December 14, 2012

CARING:

DIGNITY:

ADVENT:

Cassandra is rebuilding her life, with CCCYO’s help

Center matches Mexican workers with farm jobs in US

Wakefully, not drowsily, awaiting the coming of Christ

PAGE 5

PAGE 7

PAGE 24

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO Newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Francisco

SERVING SAN FRANCISCO, MARIN & SAN MATEO COUNTIES

www.catholic-sf.org

DECEMBER 14, 2012

$1.00 | VOL. 14 NO. 39

Venerating Our Lady of Guadalupe Doves take to the air as they are released at St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco on Dec. 8 at the end of the archdiocese’s annual Guadalupana pilgrimage venerating Our Lady of Guadalupe. The march of thousands began at All Souls Church in South Francisco, with pilgrims praying the rosary along the 12-mile route and gathering in the cathedral for prayer and a Mass. Story and more photos on Page 18.

(PHOTO BY DENNIS CALLAHAN/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)

CCCYO aid to Alzheimer’s sufferer shows growing need GEORGE RAINE CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

On the Monday before Thanksgiving, a woman on the East Coast called Catholic Charities CYO in San Francisco to say she and her family were concerned about the well-being of her elderly aunt in San Francisco. The caller was familiar with Catholic Charities services and thought the agency could help.

A case manager from Catholic Charities CYO San Francisco Aging Services went to the home of the 84-year-old woman and found her “very confused and disoriented,” said Patty Clement-Cihak, director of the San Francisco Aging Services program.

That day, Clement-Cihak and others began connecting the woman with services, arranged for a doctor’s appointment, arranged for her to be accommodated at the agency’s San Francisco Adult Day program and, the next day, helped the woman’s fam-

HELPING SENIORS IN NEED

Catholic Charities CYO San Francisco Adult Day Services works with between 200 and 250 caregivers annually, and serves from 60 to 75 seniors, 95 percent of whom have Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia, at the adult day program facility at 50 Broad St. in the Ocean-Merced-Ingleside district. For information on CCCYO’s adult day program, call (415) 4524300. For information on case management services, call (415) 334-5555.

‘Significant moment’ for nation as highest court takes up Prop. 8 GEORGE RAINE CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

ily contract with another agency, Home Instead, for her home-care service outside of the day program.

The U.S. Supreme Court decision on Dec. 7 to enter the debate over same-sex marriage was “a significant moment for our nation,” San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone said as the news broke that day, adding he is prayerful that the court will affirm that marriage is the union of a man and a woman.

SEE AGING, PAGE 25

SEE PROP. 8, PAGE 25

• SOLAR PANELS • THERMAL BARRIERS

(415)786-0121 (650)871-9227 WE STAND 100% BEHIND OUR WORK

20 YEARS EXPERIENCE

LICENSE #907564

CALL THE EXPERTS!

INDEX On the Street . . . . . . . . .4 National . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 World . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Christmas . . . . . . . . . . 13 Opinion. . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Faith. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

2 ARCHDIOCESE

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 14, 2012

NEED TO KNOW

VOX POP

What is your hope for Christmas?

NO ROOM AT THE INN: St. Bruno Parish, 555 W. San Bruno Ave. between El Camino Real and Route 101, San Bruno, presents “The Search for an Inn,” Dec. 21 at 7 p.m. The event reenacts the story of Mary and Joseph on the search for a place to give birth to Jesus. The ensemble will process to locations surrounding the parish, sing Christmas carols and end with a community potluck celebration.

Jordan Orque SPECIAL SANDY COLLECTION: The U.S. bishops will sponsor a special collection during the Advent and Christmas seasons to aid victims of Hurricane Sandy.

“The church is a primary source of healing and peace when tragedies like this happen,” U.S. bishops’ vice president Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz said in a letter to all U.S. bishops. Immediate needs include food, water, clothing and shelter.

A long-term goal is rebuilding damaged churches. Funds from the Collection for the Church in Latin America and Catholic Relief Services already have been designated to support relief efforts for the victims of Hurricane Sandy in the Caribbean. This special collection will be designated for the recovery of those in the U.S. Funds collected will support the efforts of the U.S. bishops’ conference and Catholic Charities USA.

Dustin Nelson

Jim Carter

“To have my family with me.”

JORDAN ORQUE

“Peace, love and hope.”

OSCAR VAZQUEZ

“Win the lottery.”

GREG (NO LAST NAME GIVEN)

“To do well in school.”

ISABELLA DOMINICI

Interviews and photos by Valerie Schmalz/Catholic San Francisco

Sidewalk mural designed to help Tenderloin kids get home safely VALERIE SCHMALZ CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

The Tenderloin Safe Passages sidewalk mural looks a lot like the Yellow Brick Road but the 11-block strip of painted yellow footprints is designed to make life a little safer for 3,500 children who live in a place much less appealing than the Land of Oz. “It’s not unusual just walking down one block, you get people standing there making drug deals,” said Franciscan Father Tommy King, pastor of St. Boniface Parish in the drug- and crime-infested neighborhood in San Francisco’s downtown. The last block of the Safe Passages mural in front of St. Boniface was completed in early December.

The yellow strip of footprints will be staffed by about 65 volunteers wearing bright yellow vests during after-school hours and will also have designated spots to let the children know safe spots to stop

(PHOTO BY VALERIE SCHMALZ/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)

John Elliott completed the last block of the Safe Passages sidewalk mural in front of St. Boniface Church in early December. for help if they are alone and need help, said Dina Hilliard, community organizer. With a substantial grant from MetLife insurance company, Hilliard plans two hours a day of volunteers, 2:45-3:45 p.m. and again 4:45-5:45 p.m., she said. Most of the

Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone Publisher George Wesolek Associate Publisher Rick DelVecchio Editor/General Manager EDITORIAL Valerie Schmalz, assistant editor George Raine, reporter Tom Burke, On the Street/Calendar

(415) 664-8810 www.mtslaw.info FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION

Donate Your Car 800-YES-SVDP (800-937-7837)

• FREE FREE AND PICKUP sameFAST day pickup • MAXIMUM • MaximumTAX Tax DEDUCTION Deduction • WE •DO PAPERWORK WeTHE do DMV paperwork • RUNNING OR or NOT, • Running not,NO noRESTRICTIONS restrictions • DONATION COMMUNITY • 100%HELPS helps YOUR your community

ST. VINCENT DE PAUL SOCIETY Serving the poor since 1860

ST. VINCENT DE PAUL SOCIETY

volunteers will be parents and the community organizations also work very closely with the Tenderloin police station, Father King and Hilliard said.

The Tenderloin has the highest concentration of children in the city, most living with their families in single room occupancy hotels and in studio apartments, said Michael Daniels, president of De Marillac Academy, a tuition-free Catholic middle school.

“Safe Passages is a great example of our neighborhood working together to keep our children safe,” Daniels said, noting even though the sidewalks are cleaned as often as twice daily they are littered with needles and defecation, and the children are regularly exposed to drug users and random acts of violence. “I have kids who go home and exercise in the stairwells of their building because it’s not safe outside,” he said.

For more information, visit tenderloinsafepassage.org or demarillac.org.

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

PROBATE

ATTORNEY AT LAW 782A ULLOA STREET SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94127

www.yes-svdp.org www.yes-svdp.com

Isabella Dominici

“Only if I had my ID, that would be my hope for Christmas.”

DUSTIN NELSON

MICHAEL T. SWEENEY

Serving the poor since 1845

Oscar Vazquez

“I guess so we could find some peace in the world, and in Syria, (and wherever) our own government is fighting. Just listen to one another.”

JIM CARTER

Asked outside St. Boniface Church, San Francisco, before the noon Mass on Dec. 6.

‘ENORMOUS RECOVERY’ NEEDED: The common Christian identity in the Americas must be recognized, “and for that we only have to turn to Our Lady of Guadalupe,” Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori told Vatican Radio in Vatican City Dec. 11 during a congress marking the 15th anniversary of the Synod of Bishops for America. He said the common identity “is an enormous recovery that has to be made by the church in America and by the collaboration not only of bishops but also of priests and the laity.” Addressing the congress, he said that in the battle to defeat the culture of death and preserve Christian values throughout the Americas, Christians need to adopt the “unconventional weapons” of Our Lady of Guadalupe: love and prayer.

LIVING TRUSTS WILLS

Greg

Easy freeway access. Call for directions.

schmalzv@sfarchdiocese.org raineg@sfarchdiocese.org burket@sfarchdiocese.org

ADVERTISING Joseph Peña, director Mary Podesta, account representative Bill Applegate, account representative Chandra Kirtman, advertising & circulation coordinator PRODUCTION Karessa McCartney-Kavanaugh, manager Joel Carrico, assistant HOW TO REACH US One Peter Yorke Way San Francisco, CA 94109 Phone: (415) 614-5639 | Fax: (415) 614-5641 General information: information.csf@sfarchdiocese.org Advertising: (415) 614-5642 advertising.csf@sfarchdiocese.org Circulation: (415) 614-5639 circulation.csf@sfarchdiocese.org Letters to the editor: letters.csf@sfarchdiocese.org

ARCHDIOCESE 3

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 14, 2012

Carmelite sisters create moving crèche to behold VALERIE SCHMALZ CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

Advent and Christmas season visitors will discover something new each time they stop in to visit the crèche at the Carmelite Monastery of Cristo Rey in San Francisco.

The figures of Mary and Joseph, the shepherd and the wise men, are moved around, and animals are added throughout the season, said the Carmelites’ extern Diane Dawes.

The manger stays empty until the beginning of midnight Mass on Dec. 25, when the priest brings the figure of the Christ Child and lays him in the manger.

“There is a sister who is in charge of the general plan but all the sisters sort of contribute their own artistic creativity” in setting up and designing the crèche each year, said Dawes. Each member of the community of 25 sisters helps out as she is able.

The chapel is closed for the day in early December so the sisters can put up the Nativity scene. A cloistered order dedicated to a life of prayer, the sisters pray in the chapel hidden behind a screen and only go into the chapel when it is closed to the public.

The figures of Mary and Joseph, a donkey, ox, shepherd and some of the sheep are part of a Nativity set that was brought from Guadalajara, Mexico, the place from which the founding sisters fled the Mexican government’s religious persecution in 1927.

Many of the birds and animals are gifts. These little creatures range from ducks and bunnies to a cat and even a seal. “They don’t put everything out at the same time. As time passes, they add things,” said Dawes.

Mary and Joseph begin by standing a little back from the empty manger, then, as her time to deliver baby Jesus draws near according to the liturgical season, Mary is seated, with her hand on the manger, said Dawes. The baby arrives at the beginning of midnight Mass. The kings arrive on Jan. 6, and the crèche remains up through the week of Epiphany.

The biblical figures are part of a Nativity set from Guadalajara, Mexico, the city the sisters fled in 1927 to escape Mexico’s religious persecution.

(PHOTOS BY VALERIE SCHMALZ/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)

Scenes both biblical and whimsical adorn the crèche at the Carmelite Monastery of Cristo Rey in San Francisco. The biblical figures are part of a Nativity set that was brought from Guadalajara, Mexico, the place from which the founding sisters fled the Mexican government’s religious persecution in 1927. Many of the birds and animals are gifts. They range from ducks and bunnies to a cat and even a seal.

SAINT RITA CHURCH Advent 2012 Lecture Advancing the Second Vatican Council

The Carmelite Monastery of Cristo Rey, Parker Avenue at Stanyan Street in San Francisco, is open 6:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Cardinal William Levada, S.T.D. Archbishop Emeritus, Archdiocese of San Francisco Prefect Emeritus, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

“Vatican II at 50: Looking Back, Moving Forward” Wednesday, 19 December 2012 7:00 PM Everyone is invited Saint Rita Catholic Church Sir Francis Drake Blvd. & Marinda Drive Fairfax, CA (6 miles west of Hwy 101)

For further information call the St. Rita Rectory at 415-456-4815

4 ON THE STREET WHERE YOU LIVE

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 14, 2012

This one can and does and pretty darn well, thank you TOM BURKE CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

The California League of High Schools named St. Ignatius College Preparatory Latin teacher Grace Curcio Educator of the Year for District 4 Nov. 8.

She is a finalist for state Educator of the Year, which will be awarded in March. She has been teaching Latin at SI since 1998 and holds an undergraduate degree from UC Davis and a graduate degree in classical civilizations from UC Grace Curcio Santa Barbara. “Grace is simply one of the brightest, most creative, and dedicated teachers I have been blessed to work with,” SI principal, Patrick Ruff said in his recommendation of Grace for the honor. “I cannot offer a higher recommendation for a colleague and fellow educator.”

In a speech Nov. 8 at award ceremonies Curcio said: “It is unbelievable to me that I am being honored for doing something so enjoyable. In fact, I consider myself truly blessed to be a teacher. I do love Latin, and I get a kick out of reviving this supposedly dead language using the latest in technology.”

Grace is married to Sal Curcio a religion teacher across town at Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory.

HOPE AND WINE UNCORKED: Catholic Charities CYO inaugurated its newest fundraiser Nov. 5 at San Francisco’s jazz hub, Yoshi’s. More than 300 people took part in “Hope Uncorked,” an evening of wine, music and celebration. All Maureen Sullivan - Cecilia Herbert proceeds benefitted at-risk kids at St. Vincent’s School for Boys, San Francisco Boys and Girls Homes, Treasure Island Child Development Center, Canal Family Support Program, Maureen and Craig Sullivan Youth Services, and CYO camps. “Through the six programs we are supporting here tonight, Catholic Charities CYO is on the front lines 24/7, giving voice to the voiceless, helping kids get the care and resources they need to grow, and ending the abuse and neglect that is the harshest face of poverty,” said Jeff Bialik, executive director of CCCYO. STILL TIME TO HELP: As we get closer to Christmas remember the many ways available to help people in need. The parish “Giving Tree” is one way and – I thank Capuchin Father Michael

Donate Your Vehicle

GOOD IND of San

&Marin Count

TAX DEDUCTION FOR YOUR CAR, TRUCK or SUV

D O N AT E O N L I N E

vehiclesforcharity.com

1.800.574.0888 HELPLINES FOR CLERGY/CHURCH SEXUAL ABUSE VICTIMS 415-614-5506

415-614-5503

This number is answered by Renee Duffey, Victim Assistance Coordinator.

This is a secured line and is answered only

by Renee Duffey.

If you wish to speak to a non-archdiocesan employee please call this number. This is also a secured line and is answered only by a victim survivor.

INTENTIONAL PASS: Softball pitcher and infielder Marka Ballard of Mercy High School, Burlingame has signed a letter of intent to take the field for Kutztown University in Pennsylvania in 2013. Kutztown is ranked among the top softball programs in the country.

Pictured with Marka at the signing ceremony are her parents Greg and Lucy Ballard, and Mercy athletic director Daniella Gilmartin-Matteucci, who called Marka “a terrific all-around athlete and extremely hard worker and dedicated softball player.”

Mahoney, pastor of Our Lady of Angels Parish for this idea – we can probably fulfill the giving tree’s wish with a Scrip gift card we can often buy right in the vestibule after Mass. Thanks to Traci Mysliwiec, media officer for Catholic Charities CYO, for this update on ways to help: CCCYO offers simple, fun ways to serve others this Christmas season. There are a number of ways you can help spread holiday cheer, from parties for children and families to decorating for seniors and more. See what opportunities may be right for you at bit.ly/ CCCYOvolholiday or call (415) 972-1246.

THOUGHTS FOR ANY DAYS: Thanks to St. Rita Parish, Fairfax, for passing these along: “It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan” from Eleanor Roosevelt; “Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there” from Will Rogers.

GOTTA’ HAVE A SENSE OF HUMOR: In the wake of the November elections, thanks to Father Arnold Zamora, pastor of Holy Name of Jesus Parish, for this rib-tickler. “Do all fairy tales begin with `Once upon a time?’” a little girl asked her dad. “No,” he said, “some begin with `If I am elected.’”

HOLIDAY HELPERS: St. Matthew School first graders and their families helped pack more than 50 bags of groceries in the St. Matt’s St. Vincent de Paul Society food locker for 32 families needing food over Thanksgiving. The food locker was abundant with donated goods thanks to a school food drive according to SVdP. “They really made a difference,” the society said.

West Coast Church Supplies 369 Grand Avenue South San Francisco, CA 94080 1-800-767-0660 Books - Bibles - Jewelry Rosaries - Medals Gifts - Greeting Cards We have a large assortment of Nativity Sets Featuring

AUFER’S

RELIGIOUS SUPPLIES

Email items and electronic pictures – jpegs at no less than 300 dpi to burket@sfarchdiocese.org or mail to Street, One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco 94109. Include a follow-up phone number. Street is toll-free. My phone number is (415) 614-5634.

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO Catholic San Francisco (ISSN 15255298) is published weekly (four times per month). September through May, except in the week following Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day, and twice a month in June, July and August by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco, 1500 Mission Rd., P.O. Box 1577, Colma, CA 94014. Periodical postage paid at South San Francisco, CA. Postmaster: Send address changes to Catholic San Francisco, 1500 Mission Rd., P.O. Box 1577, Colma, CA 94014

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS $27 within California $36 outside California

Serving The Catholic – Christian Community since 1904

Your complete resource for Religious Goods 1455 Custer Avenue, San Francisco 94124 415-333-4494 • FAX 415-333-0402 Hours: M-F 9 am – 5 pm Sat. 10am – 2 pm e-mail: sales@kaufers.com www.kaufers.com

ADDRESS CHANGE? Please clip old label and mail with new address to: Circulation Department One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco, CA 94109 DELIVERY PROBLEMS? Please call us at (415) 614-5639 or email circulation.csf@sfarchdiocese.org

ARCHDIOCESE 5

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 14, 2012

CCCYO Season of Caring: Cassandra’s story TRACI MYSLIWIEC

In another milestone on her path of recovery, Cassandra just finished her certification in peer counseling and mental health from San Francisco State University.

CATHOLIC CHARITIES CYO

Living in poverty and relying on drugs to cope with the pain she felt from years of abuse, Cassandra knew that the time had come to turn her life around when she learned that her brother had been murdered. Adding to the severity of her situation, she suffers from HIV and was struggling to care for her three young children. Fortunately, in her darkest hour, she found her way to Catholic Charities CYO’s Rita da Cascia community in 2002 and became one of the program’s first residents.

Cassandra received intensive case management that helped her manage her health care, stabilize her housing situation, support her children, and work through the emotional trauma she had experienced.

“The staff at Catholic Charities CYO’s Rita da Cascia met my needs all the way around. From providing transportation to medical appointments to establishing our home, even getting furniture and making sure we had food, they were there to help. Around the holidays, they would make sure there were gifts for the kids so we could all enjoy it,” Cassandra said. “The support was amazing. They offered activities for the all mothers and their

Cassandra credits the weekly support groups at CCCYO’s Rita da Cascia community for the continued encouragement and sense of community she found as she tried to rebuild her life. children and even provided child care at times so we could get some rest. If you wanted to look for a job, they helped with your resume and cover letters too.”

She credits the weekly support groups for the continued encouragement and sense of community she found as she tried to rebuild her life. “The groups helped me to open up,” Cassandra said. “The support I found there showed me that I wasn’t

alone in this disease, that a lot of us share the same issues.”

Today, Cassandra celebrates nearly 11 years of sobriety. Her own three children are now adults, and she enjoys spending time with her seven grandchildren. Just this week, she finished her certification in peer counseling and mental health from San Francisco State University. A passionate and dedicated student, she previously earned a certificate in child development from San Francisco City College in 2010.

Continually volunteering her time as a public speaker, Cassandra attended an HIV Summit in Washington, D.C., earlier this month. While

she was there, she and her theater troupe, The Medea Project, offered a performance about what it means to be living with HIV for politicians, including Rep. Barbara Lee (DOakland). She hopes that her story will help other women find a path toward a life that they can be truly proud of and educate young people to help prevent the spread of HIV. “I want to keep working with women suffering from drug addiction and HIV, so they know they aren’t alone,” she said. “Catholic Charities CYO and Rita da Cascia gave me the foundation I needed.

They are how I ended up going back to school and accepting my HIV status,” Cassandra said. “They helped me find the strength to put a voice to HIV/AIDS. They helped me break the stigmas and to live my life as a normal person.”

This is one in a series of Advent Catholic Charities CYO Season of Caring stories.

CCCYO is making a difference in the lives of 35,000 abused and neglected children, homeless families, disabled adults, at-risk youth and lonely seniors every year. If you want to support Season of Caring, visit cccyo.org/seasonofcaring or call (415) 972-1291.

Attractive pastime for boys and girls

GOVERNMENT’S NEW REFI PLAN

Coastside provides an attractive form of Olympic sport in a safe environment. Youth learn a sport that can help with college acceptance. Lots of fun, camaraderie, discipline, physical exercise and a possible athletic career.

• No Underwater Limits • Reduced or Eliminated Appraisal Requirements • Modified fees • No minimum credit scores

<?>

NO COST • NO FEE LOANS REFINANCE NOW!!!

KARA FIORE Loan Consultant

1528 S. El Camino Real, Suite 307 San Mateo, CA 94402 650-212-5050 Real Estate Broker, CA Dept. of Real Estate License #01370741 & NMLS #2527

DRE#00977921 MNLS#241552

415.999.1234 kfiore@gmwest.com

Ran by Maestro Tony & Maestro Tomek

Coastside Academy of Fencing 3201 Balboa Street • SAN FRANCISCO, CA • 94121 (415) 518-8869 Tony or contact@coastsidefencers.com

New session starts on January 7, 2013.

ST. JOHN OF GOD Perhaps the smallest, and prettiest.

Catholic church In San Francisco was built by the Lutherans. As the original Lutheran community expanded, they needed a larger complex and sold the chapel at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Irving Street to the Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco. The proximity to the UCSF Hospital created the St. John of God parish and community, to serve those needs.

The parish is unique In that it has no geographic boundaries, attracting parishioners from San Rafael, Antloch, Larkspur, Oakland, San Mateo, Alameda, Pacifica, Daly City, Brisbane, and El Cerrito, as well as San Francisco. Pastors have come not only from traditional American backgrounds, but also from the Philippines, Vietnam, the Middle East, and the current pastor, Rev. Methodius Kiwale, is from Tanzania.

The size of the church contributes to a safe, intimate worship experience, with the opportunity to partake in a variety of social justice activities both locally, and as a Sanctuary community, internationally. The parish motto “All Are Welcome” - aptly describes the parish’s efforts to be an inclusive, enthusiastic and friendly community. Mass services on weekends are at 4:15 Saturday afternoon, and 9:30 and 11:30 Sunday mornings. For more information go to our website at www.sjog.net.

Classes run on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 4:00 pm.

Maestro Tomek is a parishioner at St. Peter in Pacifica.

6 NATIONAL

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 14, 2012

Bishops plan call to prayer for life, marriage, liberty U.S. CONFERENCE OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS

WASHINGTON â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The U.S. Catholic bishops have launched a pastoral strategy addressing critical life, marriage and religious liberty concerns. The five-part strategy or call to prayer was approved by the bishops in November and is set to begin after Christmas. The overall focus is to invite Catholics to pray for rebuilding a culture favorable to life and marriage and for increased protections of religious liberty.

The effort includes monthly eucharistic holy hours in cathedrals and parishes, daily family rosary, special Prayers of the Faithful at all Masses, fasting and abstinence on Fridays, and the second observance of a Fortnight for Freedom.

The call to prayer is prompted by the rapid social movements and policy changes now underway, such as the mandate by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that coerces employers, including heads of religious agencies, to pay for sterilizations, abortion-inducing drugs and contraceptives, as well as increased efforts to redefine marriage. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The pastoral strategy is essentially a call and encouragement to prayer and sacrifice â&#x20AC;&#x201C; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s meant to

NY CHURCH HHS SUIT CAN MOVE FORWARD

BROOKLYN, N.Y. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; A U.S. District Court judge has ruled that a lawsuit challenging the federal contraceptive mandate filed by the Archdiocese of New York and two other Catholic entities can move forward.

The defendants â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the U.S. departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and the Treasury â&#x20AC;&#x201C; asked that the case be dropped, claiming the mandate is not causing â&#x20AC;&#x153;imminent injuryâ&#x20AC;? and that the government plans changes for religious groups that object on moral grounds.

In his Dec. 5 decision, Judge Brian M. Cogan of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern district of New York, rejected that claim, saying the mandate â&#x20AC;&#x153;has caused and will continue to cause plaintiffs harm so long as it remains in place.â&#x20AC;?

The mandate, which requires employers to provide free coverage of contraceptives, sterilization and some abortion-inducing drugs free in employee health insurance, provides only a narrow exemption for religious institutions. ŠCATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

SCRIPTURE SEARCH Gospel for December 16, 2012 Luke 3:10-18 Following is a word search based on the Gospel reading for the Third Sunday of Advent, Cycle C: the preparations of John the Baptist for the Gospel. The words can be found in all directions in the puzzle.

SHARE WITH SOLDIERS PEOPLE THEM ALL NOT WORTHY HOLY SPIRIT WHEAT

HAS NONE ASKED THEIR HEARTS WATER THONG FIRE CHAFF

FOOD WAGES THE CHRIST THAN I SANDAL THRESHING BURN

be simple,â&#x20AC;? said San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone, chairman of the bishopsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not meant to be another program but rather part of a movement for life, marriage, and religious liberty, which engages the new evangelization and can be incorporated into the Year of Faith,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Life, marriage and religious liberty are not only foundational to Catholic social teaching but also Archbishop fundamental to the good of society.â&#x20AC;?

Salvatore J. Here are the details: Cordileone Holy Hour: Starting with the Sunday after Christmas (Feast of the Holy Family) and continuing on or near the last Sunday of every month through Christ the King Sunday, Nov. 24, 2013, cathedrals and parishes are encouraged to hold a Eucharistic Holy Hour for Life, Marriage, and Religious Liberty.

Daily rosary: Families and individuals are encouraged to pray a daily rosary, especially for the preservation of life, marriage and religious liberty in the nation.

Prayers of the Faithful: At Sunday and daily Masses, it is encouraged that the Prayers of the Faithful include specific intentions for respect for all human life from conception to natural death, the strengthening of marriage and family life, and the preservation of religious liberty at all levels of government, both at home and abroad.

Abstinence and fasting: Abstinence from meat and fasting on Fridays are encouraged for the intention of the protection of life, marriage and religious liberty, recognizing the importance of spiritual and bodily sacrifice in the life of the church.

Fortnight for Freedom: The celebration of a second Fortnight for Freedom at the end of June and the beginning of July 2013 is being planned. This fortnight would emphasize faith and marriage in a particular way in the face of the potential Supreme Court rulings during this time. The fortnight would also emphasize the need for conscience protection in light of the Aug. 1, 2013, deadline for religious organizations to comply with the HHS mandate, as well as religious freedom concerns in other areas, such as immigration, adoption and humanitarian services.

A website with resources from the USCCB is available at www.usccb.org/life-marriage-liberty.

Surveys split on missal translation CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

WASHINGTON â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Half of respondents to a survey conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University agreed that the new English translation of the Roman missal is a â&#x20AC;&#x153;good thing.â&#x20AC;? Twenty percent strongly agreed, 30 percent disagreed and 7 percent strongly disagreed.

Sulpician Father Anthony Pogorelc, a staff member of the Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies at The Catholic University of America, which commissioned the survey, said the findings were not surprising. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The (Mass) actions have not changed, the words are not as big a change to people,â&#x20AC;? he said.

The survey revealed that the acceptance of the new language was higher among Catholics who attended Mass weekly or more often than those who worshipped less often. Worshippers who like the translations said the new wording inspired them to be more faithful in daily life, helped them feel closer to God and make it easier to participate in Mass.

Msgr. Richard B. Hilgartner, executive director of U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishopsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Secretariat of Divine Worship, said the findings in the CARA study reflected the â&#x20AC;&#x153;positive feedbackâ&#x20AC;? his office had received in the year since the translations have been used.

Msgr. Hilgartner acknowledged that he and bishops across the country have heard complaints about the translations, but that they have been in the minority.

Some priests, he said, have struggled with the new language found in the Mass prayers. Some worshippers, he added, have told him the new language is too formal and hinders their worship.

As the CARA survey showed, not all Catholics like the translations.

U.S. Catholic, a monthly magazine published by the Claretians, took a nonscientific survey of its readers, and their responses show both Catholics in the pews and clergy expressing dismay with the new wording.

Two-thirds of respondents said they dislike or â&#x20AC;&#x153;donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t particularly likeâ&#x20AC;? the new translation. In contrast, 17 percent of respondents said they enjoyed the translation; 6 percent said they were unsure.

Among priests, 58 percent dislike the translation and another 17 percent â&#x20AC;&#x153;donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t particularly likeâ&#x20AC;? the new wording. Four percent of priests said they were unsure of voicing the new prayers but that they have since become accustomed to them.

Scott Alessi, U.S. Catholicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s managing editor, said the responses from clergy surprised the magazineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s staff. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was a lot more overwhelmingly negative and critical than we thought,â&#x20AC;? he said.

~

18-40~

Are you called to be a Sister? Come and See! Daughters of Charit of St. Vincent de Paul

Totally Given to God in Communit in a Spirit of Humilit , Simplicit and Charit for the Ser ice of those who are Poor since 1633.

Klaus-Ullrich S. RĂśtzscher

JOHN PREACHED T

S

I

R

H

C

E

H

T

N

A

N

H

H

A

S

N

O

N

E

E

T

E

L

L

A

B

H

T

J

H

A

D

O

C

M

I

D

I

E

U

A

M

L

Y

O

H

Y

A

W

K

L

R

N

O

Y

L

E

G

N

I

H

S

E

T

T

O

F

R

H

T

L

R

J

O

F

P

E

O

F

P

L

E

A

A

A

C

H

I

T

W

D

H

I

R

E

T

A

A

G

E

S

H

W

R

T

D

C

N

S

I

J

O

W

H

E

A

T

G

N

O

H

T

D

A

T

M

M

E

K

S

S

O

L

D

I

E

R

S

A

X

H

C

Q

Š 2012 Tri-C-A Publications www.tri-c-a-publications.com

Sponsored by DUGGANâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S SERRA MORTUARY 500 Westlake Avenue, Daly City 650-756-4500 â&#x2014;? www.duggansserra.com

Pettingell Book Bindery Bibles, Theses, Gold Stamping.

Quality Binding with Cloth, Leather or Paper.

Single & Editions.

Custom Box Making

2181 Bancroft Way Berkeley, CA 94704

Join us for a Religious Vocation Discer ment Ret eat April 12-14, 2013 Los Altos Hills, Califor ia Sr. Lisa Lag na, D.C. SrLisaDC@aol.com 213-210-9903 650-949-8890 DaughtersOfCharit .com

(510) 845-3653

Read the latest Catholic world and national news at catholic-sf.org.

NATIONAL 7

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 14, 2012

Center fights for farmworker dignity J.D. LONG-GARCIA CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

SAN LUIS, Ariz. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Farmworkers line up on the Mexican side of the border at 1 a.m. They wait a couple of hours before getting into the field for a dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work.

The work itself can be backbreaking.

Farmworkers spend the first few hours under high-powered lighting, harvesting lettuce and other vegetables, which require constant bending and squatting. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The fields, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the toughest work,â&#x20AC;? said Demitrio Jimenez, a farmworker who gathered with about a hundred others for a Dec. 1 Farmworker Appreciation Mass celebrated by Tucson Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas in San Luis.

Farmworkers get $9 an hour in the United States. They get $9 a day in Mexico. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t complain,â&#x20AC;? Jimenez said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how my family eats. I just wish they treated us with more respect.â&#x20AC;?

Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s where the Independent Agricultural Workers Center comes in.

The center â&#x20AC;&#x201C; or CITA as itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s known by the acronym of its name in Spanish, Centro Independiente de Trabajadores Agricolas â&#x20AC;&#x201C; matches farmworkers from Mexico with legal, temporary agricultural jobs in the United States.

The center helps farmworkers and growers navigate the often-unwieldy federal H-2A guest worker visa. Growers, in turn, agree to provide fair working conditions. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hard here, really hard,â&#x20AC;? said Agustin Flores, explaining that he wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think of subjecting his family

(CNS PHOTO/J.D. LONG-GARCIA, CATHOLIC SUN)

Farmworkers weed a lettuce field Dec. 1 just outside Yuma, Ariz. The Independent Agricultural Workers Center, funded by the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, is facilitating guest worker visas from southern Arizona. Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas of Tucson celebrated Mass that day in honor of farmworkers near the U.S.-Mexico border. to these conditions. His wife and children live in Guanajuato, Mexico.

When their day is through, farmworkers return to Mexico to rest. They get up in the middle of the night to wait in line again. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t afford to live here,â&#x20AC;? Flores said of the United States. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t enough money to survive. Most of us return every day.â&#x20AC;?

Aurelia Navarroâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s father brought her over legally as a child. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is the land of opportunities,â&#x20AC;? she recalled her father telling her. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You have to work.â&#x20AC;?

She has spent 20 years working in the fields, has become a citizen, and now the company sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s worked for isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t taking care of her retirement. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You get old,â&#x20AC;? she said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;and you can no longer work. Now what?â&#x20AC;?

Bishop Kicanas recognized the sacrifice of the farmworkers during the Dec. 1 Mass. â&#x20AC;&#x153;God gave us fruits and

4th Annual Holiday Boutique!

ST. IGNATIUS CHURCH 650 Parker Avenue

Features:

Parker at Fulton Fromm Hall â&#x20AC;&#x201C; building behind the church

rએ$POUBJOT FOUJSF 0ME BOE /FX 5FTUBNFOUT rએ0WFS IPVST PG BVEJP QSFMPBEFE rએ/BSSBUFE 3PTBSZ BOE DPNNPO QSBZFST rએ#JCMF JO B ZFBS QMBO for rએ&BTZ UP VTF OBWJHBUJPO r now Orde EE rએ-JHIUXFJHIU BOE QPSUBCMF FR

Sunday, December 16 th 8:30 a.m. until 6:30 p.m.

Timeless Treasures

Fashion forward jewelry accessories

One-of-a-kind vintage and treasures

Mary Blum Jewels

Bath Sense

Original and elegant jewelry

Bath + body products, PJâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s robes, candles, gifts

SAVE 10%

53.95

$

$

Period George Beautiful cards and ornaments

5995

PING SHIP off! & 10% /17

2 r by 1 elivery Orde d tmas s is r h for C

Folkmanis Puppets Innovative and creative puppets

Antique Silver Sterling and silver plate serving pieces and gorgeous accessories

Janine Duron, the programâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s executive director. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They learn their rights and responsibilities.â&#x20AC;?

The program also benefits growers.

Georgia lost millions of dollars in crops last year because the state didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have enough harvesters in the field, according to philanthropist Howard G. Buffett, who attended the Mass and dedication. The Howard G. Buffett Foundation funds CITA. Buffett, an Illinois farmer who is the son of billionaire Warren Buffet, said immigration needs to be understood in two ways: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s farmworkers and then thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s everything else.â&#x20AC;?

If farmworkers are set apart, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a better chance for a more specific reform, Buffett suggested. But the impetus needs to come from the industry. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is no American that I know of that would get up at 1 a.m., do some of the hardest work Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve ever heard of, and then get up the next day to do it again,â&#x20AC;? he said, arguing that â&#x20AC;&#x153;farmworkers donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t take American jobs â&#x20AC;&#x201C; they support jobs for Americans.â&#x20AC;?

Introducing the first complete Catholic preloaded Audio Bible!

CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE

Stella and Dot

vegetables,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Today, we give thanks for your work, which brings Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s food to all of us.â&#x20AC;?

The bishop also led a prayer at the opening of the Independent Agricultural Workers Centerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new office building, through which the program will expand its reach. The plan is to recruit at least 7,000 workers for jobs, as needed.

He is chairman of the board of Catholic Relief Services, U.S. bishopsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; overseas relief and development agency, which is a supporter of the center.

The center began in 2007 as a program funded by the bishopsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Catholic Campaign for Human Development, according to Joanne Welter, director of the Office of Human Life and Dignity for the Diocese of Tucson.

Through CITA, farmworkers learn whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s expected of them and what to expect of their employers, according to

Farmworkers like Demetrio Jimenez get $9 an hour in U.S., $9 a day in Mexico. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t complain,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Jimenez said. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how my family eats.

I just wish they treated us with more respect.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Parish Bookstore Margy Lico

Back Burner Bliss Chutney

Scout handbags

Ann Marie Milo of Crumb Cookies

Silk, painted scarves

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

Lola of San Francisco

Imprimatur

Ses Petites Mains

Las Vecinas de El Salvador

Stunning chic clothing for girls 12mo â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 16yr

Handmade gifts

Homemade Peppermint Bark Christmas gifts, hostess gifts, gifts for the home, puppets, clothing for girls, holiday treats, ornaments, cards, and oh so much more â&#x20AC;Ś Proceeds to benefit Social Ministries and Stewardship

Narrated by Emmy AwardÂŽ Winner Stephen Johnston

Most Rev. Daniel E. Pilarczyk President, National Conference of Bishops Washington, D.C. September 12, 1991 Order yours today at www.GoBible.com or call 1-866-860-8545.

Use promotional code CSF12 for FREE SHIPPING and 10% SAVINGS.

8 NATIONAL

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 14, 2012

Archbishop Hurley reflects on aging’s trials, blessings JOEL DAVIDSON THE CATHOLIC ANCHOR

Since retiring in 2001, after 25 years as head of the Archdiocese of Anchorage, Archbishop Emeritus Francis Hurley has spent countless hours visiting the sick, burying the dead (including many old friends) and comforting families who have lost their loved ones.

Archbishop Hurley, born in San Francisco in 1927 and ordained as a priest of the Archdiocese of San Francisco in 1951, knows how to be with those who are suffering. Over the past two years, however, the now-85-yearold prelate has experienced his own physical struggles — heart surgery, several bad falls, broken bones and months of rehabilitation.

“I know what it’s like to minister to those who are sick, but lately I’ve gotten to experience it as someone who is sick and needs help,” he said in an interview at his Anchorage home.

Long known for a tireless work ethic and razor sharp wit, Archbishop Hurley’s recent physical struggles reached a head in 2010 when he required surgery to replace a defective heart valve. Then last March he suffered a fall in the San Francisco International Airport. After completing two weeks of physical therapy, he fell again and fractured a shoulder, which required additional therapy before he could return to Anchorage in July.

“In the course of all that, I resorted to my prayers,” Archbishop Hurley said in an interview in October. But those prayers, he noticed, took on a different tone.

Confined to a non-Catholic rehabilita-

Despite his challenges, Archbishop Hurley expressed gratitude for being forced to experience a bare-bones faith: ‘It gave me an appreciation of what it means to have a conversation with God.’ tion center in San Francisco, he had no prayer books, no journals and no rosary.

“I was just stuck there,” Archbishop Hurley said. “At first I wondered what is this going to mean? I’m great for reading what the spiritual directors have to say and the theologians and looking for notes of inspiration but I had none of that.”

With a broken shoulder, he could not celebrate Mass either.

“So I thought, ‘Well I’ll see what that’s like,’ because we have a lot of people in Alaska out in the bush who live like that all the time,” Archbishop Hurley said. “Only occasionally do they have a priest come for anything.”

For the Irish-American prelate, his stay at the rehabilitation center marked the first time he remembers not being able to attend Sunday Mass.

Instead, like many remote Alaskans, as well as those who are homebound due to age or illness, Archbishop Hurley experienced a Communion service in the absence of a priest with volunteers from a local parish bringing him the sacrament.

These services brought to mind the elderly and homebound Catholics across Alaska who are physically cut off from the celebration of the Mass and the larger parish life, Archbishop Hurley said.

“We have a lot of them around,” he noted. “Many of the parishes have regular visitations and they take Communion out to the people but there are a lot of people in small nursing homes — many more around than we think.”

Despite his challenges, Archbishop Hurley expressed gratitude for being forced to experience a bare-bones faith.

“It gave me an appreciation of what it means to have a conversation with God,” he said. “That’s what I turned my attention to. You don’t have to have a book or a light to read by when you turn to God.” He said the experience reinforced to him the blessing of fostering a personal relationship with God, especially as one grows older.

“When you have nothing else to look at and no one to talk to or anything else, God is the only one who’s left,” he said. “The prayer life then takes on a whole new dimension. It shows that we can have a conversation with God. And don’t worry about what way it goes. It doesn’t make any difference.”

On the inescapable reality of growing older, Archbishop Hurley said it is not something to fear.

“I am the last of my family,” he said.

“As my grandnephew said, ‘I am the caboose.’ Everyone else has died.”

Live coverage of all GAA. Soccer & Rugby games

Competitive Prices & Personalized Service Advent & Christmas books, cards, cds, nativity sets, angels fontanini figurines

ITALIAN IMPORTS, GIFTS & RELIGIOUS ITEMS Next to the National Shrine of Saint Francis & Porziuncola Nuova

Function room available

Phone: 415-983-0213

333 EL CAMINO REAL, MILLBRAE, CA 94030 650.697.3419

624 Vallejo Street, San Francisco CA 94133 Hours: Tuesday – Sunday 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. www.knightsofsaintfrancis.com

Kaufer’s Religious Supplies Religious gifts and church supplies for every occassion

1455 Custer Avenue ● San Francisco, CA 94214 (415) 333-4494 ● Fax (415) 333-0402 1-800-874-6987 ● Email sales@kaufers.com ● Web Site: www.kaufers.com

Fontanini 5” Nativity Sets and Stables

Home Advent Candles

DAVIDSON is editor of the Catholic Anchor, newspaper of the Anchorage archdiocese.

McCoy Church Goods Co. Inc.

CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE Award winning family restaurant Food served daily

Since arriving back in Anchorage in July, Archbishop Hurley has returned to his downtown home where he is again able to celebrate daily Mass. He has also resumed ministering to the sick and suffering.

Archbishop Hurley said he is grateful for the many Alaskans who offered prayers and cards throughout his recovery.

During that time, though, he found himself returning to an often overlooked teaching in the Catholic Church, about the nature of suffering.

“A saying came back to me, that my mother always used to say to us kids when we were upset about something,” he said. “She’d say, ‘Offer it up for somebody else.’”

According to Catholic theology, suffering is not without meaning or purpose and the faithful can offer their trials up in prayer for the benefit of others.

“A woman I know back East found out she might have cancer so she and her husband called and asked me to remember her in my prayers,” Archbishop Hurley said. “I thought, ‘OK, I’ll offer it up for her.’” About three days later he received a message from the woman.

“She just wanted to thank me for the prayers because everything came out perfectly,” Archbishop Hurley said with a broad smile.

With characteristic wit, he added: “So I thought later on, ‘Well, come my canonization, I’ve already got my first miracle.’”

Your Christmas Headquarters • Greeting Cards • Books in English • Advent/Liturgical Calendars • Nativity sets in asstd. sets • Sculptures, Statues • Holy families and infants • Advent wreath and candle sets • Jewelry of faith, Bibles • Christmas holy cards, Ornaments • Framed art in assorted sizes

Order your free gift & Communion Catalog or shop on line at

WWW.KAUFERS.COM

TO ADVERTISE IN CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO VISIT www.catholic-sf.org

1010 Howard Avenue San Mateo, CA 94401 (650) 342-0924

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from The Wine Merchant of Showplace Square Free Delivery on Case Purchases in the Bay Area Competitive Prices Personalized Service Gift Baskets and wrapping Gift wine packages for the holiday season Corporate Accounts Welcome

FINE WINES EMILIO J. MAIONCHI, JR.

The Wine Merchant of Showplace Square 2 Henry Adams Mezz. #21 San Francisco, CA 94103 (415) 864-8466 (415) 864-VINO Fax: (415) 453-3791

NATIONAL 9

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 14, 2012

UND pastoral plan for gay students affirms church teaching CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame released a pastoral plan “grounded in the Catholic mission” of the university that will expand support and services for students “who identify” as gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender and those “questioning” their own sexual orientation.

The plan, released Dec. 5, is titled “Beloved Friends and Allies: A Pastoral Plan for the Support and Holistic Development of GLBTQ and Heterosexual Students at the University of Notre Dame.”

Following a five-month review, Holy Cross Father John I. Jenkins, Notre Dame president, accepted the recommendations from the university’s Office of Student Affairs.

The plan calls for Notre Dame to establish a “new support and service student organization for GLBTQ students and their allies,” as well as a new advisory committee and to create a full-time student development staff position focused on issues of concern to these students.

“I appreciate the careful and thoughtful work of this review that considered both the needs of our students and the teachings of the Catholic Church,” Father Jenkins said in a statement.

The plan reiterates Catholic teaching on homosexuality.

Quoting the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ 2006 document, “Ministry to Persons with a Homosexual Orientation: Guidelines for Pastoral Care,” it says the university “endorses the emphatic pastoral teachings ... that all people are created in the image and likeness of God and thus possess an innate human dignity that must be acknowledged and respected.”

“At the same time, the university also adheres to the church’s teaching concerning homosexual actions, that ‘homosexual persons are called to chastity’ and to ‘friendship,’ and should cultivate ‘the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom,’” it continues. “Indeed, each and every student at Notre Dame is called to nothing less. All Notre Dame students are urged to understand and live the teachings of the church relative to their lives and expressions of sexual intimacy.”

As the church teaches, sex outside of marriage “is essentially contrary to its purpose,” the plan says.

Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend said the plan affirms that ‘sexuality is ordered to the conjugal love of man and woman’ and that the fulfillment and proper context of human sexual love is to be found in the marital covenant.’

(CNS PHOTO/MATT CASHORE, COURTESY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME)

Students walk on the campus of the University of Notre Dame in this 2007 file photo. A new pastoral plan at the Catholic university in Indiana expands support services for gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual students, and creates a recognized organization for these students.

Since the 1990s, Notre Dame has had a student standing committee, most recently called the Core Council, to advise the vice president for student affairs on issues with regard to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and “questioning” students.

In an interview with The Observer, the campus newspaper, Father Jenkins said Notre Dame has “made real progress” over the years serving these students, but he asked Erin Hoffmann Harding, the current student affairs vice president, and her office to conduct a comprehensive review of “everything we do, all the support structures, and find out how we can do things better.”

Harding said the review had three main elements.

“The first one was consultation with church teaching,” she told The Observer. “The parameter for this solution needed to serve our students well but be grounded fundamentally in our Catholic mission as a university. So we’ve spent time with

SoSweetZ Cupcakes ~ HOLIDAY SPECIAL ~ CUPCAKE IN A JAR!

theologians and members, in particular, of our faculty, who have given us advice on this matter and on church teaching – that’s activity number one.”

Secondly, there were “extensive conversations” with undergraduate and graduate students, she said, and the third element was a look at “the breadth of structures” other Catholic institutions have in place.

Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend said that Notre Dame in its pastoral plan “clearly affirms its fidelity to Catholic Church teaching on human sexuality by affirming that ‘sexuality is ordered to the conjugal love of man and woman’ and that the fulfillment and proper context of human sexual love is to be found in the marital covenant.”

It also affirms that “men and women who have homosexual tendencies ‘must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity,’” he said in a Dec. 6 statement.

Bishop Rhoades called it “vitally important” the plan’s foundations and Notre Dame’s fidelity to Catholic teaching “inform and guide” the plan’s implementation, including the new student organization’s “vision, programs and activities.”

“It is my hope and prayer that the rich Catholic teaching on sexuality, teaching that serves the true good and happiness of the human person,” he said, “will be embraced by the students and all involved” in carrying out the pastoral plan.

CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE We have Religious Christmas Cards We Buy Books – Housecalls Made Best Selection of Greeting Cards Anywhere

Gifts for kids, co-workers, teachers, family, friends Great stocking stuffers! * Decorative Bow and Label * Personalized Note Card * Complimentary Spoon * Good for 7 days * Reusable Glass Jars Red Velvet - Cream Cheese Frosting | Classic Vanilla - Marshmallow Frosting Smores - Marshmallow Frosting/Chocolate Chips | Lemon - Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting * Sm. $5 * Med. $8 * Lg. $10 * CoCoa/Mint CoCoa in a Jar $5

(415) 779-5937

FREE CATALOG of Monastery Products

Quality Products

• • • • • • •

Trappist Preserves Monastery Fruitcake Chocolate, Fudge & Candy Christmas Cards & Gifts Advent Calendars & Wreaths Incense & Icons Books & Chant CD’s

from Trappist, Benedictine, & Franciscan (800)472-0425 Communities MonasteryGreetings.com Gifts Shipped Anywhere!

sosweetzcupcakes.com

2234 Polk St. (Between Vallejo & Green) Open 7 Days, 10-10

(415) 929-0997 • www.RussianHillBooks.com

ON PAPER, INC. -Holiday SpecialsFine Printing and Lithography from Letter Press to Digital Greeting Cards, Stationery, Brochures, Forms, Signage, Hang Tags,Flyers, Invitations & more: 1380 Natoma Street, San Francisco, CA 94103

415.552.339 • www.onpaperinc.com WWW . ONPAPERINC . COM

10 WORLD

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 14, 2012

Being ‘neutral’ toward religion hurts religious freedom, says cardinal CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

VATICAN CITY – Most modern democracies have ended up hurting religious freedom in their effort to be “neutral” toward their citizens’ diverse beliefs, said Cardinal Angelo Scola.

Under the guise of “objectivity” and respecting diversity, many governments are really upholding a culture devoid of God and hostile to the church’s place in the public square, he said.

The cardinal-archbishop of Milan, Cardinal Angelo Scola a prominent theologian, made his comments Dec. 6 during a prayer service on the eve of the feast of St. Ambrose, a fourth-century doctor of the church and patron saint of the city. The Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, published a large part of the speech.

Religious freedom was born with the Edict of Milan, Cardinal Scola said. The edict, whose 1,700th anniversary will be marked next year, was a proclamation of tolerance of Christianity throughout the Roman Empire. He said it introduced the ideas of “religious liberty and secularity of the state,” which are “two critical aspects of the good organization of the political realm.”

St. Ambrose called on Christians to respect civil authority, which, in turn, had to safeguard the personal and social freedoms of its people so that both governments and citizens would be cooperating for the common good, he said.

However, the separation of religion and state progressively has lost a healthy balance, the cardinal said, with many democracies questioning, if not outright eliminating, its core “anthropological framework” that recognized the religious dimension.

“The classic problem of the moral assessment of laws has increasingly turned into a problem of religious liberty,” he said.

In governments’ attempt to protect everyone’s religious freedom by being “neutral” or “indifferent” to religion, a well-intentioned secularity has become ill-disposed toward religion.

The solution, Cardinal Scola said, is a nondenominational state that has a “renewed” sense of religious liberty. “A good life and good government go hand in hand,” he said.

BERLIN CHURCH: ‘SPIRITUAL, ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM’

OXFORD, England – Germany’s Berlin archdiocese has announced plans to merge its parishes into larger “pastoral areas” and pool its institutional resources in the face of falling church membership. “This isn’t just an administrative reform – it’s also a spiritual one,” said Stefan Forner, archdiocesan spokesman.

“The era of a popular folk church is over, so we’ve had to reshape our structures. It’s no longer normal for children to be baptized and for schools to provide religious classes. These changes have been under way for decades, and they’ve generally occurred a bit earlier in Berlin,” Forner said.

In a Catholic News Service interview Dec. 6, Forner said the move had encountered “mixed reactions” but been necessitated by demographic changes in the Catholic population.

BISHOPS BLAST POLAND FOR SIGNING PACT TO FIGHT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

OXFORD, England – The Polish bishops criticized a government decision to sign an international convention combating violence against women.

Auxiliary Bishop Wojciech Polak of Gniezno, secretary-general of the Polish bishops’ conference, told the Polish Catholic information agency, KAI, the document suggested violence against women was rooted in “religion, tradition and culture,” and said the bishops had been assured by the government in November that their objections would be considered.

The Council of Europe’s 81-article convention, signed Dec. 4 by government representatives, criminalizes forced marriages, female genital mutilation and stalking. It describes violence against women as “a manifestation of historically unequal power relations” and commits states to “promote changes in social and cultural patterns of behavior” with a view to eradicating it.

The Polish bishops, who in July said the government had consulted “only women with leftist views,” quoted three sections of the convention as evidence the document interfered with “values accepted by millions of Poles.”

Article 3 defines gender as “socially constructed,” which overlooks biological differences and implies sex can be chosen, the bishops said.

Article 12 commits states to help eradicate attitudes and practices based on the perceived inferiority of women or on stereotyped roles.

ALZHEIMER’S RESIDENCE

Article 14, requiring teaching material “on issues such as equality between women and men and non-stereotyped gender roles,” implied “the promotion of homosexuality and trans-sexuality,” the bishops said.

UK MOVE TO CHANGE MARRIAGE CALLED ‘SHAMBOLIC’

MANCHESTER, England – Catholic bishops in England and Wales said they strongly oppose a bill to redefine marriage to include same-sex couples.

“It is not too late to stop this bill,” Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster and Archbishop Peter Smith of Southwark – the president and vice president of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, said in a statement issued Dec. 11, hours after Culture Secretary Maria Miller revealed the contents of the proposed legislation in the House of Commons.

“The government has chosen to ignore the views of over 600,000 people who signed a petition calling for the current definition of marriage to stay, and we are told legislation to change the definition of marriage will now come to Parliament,” the archbishops said.

“The process by which this has happened can only be described as shambolic,” they said.

FRENCH BISHOPS SAY VOTE TO ALLOW EMBRYO RESEARCH ‘SHOCKING’

PARIS – The French bishops described as “shocking” the French Senate’s approval of a law permitting the use of human embryos for stem cell research.

“The human embryo has the right to be protected,” and current French law urges “respect for the human person ‘from the beginning of its life,’” said Archbishop Pierre D’Ornellas of Rennes in a statement issued on behalf of the bishops’ conference.

“The Senate has challenged this respect. This is shocking,” the archbishop said Dec. 6.

Archbishop D’Ornellas, who represented the church in the dialogue with government officials that led to the adoption in 2011 of a national bioethics law, said the Senate decision to disregard the lives of the embryos, who are destroyed in the research, is even more shocking when one considers the general move in science toward using adult stem cells instead of those from embryos. ©CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

SENIOR LIVING

At Mission Villa we believe that the commitment of both staff and family members is a vital component of each of our resident’s care and well-being

LEARN ROSARY MAKING A Catholic Tradition Contact us for a catalog and introductory offer!

LEWIS & COMPANY Dedicated to Rosary Making!

(800) 342 - 2400 rosaryparts.com

Columbian Retirement Home An Independent Living Facility Located in Historic Marysville, California

(650) 756-1995 Rates Starting at $1250 per Month Includes

Accessible Home Lift Company (510) 521-9526 or (800) 606-1115 Dignified Living In A Home-Like Setting

995 E. Market St. Daly City, CA 94014 www.missionvillamcc.com Email: missionvillaalz@comcast.net Lic. #415600381

Call us for: * Free in-home consultations and stair lift demonstrations * Fully licensed and bonded CA contractor’s lic. # 822635 * 10-plus years experience * Expert service and maintenance for the life of your lift * Custom curved and outdoor applications * Rentals

Comfortable Private Rooms, 24 Hour Medical Emergency Monitoring, Complete Dining Program with Delicious Meals, Snacks, Full Housekeeping Services, Spacious Living Room with HD TV, On Site Chapel,Two Spacious Courtyards, Putting Green, Free Lighted Parking and Security

230 8th Street Marysville, CA (Across from St. Joseph’s Parish)

For Information and a Tour (530) 743-7542 kofccenter@comcast.net www.columbianretirementhome.org California Knights of Columbus Retirement Facilities

WORLD 11

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 14, 2012

Pope’s letter gives bishops strong role in social action VATICAN CITY – Since its release Dec. 1, Pope Benedict XVI’s apostolic letter on the “service of charity” has provoked widespread speculation on how it might affect Catholic charitable agencies in their fundraising, hiring and selection of projects.

The letter directs Cardinal Oscar bishops to strengthMaradiaga en agencies’ religious identity and ensure that their activities conform to church teaching, in order to prevent a Catholic charity from becoming “just another form of social service.”

According to the cardinal who leads the church’s largest confederation of relief, development and social service

agencies, the apostolic letter is also an important message to him and his brother bishops.

By legally requiring bishops to oversee charitable works in their dioceses, the document “implicates the role of the bishop in social action,” said Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, president of Caritas Internationalis.

“Many, many times we have heard (bishops) saying, ‘Oh, no, my task is evangelization,’” the cardinal said.

“In some places they thought (charity) was only the work of laypeople.”

In truth, the cardinal said, such service is incumbent on “every single baptized person. No one is permitted to delegate to others what is a duty of faith. And the duty of faith is to put your faith in practice through charity.”

PHILIPPINES: LESSONS FROM 2011 STORM SAVED LIVES

ILIGAN, Philippines – Although hundreds of people died as Typhoon Bopha hit the southern Philippines in early December, church activists and residents of one storm-affected region said lessons learned from last year’s Typhoon Washi saved lives this time around.

“All of our workshops on disaster risk reduction really worked. The people were prepared,” Sister Maria Famita Somogod, a member of the Missionary Sisters of Mary, told Catholic News Service.

Sister Somogod is the Northern Mindanao coordinator of the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines. The national organization of men and women religious, priests and laypeople supports peasant demands for justice and agrarian reform. In the wake of Washi, which struck Mindanao

in December 2011, the missionaries got involved in relief operations and disaster preparedness training.

While Iligan and nearby Cagayan de Oro were ground zero for the destruction of Washi, which killed more than 1,200 people, this time people were ready. Well before the arrival of Typhoon Bopha, known locally as Typhoon Pablo, municipal and neighborhood officials had evacuated those at risk.

“The night before Pablo arrived, we went to some of the most vulnerable areas to make sure people got out. They had already gone to the evacuation centers. They were safe. So no one died.

Although some houses were damaged, the people had gone to the evacuation centers,” Sister Somogod said. ©CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

SENIOR LIVING “The Most Compassionate “The Most Compassionate Care In Town” Care In Town” Irish Owned And Operated Licensed • Bonded • Insured

Supple Senior Care

Your lifestyle continues here Where you’ll find a distinctive blend of exceptional service, supportive health and well-being programs and spacious, new residences–all designed to fit your lifestyle. Add to that extraordinary amenities such as our Crown Room restaurant with 12-hour dining, fitness center and Pierce Street cinema and you’ll discover Peninsula Del Rey is the perfect place for you.

Ask about our Assisted Living Services – Coming Soon!

650.264.9050

We Provide Qualified Staff Quality-Care In Your Home Full Time Or Part Time Full Payroll Service www.suppleseniorcare.com

415-573-5141 415-573-5141• 650-993-8036 • 650-993-8036 650-993-8036

FREE ASSISTED LIVING PLACEMENT SERVICES At Always Best Care, we match your needs to communities in your area, then escort you on a tour of those that best meet your needs. And there’s never a charge for a placement service! Contact us today for a free consultation.

We’re dedicated to exceeding your expectations … always.

Call 1 (650) 539-3700 | alwaysbestcarepeninsula.com

DISTINCTIVE RETIREMENT LIVING 165 Pierce Street • Daly City, CA 94015 Conveniently located between San Francisco and the Peninsula with easy access to Highway 280 & 101.

PeninsulaDelRey.com AN S R G SENIOR LIVING COMMUNITY

Formerly Monarch Village

12 WORLD

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 14, 2012

Pope: Americas need mission spirit, well-formed laity â&#x20AC;&#x153;The method that speaks strongest of Christ is love,â&#x20AC;? he said, so â&#x20AC;&#x153;we should be prepared to let charity be our measure of the new evangelization.â&#x20AC;?

CAROL GLATZ CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

VATICAN CITY â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The universal church needs Catholics in the Americas who are joyful missionaries, well-catechized and faithful to the teachings of the church, Pope Benedict XVI said.

The only way to solve todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s problems is through credible and effective Christian witness and charity, he said, since only actions based on Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s truth and love can be the â&#x20AC;&#x153;decisive force which will transform the American continent,â&#x20AC;? he said.

The pope made his comments during the opening Mass of a Dec. 9-12 international congress marking the 15th anniversary of the Synod of Bishops for America.

The congress, organized by the Pontifical Commission for Latin America and the Knights of Columbus, was looking at ways Catholics can cooperate more closely to confront todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s challenges in North, Central and South America.

Increased secularization

The pope said some of the problems the whole continent must deal with include increased secularization, affronts to human dignity, threats to the institution of marriage, migration, violence, the illegal drugs and arms trades, corruption and inequality and poverty â&#x20AC;&#x153;caused by questionable economic, political and socialâ&#x20AC;? policies.

While the solutions will require careful technical or institutional responses, nothing will ever be fully resolved without an â&#x20AC;&#x153;encounter with the living Christ,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s that personal rapport with God that â&#x20AC;&#x153;gives rise to attitudes and ways of acting based on love and truthâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the true source and light for real transformation, he said.

In order to bring that saving message to everyone in a way thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s effective and credible, Catholics need to â&#x20AC;&#x153;purify and strengthenâ&#x20AC;? their spiritual lives by growing closer to God, especially through the sacraments, the pope said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This will be encouraged by a correct and ongoing doctrinal formation marked by complete fidelity to the word of God and the churchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s magisterium,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A renewed missionary spirit and zealous generosityâ&#x20AC;? will be â&#x20AC;&#x153;an irreplaceable contribution to

Churchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;single visionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

(CNS PHOTO/PAUL HARING)

Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted of Phoenix and Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore attend the opening Mass of the International Congress on the Church in America held in St. Peterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Basilica at the Vatican Dec. 9. what the universal church expects and needs from the church in America,â&#x20AC;? he added.

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Post-Christianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; land

Carl A. Anderson, supreme knight of the Knights of Columbus, told the congress that the Americas represent a new â&#x20AC;&#x153;post-Christianâ&#x20AC;? land, in which people are familiar with Christ and, at the same time, woefully ignorant of his message.

American countries and cultures â&#x20AC;&#x153;built upon Christian faith show great failures of charity, dignity and truth â&#x20AC;&#x201C; failures inconsistent with being disciples of the God who is love,â&#x20AC;? he said Dec. 10.

Such ignorance not only has facilitated a culture of death throughout the Americas, it has also â&#x20AC;&#x153;resulted in a mischaracterization of Christ and of the mission of the church.â&#x20AC;?

The world is â&#x20AC;&#x153;mortally hungry for the presence of the living God,â&#x20AC;? he said, and those who are poor or hurting must be able to see the â&#x20AC;&#x153;caring face of Christ in those he has called to follow him.â&#x20AC;?

The only way the church can be that hopeful, loving presence is by rebuilding Catholic identity and helping its members to live holy lives that are â&#x20AC;&#x153;formed and strengthened by the sacraments and lived in total faithfulness to the church and in commitment to Jesus Christ.â&#x20AC;?

BETTER HEALTH CARE

1 %$ / $( 2 -

.

FOR SENIORS WITH SPECIAL NEED OF CARE

Long hrs. - $10, Short hrs. - $18, Live-in - $170

+ 0 $/ + *)/ %*'",/ ! $ (/ %" ,( â&#x20AC;˘ ' + '( %' ( $ %'( â&#x20AC;˘ $$ (/ ,( )) '( â&#x20AC;˘ *'( (- (. %# ") ( â&#x20AC;˘ %*( ! & '(

(650) 580-6334 / (925) 330-4760

%$! &$# #!&"

We Provide reliable & experienced caregivers to help seniors in their own home. *Companionship, Bathing, Alzheimer, Dementia & more.

M A R T I N FA M I LY

m

L AW F I R M A T T O R N E Y S A T L AW

Providing Advice, Perspective, and Hope Lawyers Helping Families Through Difficult Transitions At All Ages And All Stages Of Life Margaret Laughlin Martin Conservatorships and Trusts Caring for Elderly Parents Planning for a Disabled Child Guardianships Disputes in Family Trusts Dementia Issues

Irish Help at Home

Timothy D. Martin* Family Law and Divorce Support and Custody Mediation Services Collaborative Practice Post Judgment Modifications Referrals for LMFT & Financial

High Quality Home Care Since 1996 *Certified Specialist in Family Law, State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization

The Borel Estate Building 1700 South El Camino Real Suite 502 San Mateo CA 94402-3051 tel (650) 340-1166 margaret@martinfamilylawfirm.com timothy@martinfamilylawfirm.com

Home Care Attendants â&#x20AC;˘ Companions â&#x20AC;˘ CNAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hospice â&#x20AC;˘ Respite Care â&#x20AC;˘ Insured and Bonded San Mateo 650.347.6903

San Francisco 415.759.0520

Marin 415.721.7380

www.irishhelpathome.com

The Catholic Church is especially well-positioned to offer concrete solutions to communitiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; varied problems, he said, because â&#x20AC;&#x153;no other institution lays out a single visionâ&#x20AC;? that can transcend cultures and languages. The churchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vision is not a political vision, he said, but â&#x20AC;&#x153;a vision of humanity encountering Christ.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Diversity is sanctified and purified in its communion in the church by orienting us toward Christ,â&#x20AC;? the truth and each other, he added.

Cardinal Sean P. Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Malley of Boston told Catholic News Service that while language and culture can be difficult obstacles, â&#x20AC;&#x153;what unites us is so much more.â&#x20AC;?

Catholics are united by a shared faith, traditions, the Eucharist and the â&#x20AC;&#x153;new commandment to love one another,â&#x20AC;? he said.

New alliances

Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted of Phoenix told CNS that the church has also found unlikely partners in the evangelical communities in its fight against secularism and threats to life.

Post-Vatican II ecumenical partners, such as the Anglicans, â&#x20AC;&#x153;have slipped away from the basic teaching about Jesus Christ, the human person and marriage, which has made dialogue and cooperation with them much more difficult,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Newer dialogue partners, such as the Orthodox Church and Mormons, and even communities that were once anti-Catholic, such as the Baptists, not only share many of the same values concerning the sanctity of life and marriage, but are eagerly seeking active partnerships with the Catholic Church to protect such values and religious freedom.

Bishop Olmsted said the church can better evangelize by looking at legitimate strategies employed by evangelical movements. While proselytism must be avoided because it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t fully respect the human person nor present the truth in its fullness, â&#x20AC;&#x153;we can still learn a lotâ&#x20AC;? from sects and other movements. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sects also see people that have leadership abilities and train them to go back to their peers and influence them, which is exactly what we need to do as well,â&#x20AC;? he added.

SENIOR LIVING

TO ADVERTISE IN CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO VISIT www.catholic-sf.org | CALL (415) 614-5642 CASA FUGAZI 678 GREEN STREET SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133 TEL: 415.362.6423 FAX: 415.362.3565 INFO@ITALIANCS.COM WWW.ITALIANCS.COM

CHRISTMAS 13

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 14, 2012

North Pole Catholics worship in town filled with Christmas kitsch EFFIE CALDAROLA THE CATHOLIC ANCHOR

The much bemoaned commercialization of Christmas reaches a whole new level in North Pole, Alaska — a town that celebrates Santa 365 days a year.

The giant candy cane street lights are a permanent feature in this northern town, where Santa is available for pictures in July. In fact the town’s economy revolves around the selling of Christmas year-round.

Amid this tourism spectacle, Father Robert Fath and parishioners at St. Nicholas Catholic Church in North Pole try to focus on the season of Advent and the true meaning of the Incarnation.

Following the historic traditions of the church, Christians are meant to spend Advent “in anxious anticipation” of both Christ’s incarnation into the world at Bethlehem, and his return at the end of time, Father Fath told the Catholic Anchor.

This focus can prove challenging in a town where emphasis on Santa and toys continues through the penitential season of Advent.

Sometimes it gets to Father Fath.

“I do tend to rail against Santa Claus,” he said, “particularly the 50-foot monstrosity down the street.”

He refers to a 50-foot permanent statue of Santa in town. Father Fath jokes that someday he’s going to build a 51-foot statue of the real St. Nicholas

St. Mary Star of the Sea 180 Harrison Avenue, Sausalito www.starofthesea.us

(PHOTO COURTESY THE CATHOLIC ANCHOR)

A 50-foot tall image of Santa Claus stands outside the Santa Claus House in North Pole, Alaska.

1425 Bay Road, East Palo Alto

Our Lady of Fatima

Christmas Service Schedule Christmas Eve, Monday December 24, 2012:

5920 GEARY BLVD., SAN FRANCISCO

7:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. Masses

New Year’s Eve, Monday December 31, 2012: 4:00 p.m. Mass Only

New Year’s Day, Tuesday January 1, 2013: Solemnity of Mary, The Mother of God 9:30 a.m. Mass

St. Thomas More Church 1300 Junipero Serra Blvd.

at Brotherhood & Thomas More Ways

Sunday Dec. 23rd - Divine Liturgy 10am Monday Dec. 24th - 2pm Vespers and Divine Liturgy Tuesday Dec. 25th - Christmas Day Divine Liturgy - 10am

Christmas Day, Tuesday December 25, 2012:

Mater Dolorosa 307 Willow Avenue, South San Francisco, CA 94080

Tuesday, December 25th: 10:00 AM: English Mass NO 11:45 ARABIC MASS 4:00 PM: Brazilian Mass 8:00 PM: English Mass Tuesday, December 31: New Year’s Eve Party: 8:00 PM to Midnight Sunday, January 6: Feast of the Epiphany, usual Sunday Mass; with Filipino Mass @ 5:30 PM

Christmas at

Mater Dolorosa Church Simbang Gabi Masses

December 15th through December 23rd at 7 p.m.

(Except December 15th and December 22nd, Mass at 5:00 p.m.)

December 15th - Children's Advent Celebration December 23rd - Pot Luck Dinner

Christmas Masses

Mass Schedule For Christmas and New Year Confessions Monday, December 24, 2012 10:30 am to 12:00 pm and 3:30 pm to 6:00 pm

Christmas Masses Monday, December 24, 2012 6:00 pm Bi-lingual Children’s Mass Followed by Pastorela Midnight Bi-lingual Mass

Tuesday, December 25, 2012 7:30 am English 9:30 am Spanish 11:30 am English 1:30 pm Spanish

New Year Masses 7:30 am English 9:30 am Spanish 11:30 am English 1:30 pm Spanish

Christmas Schedule 2012

Saturday, December 24th, Monday: Vigil Masses 8:30 AM: Usual schedule Monday morning Mass 6:00 PM: Parish Mass with Christmas Play 9:00 PM: Arabic Mass 12:00 AM Midnight: Mass with Christmas Carols

650/322-2152

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

San Francisco (415) 452-9634

December 19, Wednesday: Confessions at 6:30 PM (& during the Novena) December 15, Saturday: Annual Christmas Party in Carroll Hall, 7:00 PM December 15-24: International Christmas Novena (Simbang Gabi), 7:00 PM December 21, Friday: Third Friday: Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament after the Novena December 16, Sunday: Annual Cable Car Caroling, 2 PM (Distribution of Holy Communion to the homebound and singing Christmas carols)

SEE NORTH POLE, ALASKA, PAGE 14

St. Francis of Assisi Church

RUSSIAN BYZANTINE CATHOLIC CHURCH

8:30 p.m. Carols ★ 9:00 p.m. Mass

of Myra, a fourth-century bishop whose legend inspired the modern-day Santa.

In North Pole, there is also the Santa Claus House, a year-round Santa available for photos, live reindeer on display, and streets with permanent names like Snowman Lane, Kris Kringle, Mistletoe, and Holiday Road.

How did all of this come about, since the town of North Pole is actually 1,700 miles from the real North Pole?

Like many Alaska towns North Pole is relatively young. According to the city’s website, the first settlers arrived near mile 15 of the Richardson Highway in 1944 and staked their claim. By 1952, others had joined them with the promise of electrical power.

What to call this new town? Someone came up with the idea of “North Pole” thinking it might attract toy manufacturers with the lure of a “made in North Pole” logo. Although that idea didn’t pan out, the notion that a Disney-like Santa town might spring up did.

Today, tourists flock to North Pole, and letters by the thousands arrive for Santa from all over the world. When a Catholic parish was established in 1975, it was natural that it be named St. Nicholas.

Lisa Sagers is the parish youth worker. Unlike

th

Saint Veronica Church 434 Alida Way South San Francisco, CA 94080 (650) 588-1455 Fax: 650-588-1481 www.stveronicassf.com

CHRISTMAS LITURGY SCHEDULE 2012 DEC.15-23, 2012 SIMBANG GABI ADVENT MASSES All Masses at 6:30 p.m.

Except Dec.15th& 22nd at 5:00 p.m.

SATURDAY, DEC. 22, 2012 CONFESSIONS 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

MONDAY, DEC. 24, 2012 CHRISTMAS EVE MASSES

Christmas Eve, December 24 5:00 p.m. Annual Children's Pageant 9:15 p.m. Christmas Caroling (Hallelujah Chorale) 10:00 p.m. (Midnight Mass) Christmas Day, December 25th 8:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m., 12 noon

6:45, 8:00, 9:30, 11:00 a.m. & 12:30 p.m.

New Year's Eve, December 31st

MONDAY, DEC. 31, 2012

4:00 p.m. (Children’s Mass) & 9:00 p.m.

(8:15 p.m. – Christmas Caroling)

TUESDAY, DEC. 25, 2012 CHRISTMAS DAY

10:00 p.m. (Midnight Mass)

8:30 a.m.

New Year's Day, Tuesday, January 1st

TUESDAY, JAN. 1, 2013 NEW YEAR’S DAY

Holy Day of Obligation Mary, Mother of God 8:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m. & 12:00 p.m.

(A Holyday of Obligation) 8:30 a.m. & 6:30 p.m.

14 CHRISTMAS

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 14, 2012

NORTH POLE, ALASKA: Christmas kitsch, St. Nick Parish coexist

(PHOTOS COURTESY SANTA CLAUS HOUSE)

Christmas is celebrated every day of the year at the Santa Claus House in North Pole, Alaska, pictured today and as it looked in the 1960s. The town was created when someone came up with the idea of “North Pole” thinking it might attract toy manufacturers with the lure of a “made in North Pole” logo. Although that idea didn’t pan out, the notion that a Disney-like Santa town might spring up did.

FROM PAGE 13

Father Fath, who is a lifelong Alaskan, Sagers came to the Christmas capital of the world from Los Angeles 10 years ago.

When she phones colleagues in the

lower 48 and identifies herself as being from St. Nicholas in North Pole, she laughs when people say, “You’re kidding, right?”

She finds some aspects of her adopted home “quaint” and marvels at the fact that a local man legally

CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR’S DAY MASS SCHEDULE

29 Rockaway Avenue SF CA 94127 (415) 681-4225 www. stbrendanparish.org

CHRISTMAS SCHEDULE

NEW YEAR’S SCHEDULE

Dec 24, 2012 (Christmas Eve) 5:00 p.m. - Vigil Mass 11:30 p.m. - Christmas Carols at Church

Dec 31, 2012 (New Year’s Eve) 5:00 p.m. New Year’s Eve Mass

Dec 25, 2012 (Christmas Day) 12:00 a.m. Midnight Mass 7:00, 8:00, 9:30 & 11:30 a.m. Morning Masses

January 1, 2013 New Year’s Day Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God (Holy Day of Obligation) 7:30 & 9:30 a.m. Morning Masses

changed his name to Kris Kringle.

But she admires the way Father Fath manages to make Christmas special in a town that sometimes grows weary of the spectacle.

“Father Robert has been amazing.

His family had so many rich traditions and he’s able to share these with our youth,” Sagers said. “At St. Nicholas, we understand when the tree and the lights should go up.”

Father Fath has a very young parish with 500 youth under age 18. He enjoys telling them stories about the real St. Nicholas, while emphasizing that we “anticipate the gift of Christ, not toys.”

Father Fath makes sure the children know the history of the famous

saint — a man who never lived in the North Pole.

“I like to emphasize that St. Nicholas was really from Turkey,” Father Fath said.

On the Sunday nearest the Dec. 6 Feast of St. Nicholas, children in faith formation classes put their shoes outside their classroom doors to be filled with candy. But even this is part of an older European custom celebrating St. Nicholas. Not Santa.

Father Fath then celebrates Mass and speaks of the real man, instead of the one smothered in cultural kitsch.

The Catholic Anchor is the newspaper of the Anchorage, Alaska, archdiocese.

The National Shrine of Saint Francis of Assisi The Heart of San Francisco Columbus and Vallejo

Christmas Eve: 9 p.m. Mass Christmas Day: 10 a.m. Mass New Year’s Eve: 11pm Mass Midnight Blessing of the City of San Francisco With the Relic of St. Francis of Assisi ADVENT 2012 Family Christmas Pageant, Sunday, December 16, 3:30 p.m., Church Nave Annual Christmas Concert, Monday, December 17, 7:30 p.m., Church Nave, St. Dominic’s Solemn Mass Choir with strings and harp Advent Twilight Retreat, Tuesday, December 18, 7:30 p.m., Lady Chapel (Preparation for Confession) Confessions, Wednesday, December 19, 12:00 Noon – 1:00 p.m. & 7:30 – 9:00 p.m., Church Nave

CHRISTMAS 2012

610 Vallejo Street, San Francisco 415.986.4557

info@shrinesf.org • www.shrinesf.org

Christmas at Saint Cecilia Seventeenth Avenue and Vicente Street The Parkside District in San Francisco

Christmas Eve, Monday, December 24 Advent Masses: 6:30 a.m. & 8:00 a.m.

LIVE BROADCAST: WWW.STCECILIA.COM

Christmas Eve Vigil Masses: 4:00 p.m. (Mass for Families with Toddlers) 6:00 p.m. (Mass for Families with Children) 11:15 p.m. Carol service followed by Solemn Mass at Midnight No confessions today

CHRISTMAS EVE MASSES

Christmas Day, Tuesday, December 25 Masses at 7:30 a.m. (Quiet Mass with Carols) 9:30 a.m. (Parish Mass with Carols) 11:30 a.m. (Solemn Mass with Choral Music); 1:30 p.m. (en español) No confessions today and no Masses at 5:30 p.m. or 9:00 p.m.

Solemnity of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary & Joseph, Sunday, December 30 Masses at 7:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m. & 9:00 p.m.

Vigil Mass on Saturday, December 29, 5:30 p.m.

Solemnity of Mary the Holy Mother of God, Tuesday, January 1, 2013 (A Holy Day of Obligation) Masses at 9:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.

Vigil Mass on Monday, December 31, 5:30 p.m.

5:00 p.m. - Msgr. Michael Harriman 7:00 p.m. - Fr. Felix Lim with our Children’s Choir 11:15 p.m. - Singing of Carols Midnight Mass - Msgr. Michael Harriman with our Adult Choir and Orchestra

CHRISTMAS DAY MASSES 7:30 a.m. - Fr. Felix Lim with instrumental by Christopher and Matthew Jereza 9:30 a.m. - Msgr. Michael Harriman with Holy Spirit Music Ministry 11:30 a.m. - Fr. Felix Lim with Adult Choir and Orchestra

CHRISTMAS 15

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 14, 2012

Inspirational Advent books CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

WASHINGTON – Here is a selection of recent releases that might be suitable for your spiritual reading during Advent and the Christmas season: – “Exploring Advent With Luke: Four Questions for Spiritual Growth”

by Timothy Clayton. Ave Maria Press (Notre Dame, Ind., 2012). 149 pp., $13.95.

– “A Catholic Family Advent: Prayers and Activities” by Susan Hines-Brigger. Franciscan Media (Cincinnati, 2012). 50 pp., $7.99.

– “Advent and Christmas Wisdom from St. Vincent de Paul” by John E. Rybolt, CM. Liguori Publications (Liguori, Mo., 2012). 128 pp., $10.99.

– “Preparing for Christmas: Daily Meditations for Advent” by Richard Rohr. Franciscan Media (Cincinnati, 2012). 93 pp., $8.99.

– “Catholic Spiritual Practices: A Treasury of Old & New,” edited by Colleen M. Griffith and Thomas H. Groome. Paraclete Press (Orleans, Mass., 2012). 166 pp., $18.95.

– “The Saint Who Would Be Santa

Claus: The True Life and Trials of Nicholas of Myra” by Adam C. English. Baylor University Press (Waco, Texas, 2012). 230 pp., $24.95.

– “Italian Christmas Eve: The Feast of Seven Fishes: A Reminiscence with Recipes” by Linda and Rocco Maniscalco. StataBuon.com (2010). 77 pp., $12.95.

– “The Christmas Plains” by Joseph Bottum. Image Books (New York, 2012).

212 pp., $14.99.

– “Holy Days: Meditations on the Feasts, Fasts and Other Solemnities of the Church” by Pope Benedict XVI. Wm. B. Eerdmans (Grand Rapids, Mich., 2012). 94 pp., $12.

– “A Mary Christmas” by Kathleen M. Carroll. Franciscan Media (Cincinnati, 2012). 94 pp., $12.99.

– “Holy Family Prayer Book: Prayers for Every Family” by Missionaries of the Holy Family. Liguori Publications (Liguori, Mo., 2012). 111 pp., $8.99.

– “O Radiant Dawn: 5-Minute Prayers Around the Advent Wreath”

by Lisa M. Hendey. Ave Maria Press (Notre Dame, Ind., 2012). 32 pp., $1.25.

SEASONAL TV PROGRAM NOTES/FILM FARE SUNDAY, DEC. 16, 1-3 P.M. EDT (LIFETIME) “THE PERFECT HOLIDAY” (2007). Amiable romantic comedy, narrated by “Mrs. Christmas” (Queen Latifah), in which a divorced mother of three (Gabrielle Union) must cope with the machinations of her egotistical rap star ex-husband (Charles Q. Murphy) and the resistance of her 10-year-old son (Malik Hammond). She gradually falls, with the help of her daughter (Khail Bryant), for a songwriter and shoppingmall Santa (Morris Chestnut) who’s posing as an office supply salesman.

SUNDAY, DEC. 16, 8-9 P.M. EST (PBS) “CHRISTMAS WITH THE MORMON TABERNACLE CHOIR FEATURING JANE SEYMOUR AND NATHAN GUNN.” Actress Jane Seymour and baritone Nathan Gunn join the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra for a Christmas special featuring some of the season’s best-loved songs.

SUNDAY, DEC. 16, 9:30-11 P.M. EST (TCM) “A CHRISTMAS CAROL” (1951). This British version of the Dickens’ classic has worn well over the years principally because of Alistair Sim’s

zestful performance as Scrooge, the old humbug whose transformation into a loving human being is a pleasure to behold.

THURSDAY, DEC. 20, 8-9 P.M. EST (ABC) “I WANT A DOG FOR CHRISTMAS, CHARLIE BROWN!” Animated special centering on Rerun, the lovable but ever-skeptical younger brother of Linus and Lucy, and Snoopy’s canine brother, Spike.

SATURDAY, DEC. 22, 10-11 A.M. EST (EWTN) “SAN JUAN CHILDREN’S CHOIR PRESENTS: SIEMPRE NAVIDAD.” The joyful spirit of Christmas in Puerto Rico is captured in this performance by the island’s San Juan Children’s Choir.

SATURDAY, DEC. 22, 8-9:30 P.M. EST (EWTN) “A TIME TO REMEMBER.” Holiday-themed presentation that tells the story of a young boy who develops his gift of song with the help of a beloved priest – a journey that requires faith, perseverance and a Christmas miracle. ©CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

CATHEDRAL OF ST. MARY OF THE ASSUMPTION 1111 Gough St., San Francisco • Tel: (415) 567-2020 www.stmarycathedralsf.org

CHRISTMAS SCHEDULE 2012 LAS POSADAS ~ SATURDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2012 Mexican/Latin American tradition reenacting Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem and their search for lodging before Jesus’ birth 6:00PM-9:00 PM, St. Francis Hall

CHRISTMAS EVE ~ MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2012 Regular Daily Mass Schedule 6:45 AM, 8:00 AM and 12:10 PM 5:00 PM Caroling - Cathedral Choirs of Boys and Girls and St. Brigid’s School Honor Choir 5:30 PM – Christmas Vigil Mass 11:30 PM – Caroling with the Cathedral Choir 12:00 AM-Midnight Mass Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, Principal Celebrant

CHRISTMAS DAY ~ TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012 9:00 AM — Gregorian Chant Mass with Schola Cantorum Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, Principal Celebrant 11:00 AM – Solemn Mass with Cathedral Choir 1:00 PM – Misa en Español con el Coro Hispano

VIGIL OF THE SOLEMNITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, MOTHER OF GOD MONDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2012 Regular Daily Mass Schedule 6:45 AM, 8:00 AM and 12:10 PM 5:30 PM Vigil Mass

THE SOLEMNITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, MOTHER OF GOD TUESDAY, JANUARY 1, 2013 Regular Daily Mass Schedule 6:45 AM, 8:00 AM and 12:10 PM

THE SOLEMNITY OF THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD SUNDAY, JANUARY 6, 2013 Saturday, January 5 – Vigil – 5:30 PM Sunday, 7:30 AM, 9 AM, 11 AM and 1 PM (Español) 3:30 PM – Celebration of Lessons and Carols with the Cathedral Choir of Boys and Girls, St. Brigid School Honor Choir and Golden Gate Boys Choir Bellringers

16 CHRISTMAS

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 14, 2012

Celebration, service around the archdiocese

1

2

PARTNERS: The Society of St. Vincent de Paul of San Mateo County teamed up with the San Mateo Elks Lodge who donated more than 1,400 items for the SVdP Homeless Help Center.

Pictured from left are Elks Mike McQueen, Pete Cerri, Roger Cutler, John Swan.

1

SHOUTING FOR MARY: St. Bruno Parish celebrates the solemnity of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception with a Nicaraguan tradition called la Purisima Griteria, which roughly translates to “the shouting” of the Immaculate Conception. After Mass Dec. 8, the parish gathered in the church hall for singing, dancing and shouting – which is great fun for the children, said Cristina Ugaitafa, youth minister and parish secretary.

2

(PHOTO BY DENNIS CALLAHAN/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)

3

HELPING HANDS: Eighth graders from San Francisco’s St. Mary’s School served Thanksgiving dinner to more than 1,400 seniors and families at Self Help for the Elderly’s Lady Shaw Center. Pictured from left are St. Mary’s helpers Brandon Khuu, Hunter Chinn, Lisa Huang, Kelly Liu, Justin Guo, Jalyn Lee, Cynthia Leung.

3

4

CHECKING IT TWICE: Erin Coy’s fifth grade class at Sts. Peter and Paul School, San Francisco, helps get out the parish’s Christmas mailing.

4

Saint Robert’s Church

St. Augustine Church

1380 Crystal Springs Road San Bruno, CA 94066 (650) 589-2800

Christmas Eve

Monday, December 24th 4:30 pm Children’s Mass 8:00 pm and Midnight Mass

3700 Callan Blvd.

S. San Francisco, CA 94080

CHRISTMAS 2012

Novena of masses (Simbang Gabi) December 15-23 – 7:30 P.M.

Christmas Day

Christmas Vigil: Monday, December 24

Tuesday, December 25th 7:30 am, 9:30 am, & 11:30 am.

No 4:30 pm Mass

4:30 P.M. Vigil Mass 7:30 P.M. Children’s Caroling 8 P.M. Children’s Mass 11:00 P.M. Caroling 12 A.M. Midnight Mass (Church & Hall)

Christmas Day: December 25 7:45 A.M., 9:30 A.M., 11 A.M., 12:30 P.M. There is no 5:30 P.M. Mass on Christmas Day.

New Year’s Day (Holy Day of Obligation) Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God Tuesday, January 1, 2013 9:30 am

Our Lady of Mercy Parish

5 Elmwood Drive, Daly City Between South Mayfair ad South Avenues with plenty of free parking!

Christmas Season Schedule

New Year’s Day 2013 Schedule of Masses: 8:40 A.M. – 5:30 P.M.

St. Philip the Apostle Church 725 Diamond Street @ 24th Street 415-282-0141 Christmas Eve - Monday, December 24, 2012 Vigil of Christmas

Simbang Gabi/Novena of Masses before Christmas

Dec. 15 - 23, at 7:30pm - 7:00 pm confessions Except Saturdays, Dec. 15 and 22 - at 5:30pm Dec, 24 (Christmas Eve) - 4pm - 5:30pm - Midnight Mass Dec. 25 (Christmas Day) - 7:30am - 9:00am - 10:30am - 12:00pm Dec. 31 (New Year’s Eve) - 6pm Jan. 1, 2013 New Year’s Day - 9:00am - 6:00pm

Saint Emydius Church

CHRISTMAS SERVICES

Children’s/Family Mass: Christmas Carols: Evening Mass:

5:00 p.m.

9:30 p.m.

10:00 p.m.

Christmas Day - Tuesday December 25 2012 Mass of the Lord’s Nativity Mass: 9:30 a.m.

Traditional Christmas Music at all Masses. Join us, for the Nativity Celebration of our Lord.

January 1, 2013 Tuesday Solemnity of Mary 9:30 a.m.

Celebrate the Christmas Season in the heart of Noe Valley!

286 Ashton Avenue San Francisco, CA 94112 (415) 587-7066 Fax (415) 587-6690

Advent / Christmas / Epiphany Seasons Parish Celebrations 2012 – 2013 Sunday, December 23 Fourth Sunday of Advent – 8:30 am, 10:30 am Monday, December 24 Christmas Vigil Mass – 8:00 pm Tuesday, December 25 Christmas Midnight Mass – 12:00 midnight Christmas Morning Mass – 10:00 am Sunday, December 30 Feast of the Holy Family – 8:30 am, 10:30 am Tuesday, January 1, 2013 Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God 10:00 am Sunday, January 6, 2013 Solemnity of the Epiphany – 8:30 am, 10:30 am Saturday, January 12, 2013 Anointing of the Sick Mass (no 8:00 am Mass) 10:00 am

CHRISTMAS 17

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 14, 2012

Celebration, service around the archdiocese

1

GOOD WORK AND WORKERS: Members of St. Timothy Parish’s Youth Expressing Spirit group collected Thanksgiving food and donations for 50 families. For Christmas, they are making baskets to be given out by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

1 2

SAINT OF LIGHT: Notre Dame des Victoires School kindergarteners celebrated St. Lucy’s feast as a festival of light Dec. 9. In the Catholic Church, the feast of St. Lucy, a virgin martyr from the early days of the Roman persecution, is Dec. 13. Lucy means light and she is the patron saint of the blind. St. Lucy is one of only a handful of saints honored by Lutherans, Orthodox and Catholics.

3

2

‘FAITH EVERY DAY’: A student at All Souls Preschool, South San Francisco, concentrates on getting the glue out as she creates her Christmas wreath, made from tissue paper and a paper plate. The students prepare for Advent as part of learning their Catholic faith, said preschool teacher Marci Elmore, adding, “We need faith every day.”

All Souls School opened the preschool in November and is still accepting new students.

3 (PHOTO BY VALERIE SCHMALZ/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)

4

HO, HO, HO: St. Nicholas’ feast day was celebrated at Immaculate Heart of Mary School, Belmont, Dec. 6. First graders left their shoes out for the jolly old elf and he left each a bag of goodies. The bearded visitor is pictured with IHM pastor Father Stephen Howell and preschooler Katherine O’Connor.

4 (PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME DES VICTOIRES SCHOOL)

CHRISTMAS SCHEDULE

ST. MATTHEW CATHOLIC CHURCH

1 NOTRE DAME AVENUE SAN MATEO, CALIFORNIA CHRISTMAS 2012 May the peace of the Lord Be yours today And His love abide With you forever!

Devotedly in Christ Rev. Anthony E. McGuire Rev. William J. Ahlbach Rev. Dominic S. Lee Rev. Juan M. Lopez Deacon James Shea Deacon Rafe Brown

CONFESSIONS Mon, Dec. 17 through Fri. Dec. 21 Chapel 5:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 22: Main Church 11 a.m. – 12 Noon and 4:30 p.m. - 5 p.m.

MASSES Monday. – Christmas Eve, Dec. 24: 5:00 p.m. Family Mass, 7 p.m. (Spanish) and 10:00 p.m.

Tuesday, Christmas Day, Dec. 25: 6:30 a.m., 7:30 a.m., 8:45 a.m.

(Spanish), 10:45 a.m. & 12:30 p.m.

3:00 p.m. (Chinese Chapel)

NEW YEARS’ DAY – TUESDAY. JAN. 1, 2013 Tuesday, Jan. 1, Masses: 6:30 a.m., 8:15 a.m., 10 a.m. (Spanish), 12:00 p.m.

Saint Stephen Catholic Church 4th Sunday of Advent Masses Saturday 3:30pm Confessions 4:30pm (Sunday Vigil) Sunday 8:00, 9:30, 11:30am, 6:45pm

Eucalyptus Drive @ 23rd Avenue (near Stonestown Mall)

Christmas Eve Masses 3:30pm Confessions 4:30pm Family Mass 10:00pm Mass (Prelude music 9:30pm)

Christmas 2012

415.681.2444 www.SaintStephenSF.org

Christmas Day Masses 8:00, 9:30, 11:30am No evening Mass on Christmas Day Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary & Joseph Masses Regular Weekend Schedule Saturday 3:30pm Confessions 4:30pm (Sunday Vigil) Sunday 8:00, 9:30, 11:30am, 6:45pm

Our Lady of Angels Catholic Church CHRISTMAS AT SAINT RAPHAEL CHURCH - 2012 NAVIDAD EN SAN RAFAEL CHRISTMAS MASSES / MISAS DE NAVIDAD Monday, December 24, 2012 / Lunes, 24 de Diciembre, 2012 4:00 pm

Special Program for

4:30 pm 7:00 pm 7:00 pm

Mass in English Vietnamese Mass – Mission Mass in Spanish / Misa en

LET GRATEFUL HEARTS NOW SING, A SONG OF JOY AND HOLY PRAISE TO CHRIST, THE NEWBORN KING.

Children

Español 11:30 pm Community Christmas Caroling 12 Midnight Mass in English Tuesday, December 25, 2012 / Martes, 25 de Diciembre, 2012 7:30 am Mass in English 9:00 am Mass in English 10:30 am Mass in English 10:30 am Mass - Chapel of Saint Sylvester 12:00 pm Mass in Spanish/Misa en Español *No habrá Misa de 7:00pm el día de Navidad en Español.

Feast of the Holy Family/ La Sagrada Familia Saturday / Sunday, December 29 / 30, 2012 Regular Sunday Mass Schedule Las Misas serán como todos los Domingos New Year’s Day 2013/ El Día de Año Nuevo 2013 Tuesday, January 1, 2013/ Martes, 1 de Enero, 2013 10:00 am Mass in Church Merry Christmas / Feliz Navidad / Mùng Chúa Giáng-Sinh / Feliz

Welcome to the celebration of our faith at

St. Thomas Apostle Catholic Church 3835 Balboa Street San Francisco, CA 94121 415-387-5545

Christmas Eve, December 24 4:00 p.m. Children's Mass 8:30 p.m. Carols 9:00 p.m. Midnight Mass

Christmas Day, December 25 8:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. Masses

1721 Hillside Drive, Burlingame Capuchin Franciscans 650-347-7768

2012 Christmas Schedule Christmas Eve 4:00 p.m.

6:00 p.m. (Children’s Mass) and 10 p.m.

(No Midnight Mass) Christmas Day 8:00, 10:00 and 12 noon New Year’s Day Masses Vigil Mass Monday, Dec. 31, 2012 -7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013 8:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. and 11:30 a.m. at Marian Convent The Capuchin Franciscans & Parish Staff wish our Parishioners and Friends Peace, Love and Hope for Christmas and the New Year

18 CHRISTMAS

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 14, 2012

Thousands venerate Our Lady of Guadalupe on 12-mile march VALERIE SCHMALZ CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

Thousands began walking at 6 a.m. from All Souls Church in South San Francisco for the 12-mile trek to St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco in the annual Guadalupana pilgrimage, held on Dec. 8. The pilgrimage is to venerate the patroness of the Americas, Our Lady of Guadalupe, whose feast is Dec. 12.

Marchers prayed the rosary along the route, stopping at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery, at Holy Angels Church in Colma and at St. John the Evangelist in San Francisco before concluding with Mass at the cathedral celebrated by Bishop William J. Justice with cathedral rector Msgr. John Talesfore and Msgr.

Jose Rodriguez, former vicar for Spanish speaking.

This was the pilgrimage’s 19th year, which began when Bishop Justice was pastor of All Souls Parish, said organizer Pedro Garcia. At 72, Garcia said he walks the whole way, adding “I finished very tired but very happy.”

At the cathedral, marchers reenacted Our Lady’s appearance to St. Juan Diego near Mexico City on Dec. 9, 1531. St. Juan, an indigenous Mexican convert to Catholicism, presented beautiful Castilian roses to the Spanish bishop in Mexico City, who had asked St. Juan for a sign to justify his request from Mary to build a cathedral on the hill of Tepeyac, outside Mexico City. When the roses fell out of his tilma, the image was of the beautiful virgin, with the face of a meztiza, a mix of Spanish and native features, although she appeared less than a generation after Columbus’ exploration.

Mexico’s 9 million people all converted to Catholicism, Garcia said.

The 2013 Guadalupana march is scheduled for Dec. 7.

(PHOTO BY DENNIS CALLAHAN/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)

Guadalupana marchers gathered at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery, Colma, where they recited a decade of the rosary and listened to a young woman portraying Our Lady speak her words of the miraculous encounter of Dec. 9, 1531, to a young man in the role of Juan Diego; they are pictured together below. Bottom left and right, the march began at dawn with men hoisting a statue of Our Lady, and ended with the statue being borne into St. Mary’s Cathedral.

(PHOTO BY DENNIS CALLAHAN/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)

St. Anthony of Padua Christmas 2012 Monday, December 24, 2012 • Christmas Eve Tuesday, December 25, 2012 • Christmas Day Masses at 7:00 am, 9:00 am and 11:00 am

Monday, December 31, 2012 • New Year's Eve Vigil of the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God Mass at 5:00 pm

Tuesday, January 1, 2013 The Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God A Holy Day of Obligation

Dec. 17 – 24 Dec. 17

5PM 7PM

Christmas Novena Advent Penance Service

Christmas Eve 4:00 to 5:00 PM 5:00 PM 11:15 PM 12:00 AM

Christmas Masses: Christmas Eve (Monday, December 24) 4:00 p.m.

6:00 p.m.

12 Midnight

(PHOTO BY DENNIS CALLAHAN/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)

Saints Peter and Paul Church

The Parish of St. Catherine of Siena 1310 Bayswater Ave. Burlingame CA 94010

1000 Cambridge St., Novato 415.883.2177

Confessions from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

Masses at 5:00 pm (Children's Mass), 7:00 pm and 10:00 pm

(PHOTO COURTESY HOLY CROSS CATHOLIC CEMETERY)

Confessions Vigil Mass Christmas Carols Midnight Mass

Christmas Day Masses

Christmas Vigil Mass Christmas Family Mass Christmas Midnight Mass 11:30 p.m. - Christmas Concert

7:30 AM In English 8:45 AM In English 10:15 AM In Cantonese/English 11:45 AM In Italian 1:00 PM In English No 5:00 PM Christmas Day Mass

Christmas Day (Tuesday, December 25) Masses: 8 a.m., 10:30 a.m., and 12 Noon

666 Filbert Street San Francisco 415 421-0809

Masses at 7:00 am, 9:00 am and 11:00 pm

ST. TERESA OF AVILA CATHOLIC CHURCH

SERVED BY THE CARMELITES

th

19

Street at Connecticut Tuesdays & Fridays Wednesdays in Advent

OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP CHURCH 60 Wellington Avenue Daly City, CA 94014

NINE DAYS NOVENA AND MASSES ( “Simbang Gabi or Misa de Gallo”) from DECEMBER 16-24, 2012 @ 5:30 AM

DECEMBER 24, 2012– Monday—5:30 PM-Children’s Mass 11:00 PM—11:45 PM: Christmas Carols 12:00 AM: Midnight Mass DECEMBER 25, 2012-CHRISTMAS DAY-8:30; 10:00; 11:30 AM 1:00 PM (Spanish)

8:30am 6:15pm

Christmas Masses

SCHEDULE OF CHRISTMAS WEEK LITURGY

SCHEDULE OF CHRISTMAS MASSES:

PLEASE JOIN US FOR OUR ADVENT & CHRISTMAS MASSES

Unto Us A Child Is Born

Vigil, December 24th

4:15* & 9:00 pm

December 25th

8:30 & 10:00 am

* Children’s & Family Mass For more information: Call: 415-285-5272 · E-mail: info@stteresasf.org · www.stteresasf.org

CHRISTMAS 19

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 14, 2012

Vatican Nativity scene set in famed grottos of Matera CAROL GLATZ CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

VATICAN CITY – Christmas in St. Peter’s Square this year has a particularly southern Italian flavor with a towering tree from the Molise region and a Nativity scene donated by the Basilicata region.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph will be nestled in an artistic re-creation of the picturesque setting of the famed “sassi” (ancient, rock-hewn houses) of Matera in the Basilicata province of Southern Italy – a U.N. World Heritage site and backdrop for recent Hollywood films about the Holy Family and Jesus.

The 78-foot silver fir was plucked out of the forests of Isernia by helicopter Dec. 5 and trucked 120 miles north with an Italian police escort.

The tree arrived in the square in the pre-dawn hours Dec. 6, the feast of St. Nicholas, patron saint of children and source of the Santa Claus character.

Vatican workers will spend several days decorating the tree with lights and gold and silver balls before the official lighting of the tree Dec. 14.

The large Nativity scene in the square will re-

St. Dunstan Church 1133 Broadway Millbrae, CA 94030 (650) 697-4730

(CNS PHOTO/PAUL HARING)

Nuns walk by the Vatican’s Christmas tree as it’s positioned in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican Dec. 6. The tree is a 78-foot silver fir from the southern Italian region of Molise.

St. Patrick Church

main shrouded in mystery until its official unveiling Christmas Eve. The scene, which will be assembled by Vatican personnel, will be decorated with more than 100 terracotta figures and detailed scenery crafted by the Italian artist Francesco Artese; his enormous “presepi” have been on display in New York City and Washington, D.C. The Nativity scene, which will cover 180 square yards, will depict Matera’s famed “sassi” – cliffclinging churches, buildings, streets and grottos carved out of the mountainside.

The ancient rock-hewn city is on the U.N. World Heritage List and was the setting for Mel Gibson’s film, “The Passion of the Christ,” and Catherine Hardwicke’s “The Nativity Story,” because the city’s historical center poses a striking similarity to what Jerusalem might have looked like 2,000 years ago.

The Vatican’s Nativity scene will depict the hardworking and simple life of farmers and craftsmen, and the terracotta figures will be wearing handmade traditional dress, according to the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano.

The scene will also be specially lit using movie set lighting to give it a “cinematographic” feel, it said.

Christmas Schedule December 15th and 22nd, 2012 4-5 p.m. Advent Confessions (all priests)

December 16 - 24, 2012 6:00 a.m. Misa de Gallo Reception after the Mass

One of the pleasures of the Christmas Season is the opportunity to send our thoughts and prayers to those whose friendship and goodwill we value so highly.

Monday, December 24, 2012 6:00 a.m. Misa de Gallo Reception after the Mass 7:30 a.m. Mass 12:10 p.m. Mass 7:00 p.m. Christmas Carols 8:00 p.m. Traditional “Mass at Midnight”

The priests and staff of St. Dunstan Parish join in wishing you a very blessed Christmas. May the gift of faith, the blessing of hope, and the peace of God’s love be with you and yours throughout the New Year.

Tuesday, December 25, 2012 Christmas Day (Holy Day of Obligation) 7:30, 9:00, 10:30 (Latin) a.m. and 12:15 p.m.

CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS AT ST. DUNSTAN 2012 CHRISTMAS EVE MASSES 4:30 pm Children’s Mass with Pageant 11:00 pm Christmas Carols 11:30 pm Christmas Mass

Saint Agnes Church

CHRISTMAS DAY MASSES 7:00 am, 8:30 am, 10:00 am, and 11:30 am

NO 5:00 pm Mass on Christmas Day

A Welcoming Jesuit Parish SaintAgnes AgnesChurch Church Saint Agnes Church Saint AWelcoming WelcomingJesuit JesuitParish Parish A A Welcoming Jesuit Parish A Welcoming Jesuit Parish Reconciliation Service Saturday, December 15 11:00am

Monday, December 31, 2012 7:30 a.m., 12:10p.m. & 5:15 p.m.

756 Mission Street San Francisco

Monsignor Harry Schlitt

Christmas Eve Monday, December 24

Christmas Day Tuesday, December 25 Liturgy of the Nativity of the Lord 8:30 am with Cantor & Organ 10:30 am with Choir, Woodwinds, Brass &Timpani

New Year’s Day Tuesday, January 1, 2013 Liturgy at 10:00am

1025 Masonic Avenue, San Francisco (415) 487- 8560 www.SaintAgnesSF.com Parking is available in our 1639 Oak Street Lots.

Inclusive + Diverse + Jesuit

New Year’s Day (Holy Day of Obligation) 7:30 a.m., 12:10p.m. & 5:15 p.m.

ISAIAH 9:5

Christmas TV Mass Special with

If you have been thinking about going to Confession, this service may be for you. All are welcome.

There will be no all-day reconciliation.

Liturgies of the Nativity of the Lord 5:00 pm Children’s Liturgy with Children’s Choir & Woodwinds 10:00 pm Christmas Vigil with Choir, Woodwinds, Brass & Timpani

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

For unto us a child is born.

Unto us a Son is given.

He shall be called Prince of Peace.

WILL BE AIRED ON CHRISTMAS MORNING KOFY-TV 20

at 6:00 am-6:30 am

FOX 40 - Sacramento at 6:00 am-6:30 am

KTSF 26 - San Francisco 9:00 am-9:30 am Your donations make the TV Mass possible Please join us Christmas morning and every Sunday

20 CHRISTMAS

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 14, 2012

Gospel is good news of freedom from sin, pope says CINDY WOODEN CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

ROME – In the immaculate conception of Mary, Christians recognize the truth that the Gospel is the good news of freedom from sin, selfishness and death, Pope Benedict XVI said.

Standing before a statue of Mary near the Spanish Steps, in the midst of Rome’s ritzy shopping district, Pope Benedict said Mary is a reminder that silence is essential for hearing God’s word, that salvation comes from God alone and that joy comes from being freed of sin.

As he does every year, the pope prayed the Angelus at noon in St. Peter’s Square, then – riding in a brand new, Mercedes-Benz M-class popemobile – went to the Spanish Steps late in the afternoon Dec. 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception.

That Mary was conceived without sin “speaks to us of joy, that authentic joy that spreads in a heart freed from sin,” the pope said, sitting before a column topped with a statue of Mary erected in honor of the Immaculate Conception.

John the Baptist teaches us to focus more on what is essential, ‘so that Christmas is experienced not only as an exterior celebration, but as the feast of the Son of God.’ POPE BENEDICT XVI “Sin brings with it sadness,” the pope said.

While some people think Christianity “is an obstacle to joy because they see it as a collection of prohibitions and rules,” it really is good news, he said, because it is “the proclamation of the victory of grace over sin, of life over death.”

Of course, he said, faith leads people to renounce certain habits and actions, and it requires “a disci-

St. John of God Church

ST. RAYMOND CHURCHCHURCH ST. RAYMOND

1290 5th Ave. San Francisco

ST. RAYMOND CHURCH 1100 Santa Cruz Avenue Menlo Park, California 94025 (650) 323-1755

Christmas Schedule

Our Children's Christmas Nativity Play will be at 4:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve Our Masses on Christmas Eve are at5:15 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Our Masses on Christmas Day are at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m.

HOLY NAME OF JESUS PARISH corner 39th Avenue & Lawton Street San Francisco, CA 94122

2012 Christmas Schedule CHRISTMAS EVE MASSES Monday, December 24 5:00 PM (Family/Children’s Mass) 7:00 PM (Vietnamese Mass) 11:30 PM Christmas Carols (Holy Name Choral Ministry) 12:00 Midnight Concelebrated Mass

CSF CONTENT IN YOUR INBOX:

Visit catholic-sf.org to sign up for our e-newsletter.

Vigil of Christmas Monday, December 24 4:15PM: Christmas Eve Family Mass 10:00PM: Carols followed by Christmas Eve Night Mass at 10:30PM The Nativity of The Lord Tuesday, December 25 Masses at 9:30AM and 11:30AM

Christmas Blessings!

S T . M ONICA P ARISH

Geary Boulevard at 23rd Ave, San Francisco (415) 751-5275

CHRISTMAS SCHEDULE 2012 SATURDAY, DECEMBER 22

Confessions: 4:00 – 4:45 p.m. ✩ Mass: 5:00 pm

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 23 Masses: 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. (Cantonese) 10:30 a.m.

Most Reverend Ignatius C. Wang, Main Celebrant Rev. Arnold E. Zamora, Homilist Rev. Toan X. Nguyen CHRISTMAS DAY MASSES Tuesday, December 25

7:30 AM 9:30 AM 11:30 AM NEW YEAR’S MASSES Monday, December 31, 201 7:30 AM & 9:00 AM Tuesday, January 1, 201 9:00 AM May the gift of love, the gift of peace, the gift of happiness be yours at Christmas and throughout the year.

CHRISTMAS EVE MONDAY, DECEMBER 24 5:00 p.m. Family Christmas Eve Mass with Children’s Choir and Nativity Play 11:30 p.m. Joyful music of the season with Saint Monica’s Choir 12:00 a.m. Solemn Midnight Mass Mass for the City by Richard Proulx

CHRISTMAS DAY TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25 Masses: 8:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. with Choir No Cantonese Mass and no evening Mass

NEW YEAR’S EVE MONDAY, DECEMBER

31

Mass: 8:30 a.m.

NEW YEAR’S DAY TUESDAY, JANUARY 1, 2013 Mass: 10:30 a.m.

FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY SUNDAY, JANUARY 6, 2013 Masses: 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. (Cantonese) 10:30 a.m. with Choir Evening Prayer and Benediction at 4:00 p.m.

pline of mind, heart and behavior” because original sin leaves within people “the poisonous root of selfishness, which harms them and others.”

The day’s Gospel reading recounted the Annunciation, the moment when the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her she would be Jesus’ mother, and Pope Benedict said he was struck that such a “decisive moment for human destiny, the moment in which God became man, is wrapped in great silence.”

“It was an event that, if it had happened in our day, wouldn’t leave a trace in the newspapers or magazines, because it is a mystery that takes place in silence,” he said.

Mary’s immaculate conception also reminds Christians that “the salvation of the world isn’t the work of man, science, technology or an ideology,” but of God, he said.

Reciting the Angelus earlier in the day, the pope prayed that through the intercession of Mary, God would “grant us the grace to reject sin and persevere in the grace of baptism.”

Pope Benedict also recited the Angelus Dec. 9 with visitors who came to St. Peter’s Square for his normal Sunday greeting.

The day’s Gospel reading focused on St. John the Baptist’s call to prepare the way of the Lord. “We are called to listen to that voice, to make room for and welcome Jesus into our hearts,” he said.

“In our consumer societies, where people are tempted to look for joy in things,” he said, John the Baptist teaches us to focus more on what is essential, “so that Christmas is experienced not only as an exterior celebration, but as the feast of the Son of God who came to bring peace, life and true joy.”

v

ST. BARTHOLOMEW

PARISH COMMUNITY Corner of Alameda & Crystal Springs Rd. San Mateo, CA 94402 (650) 347-0701 stbarts@barts.org CHRISTMAS LITURGIES

Sacrament of Reconciliation, December 18th at 7 pm

Christmas Eve, December 24th Children’s Mass 4:00 & 6:00 pm Caroling at 11:15 pm followed by Midnight Mass 12:00 am Christmas Day December 25th 8:00, 9:30 & 11:15 am no evening mass.

New Year's Eve, December 31st 5:30 pm New Year's Day, January 1st 10:00 am

OPINION 21

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 14, 2012

Bishops turn their attention to preaching

A

t their November 2012 meeting in Baltimore, the U.S. bishops gave overwhelming approval to a document titled “Preaching the Mystery of Faith: The Sunday Homily.” It was the first time in 30 years that they addressed the issue of the quality of preaching in our nation’s parishes.

They didn’t say so explicitly, but the bishops seem to think that we are losing the game in the pulpit, and the people – those who are still showing up – are looking for and deserving of much better preaching. As a friend put it to me not long ago, here in the U.S., “we have FATHER WILLIAM Saturday Night Live and SunJ. BYRON, SJ day morning dead.” We can do better. And the bishops are now saying we must.

The document says that “the homily is intended to establish a ‘dialogue’ between the sacred biblical text and the Christian life of the hearer.”

I would make that same point in different words. I would say that the homily is intended to be an extension of the proclamation of the Scripture texts that are part of every Mass. That proclamation should be filtered through the faith experience of the homilist, and then matched up with the faith experience of the people in the pews.

It may sound self-serving, and I don’t at all intend it to be, but it is fortuitous that my latest book, “The Word Received: A Homily for Every Sunday of the Year – Year C” arrived in bookstores the same week when the bishops released their document on preaching. The companion books – “The Word Proclaimed” and “The

Word Explained,” containing homilies for every Sunday in Years A and B, respectively – will be released by Paulist Press in each of the next two Novembers.

These homilies have all been road tested in parish churches or university chapels. It is my hope that they will give priests and deacons a few ideas for their homilies and provide Scripture-based spiritual reading for interested people in the pews.

On the floor of the bishops’ meeting while the preaching document was being discussed, Bishop Ricardo Ramirez of Las Cruces, N.M., pleaded for an amendment that would urge Catholics to make an extra effort to listen to heavily accented foreign-born priests in order to grasp their message.

He pointed out that “they have wisdom” and are “inspired by the Holy Spirit.” Perhaps the heavy-accented preachers should be encouraged to write their homilies out, in English of course, and have them reproduced and available in the pews so that willing worshippers can read and understand their inspiring words.

Similarly, pastors might be encouraged to have acoustical checks run on their sound systems and require auditions for all lectors to guarantee that the Scripture readings are proclaimed audibly and clearly so all can hear.

This is a critically important issue for the church today. That’s why the bishops addressed it. It remains to be seen what impact their document will have on parishes, seminaries and training programs for deacons and lectors.

JESUIT FATHER BYRON is university professor of business and society at St. Joseph’s University, Philadelphia. Email wbyron@sju.edu. ©CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

LETTERS

Day embodied a steely love to challenge ‘even the gates of hell’ In regard to the canonization of Dorothy Day (“Some followers question Day sainthood cause,” Dec. 7), it amuses me that both the Catholic left and the right are trying to claim her, when she is not claimable.

She was incapable of being drawn into petty squabbles of either stripe.

She spoke truth to power, strove to conform herself to the living, dying, rising of true discipleship in Christ, and lived the Gospel with no interest in carving out some niche for herDorothy Day self as “special or admirable.” Nor did she like it when people called her “a living saint” because then it was “too easy to dismiss her.”

There’s a story (you can’t be married to a quintessential Catholic Worker for 33 years, as I have been, and not know stories) that Dorothy, in her 70s, was arrested after a peace protest and they put her in a holding cell. After a bit, they opened the door and shoved in a young woman who was a prostitute and drunk.

She cried and swore and said vile things to Dorothy and then fell on the floor at Dorothy’s feet and threw

Silent screams of the innocent In the last two presidential elections more than half of U.S. Catholics went against the Catechism of the Catholic Church, embraced the culture of death political party and voted for Obama. The destruction of human beings before they take their first breath is an intrinsic evil. Every day there are the silent screams of the massacred innocents.

As said by Dante: “The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in times of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality.”

Roy Petri Sonoma

Let ‘Merry Christmas’ sing out In the story of our country’s development there was

up all over Dorothy’s feet and legs. Without a second’s hesitation, Dorothy sank down on the floor and took the young woman’s head gently into her lap and just held her, as a mother would hold her child.

That’s why Dorothy is a saint – because she was incapable of marginalizing or being without respect for every human being, regardless of how badly they may have “blotted their copybook.” When Dorothy spoke of “a harsh and dreadful love,” it kind of blew all that sky-blue-pink-bejeezely-stuff right out of the water. It was love which Dorothy clung to and was not afraid to offer to anyone, a love so God-partaking in its authority, so steely determined in delivery that “even the gates of hell could not prevail against it!”

That’s why Dorothy is a saint. It is not because she championed the cause of the poor, nor because she obeyed all the rules, but because she was true to her vocation, as each of us should be, to become the person God called her to be. How many people were immeasurably blessed that Dorothy Day came their way?

Sue Malone Hayes San Francisco an “inborn” feeling of community in local churches, in local school meetings and events. Now some have no need for any of the above. Instead there is TV for entertainment or computer activities to absorb their time.

The American Civil Liberties Union doesn’t want the public to take part in public prayer before or after game time. The right to do so, however, must be preserved. The ACLU is afraid to allow this as it could become a habit.

Little by little the ACLU is trying to get God out of our lives. Religious scenes at Christmas and Easter as well as visible traditions of other faiths need to be honored. We even need to remember “Merry Christmas” and not let “Happy Holidays” drown it out.

Olivia Fisher San Francisco

LETTERS POLICY EMAIL letters.csf@sfarchdiocese.org WRITE Letters to the Editor, Catholic San Francisco, One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco, CA 94109

NAME, address and daytime phone number for verification required SHORT letters preferred: 250 words or fewer

Hope and optimism rising in the global church

T

here are subtle signs of change, hope and optimism in the church, even in the midst of widespread criticism. For instance, when Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini died Aug. 31, this quote of his was published: “The church is 200 years behind the times.”

To overcome its fatigue, “the church must admit its mistakes and make radical changes,” he said and added that “the sex abuse scandals require a journey of conversion and transFATHER JOHN formation.”

CATOIR In October, Filipino Archbishop Socrates Villegas said at the World Synod of Bishops in Rome: “Evangelization has been hurt ... by the arrogance of its messengers. The hierarchy must shun arrogance, hypocrisy and bigotry. The Gospel cannot thrive in pride.”

I was surprised to hear an archbishop give a public rebuke to members of the hierarchy.

We never hear about the millions coming into the church from Africa, Latin America and Asia. However, we do hear a lot about the leakage of U.S. Catholics from the church.

When urged to come home, many of them say, “Come home to what? Nothing has changed.”

But that’s not true. Stay away if you like, but don’t be close-minded.

There have been substantial changes in the church over the past few decades. To name a few, the expansion of lay ministries, the welcome of more and more deacons, the increase of the perpetual adoration of the Eucharist and many other changes taking place behind the scenes in the Holy See. Veteran Italian writer Andrea Tornelli praised Pope Benedict XVI for his “zero tolerance” policy of sexual abuse cases. She referred to the pope’s sentencing of Father Marcial Maciel Degollado, the powerful founder of the Legionaries of Christ, to a life of penance and isolation because of his past sexual abuses.

On another front, Brazilian Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, the new head of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, recently called for the easing of tension in the case pending against the U.S. Leadership Conference of Women Religious. He said he wants the investigation to be constructive rather than punitive.

Was Pope Benedict behind the timing of this appointment? After all, he gave the post to Cardinal de Aviz at the very time charges were being made on the U.S. political front that the church was waging a war on women. Not so.

Finally, Pope Benedict XVI, speaking in St. Peter’s Square during the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council in October, set things straight by urging Catholics to confront the spiritual desert of today’s secularized world. He urged Catholics to rediscover the truth and beauty of the faith.

When the Second Vatican Council opened, he said, there was a desire to enter into dialogue with the modern world, but recent decades have seen the advance of an even more secularized world, which many (former) Catholics have embraced uncritically, doubting the very foundation of the Catholic faith.

Jesus Christ predicted that the church would be hated, just as he was hated. But Catholics can be hopeful and optimistic because Christ lives among us.

Signs of new energy for dialogue and for evangelization.

©CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

22 OPINION

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 14, 2012

What is the population of hell?

R

alph Martin, professor of systematic theology at Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit, has written an important book titled “Will Many Be Saved?” It received much attention at the recent synod on the new evangelization, and its opening pages are filled with endorsements from the leading figures in FATHER ROBERT the church.

BARRON Martin’s argument is straightforward enough: The attitude, much in evidence following Vatican II, that virtually everyone will go to heaven has drastically undercut the church’s evangelical efforts. Why then, if salvation is guaranteed, would Catholics be filled with a passion to propagate the faith? Therefore, if the new evangelization is to get off the ground, we must recover a vivid sense of the reality of hell – the possibility, even the likelihood, of eternal damnation for the many who do not come to a lively faith in Christ.

Martin has some theological heavyweights on his side. Both St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas believed that most people end up in hell. And the magisterium of the church has stressed that missionary work is vital, lest millions wander down the path to perdition. These positions are grounded in Scripture, and no one in the Bible speaks of hell more often than Jesus. In a number of his parables, notably the story

E

A theologian believes hell is crowded, but is Pope Benedict’s vision that few are truly damned more promising for the new evangelization? of the sheep and goats in Matthew 2, Jesus stresses the urgency of the choice that his followers must make.

The conviction that hell is crowded has been contested from the earliest days of the church, as Martin notes. Origen, St. Gregory of Nyssa and St. Maximus the Confessor all held to some form of universalism – the belief that, at the end of the day, all people would be gathered to the Lord. This view was revived during the era of exploration, when it became clear to European Christians that millions of people in Africa, Asia and the Americas would be condemned if explicit faith in Christ was required for salvation.

The universalist perspective received a further boost in the 20th century, especially through the work of Karl Rahner and Hans Urs von Balthasar. Rahner held that every human being is endowed with what he termed a “supernatural existential” – a fundamental orientation toward God. Balthasar, basing his argument on the sheer extravagance of God’s saving act in Christ, taught that we may reasonably hope that all people will be brought to heaven.

The heart of Martin’s book is a complex critique of the theories of Rahner and Balthasar. I will mention only one dimension of it, namely his analysis of the Vatican II document “Lumen Gentium,” paragraph 16.

Both Balthasar and Rahner found justification in the first part of

that paragraph, which states that non-Christians, even non-believers, can be saved as long as they “try in their actions to do God’s will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience.” But Martin points out that the defenders of universal salvation have overlooked the next part, in which the council fathers say these less comforting words: “But very often, deceived by the Evil One, men have become vain in their reasonings, have exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and served the world rather than the Creator …

Hence to procure … the salvation of all these, the church … takes zealous care to foster the missions.” A fair reading of the entire paragraph would seem to yield the following: The unevangelized can be saved, but often they do not meet the requirements for salvation. They will, then, be damned without hearing the announcement of the Gospel and coming to an active faith.

Who has it right? Even as I appreciate Martin’s scholarship and acknowledge that he scores important points against both Balthasar and Rahner, I found his central argument undermined by one of his own footnotes. In a note buried on Page 284, Martin cites some “remarks” of Pope Benedict XVI that have contributed, in his judgment, to confusion on the point in question. He is referring to observations in sections 45-47 of the Pope’s 2007 encyclical “Spe Salvi,” which can be summarized as

follows. There are a relative handful of truly wicked people in whom the love of God and neighbor has been totally extinguished through sin, and there are a relative handful of people whose lives are utterly pure, completely given over to the demands of love. Those latter few will proceed, upon death, directly to heaven, and those former few will, upon death, enter the state that the church calls hell. But the pope concludes that “the great majority of people” who, though sinners, still retain a fundamental ordering to God, can and will be brought to heaven after the purification of purgatory. Martin knows that the pope stands athwart the position that he has taken throughout his study, for he says casually enough, “The argument of this book would suggest a need for clarification.”

There is no easy answer to the question of who or how many will be saved. But one of the most theologically accomplished popes in history, writing at a very high level of authority, has declared that we ought not to hold that hell is densely populated. To write this off as “remarks” that require “clarification” is like a liberal theologian saying the same thing about Pope Paul VI’s teaching on artificial contraception in the encyclical “Humanae Vitae.”

It seems to me that Pope Benedict’s position – affirming the reality of hell but seriously questioning whether the vast majority of human beings end up there – is the most tenable and the most evangelically promising.

FATHER BARRON is founder of the global ministry Word on Fire and president of Mundelein Seminary, Mundelein, Ill.

The late Cardinal Martini and the Catholic left

ighteenth-century British Jacobites wistfully toasted “the king over the water,” referring to exiled King James II, his successors, and the Jacobite hope for a Stuart restoration to the throne of the United Kingdom.

Throughout the pontificate of John Paul II, the cardinal archbishop of GEORGE WEIGEL Milan, Carlo Maria Martini, a Jesuit, was a kind of “king over the water” for Catholics of the portside persuasion – the pope who should-have-been and might-yet-be.

That never happened (although the progressives at the conclave of 2005 implausibly ran Cardinal Martini, then ill with Parkinson’s disease, in a failed attempt to block the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger). But longing for the lost cause continued.

Thus the day after his death this past September, Italy’s leading newspaper, Milan’s Corriere della Sera, published an interview with Cardinal Martini, conducted a few weeks before his death; evidently, the archbishop emeritus put an embargo on the interview, such that it could only be published after he died.

In the interview (immediately

In a valedictory interview with an Italian newspaper, Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini described the church in Europe and America as ‘tired,’ and asked ‘Where among us are the heroes from whom we can draw inspiration?’ dubbed his “spiritual testament” by his admirers), Cardinal Martini described the church in Europe and America as “tired,” and asked “Where among us are the heroes from whom we can draw inspiration?” The burning “coals” of the church, Martini continued, were hidden under piles of ashes; indeed, there is “so much ash on top of the coals that I am often assailed by a sense of powerlessness. How can the coals be freed from the ashes so as to reinvigorate the flame of love?”

The cardinal went on to propose, quite rightly, that true reform in the church is always reform inspired by word and sacrament. But then, at the end of the interview, came the money quote: “The church is 200 years behind. Why in the world does it not rouse itself ? Are we afraid?

Fear instead of courage?”

To which one wants to reply, with all respect, “Two hundred years behind what?” A Western culture that has lost its grasp on the deep truths of the human condition? A culture

that celebrates the imperial autonomous self ? A culture that detaches sex from love and responsibility?

A culture that breeds a politics of immediate gratification and intergenerational irresponsibility, of the sort that has paralyzed public policy in Italy and elsewhere? “Why in the world,” to repeat the late cardinal’s question, would the church want to catch up with that?

As for the question, “Where are the heroes?” Cardinal Martini seemed unaware of, or puzzled by, or perhaps even unhappy with, the heroic witness of the man who created him cardinal after naming him successor to St. Ambrose in Italy’s most prestigious see: John Paul II, whose faith and courage continue to inspire the liveliest parts of the Catholic world in Europe and America. (John Paul, for his part, gave Martini’s commentary on the First Letter of Peter to the cardinals gathered for the pope’s silver jubilee in 2003, as an appendix to a replica of the Bodmer Papyrus

copy of the “first encyclical.”) Nor was John Paul alone as an exemplar of Christian heroism during the Martini years in Milan – years in which, to take but two examples, Blessed Jerzy Popieluszko became the martyr-priest of Solidarity and Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta completed her singular witness to the “flame of love” the cardinal thought buried under ashes.

For all his brilliance, Cardinal Martini, like many on the Catholic left, never seemed to grasp that the secular culture with which Vatican II hoped to open a dialogue was not the secular culture that emerged in Europe in the aftermath of the upheavals of 1968. The new secularism was not open to the possibility of transcendent truth, as the secularism of, say, Albert Camus had been.

The new secularism was embittered, aggressive and narrow-minded. It was not so much interested in dialogue as in cultural hegemony. And it is now firmly committed to driving the Catholic Church out of public life throughout the Western world.

There is no need to lament being “behind” that. The Catholic challenge is to get ahead of that soulwithering ideology, and convert those in thrall to it by example and persuasive argument.

WEIGEL is Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, Washington, D.C.

FAITH 23

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 14, 2012

SUNDAY READINGS

Third Sunday of Advent John answered them all, saying, ‘I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming.’

LUKE 3:10-18 ZEPHANIAH 3:14-18A Shout for joy, O daughter Zion! Sing joyfully, O Israel! Be glad and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem! The Lord has removed the judgment against you he has turned away your enemies; the King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst, you have no further misfortune to fear. On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem: Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged! The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior; he will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love, he will sing joyfully because of you, as one sings at festivals.

PSALM ISAIAH 12:2-3, 4, 5-6 Cry out with joy and gladness: for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.

God indeed is my savior; I am confident and unafraid. My strength and my courage is the Lord, and he has been my savior. With joy you will draw water at the fountain of salvation.

Cry out with joy and gladness: for among you

is the great and Holy One of Israel.

Give thanks to the Lord, acclaim his name; among the nations make known his deeds, proclaim how exalted is his name.

Cry out with joy and gladness: for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.

Sing praise to the Lord for his glorious achievement; let this be known throughout all the earth.

Shout with exultation, O city of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel!

Cry out with joy and gladness: for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.

PHILIPPIANS 4:4-7 Brothers and sisters: Rejoice in the Lord always.

I shall say it again: rejoice! Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near. Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

LUKE 3:10-18 The crowds asked John the Baptist, “What should we do?” He said to them in reply, “Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none.

And whoever has food should do likewise.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He answered them, “Stop collecting more than what is prescribed.” Soldiers also asked him, “And what is it that we should do?” He told them, “Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.” Now the people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Christ. John answered them all, saying, “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” Exhorting them in many other ways, he preached good news to the people.

Rejoice, because God rejoices over us

T

he Dhammapada, a verse collection of the Buddha’s sayings in Pali language, contains a precious ode to joy: “Live in joy, in love, even among those who hate. Live in joy, in health, even among the afflicted. Live in joy, in peace, even among the troubled.

Look within. Be still. Free from fear and attachment, know the sweet joy of the way.”

About 100 years before the Buddha’s message, the Jewish prophet Zephaniah about 640 B.C. proclaimed his ode to joy: “Shout for joy, O daughter Zion! Sing joyfully, O Israel!

Be glad and exult with all your heart.” The most important reason for Israel’s joy is: “The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior; FATHER CHARLES he will rejoice over you with PUTHOTA gladness, and renew you in his love, he will sing joyfully because of you, as one sings at festivals.”

What an astonishing invitation and challenge! We

SCRIPTURE REFLECTION

POPE BENEDICT XVI LIVING OUT GOD’S ‘BENEVOLENT PLAN’

Catholics must live the season of Advent as an act of faith in God’s benevolent plan for humanity, Pope Benedict XVI said in Vatican City in his general audience catechesis on the first week of Advent and the start of a new liturgical year.

Paul’s letter to the Christians of Ephesus raises a prayer of blessing God that introduces us to live the season of Advent according to God’s “benevolent plan” of mercy and love, the pope said.

Paul blesses God “because he looks at his work in the history of salvation, culminating in the incarnation, death and resurrection of Jesus, and he contemplates how the heavenly father has chosen us even before the creation of the world, to be his sons in his only begotten son, Jesus Christ,” the pope continued.

need to rejoice because God rejoices over us. He even sings songs in praise of us -- as at festivals! We often call God “my joy, my love, my peace, my friend.” If we take Zephaniah seriously, we have to imagine that God himself calls us: “My joy, my love, my peace, my friend.” Now, isn’t that an awesome reason for our joy?

One of the graces for me when I hear confessions is to be able to tell the penitents: “God loves you.

Do you know that God is delighted with you? He thinks the world of you! Do you believe that? God is so happy with you that he dances for joy.” That God rejoices in us is a liberating message; it can change our lives. An image that I suggest on occasion to the penitent comes from Anthony de Mello: “Look at Jesus looking at you, and smiling!”

We struggle with sin. It clings to us like the fog in South San Francisco! We are imperfect. We can be selfish and judgmental. It is hard for us to be othercentered. Our own issues and preoccupations can imprison and enslave us. But despite all our flaws, God delights in us and rejoices over us. This divine rejoicing over us holds the power to transform us.

God’s delight in us and our delight in him can turn us from tepid, mediocre Christians to passionate, enthusiastic ones.

As a result, as John the Baptist instructs, the crowds will share their cloaks with the needy. The tax-collectors will stop collecting exorbitant taxes.

The soldiers will turn their lives around. Everyone in their situation will be able to respond to the greater calling: to rejoice in God because God rejoices in us.

John the Baptist knows a thing or two about rejoicing: He leaped for joy even when he was in his mother’s womb at the presence of Jesus. Jesus’ lavish appreciation of John is a sign of his delight in the prophet.

Paul too sings his ode to joy: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again, rejoice!” When God is near, why should we have anxiety and fear? God’s disarming, rejoicing love will lead us to peace, kindness, prayer and thanksgiving.

This Gaudete (Rejoice) Sunday, as Christmas is fast approaching, one of the best things we can do is just open our minds and hearts to our God who takes delight in rejoicing over us. Out of this divine joy, God gives his own son to us. It’s now our turn to rejoice. How shall we share this joy this Christmas season? How shall we become channels of God’s joy to a world pining for the glad tidings?

FATHER PUTHOTA is pastor of St. Veronica Parish, South San Francisco.

LITURGICAL CALENDAR, DAILY MASS READINGS MONDAY, DECEMBER 17: Monday of the Third Week of Advent. Gn 49:2, 8-10. Ps 72:1-2, 3-4ab, 7-8, 17. Mt 1:1-17.

LAZARUS First century December 17, July 29

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18: Tuesday of the Third Week of Advent. Jer 23:5-8. Ps 72:1-2, 12-13, 18-19.

Mt 1:18-25.

The Gospels describe Lazarus of Bethany, and his sisters Mary and Martha, as friends and disciples of Jesus.

Lazarus was raised from the dead by Jesus, and he was at a banquet for Jesus just days before the Crucifixion.

But Lazarus also figured in legends. In one, he, Martha, Mary Magdalen and others were set adrift in a boat that took them to Gaul, where he became a bishop and martyr. In another, he was cast off in a leaky boat that miraculously made it to Cyprus. In a third, he traveled to Syria. The 2005 Roman Martyrology gave him a shared July 29 memorial with Martha, but Cubans still celebrate their major festival of San Lazaro on Dec. 17.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19: Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent. Jgs 13:2-7, 24-25a. Ps 71:3-4a, 5-6ab, 16-17. Lk 1:5-25.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20: Thursday of the Third Week of Advent. Is 7:10-14. Ps 24:1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6. Lk 1:26-38.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21: Thursday of the Third Week of Advent. Optional Memorial of St. Peter Canisius, priest and doctor. Is 7:10-14. Ps 24:1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6. Lk 1:26-38.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 22: Friday of the Third Week of Advent. Sg 2:8-14 or Zep 3:14-18a. Ps 33:2-3, 1112, 20-21. Lk 1:39-45.

24 FAITH

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 14, 2012

Jesus honored life’s complexity. Can we follow?

I

n a lecture recently, I made the point that Jesus shocked people equally in both his capacity to thoroughly enjoy his life and in his capacity to renounce it. It was the same Jesus who, at a lavish supper with a woman at his feet bathing him in perfume and affection, could tell his uncomfortable hosts that he FATHER RON was thoroughly ROLHEISER enjoying the moment without a trace of guilt and who could tell the same people that the deepest secret of life is to give it all up in self-sacrifice without a trace of thought for yourself.

After the lecture, a young man came up to me and questioned me about the first prong: How could Jesus give himself over to that kind of enjoyment and pleasure? My answer: Precisely because of the other part, his capacity to renounce. One relies on the other, like the wings on an airplane. Jesus had a shocking capacity to enjoy life because he had an equally shocking capacity to give it up. That is also true of many other aspects of Jesus’ life and ministry: He could condemn sin, but love the sinner; be fiercely loyal to

Jesus had a shocking capacity to enjoy life because he had an equally shocking capacity to give it up. his own, even as he shocked them in his love of those outside their circle; and he could walk in the greatest freedom anyone has ever known, even as he acknowledged that he did nothing on his own.

And that kind of complexity, that kind of capacity to hold near opposites together in a healthy tension, is one of the marks of greatness. Great people do exactly that. Let me offer some examples: Dorothy Day, soon to be canonized a saint, stood out for exactly that reason: She carried both the nonnegotiable Gospel demand for social justice as well as the nonnegotiable Gospel demand for proper morals and proper religious practice. She was radical and pious. Usually we do not see the same person leading both the peace march and the rosary. Dorothy did both. Most of us can’t. We can do one or the other.

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin’s writings continue to inspire people across every type of divide for the same reason. He had the capacity to hold together, at one and the same time, two seemingly competing loves. He was born, he says, with two incurable loves and sensitivities: a love of God and a sense of the other world that he could never betray and an

equal love for this physical world and its facticity and beauty. Both were undeniably real to him, both took his breath away, and he tried to live in a way so as to not betray either of them, despite the tension this created in his life. It gave his writings a rare depth. Most other writing, secular or religious, honors only one of those poles to the denigration of the other.

We see the same kind of complexity in the writings of Therese of Lisieux.

On the one hand, her focus is radically otherworldly, the vision of someone who sees this world as ephemeral, flimsy and of little value. Yet, at the same time, she shows herself as almost unhealthily attached to the good things of this world, the love of family, of nature, of beauty. Therese could write eloquently about wanting to die and leave behind this shadowy film we call life and at the same time feel resentful if she wasn’t receiving daily affirmations of love from her family. And she saw no contradiction here because there isn’t any. Both are healthy, when they are held together.

St. Augustine offers another example. He wrote more than 6,000 pages and, within those pages, said things that have helped trigger anything from negative feelings about sex to

forced religious conversions. But he also said things that laid the roots of most orthodox Western theology for the past 1,700 years. He was able to hold a lot of things in tension. Sadly, we are not his equal and instead pick and choose pieces of his thought to the detriment of his overall vision.

Carlo Carretto, the Italian spiritual writer who died recently, also stood out for his capacity to hold seemingly contrasting truths in tension. It is rare to see in the same person his particular combination of piety and iconoclasm, his fierce loyalty to the church and his strong criticism of it.

For him, the two depended upon each other. One is healthy only because the other is also there.

Great minds and great persons properly honor complexity. Nowhere is this clearer than in Jesus. He carried all truth, in all its complexity.

Unfortunately, we, his followers, are not up to the master. That’s why there are hundreds of different Christian denominations today. That’s also why there are liberals and conservatives both in our churches and our society.

We find it easier to carry smaller pieces of the truth than to carry the tension of being loyal to its bigger picture.

But simplicity and clarity aren’t always our friends.

FATHER ROLHEISER is president of the Oblate School of Theology, San Antonio, Texas.

The wide-awake Christians of Advent DAVID GIBSON

WALKING IN THE LIGHT

CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

“Stay awake.”

That sounds like wonderful advice for nighttime drivers. In fact, it is advice Matthew’s Gospel gives to Christians living in times like ours (25:13).

The Gospel of St. Luke similarly urges Christians to make sure their “hearts do not become drowsy” (21:34). Catholics in 2012 heard those words in the Gospel reading for Masses the first Sunday of Advent.

What is so wrong with sleeping?

Don’t the experts suggest that while we sleep our brains and bodies perform tasks essential to our well-being?

Of course, the potential accomplishments of our wakeful hours seem different in kind from those of sleep.

Without sleep, things go badly for us. But when rested and awake, we can call our finest decision-making powers into play. In clear-thinking ways we can extend ourselves to others and accept the ways they contribute to our lives.

All of this may help explain why Scripture writers esteemed wakefulness so highly.

True enough, however, their reasons had something to do with Christ’s coming, his second coming.

During Advent, Christians excitedly await the Christ Child’s coming. A twinned theme of the season, Christ’s coming in the fullness of time, tends to stay in the background.

Yet this theme explains why we heard St. Luke caution us this Advent against growing drowsy and allowing events to catch us “by surprise.”

Ancient Christian communities confronted some real issues involving the second coming. The thought had been that Christ’s return was imminent. This prompted people to wonder

(CNS PHOTO/NANCY WIECHEC)

Advent, a season of joyful expectation before Christmas. The Advent wreath, with a candle marking each week of the season, is a traditional symbol of the period. what sense it made to work at building up their communities or world.

Did this world even have a future?

As the time after Christ’s resurrection stretched out, however, ancient Christians began reconsidering the message of the second coming as it related to their lives.

Perhaps the instinct to await Christ’s coming passively or drowsily was off target. In a world of great need, especially a world with a future, inaction surely could not be the Christian’s vocation.

There would be much for Christians to do in this world.

Christ enters our own worlds daily.

Christians awaiting the second coming need to remain wakeful, alert to his presence now. Asleep at the switch, might they miss unexpected signs of Christ around them?

Quickly after counseling Christians

to “stay awake,” the Gospel of St. Matthew turns attention to a comment Christ will make upon arriving in glory. The comment hardly proposes inaction or passivity as characteristics of Christian living.

Christ will point out to those about to “inherit the kingdom” how they cared for him when he was hungry, thirsty or a stranger. Confused, they will ask: “When did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?

“And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me’”(Matthew 25:34-40).

GIBSON served on Catholic News Service’s editorial staff for 37 years.

In a 2008 talk, Pope Benedict XVI invited Christians to contemplate the value of the Christmas feast for which we prepare during Advent.

“In the darkness of the night of Bethlehem a great light really was lit: the Creator of the universe became flesh, uniting himself indissolubly with human nature so as truly to be ‘God from God, light from light’ yet at the same time a man, true man.”

Pope Benedict invites us to use this time of contemplation to ponder what this “light” has brought us and what it can bring to others.

It is a time, the pope said, to find this “privileged opportunity to meditate on the meaning and value of our existence.

The approach of this solemnity helps us on the one hand to reflect on the drama of history in which people, injured by sin, are perennially in search of happiness and of a fulfilling sense of life and death.”

In this Year of Faith, his words also lead us to contemplate the opportunity to serve as an example to those who wonder what walking in this light can bring humanity.

“Therefore let us prepare ourselves for Christmas with humility and simplicity, making ourselves ready to receive as a gift the light, joy and peace that shine from this mystery,” the pope said. ©CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

FROM THE FRONT 25

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 14, 2012

PROP. 8: Archbishop calls pending court review ‘significant moment’ for US FROM PAGE 1

Advocates for same-sex marriage likewise saw historic significance in the decision to hear the case turns on Proposition 8 in California, by which voters in 2008 barred same-sex marriage, but because they regard it as the most important civil rights case of our time.

The two sides – proponents of same-sex marriage and a faith-based group called ProtectMarriage. com, endorsed by the Catholic Church, which backs the proposition – will make their cases before the Supreme Court in March. A ruling is possible in June.

The court agreed to hear two same-sex marriage cases: The ProtectMarriage.com appeal of a 9th U.S. Circuit Court ruling that Proposition 8 violated the U.S. Constitution by denying a right to a minority – gays and lesbians – for no apparent reason other than moral disapproval of homosexuality, and also a case involving a federal law called the Defense of Marriage Act, the question being whether gay and lesbian married couples can legally be denied federal benefits that opposite-sex spouses receive.

Circuit court ruled on narrow grounds

The 9th Circuit upheld a federal district court judge’s finding that Proposition 8, which trumped a California Supreme Court ruling in 2008 supporting gay marriage and amended the California Constitution, is discriminatory. But its 2-1 ruling was a narrow one and did not address a broader matter, whether the guarantee of equal protection of the laws in the Constitution grants gays and lesbians the right to marry.

So, the high court could answer the broad question of whether the Constitution requires states to permit same-sex marriage, it could reverse the 9th Circuit ruling and making Proposition 8 the law in the state, or affirm the appellate court in a ruling that would only affect California.

The same-sex marriage advocates’ legal team preparing to make its case will present both the broad argument, that would apply to all states, and the more narrow issue that the 9th Circuit focused on, affecting California, said Dennis Herrera, the San Francisco city attorney whose office has been on the gay marriage advocates’ side of litigation for nine years.

‘Civil rights issue of our time’

“It is only a matter of time before we go over that

‘I pray the court will affirm the fact that the institution of marriage, which is as old as humanity and written in our very nature, is the union of one man and one woman.’

ARCHBISHOP SALVATORE J. CORDILEONE (CNS FILE PHOTO/JON L. HENDRICKS)

A groom and bride hold hands on their wedding day. The U.S. Supreme Court announced Dec. 7 that it will hear two cases challenging federal and state laws that define marriage as a union of a man and a woman. final hurdle and I have every confidence that come summer time we will once again be on the right side of history,” Herrera said at a news conference at San Francisco City Hall on Dec. 7. He called the case “the civil rights issue of our time.”

Archbishop Cordileone, who is chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, said in a statement, “I pray the court will affirm the fact that the institution of marriage, which is as old as humanity and written in our very nature, is the union of one man and one woman. Marriage is the foundation of a just society, as it protects the most vulnerable among us, children. It is the only institution that unites children with their mothers and fathers together. We pray for the court, that its deliberations may be guided by truth and justice so as to uphold marriage’s true meaning and purpose.”

The archbishop also noted that the other case the justices will consider, involving the Defense of Marriage Act – passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996 – also defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman for purposes of a federal law.

Earlier this year, Archbishop Cordileone and the other U.S. Catholic bishops issued a Call to Prayer for Life, Marriage and Religious Liberty as part of a pastoral response for the protection of life, marriage and liberty. Information is available at www. usccb.org/life-marriage-liberty.

Opponents worked against review

Andrew Pugno, lead counsel for ProtectMarriage.com., said that the legal team for the same-

sex marriage advocates “went to extraordinary length and expense to fight against the Supreme Court taking this case. Any suggestion they welcome this is just unbelievable. I don’t see how anybody can’t see through that.”

Indeed, had the court not taken the appeal, the ruling of the 9th Circuit would be in effect and same-sex marriages would be taking place in the state this month.

“They were preparing to celebrate the death of Proposition 8 today,” Pugno said on Dec. 7, “and so it is very significant that the Supreme Court is to decide this case.”

Nine states and the District of Columbia have marriage equality on the books, and advocates believe momentum is on their side for changing attitudes in favor of accommodating same-sex marriage. In November, Washington, Maine and Maryland became the first states to approve gay marriage at the ballot box, joining six other states and the District of Columbia that have approved gay marriage legislatively. Also in November, Minnesota voters rejected an attempt to ban gay marriage, although it is not authorized. Previously, voters in 32 states passed referendums in defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

“Nobody was surprised that a handful of liberal states decided to experiment with redefining marriage,” said Pugno. “But it is an illustration that the issue should be allowed to play out in the legislative arena and not involve the courts. It also undermines the claim that the gay and lesbian community is a politically powerless minority entitled to extra constitutional protections,” he said.

He added, “More than 7 million Californians of all races, creeds and walks of life voted for Proposition 8 to preserve the traditional definition of marriage because they believe that the unique relationship between one man and one woman continues to meaningfully serve as the cornerstone of society, as it has since the beginning of time.”

AGING: Catholic Charities CYO outreach helps elderly woman in need FROM PAGE 1

The story of the care provided the woman, who is not being identified as her family wants to protect her privacy, illustrates the efficiency of services provided at Catholic Charities San Francisco Aging Services, said Clement-Cihak. It also shows the growing needs of an aging population, and is one example of a growing number of cases of dementia that will continue to spike in the coming years.

“We made a few phone calls, and we know how to implement services in a speedy time frame to service the clients we need to serve, and within a day we had home-care lined up, and had her certified for transportation to and from programs,” said Clement-Cihak.

Because of the Thanksgiving holiday that week, a decision was made not to have the woman begin attending Catholic Charities CYO’s five-day-a-week adult day program until the following Monday, because Catholic Charities CYO did not want to confuse the woman by beginning a service that would have to be interrupted by the holiday.

The woman now has 24-hour care, while her family makes plans for taking over responsibility for her in a place closer to their homes on the East Coast. A niece has visited the woman and other family members are coming for a visit this month.

The woman never married and has no children.

She has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and Catholic Charities CYO is concerned about her health and safety, said Clement-Cihak. The agency has been working with her on her nutrition needs,

(PHOTO COURTESY CATHOLIC CHARITIES CYO)

Catholic Charities CYO San Francisco Adult Day Services works with between 200 and 250 caregivers annually, and serves from 60 to 75 seniors, 95 percent of whom have Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia. Here, clients are pictured working at computers. having found that in a month and a half she had lost 10 pounds – from 112 to 102 pounds, or 10 percent of her body weight. “That became our greatest concern,” said Clement-Cihak.

The woman is a longtime California resident and patron of the symphony and opera, but withdrew from society, said Clement-Cihak. “She was a very vibrant, active woman and then she pulled out of everything. She removed herself from almost everything going on in the community,” she said.

“The hope and the plan is that she is reunited with family,” said Clement-Cihak.

The family is receiving a combination of services from Catholic Charities CYO San Francisco Aging Services – the adult day program and case management services, which includes training and education for caregivers in caring for seniors, and helping them find other resources.

The agency’s adult day program works with between 200 and 250 caregivers annually, and serves from 60 to 75 seniors, 95 percent of whom have Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia, at the adult day program facility at 50 Broad St. in the Ocean-Merced-Ingleside district in San Francisco.

The facility is small by design – there are currently 42 seniors in the program – because seniors with dementia become more confused in larger centers, said Clement-Cihak.

“The goal of the program is to help our seniors stay at home and out of institutions and stay with their family members, and by coming to the day center they are able to get the physical and mental stimulation that we have found and have been proven over the years to help slow down the process and stabilize them, allowing them to function at the highest level possible, and by giving them the extra care they need as they progress with the disease,” said Clement-Cihak.

Some signs of dementia, said Clement-Cihak, include short-term memory loss, misplacing items, not being able to pay bills, an unclean home and losing the ability for people to keep themselves clean and neat. The disease affects what is known as IADL – the independent activities of daily living.

26 COMMUNITY

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 14, 2012

Holy Name of Jesus School remembers Natasha Holmes Holy Name of Jesus School, San Francisco, is mourning the loss of seventh grader Natasha Maria Leigh Holmes, who died at home Dec. 1 in the arms of her parents, Suzanne and Ken, and her sister Marissa.

Natasha was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor in January 2008 and made a full recovery after neurosurgery, radiation and chemotherapy.

That’s when her parents Natasha Maria decided to take action by Leigh Holmes becoming advocates for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, a nonprofit that partners with several hospitals, including the University of California, San Francisco, where Natasha was treated, to research better treatments for the number one cancer killer in children.

Natasha’s parents were delighted when Holy Name joined TEAM NATASHA and initiated two fundraising drives, a free-dress day and T-shirts and bracelets sale, raising $3,838 for the PBTF. Natasha’s health deteriorated in March 2012, and she lost her battle nine months later. “Natasha’s family is grateful for the loving care of their daughter at Holy Name and the generosity of the teachers, parents and students who donated their time and money to the PBTF,” Natasha’s mom said. “Natasha will be remembered for her creativity, gentle nature, loyalty to family, friends and favorite teachers, and her grace and dignity in accepting a cruel disease.”

Holy Name principal Judy Cosmos said, “The Holy Name school community was blessed to have Natasha Holmes as a student.” The school remembered Natasha at a memorial Mass Dec. 13.

CEMETERY CORNER GEORGE MOSCONE

(PHOTO COURTESY ST. ANTHONY FOUNDATION/TAYLOR SKILLIN)

Giants mascot at St. Anthony’s A St. Anthony Foundation pediatric clinic patient gets a warm welcome from Lou Seal, the San Francisco Giants mascot, as she arrives for her appointment at the clinic in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco. St. Anthony Foundation’s Free Medical Clinic provides free primary and specialty care to 3,400 uninsured patients through more than 12,000 visits a year. Approximately 90 percent of clinic patients earn less than $10,000 a year and 25 percent are homeless.

SHARE COMMUNITY NEWS: Email brief items on your parish, school, religious community, group or ministry to community. csf@sfarchdiocese.org, or call Tom Burke at (415) 614-5634.

OF

CESE ARCHDIAONCISCO SAN FR

He was a city boy, born and raised – a St. Brigid and St. Ignatius alumnus. He grew up to be the mayor of San Francisco and lost his life serving the city he loved. Mayor George Moscone spent his life working for the working people and serving the underserved. As a member of the California state Senate, he sponsored legislation instituting the school lunch program and fought against the death penalty. As mayor, he pushed for district elections and helped keep the future world champion San Francisco Giants from moving to Toronto. He was a strong advocate of the inclusion of women and minorities in government service. Today, he is memorialized throughout San Francisco at places as diverse as the Moscone Convention Center, Moscone Elementary in the Mission and Moscone Playground in the Marina. On Nov. 27, 1978, Mayor Moscone and San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk were shot and killed at City Hall by former Supervisor Dan White. Following his funeral Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral, this man of the people

The grave site of George Moscone was buried among his San Francisco neighbors in the St. Michael section at Holy Cross Cemetery.

Cemetery Corner is an occasional feature marking the 125th anniversary of Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery, Colma.

ARCHDIOCESE OF SAN FRANCISCO 2012-2013 DELUXE DIRECTORY INCLUDES:

e

dileon vatore J. Cor Reverend Sal Francisco The Most p of San Archbisho

ORY L DIRECT

3 OFFICIA

2012-201

ORDER FORM

Archdiocesan Officials and Departments, Catholic Charities, Parishes & Missions, Parish Staff Listings. Latest E-mail Addresses, Phone Directory Yellow Pages, Mass Schedules. Schools: Elementary, High Schools, Universities & Colleges. Religious Orders, Religious Organizations, etc. . . .

Please send me

copies of the Directory

Name

Address

City

Zip Code

Credit Card #: Signature:

Copies @ $27.50 Each: $ Includes Postage and Handling

Method of Payment: ❑ Visa Exp. Date:

❑ Mastercard

❑ Check ❑ Money Order

Phone #:

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO, One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco, CA 94109

COMMUNITY 27

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 14, 2012

OBITUARIES MARIANIST FATHER DAVID H. SCHUYLER, 79

Marianist Father David H. Schuyler died Nov. 19 in Cupertino at the Marianist retirement facility. A Marianist for 61 years and a priest for 57 years, he would have been 80 on Dec. 14.

Father Schuyler held a doctorate in canon law and held assignments at his congregation’s Chaminade University in Honolulu as well as the canon law departments of the Diocese of Honolulu and the DioFather David H. cese of San Jose.

Schuyler, SM A funeral Mass was celebrated Nov. 30 at St. Joseph of Cupertino Church, Cupertino, with interment at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Los Altos.

Memorials may be made to the Marianist Province of the U.S., 4425 W. Pine Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63108.

SISTER MARJORY MAXINE KRAEMER, RSCJ, 88

Religious of the Sacred Heart Marjory Maxine Kraemer died Wednesday, November 28, at Oakwood, the Society of the Sacred Heart’s elder care center in Atherton. She was 88 and a religious for 67 years. A funeral Mass will be celebrated Dec. 29, 10 a.m. at Oakwood, 140 Valparaiso Ave., Atherton followed by burial in Oakwood’s cemetery.

Sister Marjory Sister Marjory was impressed Maxine Kraemer, by the Society of the Sacred Heart RSCJ when on a visit to the sisters’ San Francisco College for Women where her sister was a student. “As long as I can remember, I’d had a vocation, but this visit greatly influenced my future,” the late religious said in personal notes. “I knew that God wanted me to be a part of this extraordinary group of women, who were so loving and dedicated, and whose education was superior to anything I had experienced in twelve years of Catholic education.”

Sister Marjory’s first teaching assignment was at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in San Francisco, 1948, and later Convent of the Sacred Heart in Menlo Park, where she taught English, science and math,

managed athletics, taught music appreciation, was charged with the nuns’ choir, and was organist as well. She spent 24 years, retiring in 1992, as head of St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center, in Southern California serving people with developmental disabilities.

She moved to Oakwood in 2010.

“She was always happy in whatever God sent her to do,” said Sacred Heart Sister Anita Lapeyre.

“What was so prevalent about her was her constant trust in God.” Memorial contributions may be made to the Society of the Sacred Heart, 4120 Forest Park Ave., St. Louis, MO 63108.

SISTER CATHERINE HENRY, RSCJ, 94

Religious of the Sacred Heart Sister Catherine Henry died Nov. 12, at Oakwood, the Society of the Sacred Heart’s elder care center in Atherton. A memorial Mass was celebrated Dec. 1 at Oakwood. Sister Catherine was 94 and a religious for 77 years.

Sister Catherine’s education ministry began in 1938 in Chicago, then Seattle and in 1958 Omaha, Neb., where she served in many Sister Catherine capacities at Duchesne Academy Henry, RSCJ of the Sacred Heart and Duchesne College for more than 30 years.

One of Sister Henry’s nieces, Mary Henry Costello, said, through the Sacred Heart Sisters, that Sister Catherine had a major influence on “thousands of young girls” in her years at Seattle’s Forest Ridge, where she prepared little ones for the reception of the sacraments, as well as “thousands of young women” later at Duchesne College.

“But she made an even greater impression on us,” Costello said, “her family, when in her later years she became simply Aunt Catherine and taught us what true love is.”

Survivors include a sister, Margaret O’Neill, nephews Jesuit Fathers Tom O’Neill, and Bill O’Neill, Joseph O’Neill, M.D., and nieces Rita Henry, Jean Seibel and Mary Costello.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Society of the Sacred Heart, 4120 Forest Park Ave., St. Louis, MO 63108.

Spain Pilgrimage

Travel with Chaplain Fr. Wittouck!

Plus...Fatima, Portugal & Lourdes, France

14 Days

Departing April 9, 2013

from

$2398*

Fly into Madrid (2 nights) to start your Catholic Pilgrimage. You’ll tour Madrid, the Royal Palace, and the Toledo Cathedral. Visit Segovia and Avila (1 night) with private Mass at St. Theresa Convent. Visit the Old and New Cathedrals in Salamanca with Mass; and Fatima, Portugal (2 nights) with sightseeing, time for personal devotions and Mass at Our Lady of Fatima Basilica. Experience Sunday Mass and tour at Bom Jesus Church and Shrine in Braga and tour Santiago de Compostela (2 nights) and visit sanctuaries, Bernadette’s House and Celebrate Mass at Chapel Lourdes at the Grotto. Sightsee in Barcelona (2 nights) including the Cathedral, choir and Mass. Fly home Sunday, April 22, 2013. Includes daily breakfast and 11 dinners, English/Spanish speaking tour director throughout! Single room add $650. Your YMT chaplain, Fr. Frank Wittouck, SCJ is a former Army chaplain; was pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Houston, TX and currently ministers in prisons and in the Cypress Assistance Ministries. This will be his sixth trip as chaplain with YMT. *Price per person/double occupancy. Airfare is extra.

For reservations & details & letter from YMT’s chaplain with his phone number call 7 days a week:

1-800-736-7300

Catholic San Francisco

TRAVEL DIRECTORY

to join in the following pilgrimages

Msgr Labib Kobti presents Holy Land Pilgrimage April 15-25, 2013

invites you

THE HOLY LAND Jan. 8 - 19, 2013

Visit holy sites of Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, and Cana

Departs San Francisco 12-Day Pilgrimage with Fr. Chris Crotty G.P.M.

2,999 per person

only $

($3,099 after Oct. 19, 2012)

Visit: Tel Aviv, Netanya, Caesarea, Mt. Carmel, Tiberias, Upper Galilee, Bethany, Jerusalem

For a FREE brochure on these pilgrimages contact: Catholic San Francisco (415)

614-5640

Please leave your name, mailing address and your phone number

California Registered Seller of Travel Registration Number CST-2037190-40 (Registration as a Seller of Travel does not constitute approval by the State of California)

Float on the Dead Sea, sail on the Sea of Galilee, break bread and dance with local Christians Cross the Jordan River to see Mt. Nebo, the Madaba Mosaic Map, and Petra Double occupancy * breakfast & dinner - RT San Francisco $3,600 for registration prior to January 15

www.HolyLandInstitute.org Leader Dr. Claudia Devaux (805) 544-9088 Linsil Travel (415) 239-4200

28 CALENDAR

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 14, 2012

FRIDAY, DEC. 14 CHRISTMAS CONCERT: St. Charles Parish. 880 Tamarack Ave., San Carlos, 7 p.m. Adult and childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s choirs sing stories of Christmas and present an encore performance of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bright Light,â&#x20AC;? an original childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s musical with music by Patti Beale Kelii and words by God. Bring your sunglasses! Admission is free. An offering will be taken for the support of the music ministries at St. Charles.

ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY: Conversation group on ancient philosophical texts, St. Maryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cathedral, Gough Street at Geary Boulevard, San Francisco, Msgr. Bowe Room, 7:30-10 p.m. reynaldo.miranda@gmail.com. (415) 584 8794.

SATURDAY, DEC. 15 MISSION SAN RAFAEL: 195th anniversary of Mission San Rafael Arcangel, 1-4 p.m. Fascinating presentations on the history of Mission San Rafael and those who helped shape Marin, followed by a performance of Mission era music by the Chanticleer LAB Choir. Teri Brunner ,(415) 454-8141, ext. 12 or visit www.saintraphael. com. Free.

SIMBANG GABI: Novena of Advent Masses with Filipino-American communities of Immaculate Heart of Mary, Our Lady of Angels, St. Bartholomew, St. Catherine, St. Gregory, St. Luke and St. Mark in observance of Simbang Gabi, a spiritual preparation for Christmas. Masses are daily at 7 p.m. Dec. 15-23 at St. Mark Church, 325 Marine View Ave., Belmont. Daily confessions from 6-6:45 p.m. Call St. Mark Church, (650) 591-5937.

SUNDAY, DEC. 16 HOLIDAY BOUTIQUE: St. Ignatius

Church, Parker Avenue at Fulton, San Francisco. Fromm Hall behind the church 8:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m.

Christmas gifts, hostess gifts, gifts for the home, puppets, clothing for girls, holiday treats, ornaments, cards, and more. Proceeds benefit parish social ministries and stewardship CHRISTMAS CONCERT: Mission Dolores Basilica Choir, directed by Jerome Lenk, 5 p.m., Mission Dolores Basilica, 16th Street at Dolores, San Francisco. Selections include Vivaldiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;Gloria,â&#x20AC;? and various songs of the season. Free parking. $25 reserved, $20 general admission.

(415) 621.8203. www.missiondolores.org.

SIMBANG GABI: Novena of Masses at St. Stephen Church, 23rd Avenue at Eucalyptus, San Francisco, Dec. 16-24, 6 a.m., in preparation for Christmas with parishioners from St. Cecilia, St. Finn Barr, St. Gabriel, Hispanic and Burmese communities, Knights of Columbus, the Legion of Mary. Nellie Hizon,(415) 699-7927.

ENGLISH CHRISTMAS: Golden Gate Boys Choir and Bellringers with the drama, pageantry and elegance of a 16th-century Christmas celebration at St. Maryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cathedral Event Center, Gough Street at Geary Boulevard, San Francisco, 4-8 p.m.

The dinner theater evening features the GGBC, raffle and silent auction.

Adults $150/children $85. www. ggbc.org. (510) 887-4311 or (415) 431-1137. Free parking.

TUESDAY, DEC. 18 CHRISTMAS LUNCH: Good Shepherd Guild at the Olympic Club, Lakeside Clubhouse, 11:30 a.m.

Tickets at $70 include 3-course luncheon and valet parking. Contact Judy Terracina, (415) 753/2081).

Proceeds benefit Good Shepherd Gracenter.

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 19 CARDINAL LEVADA ON VATICAN II: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Vatican II at 50: Looking back, moving forward,â&#x20AC;? an evening with Cardinal William J. Levada, archbishop emeri- Cardinal William tus, ArchdiJ. Levada ocese of San Francisco and retired prefect of the Vaticanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 7 p.m., St. Rita Church, Sir Francis Drake Boulevard and Miranda Drive, Fairfax.

Ordained to the priesthood in Romeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s St. Peterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Basilica in 1961 and ordained bishop in 1983, Cardinal Levada has held leadership positions at all levels of church life and on major works including the Catechism of the Catholic Church. All are invited. (415) 456-4815.

Irish Help at Home

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 19

â&#x20AC;˘ Family â&#x20AC;˘ Work â&#x20AC;˘ Relationships â&#x20AC;˘ Depression â&#x20AC;˘ Anxiety â&#x20AC;˘ Addictions

Dr. Daniel J. Kugler Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Over 25 years experience

High Quality Home Care Since 1996 Home Care Attendants â&#x20AC;˘ Companions â&#x20AC;˘ CNAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hospice â&#x20AC;˘ Respite Care â&#x20AC;˘ Insured and Bonded San Mateo 650.347.6903

San Francisco 415.759.0520

Confidential â&#x20AC;˘ Compassionate â&#x20AC;˘ Practical

(415) 921-1619 â&#x20AC;˘ Insurance Accepted 1537 Franklin Street â&#x20AC;˘ San Francisco, CA 94109

Marin 415.721.7380

NOTARY

www.irishhelpathome.com

FAMILY THERAPIST

Individuals, Couples, Families, and Children Experience working in a Catholic environment with school & families Burlingame, California 650.523.4553 gsilversteinmft@gmail.com

Breenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Mobile Notary Services Timothy P. Breen

Certified Signing Agent

Notary Public

PHONE: 415-846-1922 FAX: 415-702-9272 * Member National Notary Association *

FRIDAY, DEC. 28 ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY: Conversation group on ancient philosophical texts, St. Maryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cathedral, Gough Street at Geary Boulevard, San Francisco, Msgr. Bowe Room, 7:30-10 p.m. reynaldo.miranda@gmail.com. (415) 584 8794.

MONDAY, DEC. 31 NEW YEAR RETREAT: Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose Motherhouse, 43326 Mission Blvd, entrance on Mission Tierra Place, Fremont, 7 p.m.-midnight. RSVP by Dec. 26 at blessings@msjdominicans.org.

SEPARATED DIVORCED: Meeting takes place first and third Wednesdays, 7:30 p.m., St. Stephen Parish Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Reilly Center, 23rd Avenue at Eucalyptus, San Francisco. Groups are part of the Separated and Divorced Catholics Ministry in the archdiocese and include prayer, introductions and sharing. It is a drop-in support group. Jesuit Father Al Grosskopf, (415) 422-6698, grosskopf@usfca.edu.

YOUTH RALLY: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Shine!â&#x20AC;? with Jesse Manibusan for junior high school and high school students at Mission Dolores, 16th Street at Dolores, San Francisco. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Come and learn more about our faith celebrate Mass and connect with friends,â&#x20AC;? the Office of Religious Education and Youth Ministry said. Cost is $20 per person. High school students welcome to volunteer.

Contact Vivian Clausing at clausingv@ sfarchdiocese.org with questions or to register.

GRIEF SUPPORT: Free grief support session, St. Maryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cathedral, third Wednesday of the month, 10:30 a.m.noon, Msgr. Bowe Room, parking lot level. Call Sister Esther, (415) 5672020, ext. 218.

FATIMA MASS: Immaculate Conception Chapel, 9 a.m., 3255 Folsom St., off Cesar Chavez, San Francisco, Franciscan Father Guglielmo Lauriola, pastor emeritus, celebrant and homilist. (650) 269-2121.

TO ADVERTISE IN CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO VISIT www.catholic-sf.org | CALL (415) 614-5642 EMAIL advertising.csf@sfarchdiocese.org

COUNSELING

When Life Hurts It Helps To Talk

CONCERT: Our Lady of Loretto Schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Christmas Concert, 7 p.m., Our Lady of Loretto Church, Novato. Students perform a variety of traditional holiday music selections and a â&#x20AC;&#x153;Live Nativityâ&#x20AC;? that will include all the students. Admission is free.

SATURDAY, JAN. 5

THE PROFESSIONALS

HOME HEALTH CARE

THURSDAY, DEC. 20

Do you want to be more fulfilled in love and work â&#x20AC;&#x201C; but find things keep getting in the way?

HEALTH CARE AGENCY SUPPLE SENIOR CARE

Unhealed wounds can hold you back - even if they are not the â&#x20AC;&#x153;logicalâ&#x20AC;? cause of your problems today. You can be the person God intended.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The most compassionate care in townâ&#x20AC;?

1655 Old Mission Road #3 Colma, SSF, CA 94080

Inner Child Healing Offers a deep spiritual and psychological approach to counseling: â?&#x2013; 30 years experience with individuals, . couples and groups

415-573-5141 or 650-993-8036 *Irish owned & operated

*Serving from San Francisco to North San Mateo

â?&#x2013; Directed, effective and results-oriented

BETTER HEALTH CARE

â?&#x2013; Compassionate and Intuitive

FOR SENIORS WITH SPECIAL NEED OF CARE

â?&#x2013; Supports 12-step â?&#x2013; Enneagram Personality Transformation â?&#x2013; Free Counseling for Iraqi/Afghanistani Vets

Lila Caffery, MA, CCHT San Francisco: 415.337.9474 Complimentary phone consultation

www.InnerChildHealing.com

We Provide reliable & experienced caregivers to help seniors in their own home. *Companionship, Bathing, Alzheimer, Dementia & more.

Long hrs. - $10, Short hrs. - $18, Live-in - $170

Visit catholic-sf.org for the latest Vatican headlines.

(650) 580-6334 / (925) 330-4760

CALENDAR 29

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 14, 2012

SATURDAY, JAN. 26 WALK FOR LIFE: Walk for Life West Coast, “the most exciting pro-life event in America,” supporters say. The day kicks off with Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral, Gough Street at Geary Boulevard, San Francisco, 9:30 a.m.

The Walk for Life Rally begins at 12:30 p.m. at Civic Center Plaza, followed by the Walk for Life on Market Street at 1:30 p.m. Visit www.walkforlifewc. com.

CRAB FEED: Archbishop Riordan High School hosts its annual Crab Feed benefitting Crusader athletics, 6 p.m. Enjoy delicious fresh crab, good fun, and good company. Tickets $55. Visit www.riordanhs. org or call Sharon Udovich, (415)5868200 ext. 217. Event will sell out–book early!

WALK FOR LIFE: Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone, actress Jennifer O’Neill, and thousands of pro-life advocates participate in the Walk Jennifer O’Neill for Life West Coast. The day kicks off with Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral, Gough Street at Geary Boulevard, San Francisco, 9:30 a.m. The Walk for Life Rally begins at 12:30 p.m. at Civic Center Plaza followed by the Walk for Life on Market Street at 1:30 p.m.

Visit www.walkforlifewc.com.

SATURDAY, FEB. 2 CONFIRMATION RETREAT: “Catch the Spirit” at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, Alameda de las Pulgas at Ralston Ave., Belmont, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. with Brother Scott Slattern, for junior

HOUSECLEANING

PAINTING & REMODELING

Reasonable rates

John Holtz Ca. Lic 391053 General Contractor Since 1980

Licensed, Bonded & Insured

Christopher’s House Cleaning

415.370.4341

(650) 355-4926

Painting & Remodeling • Interiors • Exteriors • Kitchens • Baths Contractor inspection reports and pre-purchase consulting

PAINTING M.K. Painting License# 974682

Tel: (650) 630-1835 Bill Hefferon Painting Bonded & Insured CA License 819191

Residential Commercial

GARAGE DOOR

HK Discount Garage Door Repair

Same price 7 days Lic. # 376353

(415) 931-1540 24 hrs.

Broken Spring/Cable?

Operator Problems?

Lifetime Warranty on All Doors + Motors

Cell 415-710-0584 Office 415-731-8065

10% Discount Seniors & Parishioners

Serving the Bay Area for over 30 Years

FRIDAY, MARCH 8 MARRIAGE ENCOUNTER WEEKEND: One of the greatest gifts married couples can give their children is two parents very much in love with each other. Renew your love at a Worldwide Marriage Encounter Weekend at Vallombrosa Center in Menlo Park. Call Paul and Yvonne at (650) 366.709 or visit wwme12.org. Register early

CONFIRMATION RETREAT: “Catch the Spirit” at St. Monica Parish, 23rd Avenue and Geary Boulevard, San Francisco, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. with Brother Scott Slattern, for junior high and high school students preparing for the sacrament of confirmation. $25 per student includes T-shirt, lunch and program. Contact Vivian Clausing at clausingv@sfarchdiocese.org.

PUBLICIZE YOUR EVENT: Submit event listings by noon Friday. Email calendar.csf@ sfarchdiocese.org, write Calendar, One Peter Yorke Way, SF 94109, or call Tom Burke at (415) 614-5634.

PLUMBING

Bill Hefferon

Lic.#942181

S.O.S. PAINTING CO. Interior-Exterior • wallpaper • hanging & removal Lic # 526818 • Senior Discount

415-269-0446 • 650-738-9295 www.sospainting.net F REE E STIMATES

Follow us at twitter.com/catholic_sf.

➤ ➤ ➤ ➤ ➤ ➤

Plumbing Works San Francisco ALL PLUMBING WORK PAT HOLLAND CA LIC #817607

BONDED & INSURED

415-205-1235

Hauling Job Site Clean-Up Demolition Yard Service Garbage Runs Saturday & Sunday

FREE ESTIMATES! • Fast & Affordable

TERRY (415)282-2023

LAST-MINUTE SERVICE AVAILABLE

YOELSHAULING@YAHOO.COM

YOUR # 1 CHOICE FOR Recessed Lights – Outdoor Lighting Outlets – Dimmers – Service Upgrades • Trouble Shooting!

Ph. 415.515.2043 Ph. 650.508.1348 Lic. 631209

ALL ELECTRIC SERVICE Service Changes Solar Installation Lighting/Power Fire Alarm/Data Green Energy

Fully licensed • State Certified • Locally Trained • Experienced • On Call 24/7

415.368.8589

eoin_lehane@yahoo.com

CONSTRUCTION

HOLLAND

650.322.9288

IRISH Eoin PAINTING Lehane Discount to CSF Readers

VATICAN II TALKS: “Liturgy and Sacraments” with Father David Pettingill, St. Pius Parish, Homer Crouse Hall, Woodside Road at Valota, Redwood City, 7 p.m. (650) 361-1411, ext. 121. laura@pius.org.

SATURDAY, FEB. 23

DEWITT ELECTRIC

Interior-Exterior Residential – Commercial Insured/Bonded – Free Estimates

(415) 786-0121 • (650) 871-9227

MARRIAGE ENCOUNTER WEEKEND: A weekend where married couples can get away from jobs, kids, chores and phones and focus only on each other.

If you’d like greater depth, growth and enrichment in your relationship, you’ll like the difference a Worldwide Marriage Encounter weekend can make. Go to wwme12.org or call Paul and Yvonne at (650) 366-7093. Register early.

ELECTRICAL

www.christophershousecleaning.com

ROOFING

FRIDAY, FEB. 8

THURSDAY, FEB. 28

TO ADVERTISE IN CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO VISIT www.catholic-sf.org | CALL (415) 614-5642 EMAIL advertising.csf@sfarchdiocese.org

HOME SERVICES

Free Estimates

high and high school students preparing for the sacrament of confirmation. $25 per student includes T-shirt, lunch and program. Contact Vivian Clausing at clausingv@sfarchdiocese.org.

DALY CONSTRUCTION Affordable

Decks • Carports • Stairs • Concrete • Kitchen • Bathrooms

415.383.6122

http://tadalyremodeling.com

McGuire & Sons c o n s t r u c t i o n

State License # 346397, Est. 1978 415-454-2719 FINE WORK AT REASONABLE PRICES mcguireandsonsconstruction.com

O’DONOGHUE CONSTRUCTION Kitchen/Bath Remodel Dry Rot Repair • Decks /Stairs Plumbing Repair/Replacement

Call: 650.580.2769 Lic. # 505353B-C36

Cahalan Construction Remodels, Additions, Paint, Windows, Dryrot, Stucco

415.279.1266 Lic. #582766 415.566.8646

HANDYMAN

mikecahalan@gmail.com

Expert interior and exterior painting, carpentry, demolition, fence (repair, build), decks, remodeling, roof repair, gutter (clean/repair), landscaping, gardening, hauling, moving, welding.

FENCES & DECKS

All Purpose Cell (415) 517-5977 (650) 757-1946 NOT A LICENSED CONTRACTOR

John Spillane

• Retaining Walls • Stairs • Gates • Dry Rot • Senior & Parishioner Discounts

650.291.4303

Lic. #742961

VATICAN II TALKS: “Moral Theology” with Sulpician Father Gerald Coleman at St. Pius Parish, Homer Crouse Hall, Woodside Road at Valota, Redwood City, 7 p.m. (650) 361-1411, ext. 121. laura@pius.org.

SATURDAY, JAN. 26

Lic.# 593788

THURSDAY, JAN. 24

30

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 14, 2012

NOVENAS

CLASSIFIEDS

PUBLISH A NOVENA

TO ADVERTISE IN CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO VISIT

www.catholic-sf. org

EMAIL

advertising.csf @sfarchdiocese. org

CALL

(415) 614-5642

FAX

(415) 614-5641

Pre-payment required Mastercard or Visa accepted

LAKE TAHOE RENTAL Vacation Rental Condo in South Lake Tahoe.

Sleeps 8, near Heavenly Valley and Casinos.

Call 925-933-1095 See it at RentMyCondo.com#657

CHILD CARE

INFANT CARE In my home in Marin County.

Weekdaysweekends References.

Licensed child care provider # 214005188 Licensed RN Call Peggy at 415.924.1727

Cost $26

If you wish to publish a Novena in the Catholic San Francisco You may use the form below or call 415-614-5640 Your prayer will be published in our newspaper

Name Address Phone MC/VISA # Exp. Select One Prayer: ❑ St. Jude Novena to SH

❑ Prayer to the Blessed Virgin

❑ Prayer to St. Jude

❑ Prayer to the Holy Spirit

Please return form with check or money order for $26 Payable to: Catholic San Francisco Advertising Dept., Catholic San Francisco 1 Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco, CA 94109

St. Jude Novena

RENTAL

BOOKS

May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be adored, glorified, loved & preserved throughout the world now & forever. Sacred Heart of Jesus pray for us.

St. Jude helper of the hopeless pray for us.

Say prayer 9 times a day for 9 days.

Thank You St. Jude.

Never known to fail.

You may publish.

Prayer to the Blessed Virgin never known to fail.

P.J.

Most beautiful flower of Mt. Carmel Blessed Mother of the Son of God, assist me in my need. Help me and show me you are my mother.

Oh Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and earth. I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to help me in this need.

Oh Mary, conceived without sin. Pray for us (3X).

Holy Mary, I place this cause in your hands (3X).

Say prayers 3 days.

M.T.

Prayer to the Blessed Virgin never known to fail.

Prayer to the Blessed Virgin never known to fail.

Most beautiful flower of Mt. Carmel Blessed Mother of the Son of God, assist me in my need. Help me and show me you are my mother.

Oh Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and earth. I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to help me in this need.

Oh Mary, conceived without sin. Pray for us (3X).

Holy Mary, I place this cause in your hands (3X).

Say prayers 3 days.

M.L.

Most beautiful flower of Mt. Carmel Blessed Mother of the Son of God, assist me in my need. Help me and show me you are my mother.

Oh Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and earth. I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to help me in this need.

Oh Mary, conceived without sin. Pray for us (3X).

Holy Mary, I place this cause in your hands (3X).

Say prayers 3 days.

B.A.

Prayer to the Holy Spirit

Prayer to the Blessed Virgin never known to fail.

Holy Spirit, you who make me see everything and who shows me the way to reach my ideal.

You who give me the divine gift of forgive and forget the wrong that is done to me. I, in this short dialogue, want to thank you for everything and confirm once more that I never want to be separated from you no matter how great the material desires may be. I want to be with you and my loved ones in your perpetual glory. Amen. You may publish this as soon as your favor is granted.

M.B.

Prayer to St. Jude Oh, Holy St. Jude, Apostle and Martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, near Kinsman of Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor of all who invoke your special patronage in time of need, to you I have recourse from the depth of my heart and humbly beg to whom God has given such great power to come to my assistance.

Help me in my present and urgent petition. In return I promise to make you be invoked. Say three our Fathers, three Hail Marys and Glorias. St. Jude pray for us all who invoke your aid. Amen.

This Novena has never been known to fail. This Novena must be said 9 consecutive days. Thanks.

M.B.

Most beautiful flower of Mt. Carmel Blessed Mother of the Son of God, assist me in my need. Help me and show me you are my mother.

Oh Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and earth. I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to help me in this need.

Oh Mary, conceived without sin. Pray for us (3X).

Holy Mary, I place this cause in your hands (3X).

Say prayers 3 days.

M.B.

St. Jude Novena May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be adored, glorified, loved & preserved throughout the world now & forever. Sacred Heart of Jesus pray for us.

St. Jude helper of the hopeless pray for us.

Say prayer 9 times a day for 9 days.

Thank You St. Jude.

Never known to fail.

You may publish.

M.B.

Visit catholic-sf.org for the latest Vatican headlines.

“125 Years of History, Ministry & Service” A book celebrating the story of Holy Cross Cemetery

Books now available $20.00 Books may be purchased at the cemetery office or by mail.

If you wish to purchase by mail, please add $3.00 and send request to: Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery P.O. Box 1577, Colma, CA 940l4

HELP WANTED CATHOLIC CEMETERIES OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF SAN FRANCISCO – CONTROLLER – The Cemetery Department of the Archdiocese of San Francisco seeks a full-time Controller. This is a professional “exempt” level position that reports to the Director of Cemeteries and offices at Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma.

Job Description: The Controller assists the Director of Cemeteries with the stewardship of the physical, financial and personnel resources of the Cemetery Department, in accordance with the Archdiocesan policies and guidelines. The Controller is a person of faith committed to Gospel values. He or she values the organization and responsible management of resources and helps the Cemetery Department fulfill its mission and purposes.

Job Requirements: • Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Public or Non-profit Administration or equivalent, relevant work experience. Master’s degree a plus.

• Certified Public Accountant; experience in working with non-profits a plus • Extensive knowledge of generally accepted accounting principles and best practices • Strong knowledge of accounting software applications, including spreadsheets, word processing and database programs (Access, Excel, Word), Unix, Quickbooks, and the ability to learn new software.

• Ability and experience in hiring, supervising and coaching employees • Ability to plan, organize, set schedules, prioritize tasks, and work with other members of the staff in a collegial and collaborative manner • Must be highly detail oriented, well organized, resourceful, sensitive to confidentiality issues, self-motivated and professional • Active practicing Roman Catholic who understands and supports the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, preferred

Please send cover letter and resume to Monica Williams, Director: email mjwilliams@holycrosscemeteries.com or fax 650.757.0752

31

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 14, 2012

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

CLASSIFIEDS TO ADVERTISE IN CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

VISIT www.catholic-sf.org | CALL (415) 614-5642

EMAIL advertising.csf@sfarchdiocese.org

HELP WANTED

CARE COMPANION Alzheimer’s Patients, Provide Transportation, Dr Appointments, Errands-Experienced, Honest, Reliable, and Bonded with outstanding references.

Reasonable and flexible to your needs.

650-515-9908

CHIMNEY CLEANING

JOB DESCRIPTION Office of the President Archbishop Riordan High School Archbishop Riordan High School in San Francisco is seeking highly qualified candidates for the Office of the President.

Archbishop Riordan High School (ARHS) is a Catholic all male San Francisco Archdiocesan High School, founded in 1949. ARHS is sponsored by the Society of Mary (Marianist).

The Characteristics of Marianist Education are as follows: Educate for formation in faith • Educate in the family spirit • Provide an integral, quality education • Educate for service, justice and peace • Educate for adaptation and change ARHS prepares young men of San Francisco, the surrounding communities and various countries from around the world for leadership through its inclusive college preparatory curriculum. ARHS fosters development in faith, character, academics, the arts and athletics, in a diverse and inclusive family environment. The school currently serves 625 students including 40 international students from six different countries. The international students reside on the ARHS campus.

ARHS is a WASC accredited school. The school received the maximum six-year accreditation during the last review. The current accreditation is in place through 2014.

Qualifications and Requirements: • The qualified candidate with be a practicing Catholic in good standing with the Church, and will have obtained a minimum of a Masters’ Degree in Administration, and experience in secondary education.

POSITION: Office of the President: Exempt, Full-time, Salaried position with an extensive benefits package

Support CSF

Be a part a growing ministry that connects the faithful in the 90 parishes of the archdiocese.

If you would like to add your tax-deductible contribution, please mail a check, payable to Catholic San Francisco, to: Catholic San Francisco, Dept. W, One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco CA 94109.

RESPONSIBILITIES: The responsibilities of the Office of the President include but are not necessarily limited to the following:

Faith-Based Outreach Coordinator: Mission Hospice and Home Care is Looking for a bi-lingual individual to reach out to Catholic and Protestant churches In San Mateo County with Spanish-speaking congregations, communicating the value of comfort care. This individual should be comfortable discussing death and dying with church pastors and congregations. This is a 20-hour a week position, including some evenings and weekends.

Call Rev. Linda Siddall at 650.554.1000, Extension 253, or email your resume to lsiddall@missionhospice.org.

Associate Director of Youth Ministry and Catechesis Archdiocese of San Francisco-Office of Religious Education and Youth Ministry

This is a full-time, Exempt position that reports to the Director of Religious Education Start date: Immediately Facilitation of comprehensive youth ministry formation of Youth Leaders in parishes and provides leadership to assist parish or deaneries in building a solid formation of faith growth for students in grades 7-12 and their parents.

Includes programs for confirmation preparation, master catechist formation and collaboration with various departments in the Archdiocese and region.

Strong interpersonal and problem resolution skills.

Excellent verbal, written and communication skills (Spanish Language helpful) Able to work in a multi-cultural setting. Organized, reliable, timely; and good planning skills.

Proficient in WORD, Publishing and Excel. Practicing Catholic in good standing.

Masters Degree in youth ministry, faith formation or related fields.

4-6 years experience in parish and diocesan ministry.

Valid Calif. drivers license with clean driving record and car for work.

Able to work nights and weekends.

Send cover letter, resume and three references to: arbucklec@sfarchdiocese.org or Sister Celeste Arbuckle, SSS, One Peter Yorke Way, SF 94109

• Maintain the Catholicity and Marianist Charism of ARHS. • Primary responsibility to maintain respectful and cordial relationships with all Archdiocesan Offices and Officials, The Board of Trustees, the Society of Mary and the Parent Board.

• Report to, seek the advice of and act upon the agreed direction of the Board of Trustees to insure the continued successful operation of ARHS now and in the future. The Board of Trustees meets with the President and appropriate staff at regularly scheduled Executive Board and Full Board meetings five times during the school year. The President should be prepared to advise the Board of Trustees on the status of the following: current status and strategic plans for various School Departments, implementation of said plans and integration into the various programs at ARHS. • Supports the Office of the Principal to insure the success of the Academic and Activities Programs.

• Direct, Manage and Support the efforts of various Administrative Departments to insure the success of their missions. Observe and evaluate the staff of the Administrative Dept.

REPORTS: The Office of the President reports to the Archbishop of San Francisco, through the Archdiocesan Superintendent of Catholic Schools, the ARHS Board of Trustees and the Society of Mary.

Qualified applicants should send Resume and Cover Letter to:

Huntingtonm@sfarchdiocese.org Or mail Resume and Cover Letter to:

Maureen Huntington, Superintendent of Schools One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco, CA 94109 4th Annual Holiday Boutique

ST. IGNATIUS CHURCH ST. IGNATIUS CHURCH 650 Parker Avenue Parker at Fulton, Fromm Hall

ST. IGNATIU

Sunday, December 16th – 8:30 a.m. until 6:30 p.m.

Stella and Dot

Margy Lico Scout handbags

th Sense Sunday, December 16 Bath Sunday, Dec A fine selection of bath + body Lola of San Francisco 8:30 a.m. until 8:30 products, PJs, robes, candles, a.m. un Silk, painted scarves6:30 p.m.

Fashion forward jewelry and accessories-for all ages

Mary Blum Jewels

and gifts

Original and elegant jewelry

Ses Petites Mains

Period George

Stunning chic clothing for girls 12mo - 16

Beautiful cards and ornaments

Parish Bookstore Back Burner Bliss Chutney

Timeless Treasures

Antique Silver

One-of-a-kind vintage treasures

Sterling and silver plate serving pieces and gorgeous accessories

Folkmanis Puppets Innovative and Creative Puppets

Ann Marie Milo of Crumb Cookies Homemade Peppermint Bark

32

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 14, 2012

In Remembrance of the Faithful Departed Interred In Our Catholic Cemeteries During the Month of November

HOLY CROSS COLMA Gloria Accinelli Herta Aha Guido Alasia Frances Alioto Eufrosina Azedillo Gloria Badiyo David Baioni Placida Ballesteros Margaret Banchero Ann Barreto Richard Battaglia Cesar Bermudez G. Joseph Bertain, Jr. John Bluth Victor Bonilla, Sr. Stanley Bray Betty Burton Barbara Callan Jose Camiguing Dorothy Canonica Thomas Casey Wilson Castaneda Eddy Castillo Leona Cavalier Lorraine Cecchini Clifford Chase, Jr. Floraine Chiechi Expectacion Chiuco Owen Connolly Salvatore Cozzolino Evelyn Cunningham Cecilia Deehan Carlos delaSota Irene Demartini Clinton Dennis Velma Deschner Elsie Dizaboulet Kenneth Driscoll

Rudolph Duran Ann Essary Dolores Flores Isabel Flores Alejandro Gaitan Elise Galtier Estelina Garcia Esther Gargaritano Charles Gavette Louis Giannini Romeo Guiang George Haley, Jr. Amy Hegarty Dora Heinz Milton Heinz Marie Idiart Eddy Izarra Sarah Jordan Lloyd Kearns Thanh Lai Joan Liuzzi Laura Lopez Margaret Lutge Carmen Mabey John Mabey Ray Mainini Terry Martinez Martin Martinez Odila Martinez Angela McAulay Mark McCloud Marie McFadden-Mitchell Joy McLemore Francisca Mendoza Adoracion Miculob Ellen Murphy Ida Norton Maria O’Brien Therese Oostermeyer Teodora Ortiz Peter Osuna Romeo Palarca

Carmela Passanisi Jeff Perez Richard Pieretti Michael Pineda Barbara Pirotto Mary Reina Bernardo Remedios Evangeline Reyes Marian Rezos Ruth Ricco Maria Rodriguez Pauline Ruth Louis Sacha Susana Salgado Rigoberto Sanchez Grace Scholz Sofia Serrano Alejandro Sobalvarro Anita Spedicci Rita Sweeney Lawrence Sylvestri Ciriaco Tumamak Soledad Uy Everardo Valadez Pia Valera Nora Villanueva Susan Wong Anthony Zappettini

MT. OLIVET, SAN RAFAEL Catherine Gould Julius Herbst Sister M. Regina Kelly, C.S.N. Wilma Lockman Evelyn Petray Rita Marie Schroeder Alfred Simionato

OUR LADY OF THE PILLAR Patricia Fellman

HOLY CROSS MENLO PARK Bernice Dittmann Eugene Doyle Deanna Gonzales Nancy Jackman Elizabeth Stivala Eva Varga

HOLY CROSS CATHOLIC CEMETERY, COLMA FIRST SATURDAY MASS – Saturday, January 5, 2013 All Saints Mausoleum Chapel – 11:00 am Rev. Tony LaTorre, Celebrant Pastor, St. Philip the Apostle Church

A Tradition of Faith Throughout Our Lives.