February 18, 2016

WEDDING:

Mass celebrates anniversaries Feb. 20

50 YEARS OF SERVICE:

HOLLYWOOD:

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Films about Jesus released during Lent

All Souls honors cafeteria manager

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CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO Newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Francisco

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SERVING SAN FRANCISCO, MARIN & SAN MATEO COUNTIES

FEBRUARY 18, 2016

$1.00 | VOL. 18 NO. 4

Pope and Russian patriarch call for action to save Middle East Christians CINDY WOODEN CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

(PHOTO BY DENNIS CALLAHAN/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)

Lent begins

Sacred Heart Cathedral chaplain Father Mark Doherty and theology chair Dan Baer impose ashes during the Ash Wednesday Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral. Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone’s Ash Wednesday reflections on Lent as a season of preparation on Page 2.

HAVANA – At long last, Pope Francis and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow embraced, kissing each other three times.

“Finally,” the pope told the patriarch Feb. 12 as they met in a lounge at Havana’s Jose Marti International Airport. “We are brothers,” he told the patriarch.

Amid the clicking of cameras and multiple flashes, Patriarch Kirill was overheard telling the pope, “Things are easier now.”

“It is clearer that this is God’s will,” Pope Francis told him.

A flight of almost 12 hours capped months of intense negotiations and more than two decades of Vatican overtures to bring a pope and a Russian patriarch together for the first time.

Cuban President Raul Castro played host to the pope and patriarch, who was on a visit to Russian Orthodox communities on the island-nation. Pope SEE CUBA, PAGE 18

OBITUARY

Msgr. Fred Bitanga: Beloved pioneer of Filipino apostolate in archdiocese CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

The unexpected death Feb. 3 of Msgr. Fred Bitanga, retired pastor of St. Patrick Parish and the first priest entrusted with the Filipino apostolate in the Archdiocese of San Francisco, brought an outpouring of prayers from around the world, many expressed in hundreds of comments and shares on Facebook.

Msgr. Bitanga He had been a priest for 51 years.

Msgr. Bitanga’s death at age 82 following an

outdoor Mass at the International Eucharistic Conference in Cebu was posted on the Archdiocese of San Francisco’s Facebook page. Within days, the Facebook page had nearly 70,000 views, 756 likes, 470 shares and 217 comments, many from former parishioners of St. Patrick and St. Joseph in San Francisco as well as from St. Joseph in Pinole, where he lived after retirement.

“Monsignor Bitanga … you are a legend, you will never be forgotten,” wrote Carol Orduna.

“Every time I attend services at St. Patrick, I always seem to see you.”

SEE MSGR. BITANGA, PAGE 7

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Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and Pope Francis meet at Jose Marti International Airport in Havana Feb. 12. The pope was traveling to Mexico for a six-day pastoral visit.

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INDEX On the Street . . . . . . . . 4 National . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Faith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . 23

2 ARCHDIOCESE

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | FEBRUARY 18, 2016

RULES OF FAST AND ABSTINENCE DURING LENT

ASH WEDNESDAY HOMILY

Lent is season ‘to prepare ourselves for the great feast of Easter’

ALL FRIDAYS DURING LENT ARE DAYS OF ABSTINENCE for all Catholics 14 and older which means abstaining from meat which comes from animals such as chickens, cows, sheep or pigs – all of which live on land. Birds are also considered meat.

Salt and freshwater species of fish, amphibians, reptiles, (cold-blooded animals) and shellfish are permitted.

ARCHBISHOP SALVATORE J. CORDILEONE

On this day we begin this period of preparation, of penance to prepare ourselves for the great feast of Easter. The church has many feast days throughout the year; each day marked by a special liturgy and sometimes other celebrations. The church has always, on the more important feast days of the year, preceded it with a period of fasting, a penitential period. The church, in her wisdom, understands the cycle of fasting and feasting. To really enjoy the fruits of the feast day, the celebrations and the mysteries that we use celebrations to mark, to really experience the fruit of that, we need to precede it with a time of preparation, especially a time of self-denial.

It’s this wisdom of fasting and feasting that makes me think of something I read recently from the great Catholic orator Archbishop Fulton Sheen, who contrasted the church’s way to the world’s way. He said, “We can have it only one way or the other. We can either have it the church’s way, which is fast and feast, or the world’s way, which is feast and then suffer the hangover afterward.” You can understand hangover in a broad sense; there are many negative effects when we don’t know how to properly feast and celebrate.

It is logical, then, that the most important, the greatest feast day of the whole year, Easter, the feast of our salvation, is preceded by the greatest period of fasting, the season of Lent, a time of penance which is this threefold observance which our Lord recommends to us, urges us. The Gospel reading we hear on this Mass of Ash

CATHOLICS AGES 18 TO 59 SHOULD FAST ON ASH WEDNESDAY AND ON GOOD FRIDAY which means only one full, meatless meal. Some food can be taken at the other regular meal times if necessary, but combined they should be less than a full meal.

Liquids are allowed at any time.

EXEMPTIONS OTHER THAN FOR AGE FROM THE REQUIREMENT TO FAST ON ASH WEDNESDAY AND GOOD FRIDAY include the physically or mentally ill and pregnant or nursing women.

USCCB

NEED TO KNOW 40 DAYS FOR LIFE VIGILS: Feb. 10 - March 20. 40 Days for Life is a peaceful worldwide movement of prayer vigils in front of abortion clinics. Locally, the vigil will be held in two locations from Ash Wednesday to Palm Sunday: San Mateo: Planned Parenthood, 35 Baywood Ave. Daily 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Sign up online at 40DaysForLife.com/local-campaigns/sanmateo. Questions, (650) 572-1468.

San Francisco: Planned Parenthood, 1650 Valencia St. Daily 8 a.m.-8 p.m.

Sign up online at 40daysforlife.com/ local-campaigns/san-francisco.

CHINESE NEW YEAR MASS AND DINNER: Feb. 20, 2:30 p.m. Mass; 5 p.m., dinner. St. Mary’s Cathedral, 1111 Gough St., San Francisco Limited number of tickets available through the Chinese Ministry Office, (415) 614-5575. Donation, $50.

Wednesday speaks of almsgiving, of prayer and of fasting. Fasting forces us to experience penance in our body.

It makes it real. It’s an act of selfdenial. We sometimes hear it said that we should not fast but instead do something positive. I hasten to remind us that giving up something in the form of fasting is doing something positive because it helps us, in our body, experience the penance and the turning of our hearts to the Lord to beg his forgiveness.

Prayer also marks this season of Lent, and the church’s Masses and liturgies are very rich in meaning; a time of special devotions, such as the Stations of the Cross, bring the message of Lent home to us. Above all, the prayer which is the sacrament of penance, where we seek God’s forgiveness and the grace of absolution, should be a part of the season of Lent for all of us.

Delivered at noon Ash Wednesday Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral.

ARCHBISHOP CORDILEONE’S SCHEDULE FEB. 18: Chancery meetings, Finance Council meeting

ONE-WOMAN SHOW, ‘THÉRÈSE, THE STORY OF A SOUL’: Feb. 24, 7 p.m.; Star of the Sea parish hall, 4420 Geary Blvd., San Francisco. Office 415-751-0450, StarParish.com

LIVING TRUSTS WILLS

(PHOTO BY VALERIE SCHMALZ/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)

Archbishop Cordileone imposes ashes Feb. 10 at St. Mary’s Cathedral.

Almsgiving is putting all of this into action by making a difference by sharing the love of Christ to those in need. Certainly, charitable contributions and any act of charity should also mark our observance of Lent.

The biblical idea is that those who give alms or do an act of charity, they’re filling up this bank account in heaven. There’s this image in the Bible of this heavenly bank account.

The more we give to the poor, the more we build up that bank account and prepare ourselves for the afterlife. It is a tremendous grace.

Let us enter into this season of Lent seriously. Let us mark it by this threefold observance – fasting, prayer, almsgiving and other works of charity – that we might experience the meaning of the season in our bodies and might be truly prepared to celebrate with joy and fruitfully the mystery of our salvation at Easter.

We begin this season of Lent with a blessing and imposition of ashes which take the place of the penitential rite which is normally done at the beginning of Mass. At this Mass, ashes will be imposed and we will wear the mark, outward sign, of our penance of this Lent today with these ashes on our foreheads. May it not be an empty symbol, but may we interiorly adhere to the meaning of those ashes. We remember we are in need of God’s mercy to turn our hearts to him with penance, with prayer, and ask his forgiveness and his grace that he might raise us to life with his son.

FEB. 19: Priests vs. seminarians basketball game, Santa Clara University FEB. 20: Wedding anniversary Mass,

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ARCHDIOCESE 3

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | FEBRUARY 18, 2016

Milestone marriages celebrated at anniversary Mass Feb. 20 Debra, Mark, Jeffrey and Richard, in Daly City where the family belonged to Holy Angels Parish and later St. Andrew Parish.

Sitting next to his “one and only” Bernice, who grew up in the Mission District and attended St. Anthony church and school with her family, Louie told his daughter Debra that too many people still think that married life is “happily ever after.”

“It’s not true,” he said, but you stay committed.

“When you get married, you surrender unconditionally to each other, exemplifying God’s love for us.”

Bernice said that a happy marriage requires more than just making sure you are keeping up your “half” of the relationship. “Each person needs to give 100 percent to the relationship,” she said.

The couple’s admiration and respect for each other is rooted in the family.

“He has always been a good father and his family comes first,” said Bernice. Likewise, Louie described Bernice as a “good mother with a positive and forgiving attitude.”

When asked by his daughter what advice he would give a couple getting married today, Louie said it is important to “surrender unconditionally to the other.”

“And study the Bible, which is our bread of life,” he said. “It gives us the strength and knowledge to overcome any obstacles we may encounter.”

CHRISTINA GRAY CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

It’s been almost 65 years since Israel Louis Greenblat and Bernice Elaine Greenblat strode down the center aisle of Immaculate Conception Church in San Francisco after their wedding on April 8, 1951.

Six-and-a-half decades, four children, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren later, “Louie,” as most people know him, and Bernice, still hold hands when they leave their pew at St. Paul of the Shipwreck Church, according to their eldest child, Debra Greenblat, who serves on the parish’s finance council and coordinates its art and environment ministry.

“It’s a sweet sight, but you may hear them say that at their age they are leaning on each other,” she told Catholic San Francisco. “I agree ... in more ways than one.”

The Greenblats are one of about 100 couples from around the archdiocese who will join Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone for the annual wedding anniversary Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral at 10 a.m. Feb. 20. The Mass is followed by a reception. The bilingual Mass is celebrated every year on the weekend nearest Valentine’s Day as a way to affirm the importance of the sacrament, said Ed Hopfner, archdiocesan director of Marriage and Family Life. Most couples are celebrating milestones, from five to more than 50 years of marriage.

“It is very important we give public recognition to married couples, and support and acknowledge the contribution they make to our parishes, to society, and to the church,” he said.

Louie, 88, a second-generation San Franciscan born to non-practicing Jewish and Greek Orthodox parents, converted to Catholicism so he could marry 19-year-old Bernice Darambouro “inside the rail” at Immaculate Conception Church. He was 23.

The Greenblats raised their four children,

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Israel Louis Greenblat and his bride, Bernice Elaine Greenblat (nee Fagundes), on their wedding day, April 8, 1951 and today, right.

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(PHOTOS COURTESY THE GREENBLATS)

Debra Greenblat interviewed her parents Louie and Bernice for this story.

SAINT RITA LENTEN LECTURE SERIES 2016 SAINT SAINT RITA RITA LENTEN LENTEN LECTURE LECTURE SERIES SERIES 2016 2016

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CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | FEBRUARY 18, 2016

All Souls ‘second home’ to cafeteria manager TOM BURKE CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

The numbers are staggering, not the least of them that Cathy Barri has been cafeteria manager at All Souls School for 50 years. “In one year the average lunches served is 21,450 for students plus faculty, multiply by 50 and that is a lot of lunches,” Cathy told me in an email.

“All Souls is like my second Cathy Barri home,” Cathy said, noting she has always liked cooking and especially baking. The kids’ favorite meals include spaghetti, tacos, pizza and oven fried chicken, Cathy said. “The week before Thanksgiving we have a turkey lunch with all the trimmings,” Cathy said “We make 18 pumpkin pies made from fresh pumpkin.” All Souls’ federally funded lunch program serves a hot lunch each full day of school.

Cathy was honored at a Mass Jan. 31 in All Souls Church with Bishop William J. Justice, a former pastor of All Souls, presiding. Bishop Justice told me he remembers Cathy’s “great sugar free chocolate pie! Um um good.” The school said the Mass and reception were “a celebration in honor of Cathy’s years working so hard to feed delicious lunches to our children.”

Cathy is a Giants’ fan and enjoys Friday night bingo.

GOOD READING: Daly City’s Our Lady of Mercy School is readying a coffee table book for the school’s 60th anniversary this year. “It will be filled with information about the history of the school, pastors, principals and all the graduating classes,” the school said in a note to this column. Watch the school website: www.olmbulldogs.org. Jeff Burgos is principal.

SMALL GIFTS: One morning in December, third grader Vinny Previtali brought a small piggy bank to his class at St. Raphael School, San Rafael, telling “ his teacher that he had collected some money for the poor” and would like to talk to his classmates about it and see if anyone wanted to do the same, said parish Deacon Gene Smith in a note to this column. After Vinny filled

GOD’S GOOD WORK: Bishop Steven Lopes, ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of San Francisco in 2001, was ordained to the episcopate surrounded by friends and family in Houston’s Sacred Heart Co-Cathedral Feb. 2. Cardinal William J. Levada with whom Bishop Lopes served in the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; Angela Alioto; and former San Francisco Archbishop George Niederauer are pictured with the new bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter following the ordination Mass.

The ordinariate serves Episcopalians who have converted to Catholicism and keeps offices in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.

ECO-MERCY: In light of Pope Francis’ document “Laudato Si’” and the Sisters of Mercy’ critical concern for the earth, Mercy High School Burlingame honored four agents of the good work at their annual justice liturgy Jan. 21. Mercy Sister Pat Ryan and Catherine Regan, both Mercy Burlingame alumnae, and Mercy faculty members Peter Diaz and Jennifer Lambdin “were acknowledged for their work in sustainability and ecological justice” that included facilitating relevant Mercy symposiums and building student gardens on the Mercy campus. Each year Mercy Burlingame honors individuals who work for justice at the liturgy. Pictured top from left, Catherine Regan, Peter Diaz, Karen Hanrahan, Mercy head of school; bottom from left, Jennifer Lambdin and Sister Pat Ryan, RSM.

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the class in, students immediately went into their pockets and backpacks and found loose change even a few dollar bills. They counted the money and put the $8.72 in a sealed envelope.

After school Vinny delivered the envelope to the rectory, asking for it to go to the St. Vincent de Paul Society for the poor. “I have seen poor people out on the streets a lot and I really wanted to help them,” Vinny told Deacon Gene. “So I thought this would be a good way to help,” Vinny said. The effect of his act of charity rippled outward. The next day his classmates brought more money collected from moms, dads and others.

Word spread about the campaign and parishioners were so inspired that they decided to match the original third grade donation. “The class even received a matching donation from a friend in Alaska!” Gene told me. The total donated to help the poor through the SVDP Society at St. Raphael Church in the name of the third grade class had become $287.64.

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ARCHDIOCESE 5

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | FEBRUARY 18, 2016

Speakers: Imagination, quiet time are key for students VALERIE SCHMALZ CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

Some of the greatest challenges of a teacher today are combatting the allure of the flashing blue screen of technological devices and reaching students who are growing up in a world where Catholic moral and intellectual values are often rejected, ignored or unknown.

The two speakers at the high school portion of the Archdiocese of San Francisco’s annual education meeting offered ideas to help Catholic high school teachers, and placed their ideas within the context of the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy. About 400 teachers from archdiocesan Catholic high schools attended the event at Junipero Serra High School Feb. 5, which began with a Mass.

Approximately 725 elementary Catholic school teachers met at St. Cecilia School for a presentation on literacy and writing and at St. Gabriel for technology presentations. About 125 preschool teachers also met in convocation.

“We have to reach the hearts of our students, not just their heads,” Pepperdine University professor Paul Contino said in his talk to the archdiocesan high school teachers about developing the Catholic imagination. Contino, a humanities professor who also edits the

RIORDAN PRESIDENT RESIGNS EFFECTIVE DECEMBER 2016

Joseph Conti announced Feb. 11 that he would step down as president of Archbishop Riordan High School effective Dec. 31, 2016. The archdiocesan Department of Catholic Schools will launch a search for a new president with the goal of hiring “an experienced

‘We have to reach the hearts of our students, not just their heads.’

PAUL CONTINO

Pepperdine University journal Christianity and Literature, listed three of Pope Francis’ favorite pieces of literature that could work well in a high school classroom: Dante Alighieri’s “Purgatorio,” Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s “The Brothers Karamazov,” and Italian author Alessandro Manzoni’s “The Betrothed.” He drew on music, film and recent essays in The New Yorker and The Atlantic. “The heart is commonly reached, not through the reason, but through the imagination, by means of direct impressions, by the testimony of facts and events, by history, by description. Persons influence us, voices melt us, looks subdue us, deeds inflame us,” Contino said, quoting Blessed John Henry Newman.

Jesuit Father Bill Watson took a different approach, focusing on what he sees as the erosion of the capacity to leader with a strong background in academic administration,” Conti said.

Conti said he and Catholic Schools Superintendent Nina Russo reached the decision mutually. Conti, the parent of two Riordan alumni, was chairman of the board and first stepped in as interim president after the unexpected departure of Pat Daly.

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think deeply because of ever-present technology, noting that most people – himself included – check their phones more than 100 times a day. “The spiritual development of the person’s heart is more important than technical expertise,” said Father Watson, founder of the Sacred Story Institute, who spent many years as a chaplain at Georgetown University, Seattle University and Gonzaga University. Sacred Story Institute is a Catholic/Jesuit nonprofit dedicated to programs and publications to advance Third Millennium evangelization by helping Catholic Christians live a sacred story that reveals Christ and the church as light for the world, according to its website.

“Technology consumption is eroding human consciousness and destroying our most significant impulse. As such it is one of the biggest challenges to our

Catholic identity,” Father Watson said.

Institutions and people are losing “the contemplative requirement that all of us need in our lives,” he said, and called for schools to create space for meditation and thoughtful contemplation.

“I think this is a highly important responsibility and privilege of Catholic educators to make sure we are providing the contemplative discernment space so kids can know who they are really; where true freedom is in their lives; and have the courage to follow it,” Father Watson said.

Data from neuroscience research show “a deeper reflective prayer life makes me more aware of the needs and concerns of other people,” Father Watson said. “So God has provided a response to the onslaught of what Pope Francis calls the technocratic paradigm.”

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6 ARCHDIOCESE

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | FEBRUARY 18, 2016

(PHOTOS BY VALERIE SCHMALZ/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)

Archbishop visits St. Stephen School

Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone visited St. Stephen School and parish during the last week in January, including a visit to the school Jan. 27. Photos show the archbishop with the student council (above), looking at a picture with a kindergartener (top right), reading a paper with a third grader. Principal Sharon McCarthy Allen looks on (bottom right).

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ST. CHARLES SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE

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FROM THE FRONT 7

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | FEBRUARY 18, 2016

MSGR. BITANGA: Beloved pioneer of Filipino apostolate in archdiocese FROM PAGE 1

“God bless your soul, Monsignor and may you rest in peace,” wrote Milagros Valdez. “So grateful for all the blessings on our wedding day (9/08/1979) at St. Patrick’s Church. Thank you Monsignor Bitanga for the great memories.”

“Monsignor Bitanga pretty much baptized all the SF natives I know including myself. May he rest in peace,” wrote Greg Gilvison.

Father Raymund Reyes, archdiocesan vicar for clergy, served as Msgr. Bitanga’s associate pastor at St. Patrick’s 1998-2003. The time went quickly because they were so busy, he recalled.

“One of the strong traits that he had was to welcome the Filipino immigrants and bring the celebrations, especially the devotions that we are familiar with, to St. Patrick’s,” said Father Reyes, including Santo Nino, Simbang Gabi and Tuesday devotion to Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

Many Filipino immigrants, when they first come to San Francisco, live on Natoma Street in downtown San Francisco before they get jobs and move to Daly City or the East Bay, Father Reyes said. The parish also served families in about five senior complexes, as well as tourists, and those working downtown who enjoyed the fact the church was busy during the week as well as on weekends. “The parish grew. As a parish, it welcomed everyone,” Father Reyes said.

That includes bishops, even cardinals, and priests, who knew they would find hospitality at St. Joseph, where Msgr. Bitanga was pastor from 1982 until it closed in 1994, and then at St. Patrick where he was pastor until he retired in 2006, said Father Reyes.

Msgr. Bitanga caught pneumonia concelebrating Mass at the International Eucharistic Conference, and then suffered a series of heart attacks at Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City, Metro Manila, Philippines where he died, according to the archdiocese.

Born July 19, 1933, in Pampanga, Philippines, Msgr. Bitanga studied at seminaries in the Philippines and was ordained April 11, 1964 in Dagupan City for the Archdiocese of LingayenDagupan, Philippines where he served there in roles including superintendent of schools until coming to the United States where his parents

and additional family already lived in 1969.

Msgr. Bitanga was incardinated into the Archdiocese of San Francisco June 24, 1974 and served as parochial vicar at parishes including St. Monica and St. Joseph in San Francisco as well as St. Augustine in South San Francisco.

In 1981, Archbishop John R. Quinn named Msgr. Bitanga coordinator of the Filipino apostolate of the Archdiocese of San Francisco acting as a liaison between the archbishop and the Filipino people.

In 1982, he was named pastor of St. Joseph Parish and in the years that followed coordinated the visits of many priests and bishops to San Francisco, said the Office of Vicar for Clergy in a statement.

Msgr. Bitanga was named a Prelate of Honor

by Pope John Paul II with the title of monsignor March 27, 1989. Archbishop Quinn wrote

how will your family

to him later that year, stating, “Our archdiocese is particularly blessed by the presence of many faith-filled Filipinos who constantly enrich our church community with their resplendent traditions of faith and spirituality. Your ministry has been a source of inspiration to the Filipino community and I join them as well in expressing my best wishes.”

In 2013, Msgr. Bitanga took up residence with family in Pinole.

Survivors include brothers Rudy and Cesar, and sister Elizabeth Lagade.

A funeral Mass was to be celebrated Feb. 18, 10 a.m. at St. Mary’s Cathedral, Gough Street at Geary Boulevard, San Francisco, with interment at Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma.

Remembrances may be made to the Priests’ Retirement Fund, One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco 94109.

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8 NATIONAL

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | FEBRUARY 18, 2016

U.S. BISHOPS, FILE AMICUS BRIEF SUPPORTING HEALTH STANDARDS AT ABORTION CLINICS

WASHINGTON – The Office of General Counsel of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops filed an amicus curiae brief in the U.S. Supreme Court Feb. 1, on behalf of USCCB, the Texas Catholic Conference and

several Christian partners in support of a Texas law mandating health and safety standards protecting women who undergo abortions.

“There is ample evidence in this case that hospital admitting privileges and ambulatory surgical center requirements protect women’s lives and health,” said the USCCB brief. “When

such requirements are not enforced, abuses detrimental to women’s lives and health arise.”

In November, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a challenge to the 2013 Texas law that requires clinics to meet certain health and safety standards and requires doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at local hospitals. The Texas law has already forced the closure of more than half of the state’s place, and at the same time re-learn the ways 40 clinics that perform abortions. In June the court issued a temporary of the past that were clean and efficient. stay,and saying Today we are at a turning point haveabortion providers could continue to operate while opponents the knowledge to live in an environmentally brought the case to the Supreme responsible style. We are now creating Court. smart ways to go about our dailyOther lives groups in a joining the USCCB briefno include manner that is less wasteful, but more the National Association of Evangelicals, the Lutheran inconvenient than we are accustomed to.

Church-Missouri Synod, the Ethics & Minor adjustments to our regular routine are Religious Liberty Commission of the all that’s needed to experience aSouthern cleaner and Baptist Convention, and the healthier life.

Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. The case is Whole Woman’s CHAPEL OF THE HIGHLANDS CHAPEL At OFthe THE HIGHLANDS Health Hellerstedt. we’re doing our part to support our v.local

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By Paul Larson

NEW CATHOLIC-MUSLIM DIALOGUE FORMED; CHICAGO ARCHBISHOP NAMED CO-CHAIR

WASHINGTON – The U.S. bishops’ Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs announced Feb. 8 that it is launching a new National CatholicMuslim Dialogue, and Chicago Archbishop Blase J. Cupich has been named its first Catholic co-chairman. “As the national conversation around Islam grows increasingly fraught, coarse and driven by fear and often willful misinformation, the Catholic Church must help to model real dialogue and goodwill,” said Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski of Springfield, Massachusetts, who is chairman of the committee. For over two decades, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ ecumenical and interreligious committee has co-sponsored three regional Catholic-Muslim dialogues, and Bishop Rozanski said the time is right to begin a national dialogue. The Chicago prelate’s tenure as dialogue co-chair will begin Jan. 1, 2017.

MILLBRAE – “LOCAL” is good!

It is now common place to hear key terms such as “Locally Grown” or “Locally Produced” to show that items "My“Locally father, H.Sourced” Clarenceare Larson. built the being economically CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE, USCCB andFuneral ecologically friendly.

Staying close to he opened on October 5, 1952,...

Home and operated it from the lime community and help keep our environment home locally hasto become and and sincepurchasing he has passed it on me. Over the years, CHAPEL OF THE healthy. For example, our staff members recognized as a responsible way to help the HIGHLANDS has become a landmark here in Millbrae andlocal we have earned each live to our facility eliminating environment. Documented by dramatically an excellent reputation on the peninsula.

I truly want you to know that we sin- used in daily extra consumption of gasoline decreasing the use of gasoline and lowering with as one wantoftocars give& youtrucks the best andcommutes to care for (along your family if who commutes thecerely number onhelp the possible, road, on foot).

We’ve successfully cut our daily supporting your local economy helps in it were our own. Take care, from Paul Albert Larson, President." electricity use to a minimum, and are always keeping our atmosphere clean and our • Well experienced in serving who've lost a loved one, and in a ways to power looking forhelping more them efficient congested highways as less of families a problem. ® For personal, anditprofessional our facility with the least amount of impact. most compassionate of our history was part manner; of • Successful yearswithin of experience and promoting well local merchantsFinancial We supporta our and local Advisor daily life towith stay youradministering local establishedBefore businessthe while creating an in the families ascommunity. much as possible and hope that community. existence of excellent easy reputation 225 South Cabrillo Hwy 103 C, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019 This involvement a major factor in his many associations with numerous our community in local turn will support the transportation peopleis grew their own fruits & shakers"/ leadersto& important contacts. CHAPEL OF THE HIGHLANDS. Before and "movers vegetables and walked where they Invested in the Community! complemented onthe his demeanor, facilities, automotive considering an out-of-state cremation group, had• Regularly to go. People would use services ofhelpfulness, Ouretc., Lady of the Pillar Parishioner | Alum: University of Notre Dame equipment staff. or nondescript internet transaction, those near by, &and to leave the community • Imaginative and resourceful in personally creating public relations such asChapel a chance please give tools our local Savingand for Retirement | Retirees | College Savers | Insurance Needs was rare and considered a major endeavor.

print, video and web advertising along with authoring numerous articles for newspaper, discover how we can best serve your family.

But following the Industrial Revolution and newsletter and of webthe publications; Local people in support As an of Edward localJones financial advisor, I believe it’s important for me to understand what you’re working after the advent Steam Locomotive, toward when investing as well as the level of risk you’re comfortable with so that we achieve a balanced • Numerous accolades include Millbrae Business of theorganizations, Year and San Bruno and visa versa, is a simple Steam Ship, Horseless Carriage, Airplane, approach to reaching your long-term goals. the Year. way to reduce fuel consumption resulting in and Business other of new and faster means of you’reofplanning for retirement, saving for college for children or grandchildren, or just trying to protect • Community minded and well known as an active member and officer in organizationsThis is Whether a cleaner environment. just one transportation the world appeared to be a the financial future of the ones you care for the most, we can work together to develop specific strategies to help

such as Millbrae Lions Club; Peninsula Council of Lions Clubs; Lions District 4-C4; many ways to make our earth a better place. better place…for a time. Recently though you achieve your Millbrae Historical Society; Italian Catholic Federation Branch 403;ever Millbrae Chamber If you wish to discuss cremation, goals. We can also monitor your progress to help make sure you stay on track by making any these inventive ways of moving people from necessary adjustments. Throughout it all, we’re dedicated to providing you top-notch client service. of Commerce; of thethe Golden West Nationalfuneral Parlor 118. matters or want to make preplace to place, Native alongSons with power • Alwaystolooking for our betterelectricity, ways to promote the Chapel of the Highlands thereby giving

We havefree thousands planning arrangements please feel to of people and advanced technology to support our efforts to ensure you receive the most current generated produce became

the public an opportunity to discover the enhanced quality of care that can be utilized at and comprehensive guidance. We also welcome the opportunity to work with your attorney, accountant and other call me and my staff at the CHAPEL OF a strain on our environment by dumping the

their time of need. or in advance via "pre-need" arrangements, etc. trusted professionals to deliver a comprehensive approach that leverages everyone’s expertise. Member SIPC. THE HIGHLANDS in Millbrae at (650) waste from these contraptions into our 588-5116 and we will be happy to guide you ecosystem. Wewww then realized that to clean Working together, we can help you develop a complete, tailored strategy to help you achieve your financial goals. .chapelofthehighlands .com in a fair and helpful manner. For more info up the filth we were generating we650.588.5116 needed to 650.726.4458 email: christopher.devcich@edwardjones.com www.edwardjones.com you may also visit us on the internet at: create cleaner ways to move from place to

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Christopher A Devcich, CFP

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WOMEN IN BUSINESS

Sherry Plambeck Director of Marketing –

The Magnolia of Millbrae Sherry was born in New York City, an only child whose father was a diplomat for the Canadian Government. She lived in the UK, the US and Canada.

She graduated from USF, Magna Cum Laude, with a double major of French and Psychology (National Honor Society, Alpha Sigma Nu).

She spent many years in the pharmaceutical industry as a regional Sales Manager for Procter and Gamble and worked for Ralph Lauren and Berlex Labs. She was voted “Top Ten” in the USA by the American Business Women’s Assn. in 1984, and hosted a television show, “Women Today” (Emmy). Sherry is presently on the healing team of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church-Burlingame, the honorary Committee for the Peninsula Stroke Assn., and board member emeritus for USF. She loves to sail, cook and entertain and has a passion for working with the senior population. She feels that they have much love to give and much knowledge to share.

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9

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | FEBRUARY 18, 2016

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To serve the living ~ The journey of Joe Stinson

EDRS specialist. The staff also includes Desiree Samora and Jason Bacigalupi, EDRS specialists and Arrangement Counselors, and Kathy Jacobson and Joyce Van Horn, Arrangement Counselors. Christine also certified as a Bereavement Facilitator is Family Services Manager at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery but is involved in the family business with accounting and the on-line store.

“We nurture each other through our journeys here,” Stinson said.

Colma Cremation and Funeral Services is a grief-based practice, though that service, grief support, is free. All of the following are offered – green burials, pre-planning, memorial service planning, transportation from place of death, funeral coach (hearse), caskets, urns, form explanation and processing, cremation and burial options.

Since day one, the company’s goal has been to offer affordable solutions for funerals and cremation. There is no embalming.

“Embalming is not required by California law, but you do have to have refrigeration,” Stinson said.

Embalming is expensive. It requires an embalming room and it must be in compliance with OSHA guidelines. No state or province in North America requires the routine embalming of bodies. (As needed, CCFS can hold someone in refrigeration for a month.)

“Today we are seeing more processes of a natural death,” Stinson said. “Less people are in an ICU. Many people are dying natural deaths at home or in nursing homes. So it doesn’t make a lot of sense to take a person who has just experienced a very natural process, that we are designed to do, to die, like we are designed to be born, and then proceed with embalming, a horribly invasive procedure which when done, leaves the deceased not looking anything like they did in life. “ “Many funeral homes will tell loved ones that they have to have that,” Stinson continued. “But that is misinformation. And I am saying that out loud to the entire world. Embalming has nothing to do with anything.”

Stinson said that death is also life affirming. “When a person dies, you have had them in your life, and you want to keep them in your life,” Stinson said. “And there is an understood promise that you make to your loved one – that you will take care of yourself. And when you take care of your health, by taking care of your grief, you will continue to get the messages that they are sending you.

When you are not healthy, the messages will be there, but you will never hear them.”

ov

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Provide

r

Appro

v

A selection of urns

Grief counselor and funeral director Joe Stinson

Appr

It happened more than 40 years ago in Jeannette, Pennsylvania, a small city near the center of Westmoreland County and about 25 miles east of Pittsburgh. 14-year-old Joe Stinson and his two buddies from junior high school, left school at 1 p.m. to go up to the Catholic church for their weekly instruction.

“I was running a little ahead of them and we had to cross the four big tracks that went through town,” Stinson said. His friends decided they were going to play hooky but Joe couldn’t and continued on to catechism.

“We are up there in that class for about 45 minutes and when we all came out, we headed to the bridge a little further down that crossed the tracks,” Stinson recalled. “Then we all see it. This big train is stopped and everybody is talking about how two kids got killed by the train. And then it hit. I knew.”

Joe’s friends had followed the steel rails a good way down, long past the spot where a bridge serves as a safety guide over land which curve downs. Eventually they turned around and came back into an area called “Dead Man’s Cut,” where two hillsides grow at such a degree, that one cannot hear a loud train coming. They were hit from behind.

“Back then, what to do about grief didn’t exist,” Stinson said. “And at that age, you go through what you go through. I went to the funerals and it was horrible. When you are 14, these are your brothers. We were extremely close.”

“After their deaths, one family was a little distant to me,” Stinson said, “because I was the one that lived. But the other family brought me in.”

It wasn’t until after high school, that the young man from Jeannette was really able to move on from what happened and start to see a need. Now a grief counselor, funeral director and the CEO of Colma Cremation and Funeral Services, Stinson said, “It was because of this lifechanging event, that I took up the baton of funeral work.”

Joe started in the funeral business with part-time work at a local funeral home while attending Robert Morris University. (With special thanks, he wants to note here, to his dear and recently departed friend John Dobrinick.)

Following college and his subsequent graduation from the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science, Stinson began his internship in Pennsylvania. But when the girl of his dreams moved to Southern California with her parents, Joe flew out West and he and Christine were married in Vegas. “That was in 1967, the Summer of Love!”

Stinson went to work for Gates, Kingsley & Gates (Funeral Directors) in Santa Monica, Culver City and Westwood. The couple stayed a year; then returned to their hometown when Christine became pregnant with their first daughter. (They have two “wonderful” daughters and two “fabulous” grandsons.) In 1969, Stinson received his Funeral Director and Embalmer license.

In 1975, through the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Organ Donor Team, he became certified in eye enucleation surgery for cornea transplant. While working full time as a funeral director, he donated his time to transplant teams at three area hospitals. For this work he received the Distinguished Service Award. He was additionally an Associate in Hospital Pathology, as well as a Deputy Coroner and an Associate in Forensic Pathology.

In 1978, he pursued courses in the field of grief and bereavement counseling and became nationally certified as a Bereavement Facilitator.

“When I originally entered the funeral business, the

type of work I did was traditional,” Stinson said. “But one day a family came in that I knew like my own family. I greeted them the way I greeted others, but I got a very, very different reaction and that’s because I wasn’t educated on grief. When individuals go to school to get their license in medicine, psychology, health care, ministry, sociology, funeral service – if they want to specialize in end of life care or grief work, they have to add the study of grief as part of their discipline, because it is not naturally taught as part of their discipline.”

“In this country, we really learned about grief from the family members of Vietnam Vets missing in action,” Stinson continued. “These family members were really getting sick because they could never grieve. And grieving is about health.”

But before Stinson really learned about “grief,” he said he did what many professionals do in the various fields which deal with illness and/or heartache – he did everything he could to be liked by the person experiencing grief.

“Once you understand how grief works, you know that you are not there for these people so they can watch your performance and your hope is that they like you,” Stinson said. “People are going to talk to you about things they can’t talk to any other human being about. When you are not a grief counselor, you don’t want to ask them how they are, because if they tell you, you won’t know what to say. In the understanding of grief, we have taken it from a psychological issue to a physiological issue and so it becomes about wellness and health and this puts us on the ‘Kübler-Ross ‘ side of things.”

Swiss-born psychiatrist Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (1926-2004) was a pioneer in “near-death” studies. In her 1969 book “On Death and Dying,” she examined the five stages of grief, as it relates to the news of one’s impending death – denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. These five stages have also since been recognized as applying to the survivors of a loved one’s death.

“When one goes through grief and trauma, it changes the way the hormones are produced in the body,” Stinson said, “and you are going to have these symptoms. One is loss of memory, way more than is comfortable, regardless of age. Children have it too. You are going to have a hard time following a thought process and completing it, whether you are talking or thinking. Your five senses are actually diminished, so things are not getting to you.

That’s where you hear people say they are numb. Your immune system drops, so you are more susceptible to disease and you have feelings of being overwhelmed.

When someone comes in, I am going to talk to them about this. Because the more that person grieving knows this, the more they know there is nothing wrong with them. What they are going through is a normal process. A big part of what we do here, is give individuals all kinds of coping skills.”

Since being educated on grief, Stinson has fully embraced teaching what he knows. He taught in Hospice for fifteen years. He teaches “grief ” in certified continuing education courses for health providers. He designed a course, “Death, Dying, Loss and Survival,” which he teaches to elementary school students through university students. He is a frequent guest on Kelly Howell’s “Theatre of the Mind” podcast. At one point he created and was the host of “Good Grief Radio,” where his guests included Frank Ostaseski, the creator and founding director of Zen Hospice Project, and Father Miles Riley, PhD, a wellness speaker known for his radio ministry.

In 1987, with their daughters in or about to enter college, Joe and Christine headed back to California, this time to the Bay Area.

“Among our top reasons for moving here is that ‘here’ is where (American rock band) the Grateful Dead lived and we’re huge fans,” Stinson laughed, adding that he wasn’t kidding. Also, Joe needed some new challenges.

Having grown up in Jeannette, and having been at one time a well-known school athlete, he felt things were too often handed to him. The family moved and Joe’s sister and brother-in-law made the move as well.

Stinson worked in various funeral homes, then bought Colma Cremation and Funeral Services in the early 90s.

He partnered with Pam Taylor, a licensed funeral director, whose background included caregiver responsibilities with Mission, Pathway and Kara Hospice. Like Stinson, she received her National Certification as a Bereavement Facilitator. Joe and Christine’s daughter Amy Stinson, also nationally certified as a Bereavement Facilitator, is the company’s manager, Associate Funeral Director and

provider

arts and features writer

ed

By Jean Bartlett

provide Healthy Grief Support that helps

ordinary people accomplish truly Jean Bartlett is a features writer forexceptional the Pacifica Tribune careother for their and This themselves. and Bayloved Area one Papers. article originally ran in the “February 20 – 27, 2013” issue of the Peninsula Progress and is printed withI.permission fromFDr the713 author.

Joseph Stinson owner, director, grief counselor

Nationally Certified Bereavement Facilitators for Healthy Grief Support online arrangements go to:

10 FAITH

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | FEBRUARY 18, 2016

SUNDAY READINGS

Second Sunday of Lent While he was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and they became frightened when they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, ‘This is my chosen Son; listen to him.’

LUKE 9:28B-36 GENESIS 15:5-12, 17-18 The Lord God took Abram outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can. Just so,” he added, “shall your descendants be.” Abram put his faith in the Lord, who credited it to him as an act of righteousness. He then said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as a possession.” “O Lord God,” he asked, “how am I to know that I shall possess it?” He answered him, “Bring me a 3-year-old heifer, a 3-year-old she-goat, a 3-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” Abram brought him all these, split them in two, and placed each half opposite the other; but the birds he did not cut up. Birds of prey swooped down on the carcasses, but Abram stayed with them. As the sun was about to set, a trance fell upon Abram, and a deep, terrifying darkness enveloped him. When the sun had set and it was dark, there appeared a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch, which passed between those pieces. It was on that

occasion that the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying: “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the Great River, the Euphrates.”

of the Lord in the land of the living.

Wait for the Lord with courage; be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord.

The Lord is my light and my salvation.

PSALM 27:1, 7-8, 8-9, 13-14 The Lord is my light and my salvation.

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The Lord is my life’s refuge; of whom should I be afraid?

The Lord is my light and my salvation.

Hear, O Lord, the sound of my call; have pity on me, and answer me. Of you my heart speaks; you my glance seeks.

The Lord is my light and my salvation.

Your presence, O Lord, I seek. Hide not your face from me; do not in anger repel your servant. You are my helper: cast me not off.

The Lord is my light and my salvation.

I believe that I shall see the bounty

PHILIPPIANS 3:17-4:1 Join with others in being imitators of me, brothers and sisters, and observe those who thus conduct themselves according to the model you have in us. For many, as I have often told you and now tell you even in tears, conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction. Their God is their stomach; their glory is in their “shame.” Their minds are occupied with earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body by the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to himself. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord.

LUKE 9:28B-36 Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up the mountain to pray.

While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem. Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep, but becoming fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” But he did not know what he was saying.

While he was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and they became frightened when they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.” After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone.

They fell silent and did not at that time tell anyone what they had seen.

Climbing the mountain of prayer

O

ften enough it happens that after I’ve given a talk on the topic of spiritual discernment, one or another of those in attendance will approach me and ask for an appointment so that I can begin teaching them the Ignatian (named after St. Ignatius of Loyola) method of the discernment of spirits.

Whenever possible I’m happy to oblige, but I explain at the FATHER MARK outset that if DOHERTY the instruction is to be possible and amount to anything they need to have an active

SCRIPTURE REFLECTION

prayer life that includes at least daily periods of silent, still recollection.

St. Ignatius, like all masters of the spiritual life, stressed this point often to those he helped to find Jesus.

Without a regular, developed prayer life, one’s knowledge of the ways of the Spirit remains speculative. Speculative knowledge is book knowledge. In itself it is good, but because here we’re speaking about knowledge of another person, namely Jesus, St. Ignatius says we need practical knowledge, that is to say, experiential knowledge, tasted knowledge. It is better to have a little tasted knowledge of milk than to know many things about its properties, he said. Jesus, God, is not an idea to be mulled over but a person to be in relationship with.

So long as we remain perpetually ensconced in the din and fray of life we will not gain this tasted knowledge. As Abraham needed to leave behind his surroundings and make his way out to

the desert sky in order to see the bright stars canvassed above, so we need to allow the Lord to call us out of our hectic routines each day for some time alone with him in the wilderness, where he can lay out for us in a crisp, dark sky all the bright rays of grace that he is pouring down upon us. As Peter, James and John needed to climb the mountain in order to experience more deeply the splendorous identity of the Lord, so we need to climb the mountain of prayer, to rise above the din, where in the clean air of the mountaintop the movements of the Lord’s Spirit stirred within us are sharper, brighter, more colorful and lively.

It is in the quiet moments of prayer, especially when we are on retreat, that we can experience more intensely the stirrings of God within us. God seems to write in bigger, bolder strokes when we are on the mountaintop. His presence to us seems more vibrant and striking.

Of course, time away on the mountaintop with God is precisely that, time away. We cannot stay there indefinitely.

Jesus summons us back down into the din of daily life. The difference now is that, having tasted more deeply the contours of God’s Spirit moving within me, having had a deeper experience of the Almighty on the mountaintop, I can more easily discern his somewhat hidden and subtle presence in the midst of the back and forth of daily life.

During Lent the Lord invites us out into the dessert. He summons us to moments of deeper prayer. Why not take him up on the invitation? Allow him to lead you up the mountain. He will not disappoint you. Up there, in the clean, crisp air, he will provide you with a deeper, more vibrant experience of his life at work within you.

day of the Second Week of Lent. Mi 7:14-15, 18-20. PS 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12. Lk 15:18. Lk 15:1-3, 11-32.

of the Third Week of Lent. Dt 4:1, 5-9.

PS 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20. See Jn 6:63c, 68c. Mt 5:17-19.

FATHER DOHERTY is parochial vicar at St. Peter Parish, San Francisco, and chaplain for Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory.

Polycarp LITURGICAL CALENDAR, DAILY MASS READINGS

c. 69 - c. 156 feast – February 23 MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22: Feast of This disciple of St. John the the Chair of St. Peter, apostle. 1 Pt Apostle was appointed bishop 5:1-4. PS 23:1-3a, 4, 5, 6. Mt 16:18. Mt of Smyrna (now Izmir, Turkey), 16:13-19. perhaps by John. Representing the Asia Minor churches, he TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23: Tuesday went to Rome about 155 to of the Second discuss Week of Lent.

Optional when to celebrate Memorial of St.Easter.

Polycarp of Smyrna, The result was that the Crosiers bishop and martyr.

Is and 1:10, 16-20.

PS St. Polycarp of Smyrna St. Katharine Drexel Eastern Western churches 50:8-9, 16bc-17, 21 andto23, Ez 18:31. continued calculate the Polycarp Mt 23:1-12. date as before. Shortly after his return, 17:5-10.

PSwas 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6. See Lk arrested and urged to renounce God. He refused and 8:15.

Lk 16:19-31. sentenced to be burned alive. When the flames did WEDNESDAY, was FEBRUARY 24: him, Week he wasof killed by a FRIDAY, sword, as recounted in Wednesday of not theharm Second FEBRUARY 26: Friday of an early Christian document.

Lent. Jer 18:18-20. PS 31:5-6, 14, 15the Second Week of Lent. Gn 37:3-4,

16. Jn 8:12. Mt 20:17-28.

Saints for Today

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25: Thursday of the Second Week of Lent: Jer

12-13a, 17b-28a.

PS 105:16-17, 18-19, © 2007 2005 CNS 20-21. Jn 3:16. Mt 21:33-43, 45-46.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27: Satur-

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28: Third Sunday of Lent. Ex 3:1-8a, 13-15. Ps 103: 1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8, 11. 1 Cor 10:1-6, 10-12. Lk 13:1-9.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 29: Monday of the Third Week of Lent. 2 Kgs 5:1-15ab. PS 42:2, 3; 43:3, 4. See Ps 130:5, 7. Lk 4:24-30.

TUESDAY, MARCH 1: Monday of the Third Week of Lent. 2 Kgs 5:1-15ab.

PS 42:2, 3; 43:3, 4. See Ps 130:5, 7. Lk 4:24-30.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2: Wednesday

THURSDAY, MARCH 3: Thursday of the Third Week of Lent. Optional Memorial of St. Katharine Drexel, virgin.

Jer 7:23-28. PS 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9. Jl 2:12-13. Lk 11:14-23.

FRIDAY, MARCH 4: Friday of the Third Week of Lent. Optional Memorial of St. Casimir of Poland. Hos 14:2-10. PS 81:6c-8a, 8bc-9, 10-11ab, 14 and 17.

Mt 4:17. Mk 12:28-34.

SATURDAY, MARCH 5: Saturday of the Third Week of Lent. Hos 6:1-6. PS 51:34, 18-19, 20-21ab. Ps 95:8. Lk 18:9-14.

OPINION 11

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | FEBRUARY 18, 2016

A

On reading difficult passages in Scripture

colleague of mine shares this story: Recently, after presiding a Eucharist, a woman from the congregation came up to him with this comment: “What a horrible Scripture reading today! If that’s the kind of God we’re worshipping, then I don’t want to go to heaven!”

The reading for that day’s liturgy was taken from Chapter 24 of the Second Book of Samuel where, seemingly, God gets upset with King David for counting the number of men he had for military service and then punishes him by sending a pestilence FATHER RON that kills 70,000 people.

ROLHEISER Is this really the word of God? Did God really get angry with David for doing a simple census and kill 70,000 people to teach him a lesson?

As it stands, literally, yes, this is a horrible text!

What do we do with passages like this and many others where God, seemingly, demands violence in his name? To cite just one example: In his instructions to Joshua when they enter the Promised Land, God orders him to kill everything in the land of Canaan, all the men, all the women, all the children, and even all the animals. Why? Why would God so grossly want all these people destroyed? Can we believe God would do this? There are other similar examples, as, for instance, in the Book of Judges, where God grants the prayer of Jephthah, the Gileadite, on the condition that he sacrifices his own daughter on the altar of sacrifice.

M

Texts like this seem to go against the very essence of the nature of God as the rest of Scripture reveals it.

God, in Scripture, is sometimes seemingly shown to be arbitrary, heartless, violent, demanding violence from believers, and completely calloused about the lives of anyone not among his chosen favorites.

If one were to take these texts literally they could be used to justify the exact type of violence that extremist groups like ISIS and al-Qaida carry out under the belief that God loves them alone and they are free to kill others in his name.

Nothing could be further from the truth and nothing could be further from the meaning of these texts.

These texts, as biblical scholarship makes clear, are not to be taken literally. Whenever they are read they could be preceded by the kind of disclaimer we now often see at movies where we are told: No real animals died while making this film. So too, no real people die in these texts.

First of all, these texts are anthropomorphic, meaning that in them we attribute our own emotions and intentions to God. Hence these texts reflect our feelings, not God’s. For example, when Paul tells us that when we sin we experience the “wrath of God,” we are not to believe that God gets angry with us when we sin and sends positive punishment upon us. Rather, when we sin, we punish ourselves, begin to hate ourselves, and we feel as if God has gotten angry with us. Biblical writers frequently write in this genre. God never hates us, but, when we sin, we end up hating ourselves.

These texts are also archetypal, meaning that they are powerful, primordial images that explain how life works. I remember a man coming up to me one Sunday after a liturgy, when the reading had proclaimed

God’s order to Joshua to kill all the Canaanites upon entering the Promised Land. The man said to me: “You should have let me preach today. I know what that text means: I’m an alcoholic in recovery - and that text means ‘cold turkey.’ As an alcoholic, you have to clean out your liquor cabinet completely, every bottle, you can’t be having even a single drink. Every Canaanite has to be killed! Jesus said the same thing, except he used a softer metaphor: New wine, new wineskins.” In essence, that’s the meaning of this text.

But even so, if these texts are not literal aren’t they still the inspired word of God? Can we just explain them away because we feel them inconvenient?

Two things might be said in response to this: First, all individual texts in Scripture must be seen within the larger, overall framework of Scripture and our overall theology of God and, as such, they demand an interpretation that is consistent with the nature of God as revealed overall in Scripture. And, in Scripture as a whole, we see that God is nonnegotiably all-loving, all-merciful, and all-good and that it is impossible to attribute bias, callousness, brutality, favoritism, and violence to God. Moreover, Scripture is binding and inerrant in the intentionality of its message, not in the literalness of its expression. We do not, for example, take literally Jesus’ command to “call no one on earth your father,” nor Paul’s command: “Slaves be subject to your masters.”

Context and interpretation are not rationalizations, they are sacred duty. We may not make Scripture unworthy of God. OBLATE FATHER ROLHEISER is president of the Oblate School of Theology, San Antonio, Texas.

Oh what a tangled web: Rising above Instagram envy

elina Birchem has uploaded 777 images to her Instagram account over the past two years: sushi, Starbucks, her new tattoo, rosary beads, cowboy boots. Sometimes the juxtaposition is jarring. A glowing monstrance, a chilled margarita.

A snapshot from waitressing, a prayer journal documenting her consecration to the Blessed Mother.

As a freshman at the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota, Melina has tried to moderate her use of social media, deleting the Facebook and Twitter apps from her CHRISTINA iPhone and abandoning SnapCAPPECCHI chat altogether. Instagram has been harder to rein in, admits the psychology major, an amateur photographer and self-described “beauty seeker” who is among more than 400 million users drawn to the 5-year-old photo-sharing social network.

“I have one of those love-hate relationships with Instagram,” Melina said.

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It captures her adventures, connects her with friends and kindles her faith. But sometimes it sends Melina down a destructive path, like when it leads her to bikini photos that erode her selfesteem. Even following friends can induce pangs of envy. “I’m constantly seeing rings and relationships popping up on my Instagram. It can make me feel very single.”

It’s easy to get stuck in the honeycomb of Instagram feeds, where six degrees of separation becomes two taps – from someone you know to someone who knows someone you know, then a total stranger with an expensive wardrobe and a nice tan. The filters create a fun house mirror of comparison, rendering you short and squatty.

They’re the ones out making great memories – picking apples, lounging poolside, kissing beneath a Ferris wheel. You’re the one in sweatpants stalking them from the couch.

Instagram has created a culture of unabashed voyeurism. To comment on a picture with the popular hashtag “goals” is to openly covet. It’s often a one-word comment, an evolution from the “I like this” of a facile Facebook thumbs-up to “I want to be this.” Yet the word “goals” connotes a rigorous

academic pursuit, making it perfectly acceptable, even witty.

“That hashtag is a pet peeve of mine!” Melina said.

“It’s a code for comparison and envy. It’s like, ‘Why are you striving to be someone else when God meant you to be you? You are precious in his eyes!’”

Melina is trying to reclaim the hashtag by occasionally tagging her posts with “Catholicgoals,” a tongue-in-cheek reminder of what really matters – sacraments, prayer, friendship. She resists the temptation to curate her Instagram feed in order to project a perfect life, realizing that wouldn’t be healthy for her or friends who would view it.

“You’re never going to have good conversations with people if you’re not willing to be vulnerable.”

Melina believes we’ve become too passive about toxic influences. “We’re scared of certain consequences that may or may not happen if we make a first decision to cut off that which kills us,” she said. “I want to challenge us to become bolder in seeing what is hurting us physically, emotionally, spiritually and then doing something about it.”

CAPECCHI is a freelance writer from Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, and the editor of SisterStory.org.

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CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | FEBRUARY 18, 2016

OBITUARY

Deacon Nicolas L. Rodriguez Deacon Nicolas L. Rodriguez, known for his service at St. Timothy, St. Matthew and Our Lady of Mount Carmel parishes, died Feb. 1.

He was 80 years old.

Deacon Nicolas L. Rodriguez

Born in Mexico, he came to the United States with his family in 1975.

He retired from Hillsborough City School District in 2005 “after 16 years doing what he loved most– gardening

and preserving and being one with nature,” his family said in a statement.

He was ordained a deacon in 1991.

“He was respected and admired by many members of the church community and was always willing to help and serve the Lord in any way possible,” his family said.

Survivors include his wife Gloria,

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their five children, and their families.

A funeral Mass was celebrated Feb. 6 at St. Timothy Church with interment in Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma.

Remembrances may be made to the Priests’ Retirement Fund, One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco 94109.

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CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | FEBRUARY 18, 2016

Shipwreck celebrates African-American Day of Prayer

Left, Redemptorist Father Rey Culaba celebrated the Gospel Mass Feb. 7. Center, Parishioners enter the sanctuary to pray. Right, Marion Jones, member of the Inspirational Voices of Shipwreck Gospel Choir, has attended St. Paul of the Shipwreck’s National Day of Prayer celebrations since 1989.

PHOTOS AND TEXT BY DEBRA GREENBLAT CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

Twenty seven years ago the pastor of St. Paul of the Shipwreck, Franciscan Father Jim Goode, started the National Day of Prayer for the African-American and African Family – celebrated on the first Sunday of Black History Month. On Feb. 7, St. Paul of the Ship-

wreck continued the tradition with a Gospel Mass celebrated by Redemptorist Father Rey Culaba, who was associate pastor with Father Goode when it all began in 1989. “It was a great honor” to celebrate the Mass at the parish this year, Father Culaba said. The national day of prayer quickly became an idea recognized by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and other Catho-

lic groups. This year the theme was “God’s mercy pulls us through.” Father Goode, a Franciscan Friar of the Province of the Immaculate Conception, was among the first African-American pastors in the Archdiocese of San

Francisco. Today he is pastoral director of Solid Ground Franciscan Ministry, an evangelization ministry with African American families, and the founder and president of the National Black Catholic Apostolate for Life.

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CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | FEBRUARY 18, 2016

Archdiocesan athletes sign with colleges

(PHOTO COURTESY RIORDAN)

ARCHBISHOP RIORDAN HIGH SCHOOL: Tony Orlando signed with the Western Oregon University Wolves. Pictured at left with football coach Kevin Fordon. His father Paul is a 1987 Riordan graduate.

(JONATHAN ALLEN/JUNIPERO SERRA HIGH SCHOOL)

JUNIPERO SERRA HIGH SCHOOL: Three student-athletes signed letters of intent Feb. 3, college football’s National Signing Day. From left, Kelepi Lataimua, who signed with Cal Poly; Brandon Monroe, who signed with Idaho State; Billy Tuitavake, who signed with Sacramento State; head football coach Patrick Walsh.

SACRED HEART CATHEDRAL: Three student athletes signed football letters of intent Feb.3. Jamar Williams-Sheppard signed with San Jose State University, Jacob Holdmann signed with Kenyon College, and Keith Ismael signed with San Diego State University.

(PHOTOS COURTESY SACRED HEART CATHEDRAL)

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CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | FEBRUARY 18, 2016

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Oakland Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio, his wife and other coaches and players spoke to the children.

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The subdued hubbub of nearly 300 grade school children turned into excited yelling earlier this month when a parade of Oakland Raider players and coaches jogged into Our Lady of the Visitacion School gym, highfiving child after child who crowded around them.

Raiders head Coach Jack Del Rio, a number of Raider athletes, retired players and coaches, Catholic Athletes for Christ, and National Football League Hall of Famers Anthony Munoz and Dave Casper visited the school to help the Knights of Columbus distribute coats to 260 children during Super Bowl week. Since 2009, the Knights have given away more than 300,000 coats nationwide through the Coats for Kids program.

“I think we have some converts over here after this event,” said Our Lady of the Visitacion principal Hannah Everhart. The Feb. 1 event was timed to take advantage of the excitement over the Super Bowl Feb. 7, Catholic Athletes for Christ founder Ray McKenna said. “We work to promote a

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16 WORLD

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | FEBRUARY 18, 2016

Pope, meeting Iraqi leader urges work for reconciliation CINDY WOODEN CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

VATICAN CITY – Meeting Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, Pope Francis expressed his hopes that Iraq and other war-torn countries would have leaders strong enough to bring once-divided peoples together.

“I wish for Iraqis and for all of us – for the whole world – leaders like this,” the pope said Feb. 10 as he gave the Iraqi leader a medallion featuring an olive tree – a sign of peace – that holds together a split rock.

“Inshallah, inshallah,” al-Abadi replied, using the Arabic word for “God willing.”

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minister held private talks with top officials of the Vatican Secretariat of State.

With Islamic State militants still operating in large areas of Iraq and with the people still recovering from war, the discussions included “the life of the church in the country” and “the situation of Christians and ethnic and religious minorities with particular reference to the importance of their presence and the need to protect their rights,” the Vatican said in a statement.

“Emphasis was placed on the role of interreligious dialogue and the responsibility of religious communities in promoting tolerance and peace,” the statement said. “In this context, mention was made of the importance of the reconciliation process between the various social sectors within the country, and the national humanitarian and regional situations.”

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WORLD 17

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | FEBRUARY 18, 2016

Mexico archbishop calls for prayer after deadly prison riot

(CNS PHOTO/MIGUEL SIERRA, EPA)

A man throws a stone at the entrance to the Topo Chico prison after a Feb. 11 riot in Monterrey, Mexico. The riot claimed at least 52 lives, offering another example of the problems plaguing Mexico’s prison system and casting a pall over the arrival of Pope Francis in the country.

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MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – Archbishop Rogelio Cabrera López of Monterrey has asked the entire community to unite in prayer in response to the riot that took place at a local prison that left a tragic toll of 52 dead and 12 injured.

“We want to invite the entire community to join us in prayer for our brothers who are inmates and for their families, who are going through anguished moments,” the archbishop said in a statement. The riot took place on the eve of Pope Francis’ scheduled arrival in Mexico Feb. 12.

The riot took place in the early morning Feb. 11 at the Topo Chico prison located in Monterrey in Mexico’s northern Nuevo Leon State.

The archbishop of Monterrey asked that the situation be properly controlled and that appropriate authorities provide information about the prison’s situation.

“Given this deplorable incident,” he said, “we humbly unite ourselves to the call that the relatives of the inmates have made for a thorough review of the situation in the rehabilitation centers in our state.”

Archbishop Cabrera’s statement concluded with a request for all the priests who took part in Ash Wednesday observances to “lift up their prayers for this intention in today’s Masses.”

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CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | FEBRUARY 18, 2016

CUBA: Pope and Russian patriarch call for action to save Christians FROM PAGE 1

Francis had a pastoral visit to Mexico planned for months, and was scheduled to visit Mexico Feb. 12-18. The stop in Havana was announced only a week before the meeting.

Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill signed a joint declaration that emphasized the things the two churches have in common.

Addressing the situation in the Middle East and North Africa, they said that “whole families, villages and cities of our brothers and sisters in Christ are being completely exterminated.” They called on the international community “to act urgently in order to prevent the further expulsion” of Christians, to end violence and terrorism and to ensure that large amounts of humanitarian aid reach the victims of violence.

“In raising our voice in defense of persecuted Christians, we wish to express our compassion for the suffering experienced by the faithful of other religious traditions who have also become victims of civil war, chaos and terrorist violence,” they said.

“Attempts to justify criminal acts with religious slogans are altogether unacceptable,” they said. “No crime may be committed in God’s name.”

They called those who have died

“martyrs of our times” and said they helped unite various churches “by their shared suffering.”

They spoke of the need to be vigilant against European integration that is “devoid of respect for religious identities.” They also spoke of extreme poverty, the “millions of migrants and refugees knocking on the doors of wealthy nations” and consumerism.

They spoke of life issues: abortion, euthanasia, new reproductive technologies and threats against the churches’ view of marriage.

After they signed the document, the two leaders embraced, and each spoke briefly.

Patriarch Kirill said they had a twohour, “open discussion with full awareness of the responsibility we have for our people, for the future of Christianity, and for the future of human civilization itself. It was a conversation filled with content that gave us the opportunity to understand and hear the position of the other. And the results of the conversation allow me to assure that currently both churches can cooperate together to defend Christians around the world; with full responsibility to work together so that there may be no war; so that human life can be respected in the entire world; so that the foundations of human, family and social morality may be strengthened

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in Ukraine. The Moscow Patriarchate had said that while those problems still exist with the Catholic communities, they take a backseat to the urgency of defending together the rights and very existence of persecuted Christians in the Middle East.

The harsh persecution of Christians and other minorities in Syria, Iraq and other parts of the region has been a cause Pope Francis has pleaded before world leaders and for which he has rallied the prayers of Christians across the globe.

He speaks often of the “ecumenism of blood,” the fact that Christians are killed for believing in Christ with the persecutors not knowing or caring what denomination or church they belong to. Christians are fully united in that suffering and, the pope has said, those who die for their faith are in full communion with each other and with centuries of martyrs now in the presence of God. But the fate of persecuted Christians was not the pope’s primary motive for meeting Patriarch Kirill.

Simply meeting him was the point.

Metropolitan Hilarion Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s external affairs department, told reporters a week earlier that Patriarch Kirill chose Havana in the “New World” because Europe, the “Old World,” was the birthplace of Christian division.

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through the participation of the church in the life of human modern society.”

Pope Francis said: “We spoke as brothers, we share the same baptism, we are bishops, we spoke about our churches. We agreed that unity is done walking (together). We spoke clearly without mincing words. I confess that I felt the consolation of the Spirit in this dialogue. I am grateful for the humility of His Holiness, his fraternal humility and his good wishes for unity. We left with a series of initiatives that I believe are viable and can be done. “ He thanked Patriarch Kirill and others involved in arranging the meeting and also thanked Cuba, “the great Cuban people and their president here present. I am grateful for his active availability; if it continues this way, Cuba will be the ‘capital of unity.’”

The addition of a stopover in Cuba was widely seen as a sign of Pope Francis’ willingness to go the extra mile to reach out a hand in friendship. At the same time, observers said, it gave those Russian Orthodox opposed to ecumenism a sense that their church is special and that it bowed to no one in agreeing to the meeting.

For decades, the Russian Orthodox told the Vatican that a meeting between the patriarch and pope was impossible because of the activities of Latin-rite Catholics in Russia and, especially, the Eastern-rite Catholics

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WORLD 19

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | FEBRUARY 18, 2016

Pope sends off missionaries of mercy Our Lady of Angels pastor, St. Francis Shrine rector designated missionaries of mercy CAROL GLATZ CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis marked the beginning of the church’s Lenten journey by sending off several hundred religious and diocesan priests on their own special path as “missionaries of mercy” in local parishes.

“Look upon your servants, Lord, that we are sending as messengers of mercy, salvation and peace.

Guide their steps” and sustain them with “the power of your Father John grace,” the pope said during a De La Riva special Ash Wednesday liturgy in St. Peter’s Basilica Feb. 10.

Two Capuchin Franciscans stationed in the Archdiocese of San Francisco are among the missionaries of mercy: Father John De La Riva, rector of the National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi in North Beach, and Father Michael Mahoney, pastor of Our Lady of Father Michael Angels Parish, Burlingame. Father Mahoney De La Riva was at the Vatican for the Ash Wednesday commissioning.

More than 700 of the 1,142 missionaries specially appointed by the pope attended the Mass. Dressed in white vestments and purple stoles, the men received the pope’s mandate to preach about God’s mercy and special authority to pardon some of those sins reserved to the Holy See. Their mission was echoed in the day’s second reading from St. Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians, in which he proclaims, “We are ambassadors for Christ” with God working and speaking through them, imploring people to “be reconciled with God.” In his homily before commissioning the priests at the end of Mass, the pope said their mandate is to be “signs and instruments of God’s pardon.”

“Dear brothers, may you be able to help open the doors of people’s hearts” as well as bless, heal and raise them up with a father’s love, he said. People cannot keep going on their own, and that is why the apostle Paul doesn’t urge people to “do something, but to let themselves be reconciled by God, to allow him to forgive us,” he said.

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recognizing the need for divine mercy and to pass through that “open door which is Christ,” who offers everyone a new and joyful life. The problem, the pope said, is there may be many barriers that keep people from ever approaching or opening that door. People may be so hardened by sin or pride that “they bolt the lock on the soul,” justifying their errors or believing they are “no worse than others,” thereby remaining “prisoners of evil.”

Another obstacle people face is being ashamed “to

open the secret door of the heart.” While shame is a good sign since “it shows that we want to detach ourselves from evil,” it must never turn into “dread or fear.” The third danger is when people walk away from Christ, becoming distant or isolated by holing themselves up with their own suffering, he said.

“Let’s listen to Jesus, who says to those who are weary and burdened, ‘Come to me,’” since “only the Lord’s grace liberates us” and offers peace and rest, the pope said.

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CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | FEBRUARY 18, 2016

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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS SOUGHT

The Department of Catholic Schools in the K-8 Elementary School Principal Archdiocese of San Francisco is seeking K-8 Elementary K-8 Elementary School Principal School Principa elementary principals for the 2016Position Opportunity 2017 school year. Candidates must be PositionPosition Opportunity Opportunity Saint Philip the Apostle Elementary School located in Noe Valley, practicing Roman Catholic, possess a San Francisco seeks an administrative leader with passion for educaSaint Philip Saint thePhilip Apostle the Elementary Apostle Elementary School located Schoolinlocated Noe Va in valid teaching credential, a Master’s tion who possess the following qualities and leadership characteristics toSan serveFrancisco as Principal school year: degree in educational leadership,San an Francisco seeks an effective administrative seeksthe an2016-2017 administrative leader with leader passion withfor passio edu administrative credential (preferred), A faith-filled practicing Catholic. tion whopossess tion whothe possess following the following qualities and qualities leadership and leadership characterisc and five years of successful teaching toPrincipal An accomplished school leader with a commitment to best practices in to serve as serve as effective Principal the effective 2016-2017 the 2016-2017 school year: school year teaching, learning, and the overall quality of the student experience. experience at the elementary level. 

A strong relational leader who will serve as the face of the school to the

 A faith-filled  community A faith-filled practicing Catholic. practicing Please send resume and a letter and market the profile of Catholic. the school and its value. st  A confident collaborative, and approachable leader willto partner of interest by April 1 , 2016 to:  An accomplished An accomplished school leader school withleader a commitment withwho a commitment best practice to b with the Pastor in executing the schools goals and mission.

Bret E. Allen teaching, learning, teaching, and learning, the overall and the quality overall of the quality student of the experience. student ex  Enable both effective organization and support among the administraAssociate Superintendent for  A strong  tive relational Ateam. strongleader relational wholeader will serve whoaswill theserve face as of the the face school of th to Educational & Professional Leadership community  Inspire the market faculty and staff in pursing inof their teaching and and its v community and and the market profile the ofexcellence the profile school the and school its value. student outcomes.

One Peter Yorke Way  A confident A collaborative, confident and approachable leader will par wh  Maintain a climate of collaborative, accountability and a and focus approachable on the quality who of theleader San Francisco, California 94109 student experience. with the Pastor with in theexecuting Pastor inthe executing schoolsthe goals schools and mission. goals and mission Fax (415) 614-5664  Deliver identified initiatives in program development and accreditation  Enableboth Enable effective bothorganization effective organization and support and among support theamong admini objectives.

E-mail: allenb@sfarchdiocese.org

 Achieve tive team. tive financial team. and fundraising objectives.  Provide excellent leadership in all areas of school operations.  Inspire theInspire faculty the andfaculty staff inand pursing staff in excellence pursing excellence in their teaching in the  Strong understanding of the elementary curriculum. student outcomes. student outcomes.

To Apply: Send resume and letter of interest to: Rev. Tony P. LaTorre, Spread the good news through a Catholic San Francisco Pastor, Diamondof Street, San Francisco, CAand 94114aorfocus sendand viaon email to: quality  Maintain  a725 Maintain climate a climate accountability of accountability a the focus on the of gift subscription – perfect for students and retirees and fathertony@saintphilipparish.org. student experience. others who have moved outside the archdiocese. $24 a student experience. year within California, $36 out of state. Catholics in the Deliver  identified Deliver initiatives identified in initiatives programindevelopment program development and accredita an The Archdiocese of San Francisco will only employ those who are legally authorized to work in the United States archdiocese must register with their parish to receive a for this opening. Any offer of employment is conditioned upon the successful completion of a background objectives. objectives. investigation. The Archdiocese of San Francisco will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal regular, free subscription. histories. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, Email circulation.csf@sfarchdiocese.org  Achieve  national financial Achieve and financial fundraising andgender fundraising objectives. objectives. religion, or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, identity or expression, age, disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by law. or call (415) 614-5639.  Provide  excellent Provideleadership excellent in leadership all areas in of all school areasoperations. of school operatio  Strongunderstanding Strong understanding of the elementary of the elementary curriculum.curriculum.

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22 ARTS & LIFE

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | FEBRUARY 18, 2016

Two out-of-the-box movies about Jesus discard stereotypical religious approaches ‘Risen’: The Resurrection from a skeptic’s point of view JUNNO AROCHO ESTEVES CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

ROME – Hollywood is no stranger to movies depicting the life and death of Christ, trying to present Jesus from the perspective of the Gospels, which are the written accounts of Jesus’ life and ministry from those closest to him. Joseph Fiennes, the actor starring in “Risen,” said his new project seeks to illustrate the story of Christ’s death and resurrection from a unique perspective. “We’re seeing this narrative play out, which is dear to millions of us and means so much, through the eyes of a skeptic, through the eyes of a nonbeliever,” Fiennes told Catholic News Service Feb. 4.

The Columbia Pictures film is in theaters Feb.19.

Fiennes plays Clavius, a Roman tribune charged

by Pontius Pilate to investigate the events following Christ’s death. His character, he said, begins as an enemy “who is there to put down any zealot insur-

(CNS PHOTO/COLUMBIA)

Joseph Fiennes stars in a scene from the movie “Risen.”

rections; so from his point of view, Yeshua (Jesus) is just another terrorist.”

The film, Fiennes said, departs from other depic-

tions by picking up where most movies leave off: the crucifixion. Additionally, Clavius sees Jesus’ execution as acceptable punishment for threatening the established order. “For (Clavius), the crucifixion is just another day at the office, so he’s deeply conditioned to think in one way,” he said.

The 45-year-old British actor told CNS that a pivotal scene, one in which Clavius meets Jesus, was akin to his brief encounter with Pope Francis at the general audience Feb. 3.

“To tell you the truth, I had so many questions and when he looked me in the eye, the conversation seemed pointless,” Fiennes recalled. “It was a connection beyond conversation, he’s deeply connected as a spiritual being and so talking seems like a waste of time, it seemed shallow. And it’s the same with the character meeting Christ, as if to say, ‘This is enough.’”

Clavius’ initial doubts, Fiennes said, speak to the nature of faith “whether you are an absolute, ardent believer or an atheist.”

‘The Young Messiah’ imagines Jesus as a vulnerable child in a violent Roman Empire VALERIE SCHMALZ CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

“The Young Messiah,” set for release March 11, imagines Jesus at 7 and 8 years old as a child who is just beginning to understand his nature as son of God and son of man. Jesus and his family are set in a suspenseful story that recreates a time when the Jews were a subjugated race in the Roman Empire and a despotic King Herod ruled capriciously and violently.

“I felt it was an opportunity to go inside the Holy Family in a way you haven’t seen in many movies.

That also comes with many risks,” director Cyrus Nowrasteh said at a Feb. 3 advance screening in San Francisco. The film is based on Anne Rice’s novel “Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt” and she “loves it” although the plot is changed somewhat and two key characters, a Roman centurion, and King P Herod, U areB added to the film.

Nowrasteh co-wrote the screen play with his wife Betsy Giffen Nowrasteh with whom he also co-wrote “The Stoning of Soraya M.,” which he directed.

“We hope and pray that people see the movie, that that they are affected by the movie, that they come

(CNS PHOTO/FOCUS)

Director Cyrus Nowrasteh points alongside actor Adam Greaves-Neal, left center, on the set of “The Young Messiah.”

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out talking about Jesus,” said Nowrasteh. “We also hope that secular folks that see the movie connect with it. It is a family story.”

Well-written and convincingly acted, “The Young Messiah” is both more down to earth and more suspenseful than many religious themed films. It

THE PROFESSIONALS

features mostly unknown actors with the exception of the Roman centurion portrayed by Sean Bean who recently was in the first season of “Game of Thrones.” The child actor Adam Greaves-Neal plays Jesus and Sara Lazzaro, another unknown, is Mary.

Vincent Walsh is Joseph.

Although it bills itself as “an inspirational story for the whole family,” some scenes are very evocative of evil and others are violent and some parents might judge them to be inappropriate for young children.

Similar to “Risen,” the film is produced by toptier Hollywood talent and takes an out of the box approach that is set in biblical times and true to Catholic understanding of Christ. “The Young Messiah” has been endorsed by evangelical and Catholic leaders, including Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston and Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput.

The movie was “dead” and $3 million in the red when Nowrasteh found new backers, including Chris Columbus of 1492 Pictures, who said at the screening, “I am so proud of this movie.” Columbus is known for “Home Alone,” directed the first two Harry Potter films, and produced the first three Harry Potters, “The Help” and numerous other films.

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CALENDAR 23

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | FEBRUARY 18, 2016

THURSDAY, FEB. 18 ‘40 DAYS FOR LIFE’: 40 Days for Life, a pro-life campaign geared to the prayer and power of Lent, seeks volunteers for two sites: 1650 Valencia St. two blocks south of Cesar Chavez St., every day through March 20, 8 a.m.-8 p.m., Ron Konopaski, (360) 460-9194, konopaski@yahoo.com, sign in on electronic calendar at www.40daysforlife. com/sanfrancisco; and 35 Baywood Ave. off El Camino Real, San Mateo, every day through March 20, 7 a.m.-7 p.m., Jessica Munn (650) 572-1468, www.40DaysForLife/sanmateo.

GRIEF SUPPORT: Drop-in grief support group, Most Holy Redeemer Church, Parish Library, 100 Diamond St., San Francisco, meets third Thursdays, 7:308:45p.m.; inclusive, nondenominational, and not restricted to type of loss; email gcm@mhr.org with any questions.

EARTH PERSPECTIVE: Dominican Sisters of San Rafael host John Philip Newell, poet, minister and scholar, known on themes related to the sacredness of the Earth, 7 p.m.; his book, “The Rebirthing of God: Christianity’s Struggle for New Beginnings,” will be available for purchase; Dominican Sisters Center, 1520 Grand Ave., San Rafael, RSVP CommunityRelations@ sanrafaelop.org; (415) 453 8303.

SUNDAY, FEB. 21 MERCY TALKS: Restorative justice,

prison reform and helping victims and perpetrators with Leonard Rubio.

10:50 a.m., Fromm Hall by St. Ignatius Church, Parker and Fulton, San Francisco, free and open to the public, free parking all USF lots, jacoleman@usfca. edu, Dan Faloon, (415) 422-2195.

MERCY SERIES: “Feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty,” Barry Stenger, executive director, St. Anthony Foundation: The archdiocesan Office for Consecrated Life hosts a series of Sunday afternoon talks commemorating the Year of Mercy, Presentation Sisters’ convent, 2340 Turk Blvd., San Francisco, 2-4:15 p.m. with talk, refreshments, and exposition of the Blessed Sacrament in the final hour. Registration required, conrottor@sfarch.org, (415) 614-5535, no fee for these events but a freewill offering is accepted and later will be donated to St. Anthony’s Dining Room, Catherine’s Place, Mercy Housing and St. Vincent de Paul Society of San Mateo County.

ARTIST PERSPECTIVE: Janet McKenzie on challenges of racism and sexism at Mercy Center in Burlingame, 2-4 p.m. McKenzie’s work features inclusive images of sacred figures; free admission but reservations required, mriley@ mercywmw.org; www.mercy-center.org/ Flyers_2016/0221JanetMcKenzie/event. html.

2-WEEK STUDY: “A Sacred Space for Lent 2016,” Irish Jesuits, Feb. 21, 28, 10:45-11:45 a.m., Cowell Hall, University of San Francisco. all are welcome; free of charge, Jim McCluskey jamesmccluskey7@gmail.com.

MONDAY, FEB. 22 GRIEF SUPPORT: Eight-session “First Step” grief support group, 7 p.m., St. Pius Parish Center, 1100 Woodside Road, Redwood City, 7 p.m., Mondays, Feb. 22 through April 11, register (650) 361-0655; griefministry@pius.org; walk-ins welcome.

WOMEN RELIGIOUS: Holy Cross Sister Joan Steadman, executive director, Leadership Conference for Women Religious, speaks at 7 p.m., at Santa Clara University about lessons learned from the conference.; www.scu.edu/ ethics/events/; mdelong@scu.edu.

WATTSON LECTURE: John Borrelli is featured speaker for the “Paul Wattson Christian Unity Lecture,” University of San Francisco, 7:30 p.m., McLaren Conference Center, Room 252, Borelli is associate director, Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The lecture honors the memory of Atonement Father Paul Wattson who founded the Church Unity Octave, the forerunner of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity; Anne-Marie Devine (415) 422-2697; abdevine@usfca.edu.

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HANDICAPABLES MASS: Mass at noon then lunch in lower halls, St. Mary’s Cathedral, Gough Street at Geary Boulevard, San Francisco, Gough Street entrance. All disabled people, caregivers invited. Volunteers welcome, Joanne Borodin, (415) 2394865; www.Handicapables.com.

TRIDENTINE MASS: St. Catherine of Siena Church, 1310 Bayswater, Burlingame, 5:30 p.m., choir rehearses 4 p.m., rosary in Latin 5 p.m., Divine Mercy chaplet follows Mass at 6:30 p.m., (650) 513-0696; mdpentim@gmail.com.

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ICA LUNCH: “Celebrating Women in Business,” Julia Morgan Ballroom, 11 a.m., $75 benefiting Immaculate Conception Academy, attorney Pamela Duffy, speaker; Rhonda Hontalas, (415) 8242052, ext. 40; rhontalas@icacademy.org.

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24

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | FEBRUARY 18, 2016

In Remembrance of the Faithful Departed Interred In Our Catholic Cemeteries During the Month of January HOLY CROSS COLMA Sandra Abouata Pilar Osit Adena Adolfo Ronaldo Alfaro Andre J. Apodaca Caroline Assereto Luis D. Aujero Connie Ordaniel Balidio Robert Lee Balliet Rita Virginia Balliet Reynalda (Randy) Bergess Brad “Rocky” Bertetta Louis Bertolucci Dorothy J. Boccignone-Kara Jean Branson Edward J. Brennan Jr. Helen Buckley David Ruben Burch Moira E. Burke Alejandro V. Cabrera Remedios Payumo Cagadoc Sergio Campagna Florentino B. Catudan Mei Fang C. Chen Dana Marianne Clark Jewell Coccellato Margaret Conroy Jesse R. Cordova Gloria Coronel Thomas L. Corsiglia Juana A. Cruz Michael G. De Souza Kathryn E. Degroot Aurora Delgadillo Norma Delgadillo Carol Margaret DeMarlo Elma Lorico Desuyo Robert C. Devine Ricardo Domingo

Vincent A. Eder Jaime Labayo Encinas, Sr. Remedios S. “Remi” Fernandez Thomas Flahavan Nathaniel Edward Flynn Teresa Ford Maurice J. Frank Christian Fregoso Rev. Kevin P. Gaffey Gloria Garcia Hector Garcia George Garibaldi Edilberta Demetria Gatela Marcelina L. Goltiao Fortunato Gomez Mercedes M. Gonzalez Claire Hackett Louis Hall Samuel A. Jacobs Maxine Jones Suryadjaja Junus Kevin John Kavanaugh MSGR. James Keane Frederick Kommer Esther Krause Eddie Ven Kwong Juanita A. Larot Way Han Leekin Branko Leskovar Margot Graham Lintner Oralia Lo Forti Carmela V. Luque Samson K. Luz, Sr. Raymond P. Macaulay Carmen C. Manalo Dominic J. Marchetti Remedios Noche Martinez Eliodora Dayuta Militante Ada Mocelin Mercedes Lola Montiel Olimpia Morales James Henry Morgan

Caroline L. Mortara Claudia Jean Moshier Purificacion G. Mostasisa Madeline Muzio Elena H. Natividad Cristoval Navarrete William F. Neitz Robert G. Newsom Edward L. Nightingale Dolores M. Novello Martha J. O’Rourke Mary O. Olvera Jeni Ostroska Mary F. Pablo Angela Paille Helen M. Phillips Mary A. Pierce Aurie Sebastian Piguing Marie Lucille Piscitello David Plagge Ursula Portello Beatrice Primacio Thelma D. Quinones Jeanmaire A. Rachal Rosemary Ranahan Maria Del Carmen Raygoza Theodore A. Rendon Josefina Guadalupe Reyes Rivas Edward Eugene Robinson Norma Ronco Maria Salazar Anaclita San Juan Maria Sanderson Frank Scerri Augustine Soto, Sr. Moreen J. Spencer Corazon C. Sunga Giordano B. Tassan Edward J. Tunney Angel L. Vega Karen A. Verili Dolores D. Vidmar

Rita Jean Wallace Deacon Gary R. West Joseph M. Xuereb Francisco H. Yan Pauline Diane Young Joseph Anthony Zamagni, Sr. Julia C. Ziomek

HOLY CROSS MENLO PARK Mary Alice Barry Richard K. Barry James Paul Donahue Lawrence P. Johnston Mary M. Nelson

MT. OLIVET, SAN RAFAEL Ronald N. Ashmore Eve Cazzaniga Hall Giuliana Antonia Jump Steven Anthony Jump Aileen Fitzpatrick Keegan William E. Klein Frederick J. Kress Lois Stewart Maggio Rita Lita Pioli Hugo Salvatore Scotto Erin O’Donoghue Thompson

OUR LADY OF THE PILLAR Mae M. Dunn

HOLY CROSS CATHOLIC CEMETERY, COLMA First Saturday Mass – Saturday, March 5, 2016 Rev. Michael J. Healy, Celebrant All Saints Mausoleum Chapel – 11:00 am

CATHOLIC ESTATE AND END OF LIFE PLANNING SEMINARS Saturday, February 20, 10:00 – 11:30 am Saint Teresa Church, 1490 19th St., San Francisco Saturday, February 27, 10:00 – 11:30 am Saint Sebastian Church, 373 Bon Air Rd., Kentfield Saturday, March 19, 10:00 – 11:30 am Saint Bartholomew Church, 300 Alameda De Las Pulgas, San Mateo All parishioners are welcome, and refreshments will be served. This seminar is free but preregistration through the Office of Development is requested; please contact them at 415.614.5580 or development@sfarch.org

Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery Santa Cruz Ave. @Avy Ave., Menlo Park, CA 650-323-6375

Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery 1500 Mission Road, Colma, CA 650-756-2060

Mt. Olivet Catholic Cemetery 270 Los Ranchos Road, San Rafael, CA 415-479-9020

Tomales Catholic Cemetery 1400 Dillon Beach Road, Tomales, CA 415-479-9021

St. Anthony Cemetery Stage Road, Pescadero, CA 650-712-1675

Our Lady of the Pillar Cemetery Miramontes St., Half Moon Bay, CA 650-712-1679

A Tradition of Faith Throughout Our Lives.