CSF January 2024 by Catholic San Francisco

JANUARY 2024

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK

Jan. 28–Feb. 3, 2024

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | JANUARY 2024 ncea.org/csw | schools.sfarch.org

JANUARY 2024 | CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

TABLE OF CONTENTS

02 06 09 12 18 24

Archbishop: Catholic education is a spiritual work of mercy

Catholic Quiz: How well do you know the Catholic faith?

Superintendent: Celebrating the achievements of our schools and students Catholic Identity: Learning and loving the Eucharist St. Clare Institute: Academic excellence for those with learning differences

Valerie Schmalz Human Life & Dignity

PRODUCTION MANAGER

CSF MAGAZINE EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD

Rod Linhares Mission Advancement

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT

Fr. Patrick Summerhays Vicar General & Moderator of the Curia

Mary Powers (415) 614-5638 Communications & Media Relations Editor, San Francisco Católico

Chandra Kirtman

Ryan Mayer Catholic Identity Assessment & Formation Peter Marlow (415) 614-5636 Communications & Media Relations

34 40

True Presence: Jesus and the Jewish roots of the Eucharist

Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone

PUBLISHER

Local News: Marian exhibit brings joy to Our Lady of Loretto Parish

Joel Carrico

BUSINESS MANAGER

Diana Powell

LEAD WRITER

COPY EDITOR

Nancy O’Brien

ADVERTISING

Front cover photo courtesy of Junipero Serra High School

Christina Gray (415) 614-5644

Back cover photo by Mary Powers

Published by the Archdiocese of San Francisco, One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco, CA 94109. Catholic San Francisco (ISSN 15255298) is published 8 times yearly. Catholic San Francisco is printed by Publication Printers Corp. in Denver, Colorado. Periodical postage paid in San Bruno, California. Subscriptions: $35 a year anywhere in the United States. Postmaster:

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | JANUARY 2024

Local News: Knights distribute Eucharistic packets for Christmas

Karessa McCartney-Kavanaugh

CIRCULATION

Phillip Monares

Service Leadership: St. Ignatius Prep honors Bob Drucker Atonement: The transforming power of suffering love

Operational Vitality: Advisory board model proving vital to success

Faculty Corner: Learning to serve

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ARCHBISHOP

Catholic education is a spiritual work of mercy BY ARCHBISHOP SALVATORE JOSEPH CORDILEONE

tudents in our Catholic schools are, no doubt, familiar with the corporal works of mercy. Many of the classrooms I visit have posters on display which list them: feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead. Living out the corporal works of mercy is an indispensable part of Christian discipleship (Mt 25:31-45), and Catholic education is an education in living the works of mercy. Catholic schools are one of the ways that the Church lives her mission to be, as Jesus was, the “Incarnation of Mercy in the world.” (Pope Francis, general audience, Oct. 12, 2016). Our Catholic schools excel at forming men and women who are instruments of God’s mercy in the world through the many service opportunities in which our students participate, such as food and clothing drives, visiting the homebound and elderly, and writing Christmas cards to the sick and the imprisoned. Less widely known, however, are the spiritual works of mercy: counseling the doubtful, instructing the ignorant, admonishing the sinner, comforting the sorrowful, forgiving injuries, bearing wrongs patiently, and praying for the living and the dead. “Instructing,” that is teaching: teaching is a spiritual work of mercy. The spiritual works of mercy are perhaps less widely known because they are more difficult to live out in today’s world. Doing so might even bring Christians into conflict with the values of the world. In a culture that sees truth as something private – “my truth” and “your truth” – to claim to teach the truth can be seen as an offense against one’s individuality. Similarly, a culture that does not regard anything as a sin will view offering correction and even forgiveness as offensive. Our Lord’s last commandment to His › JANUARY 2024 | CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

Photo courtesy of Ecole Notre Dame Des Victoires

Students from Notre Dame des Victoires sing for a school Mass. CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | JANUARY 2024

Photo courtesy of Ecole Notre Dame Des Victoires

Buddies at Notre Dame Des Victoires enjoy a snack.

Tradition has seen teaching as a concrete manifestation of spiritual mercy, which constitutes one of the first works of love which is the Church’s mission to offer to humanity” POPE BENEDICT XVI

disciples was to teach, as recorded for us at the end of St. Matthew’s Gospel: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Mt 28:19-20). This is what we know as the “Great Commission,” to teach the nations all that He taught, so that they can become His disciples, too. Pope Benedict reminded educators that Catholic education is a spiritual work of mercy. “Tradition has seen teaching,” he said, “as a concrete manifestation of spiritual mercy, which constitutes one of the first works of love which is the Church’s mission to offer to humanity” (Address to the participants in the plenary meeting of the Congregation for Catholic Education, Jan. 21 , 2008). “Teaching all nations” is an essential part of the mission of the Church, and, therefore, of Catholic schools. Students in Catholic schools come to value the truth, not as something individual and private and not as an abstraction, but as a person to be encountered, Jesus Christ, who is “the Way, the Truth and the Life” (Jn 14:6). As our schools live the example of Jesus through corporal works of mercy, may we recall that the Church’s ministry of teaching is a work of mercy, too. As this issue of Catholic San Francisco magazine is the last Catholic Schools edition of Pam Lyons’ tenure as superintendent of Catholic schools for the Archdiocese, I would like to take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude to her for her service to our schools, our families and the young people the Lord has entrusted to our care. Ms. Lyons served for three years as an associate superintendent in the Department of Catholic Schools before stepping into the role of superintendent, where for the past seven years she has kept a steady hand at the helm and guided our schools through challenges such as demographic shifts and a global pandemic. I am especially grateful for her leadership and courage in prioritizing in-person education in our archdiocesan schools during the pandemic. When many children around the world were forced to stay home, Catholic schools in San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin counties were the first to reopen under her leadership. If you have the opportunity, please offer Ms. Lyons a word of thanks for the ways in which she was an “incarnation of mercy” during her time as superintendent. May Christ the Teacher continue to lead and bless her vocation wherever He calls her. ■ JANUARY 2024 | CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

Offering excellent Catholic education in a nurturing environment

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | JANUARY 2024

CATHOLIC QUIZ

How well do you know the Catholic faith? The Ultimate Catholic Quiz by Catholic Answers’ founder, Karl Keating. Excerpted with permission and available for purchase from

https://ignatius.com/theultimate-catholic-quiz-ucqp/

here are no trick questions, but there are questions that will trip you up if you fail to read carefully. An answer is counted as wrong if any part of it — such as a date or name — is wrong. Your goal is not to find the answer that is least wrong, but the one answer that is wholly right, which may be “none of the above.” On average, most informed Catholics score 50%. How well did you do? 1. The Old Testament:

a. has more books in the Protestant version of the Bible because Protestants emphasize the Old Testament over the New Testament. b. has more books in the Catholic version of the Bible because the Protestant Reformers threw out seven books at the Council of Trent. c. was used by the early Christians in its Greek translation, known as the Septuagint. d. no longer has authority over Christians but still has authority over Jews. e. none of the above.

2. Baptism may be administered by: a. a priest or bishop only. b. a bishop, priest or deacon only. c. any baptized Catholic only. d. unbaptized persons. e. none of the above.

4. In the Mass:

a. Jesus is symbolized by the bread and the wine from the moment of consecration onward. b. Jesus is spiritually present when the community gathers in prayer under the leadership of the priest and ceases to be spiritually present when the priest leaves the sanctuary. c. Jesus is physically present along with the bread and the wine once the consecration has occurred. d. Jesus is present, and the bread and wine are not present, after the consecration. e. none of the above.

5. The doctrine of the Trinity means:

a. there is one God who manifests Himself in the three distinct roles of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. b. that since the resurrection, there have been four persons in the Trinity: the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ the God-man. c. that in the Godhead, there is only one divine person, and He takes on different aspects according to His actions as creator, redeemer or sanctifier. d. there are three gods who work so closely together that it is proper to call them one God. e. None of the above

Answer highlights can be found on page 48.

3. To be elected Pope, a man must at least be:

b. baptized. c. over 50 years of age. d. fluent in Latin. e. none of the above.

Photo by Dennis Callahan

Baptismal font at St. Mary’s cathedral.

a. a cardinal who attends the papal conclave and is less than 80 years of age.

OPEN THIS QR CODE FOR COMPREHENSIVE ANSWERS or visit https://sfarchdiocese.org/ january-2024-catholic-quiz/ JANUARY 2024 | CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

ST. CLARE’S RETREAT

Join the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Sorrows for a retreat in the peaceful Santa Cruz Mountains! We offer weekend retreats for women and men who wish to nurture a life of prayer, renew holiness in their life, and recognize once again God’s loving Divine Providence. Step out of the hustle and bustle of ordinary life to encounter the love and mercy of Jesus in a refreshing way. A retreat weekend spent in blessed silence and prayer offers the infinite graces of God’s loving mercy. Our house retreats are held throughout the year (typically Friday to Sunday). Retreats include Holy Mass, conferences, opportunities for confession, Eucharistic adoration, and time for silent prayer. Each year we hold a variety of retreats such as Carmelite, Divine Mercy, healing, and in Spanish. Please contact us if you would like to organize a retreat for your parish or group. From one of our retreatants: “St. Clare’s Retreat is like Heaven on Earth.”

2381 LAUREL GLEN RD, SOQUEL, CA info@stclaresretreat.org | www.stclaresretreat.org

Wedding Anniversary Celebration All husbands and wives are invited to attend and celebrate their sacramental wedding anniversaries in 2024. Couples celebrating “5 year anniversaries” (5, 10, 15, 20…) will be recognized during the Mass.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2024

10:00 am Mass followed by reception $20 suggested donation per family

Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption 1111 Gough Street, San Francisco

Principal Celebrant: His Excellency Salvatore J. Cordileone Archbishop of San Francisco

REGISTRATION REQUIRED

www.anniversarymass.info or call (415) 614-5574 Please register by: January 26, 2024 CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | JANUARY 2024 Questions/information: (415) 614-5574

Catholic Elementary Schools of North San Mateo County All Souls Catholic School (Preschool, K-8th)

479 Miller Avenue So. San Francisco 94080 Phone: (650) 583-3562 Fax: (650) 952-1167 www.ssfallsoulsschool.org Open House Sunday, January 28th from 11:30am to 12:30pm. Applications are now being taken. Email the Admissions Director at info@ssfallsoulsschool.org

Good Shepherd School (K-8th)

909 Oceana Blvd Pacifica, CA 94044 Phone: (650) 359-4544 Fax: (650) 359-4558 www.goodshepherdschool.us Sunday, January 28th 11 a.m. Family Mass Open House to follow until 1:00p.m. Applications are now being accepted. Tours available by appointment

St. Robert Catholic School (K-8th)

High Performing Students Who Are Engaged and Resilient! Strong English, Math, and Science Departments That Create High Achievers in Life! 345 Oak Avenue, San Bruno 94066 (650) 583-5065 Fax: (650) 583-1418 www.saintrobert-school.org e-mail: strobertsoffice@gmail.com

Holy Angels School (Preschool, TK-8th)

20 Reiner Street, Colma 94014 (650)755-0220 Fax: (650) 755-0258 www.holyangelscolma.org Go Angels! Email: office@holyangelscolma.org Open House: Sunday, January 28th Visit our website for more information. Schedule an in-person tour. Applications are now being accepted! 8

Our Lady of Mercy Elementary School (Pre-School, TK - 8th)

7 Elmwood Drive, Daly City, 94015 Tel: (650)756-3395 www.olmbulldogs.com We invite you to visit our website for our virtual school tour or contact the office to schedule an in-person tour and orientation with us. Applications are now being accepted!

St. Dunstan Catholic School (K-8th)

1150 Magnolia Avenue Millbrae, CA 94030 (650) 697-8119 www.st-dunstan.org Applications now being accepted for 2023! Please join us for our Open House: Sunday, January 28th Contact the office for more information or for private tours.

St. Veronica Catholic School (K-8th)

434 Alida Way South San Francisco, CA 94080 www.saintveronicassf.org (650) 589-3909 Please call to schedule a tour. Applications are now being accepted!

Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith and Resilience Many thanks to the faculties, parents, and students in all of our schools for making our Catholic schools institutions of excellence, faith, and family. JANUARY 2024 | CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

SUPE RI NTE N DE NT

Catholic Schools Week 2024

Celebrating the outstanding achievements of our schools and students BY PAMELA LYONS Superintendent of the Department of Catholic Schools of the Archdiocese of San Francisco

hen I began first grade at Our Lady of Mercy School in Plainview, New York, I had to take the school bus for the first time. OLM didn’t have a kindergarten then, so I attended the local public-school kindergarten a few blocks from home. Riding on the bus to school made me feel like I was traveling hundreds of miles from my mother, which did not sit well with me. I sobbed every morning of my first week of school. My mother had to drag me onto the bus in the morning, and my teacher, Sister Suzanne, must have had the patience of a saint never to lose patience with me and my extreme homesickness. I vividly remember the pastor, Father Bosell, picking me up to console me. Years later, my mother shared with me that during those first five days of first grade, she used to call the principal about 30 minutes after school started so Sister Kathleen could let her listen in on the intercom to prove that my crying had stopped. Luckily, after the first week, I realized that I would return home every day after school ended and that I loved first grade. That year started my lifelong love of Catholic education. Since then, I have spent 44 of the past 49 years attending or working in a Catholic school, so the Sisters of Mercy did something right. My faith has always been there for me, and I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to serve God, not only in my personal life but also in my professional life. ›

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | JANUARY 2024

We are dedicated to our mission to grow our students’ understanding that they are God’s beloved so they may fully realize God’s plan for them. Come partner with us in bestowing your child a gift that will be invaluable throughout their lives: The gift of faith.”

As I prepare to step down from my position as superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of San Francisco at the end of this school year, I have reflected on all that Catholic education means to me. I believe “Catholic schools are at the heart of the Church.” This quote from “The Catholic School on the Threshold of the New Millennium” has driven my work with the Archdiocese of San Francisco schools. Catholic education is the greatest form of evangelization that the Church currently has. My role as superintendent has been to sustain the work of the Church by supporting our presidents, principals, teachers and staff spiritually and professionally, creating a climate where Christ is at the center of all we do and ensuring that every aspect of the school, from finance to discipline, is driven by our mission. Outside my office in the chancery, I have photos of the eight foundresses of the most significant orders who came to San Francisco in the early days of our Archdiocese. These fantastic women willingly went to the “Wild West,” often not knowing the language, to overcome incredible obstacles to build the schools that continue serving our students and families. Every day, I look at these photos to remind myself that I am carrying on the work of these incredible women, and I have taken that responsibility seriously. I am proud of my work over the past seven years and wish whoever succeeds me much success and happiness. He or

JANUARY 2024 | CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

Photo courtesy of Ecole Notre Dame Des Victoires

she will be lucky to serve the amazing families, students, faculty and staff of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. In this Catholic San Francisco magazine issue, we prepared articles reflecting the four domains of the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools. The NSBECS were published in 2012 as a guide and assessment tool for PK12 Catholic school effectiveness and sustainability. They include research-based school effectiveness criteria unique to Catholic school mission and identity. The Archdiocese of San Francisco schools are fully implementing the NSBECS to align with our new accreditation protocol that will be released by the Western Catholic Education Association next school year. In this magazine, you will find articles on mission & Catholic identity, governance & leadership, academic excellence and operational vitality. For those reading this magazine who are already part of our Catholic school community, I hope you can join us in celebrating the outstanding achievements of our schools and students during this Catholic Schools Week. For those of you who are not yet a part of our Catholic school family, I invite you to visit a Catholic school and experience all they offer. We are dedicated to our mission to grow our students’ understanding that they are God’s beloved so they may fully realize God’s plan for them. Come partner with us in bestowing on your child a gift that will be invaluable throughout their lives: the gift of faith. ■

Fearless, We Pursue

FAITH

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | JANUARY 2024

Find out more at shcp.edu/visit

CATHOLIC IDENTIT Y

LEARNING AND LOVI

Catholic school principals, teachers and students are taking lessons in the real presence to heart BY CHRISTINA GRAY Lead writer, Catholic San Francisco grayc@sfarch.org

haron McCarthy Allen remembers a time when adoration of the Blessed Sacrament was “what everyone did” in the Catholic grammar school, high school and university she attended. “Now, it isn’t a very frequent practice,” said the St. Stephen School principal, an educator in the Archdiocese of San Francisco for more than 40 years. McCarthy Allen is among the Catholic educators in the Archdiocese of San Francisco who, in the second year of the three-year National Eucharistic Revival, are committed to changing that.

A CORE CATHOLIC BELIEF IN PERIL A 2023 study published by Georgetown’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate and commissioned by the University of Notre Dame’s McGrath Institute for Church Life found that a large percentage of Catholics don’t believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, which the Catechism of the Catholic Church describes as the “source and summit” of the faith. What this means is that a large percentage of Catholics don’t believe in the doctrine of transubstantiation in which the bread and wine offered at Mass is turned into the actual substance of the body and blood of Jesus following the words of consecration. Poor catechesis on the Eucharist was, in part, the impetus for the National Eucharistic Revival launched last year by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

JANUARY 2024 | CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

ING THE EUCHARIST A CRITICAL OPPORTUNITY FOR CATHOLIC EDUCATORS Can today’s Catholic educators help shape new generations of Catholics who embrace the real presence and its centrality to the faith? Pamela Lyons, superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of San Francisco, believes they can. Lyons convened elementary school teachers and principals in all three counties of the Archdiocese early in the school year for immersive instruction on the Eucharist. Catholic educators then returned to their school communities to strategize on how to lead students of all ages into a deeper encounter with the Eucharist and the practice of Eucharistic adoration. Catholic San Francisco talked to several Catholic school administrators across the Archdiocese about how they are recultivating a “Eucharistic culture” in their schools — one shared by administrators, faculty and students alike.

RE-CATECHESIS OF FACULTY AND STAFF Prior to the start of the 2023/2024 school year this past fall, McCarthy Allen organized a one-day retreat at St. Stephen School for every member of her faculty and staff. The interactive retreat was designed and led by Susana Lapeyrade-Drummond, associate superintendent for academic excellence and leadership for the Department of Catholic Schools. “My goal was to re-catechize our teachers and staff, in a sense, and to further their relationship with the Lord in the Eucharist so that they could share that interest and love with their students,” McCarthy Allen said. While her faculty and staff are nearly all Catholic, the longtime principal of St. Stephen felt training with specific focus on the Eucharist and Eucharistic adoration was important. Each participant received a copy of “Beautiful Eucharist,” a self-published book by Catholic author Matthew Kelly. “For all of us, does it ever hurt to get a refresher course on something?” asked McCarthy Allen, especially something as central as the Eucharist. “Sometimes we have to dust off the cobwebs and revisit what we know and believe before we decide where to go with it.” The St. Stephen School retreat started with an overview of the National Eucharistic Revival movement, a threeyear period of education, encounter and grassroots response on diocesan, parish and individual levels. Participants spent time reflecting on their own personal understanding of and devotion to Jesus in the Eucharist. One exercise included reflections by 25 different saints who made memorable quotes about the Eucharist. › CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | JANUARY 2024

McCarthy Allen said she hoped her staff would leave the retreat with a renewed love for the Eucharist and Eucharistic adoration, as well as plans, resources and strategies for sharing Eucharistic devotion with students. The afternoon was focused on the topic of Eucharistic adoration. It included a video from Father Josh Johnson, host of “Ask Father Josh” (Your Catholic Question & Answer Podcast) on “What to do in adoration.” A page from the website guidedchildrensadoration.com was discussed as a resource for teachers when introducing their students to adoration. Participants then worked together on an art project making paper monstrances and hosts with the idea that it, or other similar projects, could be duplicated in the classroom. Like any subject you want a student to master, “You just can’t hear it enough,” said McCarthy Allen. “If it’s important, we can’t just talk about it once with students and forget it,” she said. “You have to keep bringing it back. If you are teaching nouns, you don’t quit teaching nouns because the students already learned about them in the first grade.” At Our Lady of Loretto School in Novato, religious education coordinator and kindergarten teacher Kendra Antonio reported that faculty and staff also entered a period of personal reflection and re-catechesis on the Eucharist last fall. They used “Becoming Eucharistic People,” by theologian Timothy P. O’Malley, as a guide. Nearly all the OLL teachers are Catholic and most attended Catholic schools, said Antonio. “It was something that was ingrained in us, that the bread and wine becomes Jesus’ actual body and blood,” she said. “But our mindset needs to change to put the Eucharist at the center of all we do.” PARISH AND SCHOOL COLLABORATION Laura Elmore, spokesperson for Our Lady of Angels Parish in Burlingame, said a close collaborative effort between pastor Father Michael Mahoney and the parish school’s principal has increased Mass attendance and celebration of the Eucharist among school families. “The OLA Sunday Mass for grade school students was created for the Eucharistic Revival to encourage massive student participation,” she said. Elmore said all teachers sign up at the start of the year to sponsor a 10 a.m. Mass on a second or fourth Sunday. “When it’s their turn, they are responsible for rounding up all of their students to sign up for a role at the Mass, either as greeters, readers, gift bearers (one family), ushers, altar servers or bulletin bearers,” she said. “It is wonderful to see the joy on the faces of parents as they witness their children participating in the celebration of the Eucharist and gathering afterward in our garden to share that Eucharist with each other,” Father Mahoney said. According to McCarthy Allen, St. Stephen Parish pastor

Photo courtesy of Dr. Tara Rolle

Above, the faculty and staff of St. Stephen School in San Francisco took part in a retreat last fall focused on the Eucharist. Here, participants work on an art project that could be shared with students. Right, Our Lady of Angels pastor Father Michael Mahoney, far right, is pictured with OLA students after Sunday Mass. The twice-monthly Mass is an intentional collaboration between the pastor and school principals designed to encourage student families to attend Mass.

Father Michael Liliedahl is very involved with St. Stephen School students. He offers religion lessons on Mondays and makes Mass an interactive learning experience for the youth. He often uses Greek and Latin vocabulary words and asks students in the pews if they remember the meaning. “The hands shoot up,” said McCarthy Allen. “It encourages children to be involved in the Mass and to pay attention.” EUCHARISTIC ADORATION: “QUIET TIME” WITH JESUS Tom White, principal of St. Anne of the Sunset School, said the teachers and St. Anne pastor Father Daniel Nascimento have started inviting students into the quiet church sanctuary once a month for Eucharistic adoration. “Quiet” is something that is sorely missing in the lives JANUARY 2024 | CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

It was something that was ingrained in us, that the bread and wine becomes Jesus’ actual body and blood. But our mindset needs to change to put the Eucharist at the center of all we do.” KENDRA ANTONIO Religious education coordinator and kindergarten teacher, Our Lady of Loretto School, Novato

Photo courtesy of Our Lady of Angels

of our children today, according to White. “As adults, we did not have such a bombardment of outside stimulus growing up.” He said the parish and school are offering students the “gift of quiet prayer” in Eucharistic adoration, one day a month for a two-hour period after Mass. The students sit far apart from each other in silence before the Blessed Sacrament for anywhere from 10 minutes to 20 minutes, during which Father Nascimento will have exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. “We hope that we can help students experience the opportunity to sit and pray in silence and at the same time, have the opportunity to listen to God speaking to each of them,” said White. CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | JANUARY 2024

Sarah Currier, principal of Notre Dame de Victoires School in San Francisco, said she and her director of faith formation started offering First Friday Eucharistic adoration last year to her students as part of Eucharistic Revival. “The benefits are peace and calm and recognizing how much the students need that time to be quiet and present with Christ,” she said. “We definitely plan to continue this.” Father Andrew Ginter, chaplain at Marin Catholic High School in Kentfield, said Eucharistic adoration is now offered to students every Monday along with the sacrament of reconciliation in the school chapel. “While I am in the confessional, there is an opportunity every week for students to be able to spend time before the Blessed Sacrament,” he said. One nice side benefit he’s noticed is the number of faculty and staff availing themselves of the opportunity as well. Father Ginter said Eucharistic adoration centers the school community in prayer during difficult times. “In the days after the Israel-Gaza conflict began on Oct. 7, we had all-day adoration,” he said. “We can’t really do anything in those situations, but our prayers can be efficacious.” EUCHARISTIC ROLE MODELS Marin Catholic theology teacher Peggy Semling was in Eucharistic adoration at the tomb of Servant of God Carlo Acutis in Assisi, Italy, last summer when she felt “really compelled” to bring young Carlo’s spirit back to her high school students somehow as part of the Eucharistic Revival. Carlo Acutis was a young Italian Catholic boy known for his devotion to the Eucharist. He documented both Eucharistic miracles and approved Marian apparitions around the world and cataloged them in a website which he created before his death from leukemia in 2006 at age 15. He was named a Servant of God by the Catholic Church 12 years after his death and was beatified in 2020. “Carlo Acutis was all about the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist,” Semling said. “That was his whole message for the world. He’s such a good role model for our kids.” She revealed her desire to share Carlo Acutis with high school students in the Archdiocese of San Francisco with a priest at the tomb. “Have you read my book?” asked Msgr. Anthony Figueiredo. The paperback volume, “Blessed Carlo Acutis: Five Steps to Being a Saint,” details five simple practices that led Carlo to a life of intimacy with Jesus Christ and a love for neighbor. They include the Mass, Eucharistic adoration, confession and spiritual guidance, befriending the Blessed Mother and the saints, and charity. ›

St. Anne of the Sunset pastor Father Dan Nascimento, center, with second and third graders engaged in a teaching moment following Eucharistic adoration and benediction.

Photo courtesy of Thomas White

Most of our students didn’t know what Eucharistic adoration is yet, but they do now.” PEGGY SEMLING, Marin Catholic theology teacher “I knew Carlo was somehow going to be attached to the Eucharistic Revival but I didn’t know how,” said Semling, who brought home two copies of the book. With Marin Catholic president Tim Navone’s support, 500 copies of the book were purchased and distributed to Marin Catholic and St. Raphael Parish youth. Semling started reading the book with her students, one chapter at a time, during Monday adoration in the campus chapel. Acutis had a burning desire for people to understand that Jesus is present in the Eucharist, said Semling, and her students really “grabbed on” to his words. “Most of our students didn’t know what Eucharistic adoration is yet, but they do now,” Semling said. APPROACHING FAITH THROUGH SCIENCE Emergency room physician Dr. Scott French was invited by Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone to speak about “21st-Century Eucharistic Miracles” at the Archdiocese of San Francisco’s Eucharistic Congress last summer at St. Mary’s Cathedral.

Since then, French has been sharing his presentation with students at Marin Catholic to help “turn the rising tide of unbelief in our culture” through rational, science-based evidence for God, Jesus, the soul and Church teachings. The 21st-century miracles occurred in different parts of the world, but all involved consecrated hosts showing visible signs of blood. During his 40-minute talk, French presented amazing and inexplicable scientific analysis that identifies human tissue and blood from a living person in the Eucharistic host. His presentation will eventually be seen by the entire school community. Semling said it was “refreshing” for a doctor to speak to theology students. “It’s not just me getting up there telling them about these miracles,” she said. French’s credibility as a doctor and the scientists he is quoting carry “great weight” with her students. “The students are intrigued by Eucharistic miracles,” Semling said. “It’s still a new idea to them, so it’s taking a little while for it to settle in to it, but it’s a new way of seeing our faith.” ■ JANUARY 2024 | CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

THE WAY FORWARD IS CLASSICAL!

A New Joyfully Catholic, Classical K-8 School in Half Moon Bay Enrollments Are Open, Apply Now!

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | JANUARY 2024

ST. CL ARE INSTITUTE

St. Brigid School will convert to St. Brigid Academy in 2024, a school that “joyfully and intentionally” serves students with language- and attention-based learning differences.

Photo courtesy of Dr. Tara Rolle

Ensuring academic excellence for students with learning differences DR. TARA ROLLE Associate superintendent for continuous school improvement

n a 2019 internal self-study, K-8 Catholic school leaders in the Archdiocese of San Francisco overwhelmingly indicated a desire to better serve students with diverse learning needs. Inspired to meet this need, the Department of Catholic Schools has created a cohesive approach to serving and supporting students with learning differences across the K-8 school system.

MEETING THE NEED FOR NEW RESOURCES AND TOOLS In recognizing our commitment to providing an excellent academic program to a broader range of learning styles and needs, however, we identified a disconnect between our desire to serve these students and the need for more new resources, training and tools. “The educator’s vocation demands a ready and constant ability for renewal and JANUARY 2024 | CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

adaptation,” asserted the Congregation for Catholic Education in examining the demands of Catholic educators. “It is not, therefore, sufficient to achieve solely an initial good level of preparation; rather, what is required is to maintain it and elevate it in a journey of permanent formation.” This “journey of permanent formation” has inspired the efforts of the Department of Catholic Schools to continue its quest for innovative opportunities to deepen and further develop the capacity of Catholic schools to serve and support students with learning differences. LANGUAGE-BASED LEARNING DIFFERENCES The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted academic programming with school closures and classroom cohorts. It briefly interrupted efforts to provide high-quality Catholic education to students with suspected and documented learning differences. Plans resumed in the fall of 2021 starting with a Slingerland Literacy Institute partnership. Slingerland’s screening protocol helps teachers and other specialists trained to use it to identify important information about a student’s learning

patterns. It reveals strengths and weaknesses in language learning, and how these strengths and weaknesses impact reading, handwriting, spelling and written and oral expression. The Department of Catholic Schools now offers annual training to resource teachers and others seeking certification in the use of the Slingerland screening protocol with their students. THE ST. CLARE INSTITUTE FOR LEADING AND LEARNING Two other critical programs were launched through the St. Clare Institute for Leading and Learning — one for parents of Catholic school students with known or suspected learning differences, and another for teachers. The St. Clare Institute for Leading and Learning is a proprietary series of professional development programs created by the Department of Catholic Schools. It was launched in 2019 to provide our Catholic school educators with continuing and advanced professional educational opportunities to ensure high-quality Catholic education at all archdiocesan Catholic schools. ›

Students receiving personalized, direct instruction to meet individual student learning needs at St. Brigid School in San Francisco.

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | JANUARY 2024

Photo courtesy of Dr. Tara Rolle

For parents, an educational series was designed to help families navigate the diagnostic process and the educational system. Key topics included navigating the assessment process, conferencing after receiving a diagnosis, and networking with other Catholic school parents with children with languagebased learning differences. For teachers, a four-school, professional development cohort called “Instruction for All Learners” is part of the St. Clare Institute. This 150-hour professional development series focuses on responsive instructional practices that leverage teacher clarity practices and formative assessment to promote an inclusive and responsive instructional model. The first cohort graduated from the program in the spring of 2023, and a new cohort is planned for the fall of 2024. INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT In August of 2023, the Archdiocese of San Francisco formalized a plan to pursue equitable access to federal grants under the Individuals

with Disabilities Education Act. Established in 1974, IDEA authorizes federal grants for up to 40% of average per-pupil spending nationwide to pay a portion of what it costs to provide special education services for students with disabilities. The desired outcome for this focus on IDEA is twofold: first, to pursue and systematize Catholic school access to an equitable share of IDEA grants to provide resources to students with documented learning differences; second, to systematize and promote advocacy efforts for families in Catholic schools seeking educational evaluations from the districted public school. For the 2023-2024 academic year, to expertly pursue IDEA for Catholic school students, the Department of Catholic Schools has partnered with ADAC, a national nonprofit organization and purveyor of specialized education services to private schools and private school organizations. Archdiocesan K-8 schools have been invited to opt-in to a yearlong process focused on development of new classroom tools and JANUARY 2024 | CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

In the fall of 2024, St. Brigid Academy will convert to a school that joyfully and intentionally serves students with language- and attention-based learning differences.” DR. TARA ROLLE

Teacher and students at St. Brigid School sit in a circle during a reading lesson utilizing materials specifically selected for their reading levels.

St. AnthonyImmaculate Conception St. AnthonySchool Immaculate Conception St. AnthonySchool Immaculate Conception School Preparing students for the future through

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pedagogical practices for serving students with learning differences, understanding the law as it applies to personalized student learning plans and creating and maintaining meaningful consultation with public school partners for San Mateo, San Francisco and Marin counties. In the immediate, our priority is creating a cohesive system to support meaningful consultation and equitable participation in grants and assessments for Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of San Francisco. This system will empower school sites to pursue resources to support diverse student learning needs and will lighten the administrative demand on schools by centralizing the compliance and advocacy resources necessary for ensuring access. ST. BRIGID ACADEMY The Department of Catholic Schools has articulated a vision that includes a comprehensive system of schools that are expertly able to serve and support students with learning differences, with particular › CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | JANUARY 2024

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Students receive responsive, small-group instruction in math at St. Brigid School. Photo courtesy of Dr. Tara Rolle

emphasis on language-based differences, including dyslexia. This model has already started taking root at St. Brigid School with the announcement of its conversion to St. Brigid Academy in 2024/2025. In the fall of 2024, St. Brigid Academy will convert to a school that joyfully and intentionally serves students with languageand attention-based learning differences. Leveraging practices that support all students, the particular emphasis on language-based learning differences will allow a broader demographic of learners to receive a tailored academic program to ensure excellence across the curriculum. Staff will receive specialized training, and the academic day will be adjusted to respond to specific student learning needs. This new program will build upon the individualized instructional model currently utilized at the school. According to Megan Rabbitt, St. Brigid head of school, small class sizes, individualized instruction and a “multi-sensory learning

approach” are integral features of the school. Faculty cultivate critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and problem-solving through engaging classroom and enrichment activities, all within a strong faith-based, values-centered learning community led by a Catholic tradition of academic excellence. Serving a diverse range of students with excellence is a hallmark of Catholic education in the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Our school leaders are committed and capable; they have joined these initiatives with enthusiasm and professionalism and are excellent partners in our newest work pursuing IDEA access for our students. Our Catholic schools are a testament to the passion and commitment of our leadership to embrace the tools and resources necessary to innovate access and excellence for Catholic school students. ■ SCAN HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ST. CLAIRE INSTITUTE, or visit stclareinstitute.org. JANUARY 2024 | CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

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Please scan Schools QR Codes2024 or visit websites for Open House dates and Admissions information 23 CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | JANUARY

OPERATIONAL VITALIT Y

DREAM TEAMS

New school advisory board model proving vital to Catholic school success

BY CHRISTINA GRAY Lead writer, Catholic San Francisco grayc@sfarch.org

hen the longtime principal of St. Pius School in Redwood City retired in 2019, Father Tom Martin, at that time the new parish pastor, decided to make a change in the existing school board model. For years the board had been comprised mostly of school parents. “I reached out to some very successful and highly respected parishioners and asked if they would be willing to serve on the St. Pius School advisory board,” said Father Martin. Some members, he said, are current school parents. Some are not. That, he said, is by design. Father Martin said his school advisory board includes a wider swath of the parish community. Members that have more expertise, capabilities and yes, time, than the pastor and principal do could help Catholic schools thrive, he said. Enrollment is a challenge for St. Pius, like many other schools in the Bay Area. “We’ve lost a lot of school families because they can’t afford to live here,” Father Martin said. Even the Redwood City Unified School District has closed several public schools for essentially the same reason — not enough new families with possible new students.

His advisory board does not have a policy role in the administration of the school. “What a school advisory board does is take a panoramic view of what’s going on in the school, particularly in areas where there are challenges, and ask, how can we help?,” he said. His “new” school advisory board includes a doctor, whose son graduated St. Pius; a finance professional, also a former school parent and a future school grandparent; the retired St. Pius School principal of 36 years; a global communications expert and current parent; entrepreneurial school parents (one a St. Pius alum); and the parents of three St. Pius students, the husband a public school administrator and the wife a juvenile justice probation officer. Pam Lyons, superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of San Francisco, said she has “always been a real advocate” for school advisory boards. There are several types of school boards, according to Lyons, advisory boards and governance boards, being the two main ones. A governance board, operates as the name suggests. School leadership reports to the board. The board hires the school president or principal; it makes policy decisions etc. JANUARY 2024 | CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

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Photo by Cathy Yee, St. Pius School

Father Tom Martin, far right, pastor of St. Pius Parish, has assembled a school advisory board comprised of diverse members of the parish community.

“An advisory board can be made up of some parents, but ideally includes other members of the parish community with expertise in areas the school needs,” she said. The advisory board is, as the name implies, an advisory group, not a decision-making body, she said. There are certain areas of the school they can advise the principal and pastor about, such as finance, development, mission, enrollment management and facilities. Typically, Catholic elementary schools have a principal and the parish pastor. “But there’s no way they can do everything,” said Lyons. “From my personal experience as an elementary principal I know how helpful a well-run advisory board can be.” For the past two years, Lyons has offered to train the pastor, principal and advisory board members at elementary schools in the Archdiocese on how to run a successful school advisory board. It’s been completely voluntary, she said, and many principals have taken up her offer after hearing her talk about the benefits at a › CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | JANUARY 2024

Conor Doherty - Our Lady of Loretto, Luca DeNunzio - St. Patrick, Taylor Lynch - St. Hilary School, Cecily Hadd - St. Isabella, Elijah Boone - St. Anselm, Valerie Flores-Chavez - St. Raphael

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St. Pius School students take part in a community parade in Redwood City designed to spread school awareness and boost local enrollment.

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principals’ meeting. But community involvement in school governance is also a new part of Catholic school accreditation. “We are accredited by the Western Catholic Educational Association,” said Lyons. Last year the WCEA rewrote their accreditation protocol for the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools. One of those standards is having a governance structure that involves the community, “in a very structured way.” In a few rare cases, existing advisory boards were overeaching their authority, said Lyons. Clarifying the purpose of an advisory board, including what it does and doesn’t do (not involved in hiring or firing, discipline issues, curriculum, etc.), is part of her training. “In most cases I encountered in our Archdiocese, advisory boards just needed some training to lay out their roles within the school community and revise existing statutes to reflect that role,” Lyons said. School advisory board members are volunteers, but the difference is the long view. Advisory boards are not like parent groups raising money for a field trip, said Lyons, “but they may organize a fundraising campaign for tuition assistance so the school is viable for the future.” ■

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FACULT Y CORN E R

Learning to serve M BY TY DEBRUNNER

Junior High English Teacher, St. Gabriel School

ary MacLeod Bethune said, “Enter to learn, depart to serve.” This principle was instilled in me during my own Catholic school education, and it is the reason I chose to become a Catholic school teacher. I want to try and give back all the amazing gifts I received growing up in Catholic schools. I believe in the mission of a Catholic school education, and the idea that you can teach the whole person: the mind, the body and the soul. I strive to help young people become the best versions of themselves. Catholic school provides the strong roots of the tree of an individual’s life, giving you the foundation you JANUARY 2024 | CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

need to be a responsible citizen and a caring human being. Academically, I love to work with kids and fuel their passion for learning. Catholic schools hope to develop enthusiastic and lifelong learners. I am passionate about creating lesson plans that inspire students to learn and grow. As a junior high teacher, I take pride in teaching teenagers to love and respect their own minds and bodies. My goal is to instill self-confidence during an age where that can be challenging. It is incredibly rewarding to see this happen in a classroom. A Catholic school education is different because educators have the joy of teaching children that they can always rely on God and their faith. I truly appreciate teaching students that God and the Church are always there for them with unconditional love. Furthermore, students learning to treat others according to the golden rule is paramount in my daily

The community in a Catholic school is unparalleled. It is one giant family. Everyone in the family is working toward the same goals of faith, service and love.”

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classroom life. I want my students to go out into the world and treat others the way they would like to be treated – with love, respect, kindness and compassion. I try to instill a strong sense of service in my students, helping them to understand that we can, and we should, help others. I am blessed to have the ability to share God’s message with hundreds of kids each day. There is no greater reward. The community in a Catholic school is unparalleled. It is one giant family. Everyone in the family is working toward the same goals of faith, service and love. I received many gifts growing up in Catholic schools. My teachers and friends inspired and encouraged my confidence, creativity and well-being. I decided that I wanted to pass along these gifts to as many people as possible. I am a product of a Catholic school education, and I know it shaped me into the person I am today. I am eternally grateful. ■ CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | JANUARY 2024

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An Ignatian life of service, family and prayer:

SI honors Bob Drucker BY MARY POWERS

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fter a short time in the Army and while working in San Francisco, Bob Drucker was invited to coach a basketball team at St. Cecilia School in San Francisco. A graduate of St. Anne of the Sunset and St. Ignatius College Prep (SI), Drucker had been watching his friend coach basketball at Holy Name School and thought that it might be fun to do the same. When the opportunity arose at St. Cecilia’s, he applied, went in for the interview and was hired on the spot. From there, his coaching career blossomed, ultimately leading him to teach and coach at SI for more than 40 years. On Nov. 19, the school awarded their highest honor, the Christ the King Award, to Drucker, a 1958 alum. Joining the faculty of SI in 1965 to teach history and physical education, Drucker began coaching the boys’ basketball team a year later, leading the team to a championship win. “I was very fortunate,” Drucker said. “It was a blessing.” Drucker would go on to lead the boys’ basketball program to eight league championships, two CCS titles and one state championship appearance across two decades, eventually stepping down to assist the girls’ basketball team and the golf team.

FORMED IN A JESUIT EDUCATION Reminiscing about his time as a student at SI, Drucker discussed a simpler time. “It was a good experience there,” he said. “It was one of the reasons why I wanted to go back and teach. I thought it was a good place to be, and the Jesuit values were what I was taught by my own folks, so there was a consistency there.” JANUARY 2024 | CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

While the direct call to coach did not come until later, Drucker remembers being caught up in the love of the game of basketball early on. “It actually did start when I was in high school and I was playing,” said Drucker. “I was actually drawing up plays when I was a junior in high school while sitting in class.” He had a great role model in then-coach and history teacher Rene Herrerias who was a St. Ignatius graduate himself. Herrerias, who is now 95 and with whom Drucker still stays in touch, led the team to four state titles. Also at the time, the University of San Francisco’s basketball team practiced in the school’s gym, providing Drucker and the high school players with exciting afternoons watching Bill Russell and K.C. Jones. MOLDING THE NEXT GENERATION His favorite part of coming back to St. Ignatius was teaching with fellow alumni. “It was fun,” Drucker said. “There were three other lay teachers who were hired ›

I wanted my students to be the best they could be and use their Ignatian principles to guide them.”

Bob Drucker speaking at the Christ the King Award ceremony on Nov. 19. Photo courtesy of St. Ignatius College Prep

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | JANUARY 2024

Bob and Kathy Drucker pictured with 11 of their grandchildren at the Christ the King award ceremony

Photo courtesy of St. Ignatius College Prep

… be a good role model by embodying the integrity of the institution you represent.” that year, including Chuck Murphy and Leo La Rocca. We had known each other a little bit prior to starting, and so there was already a basic friendship there. We just got along great. We were young and enthusiastic.” With the familiar setting and good mentors at the time, including Jesuit Father Harry Carlin, SI president who was a graduate himself, Drucker said it was an easy transition in the midst of learning the teaching profession. “We were not so far away from being those rebellious teenagers that we were going to face,” said Drucker with a smile. Over the next 42 years, Drucker would go on to impact the lives of thousands of students, parents and alumni, as a teacher, coach and counselor. “My first love has always been teaching,” said Drucker. “I wanted my students to be the best they could be and use their Ignatian principles to guide them.” The SI Alumni Association shared the following about Drucker in its award proclamation: “He followed the advice of one USF professor who likened the teaching of history to building a scaffold so that students know where they stand in the sweep and scope of the story of the country and can see how the literature of the

age sheds light on the history. For Bob, too, teaching history meant imparting values of integrity, freedom and responsibility.” Drucker’s biggest lessons in teaching and coaching came from the students themselves. “I learned a lot from kids handling adversity,” he said. “When things were difficult and you would talk with them, you’d see the struggles they were going through. Their determination allowed them to find some level of success when confronting difficult situations. It reinforced for us the need to be patient with what they were trying to do and the way in which they did it.” Family is also an important part of Drucker’s life. He met and married his wife Kathy soon after joining the SI faculty. Bob and Kathy celebrated their 57th wedding anniversary the same day as the Christ the King Award ceremony, surrounded by their children — Katie, Molly, Joe and Chrissy, their children’s spouses and 12 grandchildren. The SI tradition continues in their family with their daughter Katie Drucker Kohmann working there and many of their grandchildren also attending the school. Drucker’s advice for teachers and coaches is to be a good role model by embodying the integrity of the institution you represent. ■ JANUARY 2024 | CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

Jesuit Institute for Family Life

Marriage Counseling Family Counseling Individual Counseling Is your marriage what you want it to be? Are you struggling to express your need for your spouse? Are your children suffering from lack of communication with your partner? Has your spouse left you emotionally? Have you tried to solve problems like these and found you could not do it alone? This need has given rise to the Jesuit Institute for Family Life; a staff of competently prepared and professionally skilled marriage counselors who are Catholic in religious orientation perceiving marriage as a sacrament and whose training and interest is in dealing with the above questions and areas of growth in family living. The Jesuit Institute for Family Life provides marriage counseling, individual and couples, family counseling, and group counseling for married couples as a means to meet the need within families to value the presence of individual family members and to improve the quality of intra-family relationships. To want to value one’s spouse and family members is often quite different from actually performing in a way that effectually expresses such value. We find that new skills are often needed and old obstacles to growth must be understood and worked through before effective human relating can be realized. When we do this we relate to Christ as He said, “In you give to these brothers and sisters of mine you give to Me.” (Matthew 25:40) STAFF: Robert Fabing, S.J., D. Mn., M.F.T., Director Michael Neri, Ph.D., M.F.T. Ann Rooney, S.M., M.A., M.F.T. Marilyn Neri, M.A., M.F.T. FOR AN APPOINTMENT Phone 650/948-4854 Jesuit Institute for Family Life Jesuit Retreat Center 300 Manresa Way, Los Altos, California 94022 www.jiflinet.com

Notre Dame Elementary School

Independent, co-ed Catholic school located in Belmont, California, serving students in preschool-8th grade. Space available in most grades. Register here to join us for a school tour or open house.

Learning that lights the way

SErraa

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N O M AT T E R H I S P AT H O R P A S S I O N

Serra is more than academic excellence . . . It is a journey of transformation. At Serra, boys take risks, explore challenges and emerge as inspired and independent men who are confident, analytical thinkers. Serra High School is an exceptional Catholic college Students of all faiths and backgrounds bring their gifts and preparatory, with more than 75 years of excellence. We talents to campus and enrich the diversity of our school offer a rich and rigorous academic curriculum, a wide community. We teach boys to become responsible young range of engaging extracurricular activities and an men and honorable leaders, prepared to successfully 451 WEST 20TH AVENUE SAN MATEO, CA 94403 650-345-8207 environment of compassion and mutual2024 respect. navigate the |complex world that they will inherit. 33 CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | JANUARY

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ATON E M E NT

The transforming power of suffering love BY DR. MARGARET TUREK Academic dean and professor of theology at St. Patrick’s Seminary & University in Menlo Park, California, Dr. Turek earned a doctorate in sacred theology at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. Prior to her theological studies, she received spiritual formation as a Carmelite for six years. Her new book, “Atonement: Soundings in Biblical, Trinitarian and Spiritual Theology,” is published by Ignatius Press.

“I

n this way the love of God was revealed to us … that he sent His Son as atonement for our sins” (1 Jn 4:9-10). The theme of atonement takes us to the very heart of the mission of Jesus Christ. Revealing the love of God as a mortal man, while bearing the conditions of sin-wrought estrangement, God’s Son atoned for the sins of the whole world (cf. 1 Jn 2:2). Atonement is the form that the love of God takes in his Son, Jesus Christ, under sin-wrought conditions – a love than which no greater can be conceived. Christians in every age should know and witness to the God of Jesus Christ in precisely these terms. It should be cause for concern, therefore, that a characteristic of much of catechesis in recent decades is the absence of efforts to explain the cross event as a work of atonement. Despite the fact that the Church’s Scripture, doctrine and worship all sanction the faith-conviction that Christ by His passion and death atoned for sin once for all (Heb 9:26), this understanding has largely fallen out of favor. Among theologians, one can detect an unmistakable reserve – even embarrassment – with regard to the idea. And things aren’t hugely different in the world of parish faith formation from which the idea of atonement has almost totally disappeared. So how might we account for what at best is a general neglect of the idea of atonement, and at worst is a strong aversion to it? Pope Benedict XVI offers an initial answer in his book, “Jesus of Nazareth,” where he

singles out “the trivialization of sin.” We seem to have a very small estimate of human guilt, the menace of evil and the damage it causes. We presume that we sinners know all about sin, that we can properly “contextualize” it from our own point of view; after all, we are its perpetrators. To the degree that the trivialization of sin holds sway in our minds, the message that “God sent His Son as atonement for our sins” cannot but strike us as an overreaction on God’s part. Besides this inaccurate assessment of sin, another troublesome reason for the modern aversion to the idea of atonement lies in a grossly distorted depiction of God the Father’s role in the cross event. Ever since the 17th century, and well into the 20th, a trend arose among theologians and preachers to portray God the Father as a celestial child abuser (to put it bluntly), as someone blinded by rage who unleashes violent fury on His Son for sins of which His Son is innocent. Such a portrayal of the Father gained a foothold in Catholic circles under the influence of Jansenism. Here is but one example from a sermon by a bishop, Jacques-Benigne Boussuet: God the Father “beholds Him (Jesus) as a sinner, and advances upon Him with all the resources of His justice. … I see only an irritated God. … The man, Jesus, has been thrown under the multiple and redoubled blows of divine vengeance. … As it vented itself, so His (the Father’s) anger diminished. … This is what passed on the cross, until the Son of God read JANUARY 2024 | CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

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in the eyes of His Father that He was fully appeased. … When an avenging God waged war upon His Son, the mystery of our peace is accomplished.” Regrettably, many more texts could be brought forward that imagine God the Father as thirsty for vengeance and demanding the passion and death of His Son to calm His rage. Even today images like these still haunt the Christian imagination. Closely coupled with this mistaken view is another faulty notion, one which errs in thinking that the Father undergoes a change of heart in the face of the Son’s self-sacrifice. According to this false notion, the Son sacrifices himself to win back the Father’s love for the human race. But this is at odds with the Johannine proclamation that “God so loved the world that he gave His only Son” (Jn 3:16; cf. 1 Jn 4:8-10), as well as with the Pauline passage that declares: “God (the Father) proves His love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8; cf. 8:31-34). Both John and Paul cite the Father’s love as the primary ground and motive for the Son’s atoning sacrifice. Both insist that we have come to know that God is love precisely in view of God sending His Son as atonement. So if we are to uphold the biblical testimony, we need to understand that atonement is the result of the Father’s love. It does not result in the Father’s love being revived or jumpstarted, as it were. Christ’s self-sacrifice does not “earn” the Father’s love for us. To the contrary, it is the fruit and expression of that love. › CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | JANUARY 2024

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However, it is not enough simply to assert this. We need to uncover and bring to light the logic of love hidden in the cross event. Such a challenge calls to mind my favorite words of St. Augustine: “Our one task in life is to heal the eyes of our heart so that we can see God” (Sermon 88) – see the God who is love in the face of the cross event. And see the cross event as a dramatic epiphany, shaped in response to sin, of the (staggering) love of God for us, while we were yet sinners. To facilitate our capacity to see, we can begin with the realization that the event of Christ’s cross did not irrupt suddenly into history – like a lightning bolt that struck “out of the blue.” There was a preparation for it in Israel’s covenant history with God. In the preaching of the prophets, God’s mercy signifies a special power of love, which prevails over the sins and infidelities of the people. God’s power of love is a forgiving power, but its outworking does not remain one-sided. Rather, the prophets make clear that the process of dealing with sin involves an interplay between God’s forgiving love, on whose side lies the initiative and ultimate power over sin, and His people’s contrite love, which cooperates by making atonement. In this interplay of love, God is the one who always takes the first step, and God loves His people in such a way that he aims at mutuality with an unswerving commitment. Following the Bible, we can see this interplay of love

as an interplay between paternal love and filial love – as we find in Jeremiah, where the Lord says outright: “I am a father to Israel, Ephraim is my first-born” (Jer 31:9). When this interplay of love is broken due to sin, God Himself takes the initiative in restoring the relationship, but only so as to re-establish the interplay. God’s own readiness to be reconciled and His own power to forgive cannot, in and of themselves alone, become actual

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forgiveness without violating the spirit and abandoning the aim of that very bilaterality that God initiates with His people. There must be an interplay – bespeaking reciprocal love – between God’s paternal love and Israel’s filial love, which in the face of sin takes the form of forgiving love and atoning love, if sin is to be erased or expiated. The way in which God forgives and still takes the freedom of His people seriously is by enabling Israel

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to collaborate in the work of bearing sin away through the power of their reciprocal love. In order to illustrate this interplay of love between forgiveness and atonement, let me share what Pope Benedict XVI says in his book, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Straightaway he asserts that forgiveness is not a cheap gift. After all, “guilt is a reality, an objective force,” and hence it has real effects, real consequences: it “causes damage that must be repaired.” For this reason, “forgiveness must be more than a matter of ignoring, of merely trying to forget.” The baneful effects of sin and guilt “must be worked through, healed and thus overcome.” Now this means that “forgiveness exacts a price” – and “first of all from the person who forgives.” This might surprise us. We might expect that the cost of forgiveness would rest entirely on the guilty person, on the trespasser. The guilty person should have to take the first step (so we think), should have to “pay up front” with some token of regret in order to be tendered forgiveness. But Benedict says otherwise. The cost of forgiveness is paid in the first place by the person who forgives. This person – the one wronged – takes the initiative in the process of forgiveness by willingly keeping his heart open and “suffering through” the evil done to him. Suffering of this kind can be called “love-suffering”: not that the sufferer loves to suffer (that would be ›

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Atonement is a work that “annihilates” sin by changing it into the suffering form of filial love.

masochism) but that the lover is willing to suffer for the sake of love’s continuance, in order that love may endure. This capacity for love-suffering is what St. Paul extols at the conclusion of his “hymn to love” in 1 Cor 13:7-8. “Love bears all things, … endures all things. … Love never fails.” “As a result,” says Benedict, the one who forgives “also involves the other, the sinner, in this process of transformation.” But how, exactly, does the one who forgives involve the other in this process? By showing or making visible his inner attitude toward the other, specifically, his willingness to keep his heart open as he “suffers through” the evil done to him, for the purpose of restoring the relationship. The revelation of his lovesuffering has a potent capacity to evoke contrition, ignite renewed love and empower the sinner willingly to mirror or reflect back such love-suffering on his side – to bear with contrite love the effects of his wrongdoing until they are “suffered through” – and thereby borne away. And notice: it’s the suffering of forgiving love that initiates and accompanies the whole process of atonement. Thus both parties are involved in this interplay of love that bears sin away. It is a shared work of love-suffering that begins with the person who forgives. From here we can begin to see more clearly the hidden logic of love at work in the cross event, a logic that gradually unfolds in Israel’s covenant history with God. For a book-length treatment of this theme, see “Atonement: Soundings in Biblical, Trinitarian and Spiritual Theology.” But already now we can note a few key points in summary. It is God’s forgiving love that gives rise to the sinner’s repentance, and not the other way around. It is a love that proves undiminished despite exposing itself to heartache (cf. Hos 11:8). Indeed the revelation of God’s love-suffering has the

power to evoke and engender the response of contrite love in the sinner’s heart. However, this change of heart on the sinner’s side does not of itself undo the consequences that his wrongdoing has set in motion. The converted sinner still has to bring his regenerated love to bear on the effects of sin. Sin is not merely walked away from; sin must be “borne away.” To bear away sin means to take sin’s effects upon oneself and “carry” them, to endure the consequences that sin has wrought (cf. Hos 13:16; Ez 4:1-8). But – and this is the miracle – by the very fact of bearing sin’s effects, albeit now with a contrite heart (under the leading of God’s grace), the penitent transforms these sin-wrought effects into an occasion for the expression of filial love for God. By being borne in this way, sin is borne away, annihilated. Atonement is a work that “annihilates” sin by changing it into the suffering form of filial love. At this point we arrive at the threshold to the event of Christ’s cross, “the great mystery of atonement” – when God sent His beloved Son to become the man of sorrows who bears away the sin of the whole world (cf. 1 Jn 2:2). ■ This essay contains excerpts from Margaret Turek’s book, “Atonement: Soundings in Biblical, Trinitarian and Spiritual Theology,” courtesy of Ignatius Press, all rights reserved. https://ignatius.com/atonement-atp/ SCAN TO JOIN DR. MARGARET TUREK FOR A FREE ONLINE COURSE, “ATONEMENT: THE TRANSFORMING POWER OF SUFFERING LOVE,” sponsored by the Archdiocese, meeting on Tuesdays 7–8:30 p.m., Feb. 13, 20, 27 and March 5, 12, 19, 2024 or visit https://sfarchdiocese.org/ospm/ JANUARY 2024 | CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

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TRUE PRESENCE

Jesus and the Jewish roots of the Eucharist Editor’s Note: The following excerpt is taken from Brant Pitre’s presentation on Jesus and the Jewish roots of the Eucharist. This is one of many Eucharistic reflections that will be published by Catholic San Francisco magazine as part of the U.S. Catholic Church’s Eucharistic Revival (eucharisticrevival. org) that began on June 19, 2022, on the feast of Corpus Christi, and continues through Pentecost 2025.

’d like to begin our exploration of the Jewish roots of the Eucharist by asking you a question, a historical riddle that scholars have wondered about for a long time. How is it that the first generation of Christians, who were Jewish Christians, came to believe so quickly and in such a universal way in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist? The reason it’s a riddle or a puzzle is because if you know anything about ancient Judaism, you’ll know that in the Old Testament, there’s a prohibition that’s very prominent. The Jewish people were absolutely forbidden from drinking blood. The Book of Leviticus says you shall not drink the blood of any animal or any creature. It was a taboo among the Jews, and yet we find a rabbi scholar like St. Paul writing in his First Letter to the Corinthians in a matter-of-fact fashion in chapter 10 stating, “Do you not know that the bread that we break, is it not a communion in the body of Christ?” And he states, “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a communion in the blood of Christ?” How is it that St. Paul could go from being a rabbi, a Pharisee, a Jewish expert in the law who would have considered the drinking of any blood, much less human blood, to be an abomination, to being an apostle of Jesus Christ who will proclaim without hesitation that the Eucharist really is the body and blood of Jesus? How did he get from A to Z? How did any of the Jewish Christians in the first century come to believe in the Eucharist given what they would have received from their Jewish tradition?

God commands Moses to put three key symbols of His presence in the tabernacle: 1. The Ark of the Covenant; 2. A golden lampstand, which the Jews called the menorah with seven branches and seven tongues of fire, and 3. The golden table on which they placed the bread of the presence.

What I want to suggest to you is that it’s precisely their Jewish faith, tradition, practices and beliefs that lay the foundation for their belief in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. If you understand what the Jewish people were waiting for the Messiah to do and what they were waiting for the Messiah to be, you can understand how St. Paul got from A to Z. Once he realized that Jesus was the Messiah, he also was able to realize that the Eucharist is really the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus. That’s the puzzle that I want you to keep in mind as we look at three key images from ancient Jewish practice and the Scriptures that shed light on the mystery of the Eucharist. The three images are: 1. The Jewish Passover; 2. Jewish beliefs about the manna from heaven, and 3. The mysterious Jewish bread of the presence, which the Jews kept in the tabernacle of Moses and then later in the Temple of Solomon. When you look at Jewish hopes for what the Messiah would do connected with these three images of the Passover, the manna and the bread of the presence, we’re going to see how it was their Jewish faith that led them to their Catholic faith in the real presence. FAST FORWARD: 3. THE JEWISH BREAD OF THE PRESENCE Let’s look at our third and final image from the Old Testament and Jewish tradition, and that is the mysterious bread of the presence. During the exodus from Egypt, the worship of God was centered on a special place, a sanctuary known as the tabernacle. Many Christians are familiar with a tabernacle, but many are not familiar with what went inside the tabernacle of Moses. One of the most important things that was in JANUARY 2024 | CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

The Eucharist is the new bread of the presence where Jesus hides Himself under the appearances of bread and wine so that He could be in every place.

If the Eucharist is the new bread of the presence, then it’s going to be not just a symbolic shadowy presence like in the Old Testament, but His real presence.” the tabernacle was the bread of the presence, which is described in chapter 25 of the Book of Exodus. Immediately after God gives the Israelites the Ten Commandments, the first thing He wants them to do is to learn how to worship Him, so He gives Moses instructions on building the tabernacle and what to put inside. God commands Moses to put three key symbols of His presence in the tabernacle: 1. The Ark of the Covenant, which is a large box covered in pure gold with two long handles for holding the box, and on top of it were two statues of golden cherubim; 2. A golden lampstand, which the Jews called the menorah with seven branches and seven tongues of fire, and: 3. The golden table on which they placed the bread of the presence. Do these three symbols in the tabernacle of Moses strike you as significant: the Ark of the Covenant, the menorah with tongues of fire and the bread of the presence? Does this make you think of the Trinity? We have the ark of the invisible God the Father, the golden table of the bread of the presence, the Son, and the menorah with the tongues of the fire, a symbol of the Holy Spirit. The mystery of the Trinity was hidden in the tabernacle of Moses waiting to be revealed by Jesus. Our Catholic faith is so rich, and it’s all there in sacred Scripture waiting to be unveiled. The bread of the presence is described in more detail in the Book of Leviticus. There would be 12 unleavened cakes of bread that would represent the 12 tribes of Israel. CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | JANUARY 2024

The bread of the presence was offered on behalf of Israel each Sabbath day by the priests. It was not just bread. It was a kind of a Sabbath sacrifice, and it had to be offered continually before the Lord as an everlasting covenant. There was never a time when the bread of the presence wasn’t in the tabernacle and always had to be before the Lord. The lampstand candles (the menorah) had to be “kept burning continually” in the tabernacle along with the bread of the presence. Does that sound familiar? In the Catholic Church, we have the sanctuary lamp, which is lit whenever the true bread of the presence, the Eucharist, is in the tabernacle. Why do we do that? It is because of the Jews; it’s in the Scriptures. Things in Catholicism that are strange or puzzling almost without a doubt come from Judaism. It comes from the Old Testament. It’s mysterious. That’s why our modern world doesn’t understand the Church. Whenever the Jews would take the bread of the presence out of the tabernacle, do you know what they would do? They would cover it with a veil. Have you been to benediction lately? What does a priest do in the solemn ceremony of benediction? He veils the bread of the Eucharist because it’s holy. Additionally, we know from the Book of Exodus that it was not just a sacrifice of bread; it’s a sacrifice of bread and wine: “And you shall make its plates and dishes for incense, and its flagons and bowls with which to pour libations…. And you shall set the bread of the presence on the table before me always.” (Ex 25:29-30) ›

What kind of drink offering would they pour? I’ll give you a hint: it was not Kool-Aid or grape juice; it was wine. So, they had the bread and wine of the presence. Most interestingly, the Hebrew word for bread of the presence can be translated in two ways; it has a double meaning. It can mean “bread of the presence” or “bread of the face.” Whose face? You might say Jesus, but this is the Old Testament, so Jesus was not on the scene yet. The rabbis tell us that the bread of the presence was seen as a visible sign of the face of Almighty God. At the time of Jesus, whenever the Jews would go to the temple to celebrate Passover, there was a custom to gather for a special event. At Passover time, the priests would take one of the sacred items in the temple out of the holy place that only the priests could go into, and they would show it to the people. Do you know which one they took out? It wasn’t the ark; it wasn’t the menorah; it was the bread of the presence. According to the rabbis in the Talmud, the bread of the presence, the golden table, would be taken out by the priests and brought to the people, and they would lift up the golden table of the bread of the presence so that everybody could see it. Do you know what the priest would say to the people? They would say these words: “Behold God’s love for you!” The Talmud, a collection of ancient rabbinic traditions, records: “They used to lift up and exhibit the bread of the presence on it to those who came up for the festivals, saying to them, ‘Behold God’s love for you!’” (Babylonian Talmud, Menahoth 29a). When was the last time you saw the bread of the presence lifted up? It was when you came to the true temple of the true lamb and the true manna in Mass. Every time the priest takes the bread of the presence, consecrates it and lifts it up during the elevation, he’s fulfilling what was prefigured at the time of Christ. He’s lifting up the bread of the presence so that we can all see God’s love for us in the Word made flesh. Did Jesus ever mention the bread of the presence? He does in Matthew 12:1-8. You’ve probably heard this story before, but let’s look at it again to see the connection and the significance. Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath, and His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck ears of grain and to eat. This was against the custom of the Pharisees, so when they saw it, they said to Jesus, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” Jesus said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with them, how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the presence which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the law how on the Sabbath, the priests in the Temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless?” What was Jesus referring to? What did the priests in the Temple do on the Sabbath? How did they work in the

Temple on the Sabbath? They would prepare and offer the bread of the presence. It was the Sabbath day sacrifice that they had to do while everyone else was resting. Jesus then ends with these words, “I tell you something greater than the Temple is here.” From a Jewish perspective, that’s like a bomb that Jesus just set off right in their midst. What is the Temple to the Jews? It’s the dwelling place of God on earth. What then could be greater than the dwelling place of God on earth? Only God Himself, tabernacling in the flesh. Jesus just told them that He was the divine son of God, but He did it with Jewish words and with Jewish beliefs. Now, back to our original question. Why did the first Jewish Christians believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist? It’s simple; they not only knew that it was the new Passover and the new manna, but they also knew it was the new bread of the presence. Several things follow from that. If the Eucharist is the new bread of the presence, then it’s going to be not just a symbolic shadowy presence like in the Old Testament, but His real presence. Where did Jesus get the idea that bread and wine could be signs of a person’s presence? We don’t usually think of bread and wine as symbols of a person. He got that idea from the Jewish bread of the presence. So, what we have today is the real bread of the presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Notice that Jesus has laid claim to the priesthood for Himself and for His followers just as David did. What are the disciples plucking on the Sabbath? They are plucking grain. What do you make with grain? You make bread. So what is Jesus saying? He’s saying, I am the true Temple, my disciples are the true priests, and just like the priests and the Temple can work on the Sabbath, my disciples can work on the Sabbath. What are they going to do on the new Sabbath? They’re going to offer the new bread of the presence in the new Temple, which is the body of Christ. That’s why the early Christians knew that the Eucharist was His true body. Sometimes, we think of Judaism and Christianity as opposed to one another. Yet it is precisely the Jewish faith of the early Christians that enabled them to come to faith in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist — that it really is His body, blood, soul and divinity. What Catholics receive in every Mass is the flesh of the new Passover lamb. At every Mass, we are taken back in time to the hour of Jesus’ passion, when the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world loved me and gave Himself up for every one of us. The Mass not only points back to Calvary; it also points forward to the resurrection; not just to Jesus’ resurrection but to our resurrection at the end of time. ■ SCAN TO VISIT DR. BRANT PITRE’S PRESENTATIONS on CatholicProductions. com or visit https://catholicproductions. com/collections/brant-pitre JANUARY 2024 | CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

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LOCAL NEWS

Knights of Columbus distribute tens of thousands of Marian Eucharistic packets for Christmas BY MARY POWERS Assistant Director of Communications and Media Relations. Office of Communications, Archdiocese of San Francisco

After Christmas Masses across the Archdiocese, parishioners received a packet with a rosary, a miraculous medal and a book on the Eucharist (English and Spanish copies were distributed). The materials were provided by an anonymous donor. Led by the Knights of Columbus, the initiative leveraged parish networks, Catholic schools and other parish groups such as the Legion of Mary to assemble the packets and distribute them at Christmas Masses. The Knights met with Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone Dec. 13 at the Pastoral Center in San Francisco to have him bless the medals and rosaries. Volunteers then brought the materials to 35 parishes where the Knights of Columbus are active. From there, local Knights, parish volunteers and students from the parish schools helped to assemble the packets for the area. “We help the Church in whatever way we can,” said Wallace Moore, president of the local St. Francis chapter of the Knights of Columbus. “We want the Eucharist to be the center of our organization. When you leave

Photo by Francisco Valdez

Archbishop Cordileone joined the St. Francis Chapter of the Knights of Columbus to bless the medals and rosaries for the Christmas gifts.

church, you are taking Christ and Mother Mary with you this Christmas.”

Curtin siblings join forces at Archbishop Riordan High School Curtin siblings Joey, Danny and Jennifer grew up in Noe Valley and the Cayunga Terrace neighborhoods in San Francisco, attending St. Paul Catholic School. While high school separated them, they have joined forces again at Archbishop Riordan High School. Danny and Joey, graduates of Riordan High School in 2001 and 2008, said their time there was always special. Jennifer went to St. Ignatius Prep and Dominican

University. She began her teaching career at St. Ignatius, but joined her brothers at Riordan, becoming dean of students and coaching volleyball. Jen was drawn to teach at Riordan because of the strong community there and the ability to impact students’ lives. Teaching at Riordan, the Curtin siblings have a shared purpose. “We want our students to understand that discipline, personal accountability and honesty will allow

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the students to accomplish goals they did not even know they were capable of,” said Danny Curtin. Read their full story: https:// sfarchdiocese.org/curtin-siblingsjoin-forces-at-archbishopriordan-high-school/ JANUARY 2024 | CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

ANSWERS FOUND ON PAGE 47

ACROSS 1 “According to (kata-) the whole (holos),” or more colloquially, “universal”

3 Jimmy Akin’s new podcast, A Daily ________ 4 The word of God 7 Church entry way

8 ________ Popery podcast 10 “and the Son” 12 Augustine of _____ 14 Without stain 16 The rock 18 Clement of ____ (d. A.D. 97) 19 These aid Christians and spur them to works of devotion, penance, and charity 21 Apologist _____ Horn 22 The Catholic Church 23 The design that God has built into human nature 24 Monks and nuns 28 Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in ______. 29 ______ Martyr (the Church’s first major lay apologist) 30 “For he will render every man according to his _____. . .” (Rom. 2:6-8).

5 The teachings that the apostles passed on through their preaching. 6 Doctrine of the twelve apostles 9 ____ Leo the Great (d. 461) 11 Christ established ____ Church with one set of beliefs (Eph. 4:4-5) 13 Catholic Answers founder 15 Sunday Catholic ____ podcast 16 The first five books of the Bible 17 “We will be caught up” 20 Ten Hail Marys 25 The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit 26 Glory Be 27 Bones, ashes, clothing, or personal possessions of holy people

DOWN 1 He wrote about what he called “mere Christianity” 2 Iconoclasm, Catharism, Jansenism, and Protestantism

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LOCAL NEWS

Marian exhibit brings joy to Our Lady of Loretto Parish BY MARY POWERS Assistant Director of Communications and Media Relations. Office of Communications, Archdiocese of San Francisco

For the second year in a row, Our Lady of Loretto Catholic Church in Novato hosted a Marian Exhibit Dec. 7 - 14, displaying statues and other Marian images from the homes of its parishioners. Chaired by six volunteers, the 2023 collection was separated into months, highlighting the different feast days of Our Lady throughout the year. The idea for the Novato display began with an exhibition of Marian art at Our Lady of Peace Church in Santa Clara. Father Tony Vallecillo, pastor of Our Lady of Loretto Church, visited Our Lady of Peace and brought the idea back to the parish. From there, parishioners took the reins and drove the project forward. The exhibit featured images of Mary from around the

Photo by Mary Powers

Visitors at Our Lady of Loretto’s Marian exhibit browse the displays.

world including Peru, Cuba, Spain, Nicaragua, China, and the Philippines. Each month featured images for major feasts such as Mary the Mother of God for January and Our Lady of Fatima in May with information about the rosary and Fatima apparitions. Catherine Stanek, one of the six exhibit chairs, said guests have been in awe of the exhibit. “There’s just an expanding joy that comes out of this room,” said Stanek. “It’s just a grace.” The school was also involved and all the students from grades one through eight came through the exhibit to learn more about the Blessed Mother, her apparitions, and her messages for the world.

U.S. BANKRUPTCY COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA – SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION

In re: The Roman Catholic Archbishop of San Francisco, Case No. 23-30564 Notice of Deadline for Filing Claims: February 20, 2024 YOU MAY HAVE A SEXUAL ABUSE CLAIM OR OTHER CLAIM AGAINST THE ARCHDIOCESE OF SAN FRANCISCO On August 21, 2023, The Roman Catholic Archbishop of San Francisco, a California corporation sole, aka Archdiocese of San Francisco (the “Debtor”), filed for protection under chapter 11 of title 11 of the United States Code (the “Bankruptcy Code”).

We want to hear from you! Please send your story ideas and faith-based or general questions to catholicsf@sfarch.org. Your voice matters as we continue to explore new ways to engage with our readers! 46

If you were sexually abused by any person connected with the Debtor, you must file a claim so as to be received by February 20, 2024, or otherwise you will be forever barred, estopped, and enjoined from asserting such claim against the Debtor. Claims based on acts or omissions of the Debtor that occurred before August 21, 2023, must be filed on or before February 20, 2024, even if such claims are not now fixed, liquidated, or certain or did not mature or become fixed, liquidated, or certain before August 21, 2023. For more information on how to obtain and file a proof of claim form and associated documents, please visit https://omniagentsolutions.com/RCASF, or contact Omni Agent Solutions, Inc., the Debtor’s claims agent via email at RCASFinquiries@omniagnt.com or by phone at 888-480-6507 (U.S. and Canada toll free) or 747-293-0084 (International), between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. (prevailing Pacific Time), Monday through Friday.

**If you have questions about the bankruptcy case filed by the Archdiocese of San Francisco, please also visit the website at JANUARY 2024 |the CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO https://sfarch.org and follow links for Chapter 11 Filing**

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CATHOLIC QUIZ ANSWERS

U PCOMING EVE NTS

SAVE THE DATES!

QUIZ: How well do you know the Catholic faith? OPEN THIS QR CODE FOR COMPREHENSIVE ANSWERS or visit https://sfarchdiocese. org/january-2024catholic-quiz/

Come out and join us SCAN TO SEE THE COMPREHENSIVE CALENDAR OF EVENTS or visit sfarch. org/events Jan. 25: Vespers for the Week of Christian Unity For the 18th year, Archbishop Cordileone and Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Gerasimos will be leading solemn vespers in observance of the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Join them in prayer at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 25, at St. Pius X Catholic Church. Feb. 3: Wedding Anniversary Mass All married couples in the Archdiocese are invited to attend and celebrate their sacramental wedding anniversaries at a Mass and reception with Archbishop Cordileone on Feb. 3 at 10 a.m. Those celebrating at least five-year anniversaries (5, 10, 15, 20, etc.) will be recognized during the Mass. Feb. 3: Mother-Daughter Program The Mother-Daughter Programs are designed to help mothers and daughters explore God’s special gift of fertility together. Help her see the beauty and wonder of God’s plan for growing up as a young girl, teenager and becoming a woman. There are two programs: for “tweens” in the morning, and teens in the afternoon. The Tween and Teen Programs cover similar subject matter while differing in

1. The Old Testament: c. This is it!

depth and scope. All presentations are pure, lighthearted, and affirming! https://sfarch.org/event/ the-mother-daughter-programs/ Feb. 4: Consecrated Life Mass Join us as we celebrate World Day for Consecrated Life, honoring those consecrated men and women who serve in the Archdiocese and those who are celebrating jubilee anniversaries of their profession of vows. The Mass for Consecrated Life will take place on Feb. 4 at 11 a.m. at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption. Feb. 14: Ash Wednesday Feb. 24: Archdiocesan Women’s Conference Women of the Archdiocese of San Francisco are invited to attend the Archdiocesan Women’s Conference on Feb. 24 at St. Dominic’s Catholic Church beginning with Mass at 9 a.m. with Archbishop Cordileone followed by a day of reflection and prayer. Feb. 24: Chinese New Year Mass and Celebration The Chinese Ministry of the Archdiocese of San Francisco invites you to their Chinese New Year Mass and Celebration on Feb. 24 at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption. Mass begins at 2 p.m. and a dinner will follow with traditional Chinese food and entertainment.

2. Baptism may be administered by: d. Yes, anyone, even a nonChristian, can baptize. Baptism may be administered by any person, provided that he intends to do what the Church does — even if he doesn’t fully understand what the Church does in baptism — and uses the right words (“I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”) and actions (pouring or sprinkling water on the recipient’s head or immersing the recipient in water). This means that a valid baptism can be administered by a Jew, a Muslim, a Hindu, an agnostic or even an atheist. This is testimony not to Christ’s capriciousness in establishing baptism but to how important baptism is. Our Lord wanted to make baptism as easily available as possible because this sacrament is the entrance to the life of grace. 3. To be elected Pope, a man must at least be: b. Correct. The candidate must be a baptized Catholic; he can even be a married layman. 4. In the Mass: d. Correct, because the bread and the wine cease to be present in their essence or substance after the consecration. Only Jesus is present. 5. The doctrine of the Trinity means: e. Correct, because all the other possible answers are wrong.

JANUARY 2024 | CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | JANUARY 2024

Faith Formation

Students from St. Matthew’s Catholic School, Junipero Serra High School, and Mercy High School join Archbishop Cordileone at the Faith Formation Conference at St. Matthew’s Catholic Church in November. The students helped answer questions and direct participants on campus.

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