respects the life and dignity of every person, from conception to natural death,” said Sister Carol Keehan, a Daughter of Charity who is president and CEO of the Catholic Health Association. “That means the unborn, it means the patient with multiple sclerosis, the patient with cancer, the young mother, the addicted, the mentally ill, the dying patient and the frail, frail elderly.” In an Aug. 3 interview with Catholic News Service, she decried distortions about health care reform that are being circulated. The worst of the distortions, Sister Carol said, is that CHA and Catholic Charities USA are “working at cross-purposes” with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on the abortion issue in health reform. All three groups are sending a clear message that health reform must be “at least abortion-neutral” and must include conscience protections for health care professionals and institutions that do not want to participate in abortions or other morally objectionable medical procedures, she said. Catholic Charities USA also issued a July 31 statement saying “unequivocally” that it “does not support any plan to reform health care and/or any proposed legislative provision that allows or promotes the funding of abortions or that compels any health care provider or institution to provide such a service.” One problem with the health reform discussions is the sheer breadth and depth of proposals currently on the table. The “health reform bill” to which many commentators refer could apply to any of several proposals; there is no “Obama bill,” since President Barack Obama has left the legislative details to Congress. In the Senate, the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (or HELP) Committee has proposed the Affordable Health Choices Act, while a six-member bipartisan coalition within the Finance Committee was expected to work behind closed doors throughout the August recess on the language of its bill. In the House, three committees – Ways and Means, Education and Labor, and Energy and Commerce – worked together to come up with the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009, known as the tri-committee legislation, or H.R. 3200. The major bills have many similarities: The HELP proposal and the tri-committee legislation both would require all individuals to have health insurance and would subsidize the cost for those making up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level, currently $73,240 for a family of three. Employers – except those owning certain small businesses – would be required to offer insurance to their workers or pay a penalty under both plans. Both would expand Medicaid to include more low-income people; the HELP bill would cover those making up to 150 percent of federal poverty level, while the tri-committee plan would include those making up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level and all newborns without other health coverage. But all the bills have been heavily amended in committee, taking them further from consensus rather than closer to it. The Senate HELP panel’s bill included hundreds of amendments from Republican and Democratic members – before its July 15 committee approval, according to a committee news release. Each of the House committees also has approved the tri-committee bill, but not without tacking on dozens of amendments. Catholic advocates and lobbyists were scouring the various bills and amendments in an effort to ensure that the legislation meets the health reform priorities outlined by the USCCB, CHA and Catholic Charities – respect for human life at all stages and universal, affordable access. “But the fact is that nothing that’s in existence today is likely” to come up for a vote on the House or Senate floor, said Kathy Saile, director of the U.S. bishops’ Office of Domestic Social Development. “There are still other steps to go through.” An effort to make the Energy and Commerce version of the tri-committee bill abortion-neutral failed July 30, but an alternate amendment proposed by Rep. Lois Capps, D-Calif. – unacceptable because of its abortion provisions – did make some “good progress” toward pro-life goals by stipulating that state laws would not be pre-empted and offering “some good conscience protections,” Saile said. But more work remains for members of Congress and for Catholics who hope to influence them. “As Congress goes into recess it’s important for members to hear from the people about the importance of keeping health reform legislation abortion-neutral,” said Deirdre A. McQuade, assistant director for policy and communications in the USCCB Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities. “Especially given the closeness of some of these (committee) votes, it’s clear that every vote matters.”

Hygiene concerns I think it is time for the Church to have a sane and sensible approach to the practice of receiving the wine from one communal cup at Mass. Do we believe that it is truly the blood of Christ we are receiving and that it will always be a blessing and not a harm to anyone who drinks from this cup, or do we believe that the communal cup does spread germs and should not be used during a flu season or other epidemics? I do not receive because of the possibility of germs spread from everyone sharing the one cup. It is now accepted hygiene to teach our children to refrain from drinking from another person’s cup not just in flu season but at all times. Years ago, I attended a Protestant church and in the communion service the wine was poured into tiny plastic cups. Each person who received took one cup, drank from it, and put the cup back into a slot fitted for it in the container. I assume that the disposable cups went into a recycle bin afterwards. I know it would be more trouble and a little more expensive to do this, but it eliminates the concern about spreading germs. Probably we would all readily drink from the same cup if we were sitting with close friends as Jesus did. But in our present situation where hundreds receive at Mass we need to think how this most beautiful of all sacraments is suited to our modern age. Mary-Alice Eldon Redwood City

Column on point

Misanthropic columns George Weigel’s misanthropic columns so frequently give me a bad case of indigestion that I have now decided to stop reading them altogether, which, thankfully, is always an option in our still democratic society. I invite other readers who also object to his cafeteria of calumny and bile to join me in this silent and peaceful protest. There is no weapon more powerful against a poison-pen columnist than absolute indifference. Rosemary K. Ring Kentfield

Clear and a treat As usual, what a treat to read George Weigel’s column in the July 24 CSF issue on the significance of NASA’s Apollo

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: healym@sfarchdiocese.org or visit our website at www.catholic-sf.org, Contact Us

One-issue conflict George Weigel, leader of the “one issue” brigade, simply couldn’t bear the appearance of the president of the United States at Notre Dame University – when Mr. Weigel and the president are not in agreement on a single issue, abortion. Mr. Weigel ignores the fact that Notre Dame is a university, one function of which is to consider all sides and issues. The university is not subject to the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend. Further, it includes a famous theology faculty including Father Richard McBrien. It is presumptuous of Mr. Weigel to even suggest that authorities at Notre Dame were “in spiritual jeopardy if they receive Holy Communion while being in a defective state of communion with the Church on grave social issues.” The position of Mr. Weigel is reminiscent of the nuns who taught me in grade school. They felt it necessary to remind us daily that God knows what we have done and that he will impose a penalty if we don’t shape up. Mr. Weigel seems to say: “Agree with the bishop and me on this one issue or your university is no longer to be recognized as a Catholic institution.” Galileo had a problem like this with the bishops. Who remembers now who the bishops were? Jerome Downs San Francisco

L E T T E R S

Repeatedly, I’m perplexed by the criticisms of George Weigel that appear in the letters section of Catholic San Francisco. Weigel is attentive to facts, reports them accurately, and his comments are always acute and pertinent. The latest instance of Weigel’s intellectual competence is his observations on the commencement ceremonies at Notre Dame and the awarding of an honorary degree to Barack Obama. Weigel pointed out the malfeasance of the university’s administration, which allowed the university and the Catholic Church to be exploited by a clever and unscrupulous politician. Roland Thorwaldsen San Francisco

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11 Program. His insight is crystal clear and magnificently stated, as it was last month when he wrote about Notre Dame University’s embarrassment. In that regard, I wonder if his critic’s (CSF Letter, July 24) implication that former Archbishop John Quinn is incompetent counterpoint is itself a competent opinion. G.P. Heckert San Mateo

‘A la carte Catholics’

It seems that some critics of George Weigel are the embodiment of “a la carte Catholics,” who contend that the principles and dogmas of the Catholic faith are on a pick and choose basis. Whatever beliefs are appealing are the ones they follow; and the ones that they consider archaic or mean spirited are ignored or simply thrown out altogether. That would encompass most of the Ten Commandments. There is nothing mean spirited about stating facts: Priests (Bishops) cannot give Communion to those in the state of mortal sin. This is not a matter of conscience it’s a law of the Church. Professor Mary Ann Glendon is a Catholic and as such could not accept a medal from a Catholic University that chose as its commencement speaker and recipient of an honorary doctorate in Law, President Barack Obama. One of the first orders of business after Barack Obama accepted the presidency was to allocate funds for worldwide abortion practices. President Obama in January struck down the Bush administration’s ban on giving federal money to international groups that perform abortions or provide abortion information. Obeying the Commandments of our religion and living by the edicts of the Church are not “political polemics,” it is Catholicism. You either take it all or not at all; this is not an a la carte menu. Coty de Castillo San Francisco

Catholic sites In reply to the invitation by Catholic San Francisco to share Catholic travel site suggestions, I have several that I have found very helpful to me. The Shrine of Our Lady of Knock in Ireland: it is set in the beautiful Irish countryside and has a number of inspiring exhibits regarding the apparition of Our Lady and of the cultural religious history of Ireland as well. St. Patrick’s Purgatory in County Sligo is one of the most amazing pilgrimage sites to be found anywhere. LETTERS, page 18

August 7, 2009

Catholic San Francisco

Twenty Something

Traveling light: storing up treasures in heaven “Wife have too many shoes?” The billboard on the interstate highway caught my eye. The solution it advertised, off the next exit, was not a Goodwill depot or a therapist, but a storage unit. Why get rid of the stilettos when you can pay $50 a month to stash them somewhere else? Millions of Americans have purchased storage, locking up the Hummel dolls, tax returns and soccer trophies they don’t need but can’t quite part with. At the end of 2008, selfstorage facilities occupied 2.35 billion square feet, making it physically possible for every American to stand under the total canopy of self-storage roofing. My canopy of choice has been the ping-pong table in my parents’ basement, beneath which you’ll find Mead spiral-bound notebooks detailing my introduction to the Pythagorean Theorem and the periodic table. Those royal blue and Kelly green pads signal such youthful diligence that they have not yet made their way to the recycling bin they warrant. Last night I examined the bins below the staircase. I was struck by how many years were mixed together, how time was compressed in a single cardboard box. Baseball cards, birthday cards, report cards. A rhyming dictionary and a cookbook. Crinkled newspapers stacked on a busted Gateway laptop. These days, it’s not just physical stuff we store. It’s also

digital: documents, pictures, spreadsheets, Power Points, mp3s, pdfs. “Current statistics show that one in every 10 hard drives fail every year,” warns the online storage site Mozy, which claims more than one million users. “Unfortunately, computers are vulnerable to hard drive crashes, virus attacks, theft and natural disasters, which can erase everything in an instant.” That appeal to fear drives us to buy 100 gigabytes or 1,000 or – what the heck – unlimited space. It seems we cannot discard or delete, and we do not want to sift through our stuff and make those tough judgment calls about what to keep and what to give. So we shove it in attics, garages and hard drives, protected with padlocks and passwords. We don’t have to deal with it, except for the monthly bill to remind us it’s there. This hunter-gatherer-hoarder impulse is a cultural and spiritual malady: overconsumption with no accountability. Our baggage is heavy and dusty and jumbled, and we cannot manage it. We do not even try. As disciples of Christ, we must travel light so that our hands and hearts are free to build his kingdom. When we are attached to our stuff and our homes and our petty evidence of success, we cannot respond to our Christian mission and its many demands: to help our neighbors, to serve the poor and to catch each spiritual lesson in our path. We are distracted, occupied.

St. Matthew would’ve abhorred the sight of our stuffed storage units. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal,” he admonished. Christina “But store up treasures in heaven... For where Capecchi your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” He was calling for a bigger picture, an attachment and investment in the divine, unmarred by cobwebs and sin. “‘If you wish to be perfect,” Jesus told the young man who heeded the Ten Commandments, “go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” That billboard motivated me. I’m downsizing my shoe collection. Those stilettos were slowing me down.

water, and Miracle-Gro, it would just be a matter of time before they began elbowing their neighbors, a cheerful coexistence of blooms. As always when I work in the garden, I felt hopeful. At home. Grounded. I’m hesitant to extrapolate a spiritual message from this experience. Gardening as a metaphor for faith is hardly original; any writer who makes that connection is treading on well-worn ground. But there’s a good reason for that. There’s such a profound, elemental connection between tending a garden and tending one’s spiritual life. After all, gardening is about encouraging the things that sustain and nurture life, and removing the things that don’t. That’s exactly what I try to do with my faith life: assess what brings me closer to God (daily prayer, gratitude, mindfulness) and find ways to do them more often. The problem with such stock-taking, though, is that it takes effort, and it takes a quiet mind. I’m so busy juggling motherhood, marriage, teaching, writing, housework, and the occasional pursuit of exercise, that days can pass without any conscious spiritual reflection on my part. Every now and then, though, the craving for spiritual renewal hits me like a thunderbolt. Only

then do I realize, with what feels like surprise, that I need some quiet time to help keep me blooming. T h a t ’s w h y I stayed out in the yard that night, working even after the sun had Ginny gone down. Kneeling Kubitz Moyer on the overgrown lawn, pressing soil around the tiny new plants, it felt like a benediction. I was praying without words, satisfying a hunger I hadn’t realized I’d had. And I was relearning a lesson I’ve learned thousands of times: every now and then, we all need to hit pause, breathe deeply, and return to what grounds us.

Christina Capecchi is a freelance writer from Inver Grove Heights, IL. Email her at christina@readchristina.com.

Of Grace and Sippy Cups

Holy Ground Gardens don’t hold grudges. That’s one of their nicest qualities. No matter how many weeks (or months) of neglect my backyard has endured, I always feel welcome when I put on the gloves and venture outside. I was reminded of this one evening, after the dinner dishes were cleared up. Led by a sense of carpe diem, I escaped into the backyard. It had been a while; the ground was rife with weeds. I’d bought some coleus and impatiens to plant, so I began raking up the molding leaves that covered the flowerbeds. Black beetles scuttled out as I disturbed their homes. The smell of soil filled my nose and the weeds uprooted themselves obligingly from the soft ground. The sun was almost gone, below the horizon. I’d planned just to prepare the soil and then go inside, but I ended up planting all of the flowers. Even though it was getting hard to see, the peacefulness of the evening drew me in. I pinched the bottom of the crinkly plastic cartons and eased the small plants out carefully, afraid to break them at the stems. The tiny flowers looked vulnerable and insignificant. As I planted them a careful foot apart from each other, they made a very unspectacular display. But I knew that with weeding,

Ginny Kubitz Moyer is the author of “Mary and Me: Catholic Women Reflect on the Mother of God.” Contact Moyer via her blog at www.maryandme.org.

Consider This

Empathy: It’s not about feeling sorry The word “empathy” attracted much attention in recent weeks and not all of it for the good. Empathy was dragged into politics and suffered as a result. No surprise there. The word was bandied about during the confirmation process for a nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. To the casual listener, it sounded as if empathy was a quality inappropriate for a judge. The implication is that to be without empathy is a good thing. There are, in fact, those people who do not exhibit empathy. Among them are sociopaths, snipers and assassins. Webster’s defines empathy as the capacity for participation in another’s feelings or ideas. A better definition is offered by author Bill Bryson. Empathy, he writes, “denotes a close emotional understanding of the feelings or problems of another. It is thus close in meaning to compassion.” Ah, compassion. See how empathy leads to compassion, which leads to solidarity, which is a very Christian virtue. Compassion is a deeply human reaction to respond to one who is suffering, a movement that creates a desire to help. Empathy differs from sympathy, which is an abstract, intellectual awareness of another’s misfortune that provokes an “I feel sorry for you” reaction.

Without empathy there cannot be compassion. And without compassion there cannot be solidarity. The latter is the Christian principle expressed by Pope John Paul II in a major social teaching, which he said was a constitutive element of the Gospel and essential for lasting peace. It is essential for Christians to act for the well-being of all, particularly those who are in poverty and lack political influence.

Without empathy there cannot be compassion. And without compassion there cannot be solidarity. Empathy has as its root the feeling for a person because that person has dignity as the creation of God. Solidarity, as Pope John Paul said, “is not a feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress” but instead “a firm and persevering determination to commit to the good of

all and each individual because we are all really responsible for all.” Empathy is an antidote for selfishness, a virtue to help being in relationship with others. Empathy should Stephen Kent be a natural virtue in humans, affecting how they live and work. A society with judges who have absolutely no capacity for connecting with the humanity of another, a physician who sees a patient as no more than a machine to be repaired – these are not a good place to be. Empathy brings about a better one-on-one situation. If it leads to compassion, so much the better. And a compassionate society can lead to solidarity, which, as Pope John Paul II said, helps us to see the other as our neighbor “on a par with ourselves in the banquet of life to which all are equally invited by God.” Stephen Kent, former editor of archdiocesan newspapers in Omaha and Seattle, writes a column for Catholic News Service.

Catholic San Francisco

August 7, 2009

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Scripture reflection

1 Kings 19:4-8; Psalm 34:2, 2-3, 4-5, 6-7; 8-9 Ephesians 4:30 - 5;2; John 6:41-51 A READING FROM THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS 1 KGS 19:4-8 Elijah went a day’s journey into the desert, until he came to a broom tree and sat beneath it. He prayed for death saying: “This is enough, O Lord! Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” He lay down and fell asleep under the broom tree, but then an angel touched him and ordered him to get up and eat. Elijah looked and there at his head was a hearth cake and a jug of water. After he ate and drank, he lay down again, but the angel of the Lord came back a second time, touched him, and ordered, “Get up and eat, else the journey will be too long for you!” He got up, ate, and drank; then strengthened by that food, he walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God, Horeb. RESPONSORIAL PSALM PS 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9 R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord. I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall be ever in my mouth. Let my soul glory in the Lord; the lowly will hear me and be glad. R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord. Glorify the Lord with me, Let us together extol his name. I sought the Lord, and he answered me And delivered me from all my fears. R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord. Look to him that you may be radiant with joy. And your faces may not blush with shame. When the afflicted man called out, the Lord heard, And from all his distress he saved him. R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him and delivers them. Taste and see how good the Lord is; blessed the man who takes refuge in him. R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord. A READING FROM THE LETTER OF PAUL TO THE EPHESIANS EPH 4:30 – 5:2 Brothers and sisters: Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were sealed for the day of redemption. All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice. And be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ. So be imitators of God, as beloved chil-

dren, and live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma. A READING FROM THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN JN 6:41-51 The Jews murmured about Jesus because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven,” and they said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? Do we not know his father and mother? Then how can he say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Stop murmuring among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day. It is written in the prophets: They shall all be taught by God. Everyone who listens to

Unleavened bread is consecrated at Mass during the Eucharistic prayer and distributed during the Communion rite. In his encyclical, “Ecclesia de Eucharistia,” Pope John Paul II said Jesus, the “bread of life” and “true manna,” sustains believers on the journey toward the promised land of heaven.

my Father and learns from him comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

SISTER ELOISE ROSENBLATT

Taste and see the goodness of the Lord People are kind in many ways. They watch the house while neighbors are gone on vacation. They make a loan to an adult child who never seems to have grown up. They volunteer to serve meals in a homeless shelter every month. Do they get thanked and appreciated? The helped neighbor threatens to call the city because lawn watering from the watcher next door seeps onto his patio. The child, near repayment date, rehearses a bad family memory, and as repayment for the loaner’s parenting, reneges on half of what’s owed. A homeless man being served in line insults the volunteer because he doesn’t like mushroom cream soup. Hence the origin of the irony, “No good deed goes unpunished.” Elijah and Jesus in today’s readings both embody the nobility of human beings who perform good deeds for the sake of helping others, not because they expect to receive appreciation or approval. In the passage from I Kings before this Sunday’s reading, Elijah’s prayer to God brings rain to a parched land, breaking the famine. Further, he restores the people’s faith in the God of Israel when divine fire comes down and consumes his sacrifice of a bull on a waterdrenched altar. By contrast, the priests of Baal can’t get their god to act; he is silent because he is non-existent. But Ahab and Queen Jezebel regard Elijah as an enemy. Instead of thanks, and with a price on his head, Elijah flees to the desert. In the passage for this Sunday, Elijah calls out to God for help. He is overcome with depression. From an emotional high where he triumphantly summoned God, he now finds himself in the pit of despair. He prays to God, burdened with a sense of hopelessness that his work is over. There is no extreme of life, as the Elijah story shows, where God’s ear is not turned to us. God sometimes answers in dramatic moments, as with fire coming down before a big crowd, “showing them.” Or, in this passage, God’s deliverance comes through a quiet, ordinary miracle which comes in the night, the hearth cake and water left by an angel, a miracle witnessed only by Elijah himself. A colleague in biblical studies, Thomas Brodie, O.P., has noted in his writings many parallels between the Elijah tradition and the accounts of Jesus in the gospels. Here is one of them, in the theme of Jesus identifying himself

as the “bread that came down from heaven.” There are also allusions in this passage to Moses who led the Israelites to the Promised Land. The Israelites survived on manna, the “bread that comes down from heaven.” When Jesus speaks of himself as the “bread that came down from heaven,” like the manna God gave the Israelites, and like the hearth cake God gave to Elijah, he speaks of himself as the personification of what beleaguered people pray for and need to survive when they, too, feel at the end of their rope. What God gives people is what they need to keep walking forward, out of their hopelessness. In the Eucharist, Jesus himself is bread and sustenance for the journey of life. What is the immediate response to Jesus’ self-offering and assurance that he will always be with his followers? It is to doubt and dismiss him. “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? … Then how can he say, ‘I have come down from heaven?’” The lesson is that not everyone understands when the best of gift of self is being offered. Nor can all receive it, even when offered with the noblest motives. While it is not in our power to change the minds of others, or “make them see,” it is in our power to act according to the impulses of the Holy Spirit. The passage from Ephesians is like a mother imploring her children and relatives to be on their best behavior for the family reunion, begging them to let go of grudges and chips on their shoulders: “All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice. And be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.” The rule for best-behavior during a family celebration is also the rule for right relations in the household of the faith. The motive is not future reward, but the good in itself, right now, of embodying the love God has for us, and the love Christ has already shown us. Does God really answer my prayer? The Psalm offers words of reassurance from someone who knows from personal experience that God delivers us from fear and as our refuge, saves us from our present distress. Sister Eloise Rosenblatt, R.S.M., Ph.D., is a theologian and attorney in private practice in San Jose.

Spirituality for Life

Sensitivity, vulnerability, and religion Daniel Berrigan once quipped: Before you get serious about Jesus, first consider carefully how good you are going to look on wood. There’s a hard truth. Classical spiritual writers tell us that one of the ways we can tell whether our faith and religious practices are authentic or whether they are just another form of rationalizing and justifying our own motivation and will, is that — if our religious practice is real — we will be unable to protect ourselves against a certain amount of pain which we formerly were able to block out. If our following of Jesus is real, we will find ourselves sensitive and vulnerable in ways that leave us unable to protect ourselves from duties, involvements, and humiliations that we could formerly avoid. True religion leaves us anything but cool. Why? Classical spiritual writers explain it simply: Look at the way that God handled Jesus and know that, if we give God permission, God will handle us in the same way. If we open ourselves deeply to God, we should expect that some of the painful things that happened to Jesus will also happen to us. Openness and love led Jesus to the cross. Should we expect anything else?

It was interesting to see the reactions to Mother Teresa’s journals when they were published and the world learned of her deep inner struggles, doubts, and pain. The common reaction was: How could this have happened to a woman of such integrity and faith? The classical spiritual writers would have reacted in the opposite way: Why would this not have happened to a woman of such integrity and faith? She opened herself radically to God and asked Jesus to make her feel like he felt. God just took her at her word. Her diaries are descriptions of precisely what Jesus felt like during a good part of his life, especially toward the end of it. We should be careful what we pray for, or at least not surprised if God gives us what we ask. If I say to God: “Let me be as Jesus was”, and mean it, I should expect not just that a deeper happiness and peace will flow into my life, but also that this new sensitivity will allow deeper pain to flow into my life as well. John of the Cross, in his book “The Ascent to Mount Carmel”, offers a series of counsels for anyone who wants to enter more deeply into the spiritual life. In the first of these

counsels, he challenges his readers to strive to more actively imitate Jesus. And, for John, this means trying to imitate Jesus’ motivation rather than his appearance or even his actions. Ask Jesus, he says, to give Father you his motivation, to let Ron Rolheiser you feel as he felt. And how will we know if this is working? We will know that we are imitating the motivation of Christ and not rationalizing our own, John says, when certain pains begin to flow into our lives and we find that we are unable now to avoid certain difficult and distasteful situations which formerly we could avoid. He expresses this in a curious axiom: Be endeavored to SPIRITUALITY FOR LIFE, page 17

August 7, 2009

Catholic San Francisco

Archbishop’s Journal

What we are to God For the human race silver and gold are the romantic metals, the stuff of jewelry and heirlooms. Silver makes the ideal wedding gift, and it traditionally marks the twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. Mothers and grandmothers lovingly pass on their silver service to the next generations, who proudly display it and carefully insure it. Practically speaking, humanity’s love affair with silver doesn’t make much sense. Stainless steel is practical; sterling silver is not. Silver tarnishes, turns ugly, and it must be polished, a messy and tedious process. Once polished, silver tarnishes again and again, year after year, generation after generation. Still those mothers and grandmothers keep polishing the silver and keep on bequeathing it to loved ones. No one even considers bequeathing stainless steel to the youngsters. Why? Well, because stainless steel is a bit dull, and it’s only stainless steel. And silver does look so beautiful when it’s polished. Also, because the silver has been in the family ever so long. Finally, just because.

The truth is this: We are God’s silver. All of us. God “sits refining and purifying” us all, his children, generation after generation, because he loves us. He knows that it is in our nature to become tarnished, to behave sinfully and ignore him, and that he must constantly call us back to himself and polish us with his attentive love and grace. God knows that we will go on getting more or less tarnished, and he will have to continue polishing. Even after Jesus Christ has “refined” us sacramentally through the power of his saving action, we will need that polishing all our lives long. Why does God do it? He polishes us because he cherishes us. We are precious and valuable to him. He could have created a stainless-steel equivalent, but he created us. The reason why is a mystery, but the cherishing is real. The preaching of Jesus Christ is full of the good news of that cherishing. This realization can calm our anxiety about our worth in God’s eyes. It should not tempt us to complacency. After all, analogies limp, and we are not metal, but free women and men who can make graced choices either to tarnish or to be polished

in God’s sight. With his grace we can be “selfpolishing” as silver never can. The important lesson this image teaches is that we are simultaneously cherished and imperfect. To God, “cherished” matters much more than “imperfect,” and so it Archbishop should matter much more George H. to us. The reflection above Neiderauer is taken from the book “Precious as Silver: Imagining Your Life with God,” written by Most Reverend George H. Niederauer. Published in 2004 by Ave Maria Press, the book is available at www.avemariapress.com or other book sellers.

Spirituality for Life . . .

and distasteful. That’s masochism, not religion. Things aren’t necessarily good for you just because they are difficult. Choose to do God’s will, whether it appears tasteful or distasteful. But, he says, if you choose God’s will rather than rationalizing your own, you will invariably experience new vulnerabilities in your life, new pains that you could formerly avoid, and new duties from which you could formerly absent yourself. And you won’t always look good either. Jesus didn’t. He loved others beyond what was in it for him and this brought great depth and joy to his life, but it also led to humiliation and crucifixion. Sometimes he didn’t look good at all. When we do God’s will rather than rationalizing our own in the name of God and religion, we won’t always look good. Cool

is the opposite of vulnerability and genuine sensitivity. Sometimes, paradoxically, just when we are trying our hardest, just when we are most sincere, just when we are most honest, just when we finally stop rationalizing, our lives seem to fall apart rather than come together. Our spontaneous question is: Why? What’s the matter? Perhaps God is the matter! Perhaps for once we are doing things right, but we don’t like how we look on wood.

n Continued from page 16

be inclined to be suspicious, he says, when your own will and God’s will habitually coincide, when your religious practices always fit quite smoothly with what you want to do in your own life. To choose God’s will is precisely to not always choose our own. And the proof of this will be that we will now be dragged into feelings and situations which formerly we could avoid. But he adds an important warning: Don’t try, as is the perennial temptation in some spiritualities, to choose what is more difficult and distasteful just because it is more difficult

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August 7, 2009

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Letters . . .

n Continued from page 14 Also worth noting are the Rock of Cashel and the adjacent Monastery of the Holy Cross in County Tipperary Ireland. The ancient Cistercian monastery was restored in the 1970s and is an interesting counterpoint to the ruins of the seat of Munster’s kings on the Rock of Cashel. The monastic town of Clonmacnoise in Ireland is an ancient center of Christian learning set on the banks of the Shannon River in Ireland’s heartland. In Italy I would recommend visiting the Holy House of Loreto, which by tradition is held to be the home of the Holy Family in Nazareth miraculously transported by angels to the eastern coast of Italy. It is about a three hour train ride from Rome. Not far away from Loreto near the city of Pescara is the Basilica of the Holy Face of Manoppello. This Capuchin shrine displays a most intriguing relic of the Face of Jesus imprinted on both sides of an exquisitely woven veil made of the rarest fabric in the world: marine byssus. According to many experts this veil is the relic known as the Veil of Veronica which drew so many pilgrims to Rome from the 11th to the 16th centuries. The images of Jesus on the Veil of Manoppello are quite a sight to behold. Pope Benedict XVI made a special visit to the shrine of the Holy Face on September 1, 2006. It would be easy for pilgrims going to venerate the tomb of St. Padre Pio in San Giovanni Rotondo to also stop at Manoppello on the way. See my blog www. holyfaceofmanoppello.blogspot.com for photos of the veil and more information. Raymond Frost Daly City

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Catholics should be upset about Obama’s health reform, which will force us eventually to be part of a government health plan that will increase abortions while restricting emergency services. Obama wants all of us utterly dependent on big government supported by increased taxes. America has the best health care now we do not need to plunge into the type of care our Veterans are getting. Government budgets are not passed and the V.A. closes down for months. We do not need the government

bureaucracy with red tape and paperwork that will bring us untold anxiety. We do not want the government in the middle of the doctor/ patient relationship telling the doctors that their oath to save lives is no longer important because Obama does not want to spend money on expensive chemotherapy for people over 65 “who are going to die soon anyway.” If you are over 65 you may never be approved for mammograms or cancer checkups. Claire Rogus O.P.L. San Mateo

Attack politics Envy is a sin that requires determination: One must resent another for possessing assets he or she lacks; attack that person and enjoy seeing the person suffer. Matthew’s gospel reminds us that envy was the reason Jesus was arrested: “He (Pilate) knew that for envy they delivered Him; more were listening to Him than to them. (Matt: 27) In Dante’s allegorical description of Purgatory, sinners of envy are punished by sewing their eyes shut with metal wire for taking pleasure in seeing another’s loss. There is an axis of envy in America today in a purgatory of its own: Mediapolitical-academic elites in both political parties. They envy and fear grounded women like Sarah Palin more than Dracula fears a silver crucifix. Palin is as certain as Pope Benedict and the Founding Fathers that every human being has the unalienable right to life, including the unborn, the disabled and elderly. This unabashed Christian, who challenges the conceits of secular statists, did something that few do: She gave birth to a child with Down’s syndrome; ninety percent are aborted. This tragic chromosomal disorder, Trisomy 21 can impair cognitive ability, physical growth, facial appearance and developmental abilities. Politics is hardball, but never before in a U.S. election has any candidate (and a family) been subjected to such unrelenting denigration: (‘trailer trash, etc,) and subjected to frivolous charges solely to consume her public duties. All this was abetted and enjoyed by media, political, academic elites. “Normal Americans do not find it difficult to understand why Sarah Palin resigned,” wrote John Dunn (“American LETTERS, page 19

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n Continued from page 18 Thinker, July 2009.) â&#x20AC;&#x153;Palin has a clear hierarchy of values; she knows her responsibility is to serve the public, and to raise her family without distractions. She will look at her family and her disabled infant and learn much. Her critics look into their TV cameras and learn nothing.â&#x20AC;? Normal Americans also know the envy when they see and hear it. Mike DeNunzio San Francisco

Widely read Thank you for the article about Religious Education for people with special needs in the July 10 issue of Catholic San Francisco. Many Sisters, family and friends in the San Francisco area have sent me copies. Sister Julie Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Neill, BVM Director Emeritus Religious Education for Special Needs Persons

Cheer Jubilarians My thanks to Catholic San Francisco for the lovely color photos of Sister Jubilarians in the July 24 issue. I felt honored to be among those recognized for commitment to God and service of the Church. Sister Dolores Barling, SNJM Daly City

Teaching â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Lifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been receiving and reading the Catholic San Francisco for quite a while and really enjoy it. We especially enjoyed the article on the Essay Contest focusing on Matthewâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Gospel in the June 26 issue. After

reading all of the essays, we found them truly amazing and inspiring. The students demonstrated a keen awareness of todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s issues, and their essays provided some insights on thoughts and solutions we all could implement in our daily lives. Thank you for the article and publishing the essay winners and those who received an Honorable Mention. It made me proud of the writers, their teachers, their schools, and their parents for continuing to support excellence in teaching our children. Mr. and Mrs. Russell Abramson San Francisco

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Biblical exorcism I read Matt Baglioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s book, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Rite,â&#x20AC;? about the makings of a modern day exorcist (CSF July 8). My biggest concern is these priests do not exorcise demons the way it is described in the bible. Jesus equipped His apostles to deal with demons. Jesusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; way differs from â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Rite.â&#x20AC;? Priests in the book recite prescripted prayers, in a monotone, for up to three hours at a time. Their treatments can last two years or as long as 20 years, making it seem like the demons are in control. The book does state that exorcism began in the early church by the laying on of hands, invoking the name of Jesus, making the Sign of the Cross, and fasting. But this wisdom is overlooked in â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Rite.â&#x20AC;? Father Gary Thomas seems sincere. But facts shared in the book about his mentor, Fr. Carmine, caused me to doubt his credibility. And among the most outlandish experiences are recollections of a priest whose name is a pseudonym and is not identified. I do believe that Satan, his demons, and the personification of evil are real. The issue is how to handle them, and for that, we need to go back to the Bible, and to our Christian â&#x20AC;&#x153;Deposit of Faithâ&#x20AC;?, resources sadly overlooked in the making of these modern day exorcists. Ronna Devincenzi Palo Alto

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St. Mary’s Cathedral Gough and Geary Blvd. in San Francisco in (415) 567-2020. Ample parking is available free of charge in the Cathedral lot for most events. 24-hour Adoration schedule: Aug. 25, 7 p.m.: Jesuit Father Peter Milward speaks on the Catholic Shakespeare at St. Mary’s Cathedral Conference Center, Gough and Geary St. in San Francisco. Topics include Marian heroines in the writer’s plays and the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises as they relate to the plays. Free admission. Contact: campanaa@yahoo.com; patricia_inez@yahoo.com or call (415) 680-8934. Oct. 1 – 4: The annual Cathedral Festival of Flowers will highlight a group of fantastic floral designers from Europe who are coming to San Francisco specifically to work on this event. The opening gala (Thursday, October 1) will feature the designs of the professional designers in the Cathedral proper as well as the Cathedral Treasures exhibit and the Little Flower Festival with arrangements from amateur designers in our local parishes. On Friday and Saturday there will be several workshops and flower arranging demonstrations offered throughout the day. The Festival will end on Sunday afternoon (4 p.m.) as the annual Choral Festival concert will take place in the Cathedral. Visit the Festival website: http://www.cathedralflowers.org/

August 7, 2009 prayer continues as a peaceful vigil until 1 p.m. 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.

Datebook

Single, Divorced, Separated Aug. 16, noon: Annual picnic for Divorced and Separated Ministry of the Archdiocese of San Francisco at San Bruno City Park. All unmarried Catholics and their families are invited for an afternoon of good food, great fun, and lots of camaraderie. We will supply hot dogs, sausages, buns, condiments and a cook. Please bring a side dish, beverage or dessert to share. We always have fun and find interesting dishes when we get together, so join us. There is a nominal charge of $5/person, or $10/ family to cover meat, charcoal etc. For directions and more information please call Gail at (650) 591-8452.

Food & Fun Sept. 5, 7 a.m.: Catholic Marin Breakfast Club meets at St. Sebastian Church, Sir Francis Drake Blvd. and Bon Air Rd. in Greenbrae for Mass with breakfast and talk following. Guest speaker is newly ordained Father Joseph Previtali, now assigned to St. Veronica Parish in South San Francisco. Members breakfast $7/visitors $10. Call (415) 4610704 weekdays or email sugaremy@aol.com.

Year for Priests Events Sept. 18, 6 p.m.: St. Patrick’s Seminary and University Gala 2009 honoring Most Reverend William J. Justice, Auxiliary Bishop of San Francisco at Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption, Gough and Geary Blvd. in San Francisco. Tickets at $150 each include hosted cocktail reception and dinner. Evening also features a silent Bishop William wine and art auction as well J. Justice as a live auction. Black tie is optional. Proceeds benefit seminary programs. Call (650) 289-3321 for information or to purchase tickets. St. Patrick’s Seminary and University announces its Year for Priests Speaker Series. Takes place at 7 p.m. beginning Oct. 7 in Olier Hall at the seminary, 320 Middlefield Rd. in Menlo Park. Oct 7: “Priest in the New Testament” with Ruth Ohm. Dr. Ohm teaches New Testament at St. Patrick’s with special interest in Pauline material and ancient Byzantine Rite liturgy. Nov. 18: “Priesthood: Historical and Pastoral Reflections,” with Michael Neri. Dr. Neri, a member of the seminary faculty Father Gladstone since 1975, holds a post-gradStevens, SS uate degree in religious history from Berkeley’s Graduate Theological Union. Feb. 4: “Priest as Teacher” with Sulpician Father Gladstone Stevens. Father Stevens, vice-rector and academic dean at St. Patrick’s, holds a post-graduate degree in Systematic Theology from Marquette University and is a priest of the Archdiocese of Louisville. March 24: “Spirituality of the Priesthood” with Sulpician Father Jim McKearney, president and rector of St. Patrick’s, and a priest of the Archdiocese of Hartford, Connecticut. Tickets are $10 per session or $35 for all four. Seating is limited. Register on-line at www.stpatricksseminary.org under Speaker Series. Register by mail with payment to: Speaker Series, St. Patrick’s Seminary and University, 320 Middlefield Road Menlo Park 94025. Oct. 15: A relic of St. Damien of Molokai visits St. Mary’s Cathedral, Geary Blvd. at Gough, in San Francisco. Tentative plans include a dramatization of the saint’s work by actor Casey Groves as well as a prayer service at the Cathedral and an opportunity for Aug. 15, 9:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.: Housing Resource Fair at Junipero Serra High School, 451 W. 20th Ave. in San Mateo sponsored by the Local Organizing Project of St. Matthew Parish in San Mateo. Hear talks, including legal aspects, on housing both purchased and rented, foreclosure, and mortgage modification. State Sen. Leland Yee, Assemblyman Jerry Hill and San Mateo County Supervisor Carole Groom have indicated they will be in attendance to speak and answer questions. Admission is free. All are welcome. For more information, call (650) 344-7622.

The class of ’44 from Most Holy Redeemer Elementary School gathered for their 65th reunion in May at the United Irish Cultural Center in San Francisco. “We all had a very good time,” said classmate Margaret Meyer of St. Hilary Parish in Tiburon. “We try to get together every two years or so.” Back from left: Jim Walsh, Bill Figini, Art Vollert, and Bob Burke. Front from left: Imelda Hoecker, Margaret Meyer, Mary Kiner, Anne Graf, Marian Boeri and Yolanda di Marco. Not available for the photo was Joan Sebastinelli. Most Holy Redeemer’s class of ’69 has announced a reunion for the fall. See Reunions. the faithful to venerate the relic. Archbishop George H. Niederauer will be present for the Cathedral programs and has asked that no major events be planned for that date by any Catholic organizations in the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Blessed Damien will be canonized Oct. 11 in Rome and the relic’s stop in San Francisco is one of only three it will make on its way to Hawaii for special ceremonies at the end of the month. Blessed Sister Jeanne Jugan, founder of the Little Sisters of the Poor, will also be made a saint Oct. 11 in the Rome rites.

Catholic Charismatic Renewal Sept. 18 – 20: “It is Mercy I Desire,” the 2009 Holy Spirit Conference sponsored by the Charismatic Renewal of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Guest speakers and presiders include San Francisco Auxiliary Bishop William J. Justice, Father Dan Nascimento, pastor, St. Brendan Parish in San Francisco; Father Peter Sanders of Monterey and others. Tracks are available in English, Spanish and Vietnamese as well as sessions for youth. Masses daily - Friday, 7 p.m.; Saturday 11:30 a.m.; Sunday 2 p.m. Tickets are $35 for all weekend sessions or $25 per day. Youth tickets at $10 include lunch. The event takes place at Archbishop Riordan High School, 175 Phelan Ave. across from SF City College in San Francisco. Call for information: English (415) 467-2099 Hispanic (415) 297-1709 Youth (415) 350-8677 Vietnamese (408) 661-6751and visit www. sfspirit.com.

Good Health Aug. 19, 5:30 p.m.: Back Pain? Fight Back! with Physical Therapist Karl von Tiesenhausen - the top mistakes people make that cause back pain, why we have back pain and what changes you can make now to prevent or ease your pain. Aug. 26, 2:30 p.m.: Current Advances in Wound Care with Dr. David Young will present advances in wound treatment options for both chronic and acute wounds including pressure ulcers, diabetic ulcers, radiation wounds, varicose veins and more. Classes include Q and A sessions and refreshments. Both take place at St. Mary’s Medical Center, Cafeteria - Level B, 450 Stanyan St. at Fulton in San Francisco. Free admission but please register at (415)750-4991. Parking is available at a reduced rate in the St. Mary’s parking garage. Served by Muni routes 5, 21 and 33.

Pauline Books and Media Daughters of St. Paul, 2640 Broadway, Redwood City (650) 369-4230 - Visit www.pauline.org Sept. 9 and Second Wednesday of the Month, 7 p.m.: Catholic Fiction Book Club. Delve into some of the greatest Catholic novels of our times and times past. Discover the beauty of the written word and the power of literature to nourish faith. Discuss various works of Catholic literature and how their timeless themes relate to our own lives. Sept. 9, “Exiles” by Ron Hansen; Oct. 14, “A Thread of Grace” by Mary Doria Russell; Nov. 11, “Helena” by Evelyn Waugh.

Trainings/Lectures/Respect Life Aug. 16, 10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.: Jesuit Father Tom Reese, former editor of America, the Jesuits’ weekly magazine, speaks at St. Ignatius Church on the campus of the University of San Francisco. August 16: Pope Benedict XVI’s Encyclical “Caritas In Veritate” - available at http://www.vatican.va/ click “latest Updates.” Learn more about the encyclical and key quotes @ http://www.usccb.org/ (Xavier Chapel) Talks are in Fromm Hall directly behind the church. For more information, contact Daniel Faloon at (415) 422-2195. Sept. 12, 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.: Be an Angel with The Gabriel Project, a revitalized program for volunteers and pastors embracing “each pregnant woman who comes to them.” Guest speaker is Cathy Conn, founder of Gabriel Project, Houston, who will train attendees “in every aspect of this important ministry” and how to implement it as a parish-wide effort. According to Gabriel Project information when a pregnant woman calls for help, a line of assistance, including a parish coordinator, a trained mentor who remains as a resource throughout the pregnancy, and the parish community, providing spiritual, material and emotional support, goes into motion. Sessions take place at St. Mary’s Cathedral, Gough and Geary Blvd. in San Francisco. Cost, including lunch and continental breakfast, is $20 per person with scholarships available. To register, inquire about scholarships, or get more information, contact Vicki Evans at (415) 6145533 or evansv@sfarchdiocese.org by Sept. 8. Saturdays: San Mateo Pro-Life prays the rosary at Planned Parenthood, 2211 Palm Ave. in San Mateo at 8 a.m. and invites others to join them at the site. The

Reunions Aug. 29: St. Paul’s High School, class of ’59, announces a reunion of the Golden Belles at Embassy Suites, 150 Anza Blvd. in Burlingame. The alumnae are seen here in St. Paul Church following a Mass marking their 49th year since graduation in 2008. “This is a special group,” classmate Nancy Singleton said. “Many of us have been friends since we were five years old in kindergarten.” Contact Nancy Borgia Singleton at (415) 664-0062; Angela Barberini Johnson at (650) 347-0672 or Anne Anderson Zarate at (415) 587-8639. Sept. 6, 12:15 p.m.: Centennial Mass commemorating first century of Star of the Sea Elementary School and its now closed sister-school, Star of the Sea Academy, at Star of the Sea Church, 8th Ave. at Geary Blvd. in San Francisco. Archbishop George H. Niederauer will preside with Msgr. Floro Arcamo, pastor, among the concelebrants. Reception and rededication rites follow the liturgy. Call (415) 221— 3399 or e-mail alumni@staroftheseasf.com. Sept. 20 with Mass at noon: Our Lady of Mercy Elementary School, class of ’68. Contact Jean Anderson at (650) 756-3395 or jeananders@aol.com. Sept. 25, 7 p.m.: Riordan class of ’64 – “our 45th Reunion”: at the Peninsula Golf and Country Club in San Mateo. Evening includes dinner, dancing to live 60’s music and a chance to greet your former classmates. For additional information contact Denis Fama at dennyduz@aol.com or John Shiels at jshiels@conklincarpet.com Oct. 10, 7 p.m.: Class of ’69, Most Holy Redeemer Elementary School, is having its 40th reunion in Burlingame coordinated by Tiger Beat Cheerleaders, Patricia Dowling, Terri Kahle (Preziosi), Frances Ertola (Callaghan) and DeeDee Papalexopoulos (Canepa). Call Patricia Dowling at (650) 697-5762 or email pdowling@sftc.org for more information. Oct. 31: San Francisco’s St. Philip Elementary School class of ’59 is planning a 50th reunion. For more information, contact Jeanne Newland at (650) 755-9789 or geannenn@aol.com

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, e-mail burket@sfarchdiocese.org, or visit www.catholic-sf.org, Contact Us.

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Lively look at angels combines Scripture, church teaching, anecdotes “ANGELS OF GOD: THE BIBLE, THE CHURCH AND THE HEAVENLY HOSTS” by Mike Aquilina. Servant Books (Cincinnati, 2009). 123 pp., $12.99.

Reviewed by Nancy Roberts Angels are everywhere, as Mike Aquilina points out in “Angels of God: The Bible, the Church and the Heavenly Hosts.” They appear in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, playing “crucial roles in the drama of our creation, fall and salvation.” Angels also figure prominently in our prayer, as in the Mass’ “Gloria” and the “Sanctus,” both taught to humankind by angels. These heavenly beings transcend the traditional images of roly-poly cherubs reclining on clouds. Aquilina, vice president of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology in Steubenville, Ohio, shows that these pure “spirits who bring messages from heaven to earth” occupy myriad roles. Some, such as cherubim, are protectors of holy places; others serve as guardians of individuals and of institutions (such as nations). In an engaging, succinct style, Aquilina presents a synthesis of angels’ spiritual ecology, drawing mainly from respected scriptural accounts as well as the Church’s

teachings and occasionally, individuals’ case histories. While an earlier writer, Mortimer Adler, once defined angels as “minds without bodies,” Aquilina looks to the Old Testament Book of Daniel for a more sensory description of these beings: “His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sounds of his words like the noise of a multitude.” That’s how Daniel describes his vision of an angel – in Christian tradition, likely Gabriel – who apparently comes in response to his prayers. Of course, Gabriel also figures in the New Testament, where his main task is to bear glad tidings. Thus he appears in St. Luke’s Gospel to the old priest Zechariah to tell him that, despite his wife’s advanced age, she will bear a son, John the Baptist. Later Gabriel appears before Mary to announce the coming of the Messiah. Separate chapters are also devoted to Michael the Archangel and Raphael. Perhaps the most intriguing section discusses guardian angels. After all, who doesn’t know the childhood prayer that begins “Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits me here”? The rest of this beloved text implies that

guardian angels are to ease their charges’ earthly path: “Ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide.” But not necessarily, as Aquilina points out. While guardian angels sometimes make dramatic rescues on the scene of shipwrecks and other calamities, ultimately their focus is to help us reach heaven – “not to keep us or our loved ones from suffering or death.” Aquilina writes, “After all, suffering is perhaps the principal means of ourr spiritual growth on earth,, and death is our final portal al to God.” In practical terms, this is may mean that our guarddian angels may know betetter than we do “when an illness or injury will draw raw us closer to God. They also h l know when another 24 hours on earth will merely get us another day older and deeper in debt.” So will a guardian angel deign to help us find a parking space when none seems available? Yes, writes Aquilina, “unless that parking space might detour us on the

way to heaven.” In other words, sometimes it may be better to be late for an appointment (though we may not know so until the day of judgment). While this fact doesn’t necessarily follow from the necess strictest stricte reading of scriptural accounts of angels, it represents the author’s optirepre mistic misti attempt to combine the latter with the sum of l Christian tradition as well Chri as individual anecdotes. i The overall message is simple and upbeat: Angels have a long hisAn tory, tor and they’re here to help he us and to remind us of God’s love. A bonus is a short appendix of favorite a angel prayers and a poems, including the p Angelus Ange and James Russell Lowell’s L ll’ “Saint “S i Michael Mi h the Weigher.” Roberts is a professor of journalism and communication at the University of Albany, State University of New York, and the author of “Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker.”

Austrian Catholic’s letters show him to be a saint for our times “FRANZ JAGERSTATTER: LETTERS AND WRITINGS FROM PRISON,” edited by Erna Putz, translated with commentary by Robert A. Krieg. Orbis Books (Maryknoll, N.Y., 2009). 352 pp. $25.

Reviewed by Eugene J. Fisher Austrian Catholic Franz Jagerstatter was executed by the Nazis in Germany in 1943, a martyr to the faith. His “crime,” according to the Nazis, was refusal to swear the oath of allegiance to Hitler and to serve in the Nazi army. He believed that hiss Catholicism and Nazism m were antithetical and that at the German war of aggresssion against Europe was not ot a just war. His soul, he felt, lt, would be imperiled by mortal tal sin if he participated in the evils being perpetrated by the

Nazis. The advice he got from the priests and even his bishop was that despite his scruples he should do his duty and serve in the military. In 2007, he was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI, who, perhaps not coincidentally, is German. The bare facts above do not evoke fully the reality of Blessed Franz, who truly tr is a saint for our times. times “Franz Jagerstatter: Letters Lette and Writings From Prison” Priso brings together the letters letter between Franz and his wife, Franziska, first while whil he was in military training train and then in prison in Linz and Berlin. The second part contains his sec writings from his notewr books and his essays bo from fr the same periods. The letters show the reasoning and deepr ening Catholic faith e of o Jagerstatter as he grappled with the issue is of dying for refus-

ing to fight Hitler’s war or even to sign the oath that would have made possible alternate service and saved his life. Nazism, he believed, was evil, and to cooperate with its regime mortally sinful. He felt God’s love for all humanity should be respected and imitated, that human life is sacred and must not be sacrificed for greed or ambition.

Jagerstatter was not a scholar. He was a simple farmer who studied his faith and probed the Scriptures for their wisdom. That faith and that wisdom are amply displayed in his writings, which can be read both for their moral clarity and his ability to discern what was really going on WRITING REVEALS , page 22

(This is the same Congress that used to be done in the Cathedral)

Hispanic Charismatic Catholic Congress at Mercy High School Archdiocese of San Francisco “I am the bread of life.” JOHN 6:48

Speakers: Rev. Félix Martinez, Parral, Mexico Rev. Manuel Ruíz, Durango, México Rev. Andrés Avila, Puerto Rico Rev. José M. Corral, San Francisco, CA Miguel Angel Berrios, Los Angeles

Music: Christian Valdez, Bakersfield, CA Archdiocese Choir of San Francisco THERE WILL BE A GATHERING FOR CHILDREN: 4-11 YEARS-OLD Thank you for your donation of $5.00 for food per child each day.

PLACE: Mercy High School 3250 – 19th Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132

300 19th Ave. at Clement, San Francisco, CA 94121

Ph. 415.752.9274 • Reservations Accepted This family-owned restaurant, serves classic Mexican fare in a warm and friendly atmosphere.

Dinner: Tuesday-Saturday at 4pm

•

Sunday at 3pm

•

Closed Mondays

DATE: Saturday, August 8 and Sunday, August 9, 2009 TIME: 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. DONATION: $5.00 each day/person $5.00 per day for children over 11 years old

INFORMATION: Rev. José M. Corral (415) 333-3627 Spiritual Director & Coordinator of the Charismatic Renewal Movement, SF Joel & Josefa Sanchez, Co-Coordinators 650-368-7110 or 510-745-7439

SPONSOR: Hispanic Charismatic Renewal of the Archdiocese of San Francisco

Catholic San Francisco

August 7, 2009

Writings reveal moral courage, faith, wisdom n Continued from page 21

in those dreadful times, on the one hand, and for their spiritual depth on the other. They are simple writings, but powerful and moving. The reader cannot help but be challenged and deepened in his or her own faith. Like that of many such great moral figures in history, Jagerstatter’s death was largely unnoticed at the time. His memory remained in obscurity until a German bishop at the Second Vatican Council raised his example during the debate on conscientious objection. His story electrified the bishops who argued for the right of individuals to refuse to participate in wars they consider unjust. Jagerstatter’s story also came to the attention of American sociologist Gordon Zahn, who had written a groundbreaking study, “German Catholics and Hitler’s Wars,” which revealed the extent of cooperation by Catholics, both laity and clergy. Zahn’s book on Jagerstatter, “In

Solitary Witness,” was read by many young Americans facing the draft during the Vietnam War and may well have been, as Jim Forest’s introduction asserts, a primary reason why so many Catholics of my generation were conscientious objectors. Jagerstatter was a devoted husband and father. He anguished over leaving them by dying for his principles. But he questioned how he could raise his children to believe in the Catholic faith and to act upon its moral values in their own lives unless he himself embodied those values. It is a question all parents should ask themselves. And they should follow Jagerstatter’s answer to its conclusions for their own lives. Fisher, now retired, was an associate director of the Secretariat of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

EWTN-Catholic television highlights Catholic television programming on EWTN in August includes “A Hand of Peace - Pope Pius XII & The Holocaust,” a new film about the wartime efforts of the Holy Father to protect Jews from the Nazis. The documentary airs Aug. 9 at 7 p.m., Aug. 11 at 11 a.m. and Aug. 14 at 1 a.m. Other special EWTN programs include coverage of the 4th Annual EWTN Family Celebration in Birmingham, Alabama, Aug. 8 & 9. The tape delayed telecasts include a special edition of “Crossing the Goal,” hosted by former NFL all-pro wide receiver Danny Abramowicz, Curtis Martin and others. The telecasts air Aug. 15 at 4 p.m. and Aug. 22 at 11 a.m. Also featured this month are Barbara McGuigan, hosting EWTN’s “Voices of Virtue” and “Open Line,” which airs Aug. 16 at 11 a.m. and Aug. 22 at 1 p.m. and Raymond Arroyo, EWTN News Anchor who hosts “The World Over,” Aug. 16 at 1 p.m. and Aug. 22 at 3 p.m. EWTN is carried 24 hours a day on Comcast Channel 229, AT&T Channel 562, Astound Channel 80, San Bruno Cable Channel 143, DISH Satellite Channel 261 & Direct TV Channel 370. Comcast airs EWTN on Channel 70 in Half Moon Bay and on Channel 74 in southern San Mateo County. Visit www.ewtn. com for more EWTN programming & any updates in coverage.

Garage Door Repair Healthcare Agency

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SERVICE DIRECTORY FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION

Auto Service HABELT’S AUTO SERVICE

Complete Auto Repair 3865 Irving St. at 40th Ave. – Since 1964 –

Visit our website: www.catholic-sf.org 415-664-1735 Call 415-614-5642 Fax: 415-614-5641 Painting S.O.S. PAINTING CO. E-mail: penaj@sfarchdiocese.org Interior-Exterior Maintenance Services

wallpaper hanging & removal

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Handy Man Painting, roof repair, fence (repair/ build) demolition, carpenter, gutter (clean/ repair), kitchen/bathroom remodel, decks, welding, landscaping, gardening, hauling, moving, janitorial.

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Electrical DEWITT ELECTRIC Your #1 Choice

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Tree Care Removal of challenging trees Fully licensed and insured Fine Pruning Certified arborist 24 Hr. emergency service WC 5304 Insurance work Serving Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish for over 25 years

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Painting

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BILL HEFFERON

PAINTING INTERIOR, EXTERIOR All Jobs Large and Small

10% Discount: Seniors, Parishioners Call Bill 415.731.8065 • Cell: 415.710.0584 Member of Better Business Bureau

MARRIAGE AND FAMILY COUNSELING

Specializing In Wood Fences

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Elderly Care

Bonded, Insured – LIC. #819191

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Green Handyman

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MORROW CONTRUCTION

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Carpet Cleaning

painting and remodeling John Holtz Ca. Lic 391053 General Contractor Since 1980

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(650) 593-5959

David Nellis M.A. M.F.T. Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT 1319)

Contractor inspection reports and pre-purchase consulting

August 7, 2009

Catholic San Francisco

classifieds Visit www.catholic-sf.org for website listing,

advertising information and Place Classified Ad Form or Call: 415.614.5642 Fax: 415.614.5641 Email: penaj@sfarchdiocese.org

Piano

Lessons PIANO LESSONS BY

CAROL FERRANDO. Conservatory training, masters degree, all levels of students. CALL (415) 921-8337.

Elderly Care Personal care companion, Help with daily activities; driving, shopping, appointments. 27 years Alzheimer’s experience, references, bonded.

(415) 713-1366

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

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 the Holy Spirit

Rolheiser Retreat FR. RON ROLHEISER, OMI “Creating Sabbath Space In Our Lives” 10-part DVD for group or personal retreats. Perfect for private priest retreats. $

39.99

800-233-4629 www.videoswithvalues.org 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.P.L.

St. Jude Novena

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.

M.A.B.

J. & R. O'L

Prayer to St. Jude

Prayer to the Blessed Virgin never known to fail.

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.

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.

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. P.R.

Prayer to the Blessed Virgin never known to fail.

Most beautiful flower of Mt. Carmel Blessed Mother of the Son of God, assist me 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. N.F.

Most beautiful flower of Mt. Carmel Blessed Mother of the Son of God, assist me 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. A.L.

Prayer to St. Jude

Prayer to the Blessed Virgin never known to fail.

Most beautiful flower of Mt. Carmel Blessed Mother of the Son of God, assist me 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. I.P.

Appliance for sale

Catholic San Francisco

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: Jeannie McCullough Stiles, RN Fax: 415-435-0421 Email: info@sncsllc.com Voice: 415-435-1262

FOR SALE USED WASHER $ 280.00

415-797-8932

Healthcare Companion Adult Companion seeks employment with elder women: 6 yrs experience Personal care, driving, shopping or doctor’s appointment, etc.

Hourly, no live-ins, 5 days a week. Contract required 415.797.8932 415.333.4335

Caregiver available Star caregiver, 25 yrs. experience, live-out. Looking for work in San Francisco. Please call (415) 624-5576

Vocations Desire Priesthood? Religious Life? Lay Ministries? Superb Sabbatical? Jesuit Retreats? 800-645-5347 – 24/7 gonzaga.edu/ministryinstitute

Studio Apt. Needed Mature woman needs studio apt. up to $ 800 mo. rent. Non-smoker. Member of Old St. Mary’s parish.

415-773-1440

VISIT CATHOLIC-SF.ORG For your local & international Catholic news, website listings, advertising information and “Place Classified Ad” Form

Music

Schola Gregorianum, formerly the music ministers of the National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi, is available to provide music for weddings, funerals, and other liturgical rites. The quartet is especially trained in Gregorian chant as well as other early sacred music of the Catholic Church. For rates and more information, contact For rates and more information, contact schola Joseph Murphy Murphy scholamanager, manager, Joseph atat (415) (415)468-1810 468-1810or orvisit visitwww.sfschola.net. www.sfschola.net.

OFFICE SPACE AVAILABLE Approximately 2,000 to 10,000 square feet first floor office space available (additional space available if needed) at One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco (between Gough & Franklin), is being offered for lease to a non-profit entity. Space available includes enclosed offices, open work area with several cubicles, large work room, and storage rooms on the lower 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). Reception services available. Space has access to kitchen area and restroom facilities. Parking spaces negotiable. Ready for immediate occupancy with competitive terms. Come view the space. For more information, contact

Katie Haley, (415) 614-5556 email haleyk@sfarchdiocese.org.

Catholic San Francisco

August 7, 2009

Pope praises former Philippine President as ‘a woman of unwavering faith’ people’s uprising in Manila deposed President Ferdinand Marcos and paved VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope the way for restoring the country’s Benedict XVI expressed his sadness democratic institutions. She served at the death of former Philippine as the country’s first female president President Corazon Aquino and until stepping down in 1992. praised her commitment to freedom Known familiarly as “Cory” to and justice for Filipinos. Filipinos, Aquino was thrust into poliAquino, 76, died Aug. 1 after a tics following the airport assassination battle with colon cancer, which had of her husband, Benigno Aquino Jr., been diagnosed in March of last year. on his return to the Philippines from Tens of thousands of Filipinos U.S. exile in 1983. She assumed lined the streets Aug. 3 as her coffin the leadership of a broad opposition made its way from San Juan City to movement that, with the support of Manila’s cathedral for a wake and an military officers, eventually brought Aug. 5 funeral. down the Marcos regime. The pope, in a telegram to Cardinal At an Aug. 3 Mass in San Juan City, Gaudencio Rosales of Manila, the where Aquino’s body lay for public Philippine capital, recalled Aquino as “a viewing until it was moved to Manila, woman of deep and unwavering faith” Bishop Florentino Cinense of Tarlac who took on a crucial political role. noted her reluctance to run in the 1986 Pope Benedict praised Aquino’s snap election against Marcos. “courageous commitment to the free“Her imperfections were never Former Philippine President Corazon dom of the Filipino people, her firm Aquino attends a Mass honoring her and an excuse for her not to govern rejection of violence and intolerance, her late husband, Benigno Aquino Jr., in wisely,” he said in remarks reported and her contribution to the rebuilding by the Asian church news agency Quezon City, Philippines, Aug.17, 2008. of a just and cohesive political order UCA News. in her beloved homeland.” Citing her devotion to the rosary Aquino was installed as president in 1986 after a church-led and Mary and her consultation of spiritual advisers during crises,

the bishop said Aquino “showed us prayer cannot be the last recourse, but must be the first step.” “In Aquino, we see that for a true Christian there can be no distinction between private and public life,” he said. “Let her life and virtues challenge us to strive to do even better.” When she was presented the Path to Peace Award by a Vatican official in 1995, Aquino said she was accepting on behalf of her husband and all Filipinos, as well as herself. It was his assassination that “wakened the Filipino people from their apathy,” she said. As president, Aquino won praise for establishing free elections and instituting a wide range of democratic reforms and institutions in the Philippines. But her term in office was also weighed down by problems, including repeated coup attempts, government scandals and natural disasters. Her deep Catholic faith was evident in her frequent references to God in her speeches, and she often carried a rosary in her hands. Aquino was born to an affluent family in the Philippines. The family moved to the United States after World War II, and Aquino attended several church-run schools, including Ravenhill Academy in Philadelphia and the Notre Dame Convent School in New York. She earned a degree in French from Mount St. Vincent College, a Sisters of Charity institution in New York. Aquino later said her experience at Mount St. Vincent’s had taught her always to pray “Almighty Father, thy will be done.” She said it was this reliance on God that sustained her during the years of her husband’s imprisonment and assassination, and then of her presidency.

Catholic nuns circle the casket of former Philippine President Corazon Aquino during services at the Cathedral in Manila Aug. 3. Aquino died Aug. 1 after a battle with colon cancer. She was 76.

(CNS PHOTO/POOL VIA REUTERS)

(CNS PHOTO/CHERYL RAVELO, REUTERS)

By John Thavis

Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales of Manila blesses the body of former Philippine President Corazon Aquino at the Manila Cathedral Aug. 3. Aquino became a global icon of democracy after toppling one of the 20th century’s most corrupt dictators.

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