December 19, 2014 by Catholic San Francisco

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DECEMBER 19, 2014

$1.00 | VOL. 16 NO. 34

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The Nativity is depicted in the illuminated letter “n” on a page from a 15th-century choir book. The feast of the Nativity of Christ, a holy day of obligation, is celebrated Dec. 25.

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INDEX On the Street . . . . . . . . .4 World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Opinion. . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Faith. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Calendar. . . . . . . . . . . .26 DIGITAL-ONLY ISSUE JANUARY 9

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CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 19, 2014

Parishioners seek faith-based psychotherapy with pastor’s blessing CHRISTINA GRAY CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

When he approached Dominican Father Michael Hurley, pastor of St. Dominic Church, this summer to help strengthen his resolve in returning to the church, D.L., a new 46-year-old parishioner asked him for spiritual direction and help managing his obsessivecompulsive disorder and anxiety. The pastor gave him a prescription of sorts. “He said he could guide me spiritually, but that he could help me more if I had side-by-side therapy with a licensed psychotherapist, a Catholic one,” he told Catholic San Francisco Dec. 2 in the downtown San Francisco office of Mollie Tobias, a faith-based marriage and family therapist Father Hurley recommended. Tobias is one in a growing but still-obscure group of mental health professionals nationwide who identify themselves as Catholic faith-based therapists. They treat depression, anxiety, grief, marital conﬂict, trauma, eating disorders and other issues by combining traditional counseling methodologies with prayer, fasting, the sacraments and other ways that are consistent with church teachings, beliefs and traditions. Psychotherapists typically help clients manage self-limiting or destructive thought, behavior or communication patterns. They may recommend medication, but only psychiatrists or other physicians may prescribe it. “We invite God into the therapy session,” said Tobias. “We have potential for healing through him and ultimately he is the one who can heal us.” Christine Watkins, a Catholic psychotherapist and licensed clinical social worker in Alameda said the distinctions between her work and that of a secular therapist are many and profound. “For one, God’s will, rather than human will, is the focus of my counseling,” she said. “God’s will can never go wrong. Human will can.” Both Tobias and Watkins said prayer is an integral part of their counseling practices. They begin and end each session with prayers of healing, discernment or intercession. These intimate, personal prayer experiences can be transforming, even to faithful practicing Catholics, Watkins said. “They take this new knowledge of prayer with them into their daily lives, allowing God, the ultimate healer and counselor, to guide them more directly,” she said.

LIVING TRUSTS WILLS

TURN TO THE GOSPEL TO FIGHT HOLIDAY BLUES

(PHOTO BY CHRISTINA GRAY/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)

Mollie Tobias, a faith-based marriage and family therapist in San Francisco, counsels a client. According to Father Hurley, a trusted Catholic therapist can be an important ally for parish priests who often don’t have the time or training to adequately address the breadth of human conditions their congregations present to them. “I don’t have that expertise,” he said. “As a priest, you have to channel your energies toward the Gospel and running the parish.” Many priests are extremely gifted in helping people through their counsel, said Watkins. “But if a Catholic counselor has special training in an area like couples’ therapy, trauma or substance abuse, he or she may be better able to help a person than a priest who does not,” she said. Star M., a parishioner of a San Francisco parish, began seeing Tobias in March not long after she went to her priest with what she called, “a longstanding anger problem.” He didn’t have a good solution for her and co-workers recommended Tobias. “I really needed someone to talk to,” she said. “With other therapists they sit there and listen to you,” said the 38-year-old wife and mother. “But it feels like there is something missing. I found out that missing thing is God.” Star M. said turning to prayer has helped decrease her feelings of anger. “If I feel like I’m going to lose my temper, I pray right away. I ask God to calm my heart.” D.L. has been working with Tobias on learning coping mechanisms for his OCD-induced anxiety. He said his anxiety is in part, a medical issue, and medication has been helpful. But

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it’s also caused by behaving inconsistently with his faith. “Being a nonpracticing Catholic was not sitting well with me,” he said. “The conﬂict and guilt was so intense and the fear of dying not doing what I really believe so fearsome.” Secular therapists who treated him on and off since 2005 helped in many ways, he said, but as he began moving back in the direction of his faith, their counsel sometimes increased his anxiety, particularly in discussions of moral conduct. “My therapists would tell me not to be so hard on myself,” he said. Being told “it’s OK” eased his anxiety and guilt in the moment about behavior he knew was not right with church teachings. “So I continued doing these things and found myself stuck in the same place.” Finding a good Catholic psychotherapist is best through word of mouth said Joseph Pribyl, a psychotherapist whose Quo Vadis Therapy Center is based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. “The ordinary Catholic may be mystiﬁed about therapy or even hostile toward it because they’ve heard, or believe that all therapists try to take the place of the sacraments or try to convince people that their sense of morality is wrong,” Pribyl said. “Catholic therapists have to educate people about what therapy is and what it’s good for.” Parishes can be helpful in offering that education, he said. Watkins said that the Catholic Church offers the greatest remedies that exist on earth, the sacrament of the Eucharist, and the sacrament of reconciliation. “A good Catholic psychotherapist will make sure that their clients un-

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derstand and are receiving these most powerful sources of grace, healing, and forgiveness.” For more information, visit catholictherapists.com or catholicpsychotherapy.org.

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Christians struggle with sadness, anxiety, grief and depression during the Christmas season like others do, according to a Catholic psychotherapist whose practice is devoted to Catholic individuals, couples and families. Joseph Pribyl, a licensed Catholic psychotherapist in Milwaukee, said in a recent post at catholictherapist.com that despite the theme of hope during Advent, Christmas and the coming New Year, memories of what one has lost or has never had can be overwhelming during this season. “How difficult it can be to ﬁnd oneself in grief and continually hear the message that it’s a time to be joyful,” he said. The season’s rituals can awaken the ache of loss or longing for many. For others, economic strain, family conﬂicts or unhappy childhood memories can combine to crush the happiness out of this season of spiritual comfort. According to Pribyl, it can be helpful to recall that Christ’s birth was also associated with hardship and turmoil. Acknowledging suffering from the Gospel narratives and connecting it with one’s own suffering can be a useful tool, he said. “Knowing that his purpose in being born that holy night was to give us comfort and support during our own difficulties, may up the hope for joy in life and relationships as promised by the Gospel,” he said.

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CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 19, 2014

Archbishop: Global interfaith gathering affirms universality of marriage RICK DELVECCHIO CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone joined faith leaders from around the world in Rome in November at a global gathering that affirmed the vitality of marriage across religious, economic and cultural lines and boosted confidence in the fight to protect the institution from threats against it. “It wasn’t until the last day that it dawned on me on how historic this was, because there’s never been anything like this done before,” the archbishop told Catholic San Francisco in an interview Dec. 10. “There’s been, in this country and I think in other countries, good cooperation among a lot of Christians of different Christian confessions but something this broad and this global on an interfaith basis had never been done before.” The Nov. 17-19 gathering, “The Complementarity of Man and Woman: An International Colloquium,” was sparked by a U.S. Pentecostal minister, Rev. Eugene Rivers, and sponsored by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith with cosponsorship by the Pontifical Council for the Family, the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity. Speakers from 14 religious traditions

(CNS PHOTO/L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO)

Pope Francis greets Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone during a meeting with bishops from Barcelona, Spain, at the Vatican Nov. 26. Looking on is Cardinal Lluis Martinez Sistach of Barcelona, center. took part, including Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu and Jain. Organizers screened six ﬁlms highlighting the universality of malefemale complementarity in marriage and in educating children. The movies were ﬁlmed in a number of countries and often in poorer neighborhoods,

showing that the family unit of mother, father and children remains central regardless of religious, cultural and economic differences. “It was exciting,” said Archbishop Cordileone, who heads the U.S. bishops’ subcommittee to promote and defend marriage. “There was a great energy and a real sense that everyone

brings some sort of gift or contribution to the table and by working together we can help further understanding of this basic human good.” German Cardinal Gerhard Muller, prefect of the doctrinal congregation, gave the first address at the conference and attended every session. Pope Francis gave the second talk, stressing sexual complementarity as the heart of the marriage bond. The “culture of the temporary” has led many people to give up on marriage as a public commitment, the pope said, according to a report by Vatican Radio. “This revolution in manners and morals has often flown the flag of freedom, but in fact it has brought spiritual and material devastation to countless human beings, especially the poorest and most vulnerable.” The crisis in the family has produced a crisis “of human ecology,” the pope said. “Although the human race has come to understand the need to address conditions that menace our natural environments, we have been slower to recognize that our fragile social environments are under threat as well, slower in our culture, and also in our Catholic Church,” he said. “It is therefore essential that we foster a new human ecology and advance it.” SEE ARCHBISHOP, PAGE 15

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CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 19, 2014

Couldn’t have said it better myself TOM BURKE CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

Over the last few years, I have been doing all interviews for this column by email. I send questions, the subject sends me answers and I compose a Street item. It’s worked wonderfully and I look forward to continuing the mode. That said, Good Shepherd Sister Marguerite Bartling circled around the questions and did the composing part for me. Given the Sister powerful voice it gives to her vocaMarguerite tion and her work, I present her Bartling, RGS response uninterrupted. Having grown up in Southern California, I attended Cal State Fullerton before entering religious life in 1970. I was strongly attracted to religious life and when I became acquainted with the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, an international congregation, their compassion for adolescents and young women in great need resonated with me. In addition to my religious formation, my undergraduate degree from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and graduate degree in social work from San Francisco State prepared me for various ministries in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Memphis, Chicago, St. Louis, and Rome, Italy. I returned to San Francisco in 2009 to serve as executive director of Good Shepherd Gracenter. For my present ministry with women in recovery, I became credentialed as a certiﬁed addiction treatment counselor. Good Shepherd Gracenter belongs to a worldwide network of ministries sponsored by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd with a particular focus on the needs of women, girls, and families. Opened in 1961 as “transitional housing” before the term was popular, the sisters and lay partners served young women 18 years and older who needed a safe home and supportive services. Good Shepherd Gracenter continues today as a licensed recovery residence for women. I am deeply committed to Good Shepherd Gracenter ministry because it offers a path to successful recovery from drug and alcohol addiction and to community reintegration by addressing the major barriers of homelessness, lack of employment, inadequate education, and involvement with the criminal justice system. Located in the Portola District, Good Shepherd Gracenter offers a home to approximately 33 women every year while providing recovery support to our graduates and referral services to many women who call daily for help. The positive impact of Good Shepherd Gracenter on the city of San Francisco is signiﬁcant. Becoming productive citizens once more, the women no longer represent a drain on taxpayers. A sustainable, long-term recovery from drug and alcohol ad-

HOME RUN: Wells Fargo Bank awarded a $5,000 Step Up to the Plate grant to San Francisco’s St. James School in ceremonies Dec. 2 at AT&T Park.Certainly no stranger to good news, San Francisco Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford was along for the big event. Pictured from left are Dominican Sister Mary Susanna Vasquez, principal; Cherease Coats, athletic director; Giant Crawford; seventh grader James Arenas; and Dominican Sister Elizabeth Lee, art teacher. diction empowers the women to move from homelessness to stable housing, improve their overall health, achieve employment and an income, reduce their recidivism, and achieve higher education. Our approach emphasizes mentoring, strong community bonds, health and wellness to assist women shape a new horizon. Going forward, we envision extending to women in recovery throughout the Bay Area more opportunities to sustain their sobriety and deepen their 12-step spirituality. Good Shepherd Gracenter relies on private donations, grants, and fundraising activities. Some donors choose to sponsor a resident’s stay for one month. At present, we are seeking funds to repair and remodel our 53-year-old kitchen. Learn about us at www.gsgracenter.org or call me, Sister Marguerite Bartling, (415) 337-1938.

Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone

CHILD BORN: Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone is principal celebrant and homilist at Christmas Masses at midnight and 9 a.m. at St. Mary’s Cathedral, Gough Street at Geary Boulevard, San Francisco. The Cathedral Choir and Golden Gate Brass Quintet tend to the music at the midnight liturgy with the cathedral singers and Gregorian chant accompanying the Mass at 9 a.m.

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OLD DOG: Having grown up in radio at the knee of many very good broadcast professionals, I’m pretty picky about how it’s done especially in recent years when local has come to mean but traffic or news blown in from somewhere nearby while the principal broadcast is beamed in from sometimes thousands of miles away or been taped earlier. Among those to the rescue is the Patrick Madrid Show on Immaculate Heart Radio mornings, 6-9 a.m.1260 AM. It’s the ﬁrst really live show I’ve heard from them and in the right hands. ECUMENISN’T: Heard about a new religion called Frisbee-terianism. Seems they believe that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof. Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! Thank you for reading the paper. Join us back here Jan. 9 for a digital issue of CSF. First mailbox issue for 2015 is Jan. 16. This is an empty space without you. Keep the items coming, please. 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.

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ARCHDIOCESE 5

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 19, 2014

Literacy intervention helps Helene transition to middle school This is the third of three Advent stories focusing on clients served by Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of San Francisco. The theme of this installment is compassion. The client stories are actual but the names have been changed for publication. JEFF BIALIK

Helene lives in the Canal neighborhood of San Rafael in Marin County. When she started the fifth grade last year, she was struggling with reading comprehension and completing her homework. She lacked confidence in her abilities and her parents were not able to help her due to their lack of education. As she thought about moving on to middle school, Helene was both excited and a bit scared. This can be a challenging and stressful transition for even the best prepared student; and especially for a child uncertain how she will cope with learning in an unfamiliar environment and in a new language that she fears she has yet to master. Children, like Helene, living in the Canal neighborhood of San Rafael face multiple challenges that can affect their performance in school. Coming from hardworking, low-income families, many of the children live in homes where at least one parent has no more than a high school education and at least one parent speaks English as a second language. Often, both parents work, sometimes multiple jobs, and are unable to provide much needed support and supervision for their children to excel academically. In the wake of these challenges, children can perform significantly below grade level in reading and writing. This makes them less likely to make academic progress, more likely to drop out of high school, and less likely to graduate from college. Stepping up to address this challenge, Catholic Charities Canal Family Support launched a new literacy intervention component to its Kid’s Club program last year, thanks to donations of computers and software from St. Hilary School in Tiburon. The goal is to help students, like Helene, read at grade level. Studies show that reading proficiency by third grade is the most important predictor of high school graduation and career success. In addition, the dropout risk

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is highest for struggling readers who are poor and living in neighborhoods of concentrated poverty. The baseline data collected in the first year of our literacy project shows that less than half of the students were reading at grade level. Kids Club participants are strategically placed in work groups, which are maintained throughout the school year. Each child participates in reading groups based on reading level and they focus on incentivized learning questions, vocabulary projects and games. By placing students in specific groups based on performance rather than grade, Catholic Charities can focus on issues that are common with the group. As a result of the small-group nature of her class and getting the extra attention she needed, Helene’s vocabulary increased and her reading comprehension skills improved significantly. Her love of reading grew and she was excited to visit the library every week with her mother. By the end of the school year, Helene was able to read independently with little support, and her reading assessment score increased by more than 100 points. Helene was able to successfully transition to middle school and she looks forward to going to college one day and coming back to volunteer to help the younger students at Catholic Charities Canal Family Support. BIALIK is executive director of Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of San Francisco.

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CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 19, 2014

St. Matthew 6th and 7th graders help pregnant moms via Gabriel Project VALERIE SCHMALZ CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

Class discussions sparked by the archdiocesan Respect Life Essay Contest led a group of St. Matthew sixth and seventh graders to create “baby shower baskets” for pregnant women in difficult pregnancies. When the project was over, the middle-schoolers had collected enough items to put together 40 baby shower baskets for the Gabriel Project, an Archdiocese of San Francisco parishbased ministry to pregnant women. “Babies are a blessing,” said seventh grader Venetia Prontzos, who with Chelsea Galvin coordinated the baby basket drive which concluded during Advent, in mid-December. In the fall, St. Matthew pastor Father Anthony McGuire asked seventh-grade teacher Mary Doherty to coordinate a diaper drive for the Gabriel Project. She handed the project over to Chelsea and Venetia, who in discussions with the other students, quickly decided to create baby shower baskets to help the expectant mothers feel a spirit of celebration. Sixth graders also pitched in. “We wanted to do more than a diaper drive,” said Chelsea. “We wanted them to be excited about the baby,” Talia Cresci said.

(PHOTOS COURTESY ST. MATTHEW SCHOOL)

Venetia Prontzos and Chelsea Galvin The students collected money, new and gently used clothes, baby shoes and socks, diapers and wipes. Then they sorted the clothes, matched up color-coordinated outﬁts – including newborn clothes but also at least one other outﬁt for the older baby, up to 18 months. During class discussions during October, Respect Life month, and

St. Matthew Gabriel Project team members are, top from left, Emily Blunt, Morgan Smith, Annie Johnson, Giovanni Affrunti, Diego Abaya, Maria Prontzos, Yvonne Galvin. Bottom row, Ally Compton, Bruna Fort, Stella Sanguinetti, Jazmine Reyes, Kylie O’Donoghue, Isabel Echevarria, Rita Haddad, Paige Ivancich, Gianni Ludovico. Front, Venetia Prontzos, Chelsea Galvin. in preparing their entries into the archdiocesan Respect Life Essay Contest, the students learned that some expectant mothers are daunted by their pregnancies, because they are not married, are poor, or have other challenges, said Doherty. “Every child deserves a chance at life,” Venetia said, noting that each basket also included a prayer card to St. Gabriel, the angel who announced to Mary that she would be the mother of God, “with the message that nothing is impossible with God.”

“This Gabriel Project is the best kept secret,” said Janet Healy, a St. Matthew parishioner and Archdiocese of San Francisco Gabriel Project coordinator. “Any parish that has a school, I want to get them involved,” said Healy. “That is one of our hopes to turn this culture around. Whoever gets the kids, has the culture.” For more information about The Gabriel Project email sfgabrielproject@gmail. com or call (415) 480-4017.

CORRECTIONS ‘POPE FRANCIS’ EMISSARY TO UNITED NATIONS KICKS OFF SIMBANG GABI NOVENA,’ PAGE 1, DEC. 12: Archbishop Bernadito C. Auza’s seminary education was misstated. Archbishop Auza did not attend St. Patrick’s Seminary & University but

attended University of Santo Tomas Central Seminary, Manila, Philippines. ‘ARCHBISHOP VISITS SCHOOL,’ PAGE 8, DEC. 12: The article incorrectly identified Our Lady of the Visitacion School.

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CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 19, 2014

Immigrants must be treated with mercy, justice, says Archbishop Chaput CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

PHILADELPHIA – Americans must treat all those in this country illegally “with the mercy and justice we expect for ourselves,” said Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput. “On this day that we honor Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of all of us who share this continent, we need to remember that the Holy Family too was once a family Archbishop of immigrants and refugees,” he Charles J. wrote in a Dec. 12 column for the Chaput archdiocese’s news website, Catholic Philly.com. He was among several prelates who took the occasion of the feast day to connect the image of Mary with immigrants. Archbishop Chaput said Mary’s special place in the heart of the church, as “theotokos, the ‘Godbearer,” and a “witness of courage, humility and grace” has rightfully led to her being honored in many ways and by many titles, including Our Lady of Guadalupe, “patroness of America, one continent north and south.” In Mexico, as Our Lady of Guadalupe, “Mary appeared not to the rich or powerful, or even to the local bishop, but to the poor peasant Juan Diego,” Archbishop Chaput said. “Her tenderness to the poor is something we need to remember this Advent, because our Christian faith is more than a set of ideas or beautiful words. It’s meant to be lived. It’s meant to transform our thinking and our actions.” While he was critical of actions taken by President Barack Obama in the past six years “that a

great many faithful Catholics regard as damaging – harmful not just for people of religious faith, but for the nation at large,” he also praised Obama for doing “the right thing” with executive actions on immigration. The deferral of deportation for many immigrants, Archbishop Chaput said, will prevent “the breakup of families with mixed immigration status.” Obama’s actions, he said, also protect “individuals who were brought to the United States as children, and have grown up knowing only American life and nothing of their parents’ native land.” On Nov. 20, Obama announced several steps he is taking administratively, exercising prosecutorial discretion to – at least temporarily – protect potentially millions of people from deportation and give them documents allowing them to work legally. One change will expand the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, by ending an upper age limit and rolling forward the date by which an applicant must have arrived in the United States as a minor. The bigger change will create a similar program for potentially about 4 million people who lack legal status, but whose children are U.S. citizens or legal residents. It will apply only to people who’ve been in the country for five years or longer and who pass background checks, register with the government and pay probably hundreds of dollars in fees. “For more than a decade the U.S. Catholic bishops have pressed repeatedly for just and sensible immigration policy reform,” Archbishop Chaput said in his column, “Each of our major political parties has faulted the other for inaction, and each – despite its posturing and alibis – bears a generous portion of the blame. “Whatever the timing and motives of the current

executive action might mean, deferring deportations serves the survival and human dignity of the families involved. And it may, finally, force the White House and Congress to cooperate fruitfully,” he said. In Yakima, Washington, Bishop Joseph J. Tyson echoed similar themes in his homily Dec. 12, tying the feast day to the needs, rights and dignity of immigrants and the important work they do to meet the needs of the nation. “You – the people of this Catholic Diocese of Yakima in Central Washington – you are God’s chosen ones. You have a nobility and a greatness that comes – not from a passport, a visa, a green card, or an I-9 work permit – but from being created and fashioned from the very image and likeness of God,” Bishop Tyson said. “Certainly, I am keenly aware that you receive the very opposite message from various sectors of our North American society,” he continued. “This comes from the fact – and I will not mince words – that we have become a nation built on half-truths. “We fail to tell truth that without undocumented immigrant labor we would have very little food on our nation’s table. We fail to tell the truth about the human cost this takes on our nation’s agricultural workers: the fear of deportation and the constant threat of family separation.” Catholics’ devotion to their faith “means that we do not allow the failed political debates to dominate our lives – publicly or privately,” Bishop Tyson said. He added, “When we live the truth of our deepest human identity that comes – uniquely from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ – then maybe one day our civil leaders will catch up and imitate in just legislation the human dignity and the transcendent citizenship we all possess right now.”

SF Annual Memorial Service for 2014 Homicide Victims

The annual event is an outgrowth of the homicide prayer services The Restorative Justice Ministry helps organize each time a person is killed by violence. A group of people visits the site of the death to pray and remember the victim and support the family. The prayer services culminate each year with the memorial service, now in its third year. Survivors of violent crimes, family and friends of the victims, ex-offenders, restorative justice ministers, and youth from the community will join. All will help carry crosses to remember the people that died as a result of violence in 2014.

Sa aturday, January 17, 2015 Program Gathering and Prayer Prayer Walk begins 1st Stop (approx.) 2nd Stop (approx.)

Time: 9:00 a.m. 10:00 a.m. 10:30 a.m. 11:45 a.m.

Location: St. Anthony Catholic Church, 3215 Cesar Chavez, San Francisco 24th and Mission Street, San Francisco 16th and Mission Street, San Francisco

Memorial Service

12:30 p.m.

Mission Dolores Parish, 3321 16th Street, San Francisco

Organized by The Restorative Justice Ministry for Victims and Families of Violent Crimes, Office of Public Policy and Social Concerns of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. For more information contact Julio Escobar 415 861-9579.

8 WORLD

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 19, 2014

St. Francis of Assisi Church 1425 Bay Road, East Palo Alto

650/322-2152

Mass Schedule For Christmas and New Year Confessions Wednesday, December 24, 2014 10:30 am to 12:00 pm and 3:30 pm to 6:00 pm

Christmas Eve & Day Masses Wednesday, December 24, 2014 6:00 pm Bi-lingual Children’s Mass Followed by Pastorela Midnight Bi-lingual Mass

Thursday, December 25, 2014 7:30 am English 9:30 am Spanish 11:30 am English 1:30 pm Spanish

New Year’s Eve & Day Masses Wednesday, December 31, 2014 6:00 pm Spanish

Midnight Bi-lingual Mass

Thursday, January 1, 2015 7:30 am English 9:30 am Spanish 11:30 am English 1:30 pm Spanish

St. Anthony of Padua 1000 Cambridge Street Novato, California 94947 (415) 883-2177

Chri

t stmas a St. Anthony of Padua Wednesday, December 24, 2014 – Christmas Eve Confessions from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Masses at 5:00 p.m. (Children’s Mass), 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. Thursday, December 25, 2014 – Christmas Day Masses at 7:00 a.m., 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, December 31, 2014 – New Year’s Eve Vigil of the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God Mass at 5:00 p.m. Thursday, January 1, 2015 The Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God – A Holy Day of Obligation Masses at 9:00 a.m., 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

(CNS PHOTO/PAUL HARING)

Jesus always brings joy, pope says Pope Francis greets a boy as he arrives to celebrate Mass at St. Joseph Parish in Rome Dec. 14 on the weekend of Gaudete (Rejoice) Sunday. Before praying the Angelus Dec. 15, the pope said sadness is a sign of being far from Christ because Jesus offers everyone the strength to persevere with hope and joy. “God is the one who came to save us and offer help, especially to hearts gone astray,” he said.

ST. TERESA OF AVILA CATHOLIC CHURCH SERVED BY THE CARMELITES

Street at Connecticut

PLEASE JOIN US FOR OUR ADVENT & CHRISTMAS MASSES

Catholic San Francisco

Tuesdays & Fridays Wednesdays in Advent

8:30am 6:15pm

Christmas Masses Vigil, December 24th

Unto Us A Child Is Born

December 25th New Year’s Day

4:15 Children’s Mass 9:00 pm Choir Mass 8:30 & 10:00 am 9:00am

For more information: Call: 415-285-5272 · E-mail: info@stteresasf.org · www.stteresasf.org

STAR OF THE SEA CHURCH San Francisco | and Community of Saint Philip Neri

8th Avenue at Geary Boulevard | (415) 751-0450

ADVENT AND CHRISTMAS SCHEDULE 2014 Monday – Friday 7:30 am (Extraordinary Form in Latin) 12 Noon English

Advent Masses Sunday Masses

Advent Confessions —

Saturday Vigil 4:30 pm Sunday 8:00 am, 9:30 am, 11:00 am (High Mass in Latin with Choir), 1:00 pm

15 minutes before every Mass Saturdays 3:15 pm to 4:15 pm * Wednesdays during Advent 6:30 pm to 7:30pm

Individual Confessions: Saturday, December 20th 2:15 pm to 4:15 pm Monday, December 22, Penance service 7:00 pm and 15 Minutes before every Mass. Christmas Eve Masses: (Wed. Dec. 24) 4:30 pm Children’s Mass, 10:00 pm Carols 10:30 pm English Midnight Mass, 12 Midnight High Mass in Latin with Choir

Christmas Day (Thurs. Dec. 25) 8:00 am Quiet Mass, 9:30 am Choir and Organ, 11:00 am High Mass in Latin With Choir 1:00 pm Contemporary Music David Lorentz musicians and singers The Parish of Star of the Sea and the Community of Saint Philip Neri wishes you a very Blessed and Merry Christmas and our promise of prayers for all of you in the New Year.

CHRISTMAS LITURGIES 9

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 19, 2014

OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP CHURCH AND SCHOOL 60 Wellington Avenue, Daly City, CA 94014 UPCOMING PARISH CELEBRATIONS & SERVICES Parish Celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe Saturday, December 13 @ 5:30 a.m. (Bilingual) Advent Recollection â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Thursday December 11 @ 7:00 p.m. Advent Penance Service â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Friday, December 12 @ 7:00 p.m. SIMBANG GABI â&#x20AC;&#x201C; NOVENA AND MASSES From Tuesday, December 16 to Wednesday, December 24 @ 5:30 p.m. SCHEDULE OF CHRISTMAS MASSES: Wednesday, December 24 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Christmas Eve 5:30 p.m.: Children's Mass | 11:00-11:45 p.m.: Christmas Carols 12:00 a.m.: Midnight Mass

1111 Gough St., San Francisco â&#x20AC;˘ Tel: (415) 567-2020 www.stmarycathedralsf.org

Thursday, December 25 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Christmas Day 8:30, 10:00, 11:30 a.m. (English) | 1:00 p.m. (Spanish)

ADVENT/CHRISTMAS SCHEDULE 2014 Christmas Cookies and Carols Sunday, December 14, Í´Í˛ÍłÍś

7:00 PM - Concert and dessert reception Donation: $20/person ($10 children and seniors), Tickets: 567-2020 Ext. 213

") " # 3: % & $ # ' ! :5238 -526. 792+5336 %%%)!" ! )

Las Posadas Saturday, December 20, Í´Í˛ÍłÍś

Mexican/Latin American tradition reenacting Mary and Josephâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s journey to Bethlehem and their search for lodging before Jesusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; birth 6:00 PM-9:00 PM, St. Francis Hall

# $! 28 - ! &. 8(11 , 9(11

') '%&) '* '%&) 6(11 , & !! 8(11 ' 9(11 ' :(41 ' 22(41 22(41 , !" ! ! " # 23(11 " !!

(& '%&) & '%&* 6(11 , % *! $ !!

8(41 ' :(41 ' 7(11

Mission Dolores Basilica Christmas Season Schedule / Horario de la Temporada NavideĂąa 2014 - 2015

Friday / Viernes 12 Dec 2014

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe Fiesta de Nuestra SeĂąora de Guadalupe 4:45 a.m. MaĂąanitas y Misa Solemne

Sunday / Domingo 14 Dec 2014

Basilica Choir 23rd Annual Candlelight Christmas Concert Concierto NavideĂąo del Coro de la Basilica 5:00 p.m.

Monday / Lunes 15 Dec 2014

Communal Penance Service 7:00 p.m. (Basilica)

Tues./Martes - Tues./Martes 16 Dec - 23 Dec 2013

Las Posadas (en el Auditorio) 7:00 p.m.

Wednesday/Miercoles 24 Dec 2014

Christmas Eve / VĂspera de Navidad 5:00 p.m. Family Christmas Mass - Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Choir 11:30 p.m. Christmas Carol Sing - Basilica Choirs 12:00 Midnight Solemn Mass / Misa Solemne (bilingĂźe)

Thursday/Jueves 25 Dec 2014

Christmas Day / DĂa de Navidad 10:00 a.m. Mass in English 12:00 noon Misa en EspaĂąol

Thursday/Jueves 1 Jan 2015

New Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day Mass: Feast of Mary the Mother of God Misa del AĂąo Nuevo: Fiesta de la Madre de Dios 9:00 a.m. Mass in English 12:00 Misa en EspaĂąol con ProcesiĂłn

Sunday / Domingo 4 Jan 2015

Blessing of Expectant Parents at all Masses Sunday, December 21, Í´Í˛ÍłÍś

Christmas Eve Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Regular Daily Mass Schedule 6:45 AM, 8:00 AM and 12:10 PM 5:00 PM Caroling - Caroling by the Archdiocesan Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Choir and the St. Brigid School Honor Choir 5:30 PM - Christmas Vigil Mass 11:30 PM Caroling - Caroling by the Cathedral Choir and Golden Gate Brass Quintet 12:00 AM - Midnight Mass Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, Principal Celebrant

Christmas Day Thursday, December 25, 2014

9:00 AM - Gregorian Chant Mass with the Cathedral Schola Cantorum Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, Principal Celebrant 11:00 AM - Solemn Mass with Cathedral Choir 1:00 PM - Misa en EspaĂąol con el Coro Hispano The Cathedral will close after the 1:00 PM Mass

Vigil of the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord: Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God Wednesday, December 31, Í´Í˛ÍłÍś

Regular Daily Mass Schedule: 6:45 AM, 8:00 AM and 12:10 PM 5:30 PM Vigil Mass

Octave of the Nativity of the Lord: Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God Thursday, January 1, 2015

Regular Daily Mass Schedule: 6:45 AM, 8:00 AM, 12:10 PM

The Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord Sunday, January 4, 2015

Saturday, January 3 - Vigil - 5:30 PM Sunday - 7:30 AM, 9:00 AM, 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM (EspaĂąol)

Epiphany / DĂa de los Reyes 5:00 pm. Vigil Mass (Sat. 3 Jan) 8:00 a.m. & 10:00 a.m. Mass in English 12:00 Misa en EspaĂąol

4:00 PM - Epiphany Lessons and Carols with the Golden Gate Boys Choir and Bellringers, Archdiocesan Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Choir and St. Brigid School Honor

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

Christmas Masses:

Christmas Eve (Wednesday, December 24) 4:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m. 12 Midnight

Christmas Vigil Mass Christmas Family Mass Christmas Midnight Mass

11:30 p.m. - Christmas Concert

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

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 19, 2014

ST. ANDREW CATHOLIC CHURCH 1571 Southgate Avenue, Daly City, CA 94015 (650) 756-3223

2014 CHRISTMAS LITURGIES

December 15 -23 Simbang Gabi 7:00 pm except Sat @ 4:45 pm December 24 8:00 pm Vigil of Christmas Mass 12:00 Midnight Christmas Eve Mass December 25 Christmas Day Masses 9:30 am & 12:00 noon

A Blessed Christmas to All!

SIMBANG GABI AND CHRISTMAS MASS SCHEDULE

Between South Mayfair ad South Avenues with plenty of free parking!

Thursday, December 25: Christmas Day Masses at 7:30am and 9:00am 10:30am with our Children’s Choir 12:00pm with our Parish Choir

Wednesday, December 31: 7:00am and 9:00am 6:00pm Vigil Mass for New Year - Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

Thursday, January 1, 2015 - Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God 9:00am & 12:00pm

- Simbang Gabi Novena Dec 16-23 6am ( in support of St. Charles School) - Posadas Dec. 16-23 6pm Christmas Eve Confessions 4pm-5:30pm - Christmas Eve Children’s Mass 6pm - Christmas Eve Midnight Mass (carols at 11:30pm) - Christmas Day 8am (sp) 9:30am (eng) 11 am (sp) 12:30pm (sp) 5:30pm(sp)

(415) 587-7066 Fax (415) 587-6690

ADVENT / CHRISTMAS / EPIPHANY SEASONS PARISH CELEBRATIONS 2014 – 2015

Monday, December 15, to Tuesday Dec. 23:

4:00pm Christmas Eve Mass with our Children’s Choir. 5:30pm Christmas Eve Mass 11:30pm Sing-Along Christmas Carols with our Parish Choir. 12:00am Midnight Mass with our Choir

713 S. VAN NESS AT 18TH STREET

286 Ashton Avenue San Francisco, CA 94112

5 Elmwood Drive, Daly City

Wednesday, December 24:

St Charles Parish

SAINT EMYDIUS CHURCH

Our Lady of Mercy Parish

7:00pm Rosary and Confession (except Saturday, 2:30pm) 7:30pm Simbang Gabi Masses (except Saturday, 5:30pm), followed by a Reception downstairs in our Church Hall.

Advent and Christmas at St. Charles Borromeo Church

to you,

Christmas Masses

Thursday, December 18 Joy of Advent - Joy of the Gospel – 7:00 - 8:30 pm

Wednesday, December 24

Sunday, December 21 Fourth Sunday of Advent 10:00 am Mass only

Christmas Masses

December 24 4:00 pmTuesday, Family Vigil Mass with Children’s choir 6:00 pm Vigil Mass with choir and brass Midnight Solemn Vigil with choir and strings

Wednesday, December 24 Christmas Vigil Mass – 8:00 pm Thursday, December 25 Christmas Midnight Mass – 12:00 midnight Christmas Morning Mass – 10:00 am

Caroling begins 20 minutes before each Mass

Sunday, December 28 Feast of the Holy Family – Regular Schedule

Thursday, December 25

Thursday, January 1, 2015 Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God (Holy Day) and Octave of Christmas – 10:00 am

Wednesday, December 25

8:00 am Mass with organ and cantor 9:30 am Mass with choir and brass 11:00 am Mass with choir and brass FREE PARKING AVAILABLE IN ALL UNIVERSITY LOTS 650 Parker @ Fulton, San Francisco, CA 94118

Christmas TV Mass Special with Monsignor Harry Schlitt

Sunday, January 4, 2015 Solemnity of the Epiphany – Regular Schedule Saturday, January 10, 2015 Anointing of the Sick Mass (no 8:00 am Mass) 10:00 am

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

Simbang Gabi Masses December 15th through December 23rd at 7:00 p.m. (Pot Luck Dinner follows December 23rd Mass)

CHRISTMAS MASSES Holy Day of Obligation

Christmas Eve Masses December 24th 5:00 p.m. Christmas Vigil Mass with Children’s Pageant 9:15 p.m. Christmas Caroling 10:00 p.m. Midnight Mass

WILL BE AIRED ON CHRISTMAS MORNING

Christmas Day Masses

KOFY-TV 20

December 25th 8:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m., and 12:00 p.m.

6:30 am

New Year’s Eve Mass

FOX 40 - Sacramento

December 31st 10:00 p.m. (Midnight Mass)

9:30 am

New Year’s Day Masses

KTSF 26 - San Francisco

Holy Day of Obligation January 1st Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God

9:30 am Your donations make the TV Mass possible Please join us Christmas morning and every Sunday

Have a Blessed Holiday season. You are always in my Prayers Fr. Harry Schlitt

8:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

CHRISTMAS LITURGIES 11

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 19, 2014

St. Raymond Church 1100 Santa Cruz Avenue Menlo Park, CA 94025 650-323-1755

St. Augustine Church 3700 Callan Blvd. S. San Francisco, CA 94080

CHRISTMAS 2014

Christopher Fadok, O.P., Pastor

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

Christmas Vigil: Wednesday, December 24

Please join us this Christmas Season to Celebrate the Birth of the Christ Child. Joy to the World! Christmas Eve: Christmas Day:

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)

4:30 Children’s Christmas Nativity Play 5:15, 7:30 and Midnight Masses

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.

8 AM and 10 AM Masses

New Year’s Day 2015 Schedule of Masses: 9:30 A.M., 11:00 A.M., 12:30 P.M.

We hope you are able to join us!

Saint Stephen Catholic Church

ONFESSIONS

4th Sunday of Advent 12/20-21 Regular Weekend Mass Schedule Saturday 3:30pm Confessions 4:30pm (Sunday Vigil) Sunday 8:00, 9:30, 11:30am, 6:45pm Christmas Eve 3:30pm Confessions 4:30pm Family Mass 10:00pm Mass (Prelude music 9:30pm)

CHRISTMAS SCHEDULE ST. MATTHEW C CATHOLIC CHURCH Saturday. December 20:

Eucalyptus Drive @ 23rd Avenue (near Stonestown Mall)

1853

2014

415.681.2444 www.SaintStephenSF.org

Christmas 2014

1 NOTRE DAME AVENUE SAN MATEO, CA 94404

CHRISTMAS 2014

Christmas Day 9:00 & 11:00am Mass No evening Mass on Christmas Day Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary & Joseph 12/27-28 Regular Weekend Mass Schedule Saturday 3:30pm Confessions 4:30pm (Sunday Vigil) Sunday 8:00, 9:30, 11:30am, 6:45pm

Christ Yesterday, Today and Forever Devotedly in Christ Rev. Anthony E. McGuire Rev. Armando Gutierrez Rev. Dominic S. Lee Rev. Tony Vallecillo

Main Church 11:30am-12Noon and 4:30pm-5:00pm Monday, December 22 and Tuesday, December 23 Chapel 5:00pm-5:30pm Wednesday, December 24: Main Church 11:00am-12Noon

MASSES Wednesday, Christmas Eve, December 24: 5:00pm Family Mass, 7pm (Spanish) Thursday, Christmas Day, December 25: 7:00am, 8:45am, (Spanish), 10:45am, 12:30pm, 3:00pm (Cantonese Mass – Chapel) Wednesday, New Year’s Eve, December 31: 7:00pm Spanish

NEW YEARS’ DAY –THURS. JAN. 1, 2015 A Holy Day of Obligation, The Feast of Mary, the Mother of God Masses: 6:30am, 10:30am (English), 12.05pm

STM Advent -ChristmasMORE Schedule 2014-2015 SAINT THOMAS CHURCH 15-23: Interna onal Novena (Simbang 1300December Junipero Serra Blvd.,Christmas San Francisco, CA Gabi), 94132 at 7:00pm except Sat. Dec. 20 -5pm and Sun. Dec. 21 -8pm (415) 452-9634 | www.stmchurch.com

DecemberDecember 15-23: Interna onal Christmas Novena (Simbang Wednesday, 17: Confessions at 6:30pm & during the Gabi), at 7:00pm except Sat. Dec. Mass 20 -5pm and Sun. Dec. 21 -8pm Novena Wednesday, Confessions at 6:30pm & during the Friday, December 19: NoDecember 3rd Friday17: Adora on Sunday, December 21: Annual Cable CarNovena CarolingMass -2pm With distribu on HolyAdora on Communion to the sick, Friday, December 19: No 3rd of Friday homebound and singing Christmas carols. Sunday, December 21: Annual Cable Car Caroling -2pm Wednesday, December 24:distribu on Christmas Eve With of Holy Communion to the sick, 6:00pm:homebound Parish Massand andsinging Christmas Pageantcarols. Christmas 9:00pm: Arabic Mass with Sweets and Santa Wednesday, December 24: Christmas Eve in Carroll Hall a er Mass

6:00pm: Parish Mass and Christmas Pageant

Advent 2014 Family Pageant & Las Posadas, Sunday, December 14, 3:15 p.m., Church Annual Christmas Concert, Monday, December 15, 7:30 p.m., Church, St. Dominic’s Schola Cantorum with The Festival Orchestra Advent Reconciliation Service, Thursday, December 18, with individual confessions available, 11:45 a.m.-2:00 p.m. & 7:00-9:00 p.m., Church

12:00am: Midnight Mass

9:00pm: Arabic Mass with Sweets and Santa preceded by Christmas Carols at 11:30pm

in Carroll Hall a er Mass

Thursday, December 25: Christmas Day

12:00am: Midnight Mass 10:00am: English Mass

preceded by Christmas Carols at 11:30pm 4:00pm Brazilian Mass

Thursday, December 25: Christmas Day

8:00pm: English Mass

10:00am: English Mass

Wednesday, December 31: New Year’s Eve

4:00pm Brazilian Mass

5:30pm: Mass

English Mass Thursday, January 1: New Years 8:00pm: Day Solemnity Mary Mother of God Wednesday, December 31:Day New Eve (Holy ofYear’s Obliga on) 5:30pm: English Mass Mass 10:00am: Thursday, January 1: New12:00pm: Years DayArabic Solemnity Mass Mary Mother of God (Holy DayBrazilian of Obliga on) 4:00pm Mass 8:00pm: English MassMass 10:00am: English Sunday, January 4: Feast of the 12:00pm: Epiphany Arabic Mass Regular4:00pm Sunday Mass schedule Brazilian Mass

8:00pm: English Mass Sunday, January 4: Feast of the Epiphany Regular Sunday Mass schedule

Christmas 2014 Christmas Eve, Wednesday, December 24 Advent Mass: 8:00 a.m. Christmas Eve Vigil Masses: 4:00 p.m. Family Mass & 6:00 p.m. Family Mass, 11:15 p.m. Carol service, 12:00 a.m. Midnight Mass (Solemn Mass with choral music, strings and brass) (No confessions today) Christmas Day, Thursday, December 25 Masses at 8:30 a.m. (Parish Mass with Carols), 11:00 a.m. (Solemn Mass with Choral Music), (No confessions today and no Masses at 1:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m. or 9:00 p.m.) Solemnity of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary & Joseph Sunday, December 28, Our regular weekend schedule New Year’s Eve Prayer Vigil, Wednesday, December 31, 10:30 p.m., Church Solemnity of Mary the Holy Mother of God, Thursday, January 1, 2015 (A Holy Day of Obligation) Parish Mass at 9:30 a.m. Vigil Mass on Wednesday, December 31, 5:30 p.m.

12 CHRISTMAS LITURGIES

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 19, 2014

Saint Robert’s Church 1380 Crystal Springs Road San Bruno, CA 94066 (650) 589-2800

Seventeenth Avenue and Vicente Street The Parkside District in San Francisco

MERRY CHRISTMAS

CHRISTMAS EVE MASSES

Christmas Day

Christmas Eve

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 the Holy Spirit Music Ministry 11:30 a.m. - Fr. Felix Lim with our Adult Choir and Orchestra

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

Thursday, December 25th 7:30 am, 9:30 am, & 11:30 am. No Evening Mass

New Year’s Day (Holy Day of Obligation)

Feast of the Epiphany

Saturday, January 3, 2015 - 4:30 p.m. Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God Sunday, January 4, 2015 Thursday, January 1, 2015 7:30 a.m., 9:30 am 11:30 a.m., 5:00 p.m. 9:30 am only

Church of the Epiphany

827 Vienna Street. SF,CA 94112

2014 Christmas Week Schedule Wednesday, December 24th—Christmas Eve: 5:30pm (Children’s Mass); 9:00pm; & 12:00 Midnight (11:30pm Caroling)

LIVE BROADCAST: WWW.STCECILIA.COM

Thursday, December 25th—Christmas Day: 6:30am, 8:30am, 10:00am, 11:30am (Spanish), & 1:00pm

Saints Peter and Paul Church Dec. 22 Dec. 17 – 23

7PM 5PM

Advent Penance Service Christmas Novena

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

Confessions Vigil Mass Christmas Carols Midnight Mass

Christmas Day Masses 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 Mass on Christmas Day

660 Filbert Street San Francisco 415.421.0809 Holy Name of Jesus Parish

holy name

39th Ave.& Lawton St.

San Francisco, California

2014 Christmas Schedule CHRISTMAS EVE MASSES Wednesday, December 24, 2014 5:00 PM (Family/Children’s Mass) 11:30 PM Christmas Carols (Holy Name Choral Ministry) 12:00 Midnight Concelebrated Mass

St. John of God Church

6:30am, 8:00am, 11:00am, 5:30pm & 7:30pm (Spanish)

Saturday, January 3rd—Feast of the Epiphany:

1290 5th Ave. San Francisco

5:30pm Mass followed by a reception in the Cafeteria.

Christmas Schedule

“The Faithful Will Be Abound With Blessings.” –Proverbs 28:20 Please call the Parish Office for more information, (415) 333-7630

Vigil of Christmas Wednesday, Tuesday, December 24 4:15 PM: Christmas Eve Family Mass with Children’s Pageant 10:00 PM: Carols followed by Christmas Eve Night Mass at 10:30 PM The Nativity of The Lord Wed., December 25 Thursday, Masses at 9:30 AM and 11:30 AM

Christmas Blessings!

ST. TIMOTHY PARISH 1515 Dolan Avenue San Mateo, CA 94401

CHRISTMAS DAY MASSES Thursday, December 25, 2014 7:30 AM 9:30 AM 11:30 AM NEW YEAR’S DAY MASSES Thursday, January 1, 2014 The Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God 7:30 AM 9:00 AM 7:30 PM

St. Patrick Church

156 Mission Street, San Francisco CHRISTMAS SCHEDULE Saturdays, December 13 and 20 4:00-5:00 p.m. Advent Confessions (all priests)

December 16 - 24 6:00 a.m.

Misa de Gallo, followed by hot breakfast in the Parish Hall

Wednesday, December 24 6:00 a.m.

Misa de Gallo, followed by hot breakfast in the Parish Hall 7:30 a.m. Mass 12:10 p.m. Mass - Please note: There will be no Mass at 5:15 p.m. 7:00 p.m. Christmas Carols 8:00 p.m. Traditional “Mass at Midnight”

Glory to God in the highest: and on earth

Thursday, December 25

peace to

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

people of

Please note: There will be no Mass 5:15 p.m.

good will

Wednesday, December 31 7:30 a.m., 12:15 and 5:15 p.m.

Thursday, January 1, 2015 2014 CHRISTMAS WEEK LITURGIES Wednesday December 24 4:30 pm Mass/Carols 5:00 pm Family Mass 10 pm Mass/Carols 10:30 pm Bilingual Thursday December 25

1555 39th Ave. San Francisco, CA 94122 (415) 664-8590 www.holynamesf.org

Thursday, January 1st—Solemnity of Mary (Holy Day of Obligation):

9:00 & 10:30 am English 12:00 pm Bilingual

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

Luke 2:14

CHRISTMAS LITURGIES 13

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 19, 2014

St. Gabriel Church 2559-40th Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94116 (415) 731-6161

Advent / Christmas 2014 Christmas Masses Christmas Eve, Wednesday, December 24 4:00 PM Christmas Vigil Mass. Guitar Accompanist. 5:30 PM Christmas Carols with Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Choir. 6:00 PM Family Mass. Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Choir 11:30 PM Christmas Carols with Adult Choir. 12:00 AM Christmas Midnight Mass. Adult Choir & Brass Ensemble.

Christmas Day, Thursday, December 25 8:30 AM Cantor. 10:00 AM Cantor. 12:00 PM Adult Choir & Brass Ensemble. THERE WILL BE NO EVENING MASS ON CHRISTMAS DAY.

Christmas Blessings Rejoice in the Birth of Christ our Savior! ARCHDIOCESE

St. Brunoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Church (650) 588-2121

555 W. San Bruno Avenue, San Bruno, CA

2014 CHRISTMAS WEEK SCHEDULE December 15-23 Posadas. Please look at listing in the church for locations and times DECEMBER 19 7 PM Christmas Play Street Drama December 21-23 5 AM Misa de Gallo DECEMBER 24 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; CHRISTMAS EVE 7 PM Vigil Mass in Spanish 9 PM Christmas Carol 10 PM Midnight Mass DECEMBER 25, CHRISTMAS DAY MASSES 8 AM 10 AM Spanish 12 PM MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR

SAN FRANCISCO

Our Lady of Angels Catholic Church 1721 Hillside Drive, Burlingame Capuchin Franciscans 650-347-7768

2014 Christmas Schedule Christmas Eve, Wednesday Dec. 24th 4:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m. (Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Mass) and 10 p.m. (No Mass at Midnight) Christmas Day, Thursday Dec. 25th 8:00, 10:00 and 12 noon New Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day Masses Vigil Mass Wednesday, Dec. 31-5:00 p.m. Thursday, January 1, 2015 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.

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

One of the pleasures of the Christmas Season is the opportunity to send our thoughts and prayers to those whose friendship and good will we value so highly. 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 Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s love be with you and yours throughout the New Year.

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, Wednesday December 17th at 7 pm

Christmas Eve, December 24th Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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

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

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 CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS AT ST. DUNSTAN 2014 CHRISTMAS EVE MASSES 4:30 pm Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Mass with Pageant 11:00 pm Christmas Carols 11:30 pm Christmas Mass CHRISTMAS DAY MASSES 7:00 am, 8:30 am, 10:00 am, and 11:30 am

NO 5:00 pm Mass on Christmas Day

8:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. Masses

New Year's Day, January 1, 2015 8:30 a.m. Mass

ST. MONICA PARISH Geary Boulevard at 23rd Ave, San Francisco (415) 751-5275

Simbang Gabi/Las Posadas December 21st, 22nd, 23rd @ 6:30 pm

CHRISTMAS SCHEDULE 2014 SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20 Confessions 4:00 - 4:45 p.m. * Mass 5:00 p.m.

Christmas Eve $ISJTUNBT $BOUBUB ! QN t .BTT ! QN Inspirational Voices of Shipwreck Gospel Choir Light refreshments following Christmas Day BN 5SBEJUJPOBM .BTT t QN *HCP .BTT Feast of the Holy Family/Kwanzaa Celebration 4VOEBZ %FDFNCFS UI t BN (PTQFM .BTT Deacon Larry Chatmon, Homilist /FX :FBS T &WF t QN .BTT /FX :FBS T %BZ t BN 5SBEJUJPOBM .BTT Parking Entrance on Jennings Street Corner of 3rd Street & Jamestown, San Francisco t TUQBVMPGUIFTIJQXSFDL PSH t GBDFCPPL DPN 414IJQXSFDL

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 21 Masses: 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. (Cantonese) 10:30 a.m.

CHRISTMAS EVE WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24 5:00 p.m. Family Christmas Eve Mass with Saint Monica Honors Choir and Nativity Play 11:30 p.m. The Saint Monica Choir will present festive music of the season 12:00 a.m. Solemn Midnight Mass

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

NEW YEARâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S EVE WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 31 Mass: 8:30 a.m.

NEW YEARâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S DAY THURSDAY, JANUARY 1, 2015 Holy Day of Obligation Mass: 10:30 a.m.

FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY SUNDAY, JANUARY 4, 2015 Masses, 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. (Cantonese) 10:30 a.m. with Choir,

14 WORLD

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 19, 2014

Vatican report calls US women religious to continued dialogue CINDY WOODEN CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

VATICAN CITY – A massive, detailed Vaticanordered investigation of U.S. communities of women religious ended with a call to the women themselves to continue discerning how best to live the Gospel in fidelity to their orders’ founding ideals while facing steeply declining numbers and a rapidly aging membership. Although initially seen by many religious and lay Catholics as a punitive measure, the apostolic visitation concluded with the publication Dec. 16 of a 5,000-word final report summarizing the problems and challenges the women themselves see in their communities and thanking them for their service to the church and to society, especially the poor. The visitation process, carried out between 2009 and 2012 with detailed questionnaires and on-site visits, mainly by other women religious, “sought to convey the caring support of the church in respectful, sister-to-sister dialogue,” says the final report by the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. The process attempted to help the Vatican “and the sisters themselves to be more cognizant of their current situation and challenges in order to formulate realistic, effective plans for the future,” said the report, signed by Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, prefect of the congregation for religious, and Archbishop Jose Rodriguez Carballo, secretary. In summarizing the results, the congregation called for special attention in several areas, including: formation programs for new members; the personal, liturgical and common prayer life of members; ensuring their spiritual practices and ministries are fully in harmony with church teaching “about God, creation, the Incarnation and redemption” in Christ; strengthening community life, especially for members living on their own or with just one other sister; living their vow of poverty while wisely administering financial resources; and strengthening communion within the church, especially with the bishops and Vatican officials. The Vatican, the report says, “is well aware that the apostolic visitation was met with apprehension and suspicion by some women religious. This

(CNS PHOTO/PAUL HARING)

Sister Agnes Mary Donovan, coordinator of the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious, speaks as Sister Sharon Holland, president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, listens during a Dec. 16 Vatican press conference for release of the final report of a Vatican-ordered investigation of U.S. communities of women religious. resulted in a refusal, on the part of some institutes, to collaborate fully in the process.” “While the lack of full cooperation was a painful disappointment for us,” the congregation writes, “we use this present opportunity to invite all religious institutes to accept our willingness to engage in respectful and fruitful dialogue with them.” “A number of sisters conveyed to the apostolic visitator a desire for greater recognition and support of the contribution of women religious to the church on the part of its pastors,” the report says. “They noted the ongoing need for honest dialogue with bishops and clergy as a means of clarifying their role in the church and strengthening their witness and effectiveness as women faithful to the church’s teaching and mission.” In addition, it says, “some spoke of their perception of not having enough input into pastoral decisions which affect them or about which they have considerable experience and expertise.” The current Year of Consecrated Life, the congregation says, should be “a graced opportunity for all of us within the church – religious, clergy and laity – to take those steps toward forgiveness and reconciliation, which will offer a radiant and attractive witness of fraternal communion to all.” The former prefect of the congregation, Cardinal

Franc Rode, ordered the visitation in 2008, saying its aim would be to study the community, prayer and apostolic life of the orders to learn why the number of religious women in the United States had declined so sharply since the 1960s. Almost a year into the study, Cardinal Rode told Vatican Radio that the investigation was a response to concerns – including some expressed by an unnamed “important representative of the U.S. church” – regarding “some irregularities or omissions in American religious life. Most of all, you could say, it involves a certain secular mentality that has spread in these religious families and, perhaps, also a certain ‘feminist’ spirit.” As the process began, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, which represents about 80 percent of U.S. women religious, questioned what its officials considered a lack of full disclosure about what motivated the visitation. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s investigation of the LCWR, begun in 2008, was a separate process; in 2011, the congregation ordered a reform of the organization, saying “the current doctrinal and pastoral situation of LCWR is grave and a matter of serious concern, also given the influence the LCWR exercises on religious congregations in other parts of the world.” At a news conference presenting the report Dec. 16, the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life invited both the president of the LCWR and the chairwoman of the smaller U.S. Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious to address the media. They were joined by Mother Mary Clare Millea, superior general of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the apostolic visitor appointed by the Vatican. The congregation’s final report says that while apostolic visits are “a normal instrument of governance” designed to “assist the group in question to improve the way in which it carries out its mission in the life of the church,” the visitation of U.S. women religious “was unprecedented” in many ways. “It involved 341 religious institutes of both diocesan and pontifical right, to which approximately 50,000 women religious throughout the United States belong,” the report says. Only communities of cloistered nuns were excluded.

Though painful at times, visitation was positive, speakers say CINDY WOODEN CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

VATICAN CITY – The apostolic visitation of U.S. communities of religious women, though initially met with some resistance, ended up promoting a greater sense of unity in the church and helped the women become more aware of how God is working in their lives, said the prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. “May the self-assessment and dialogue sparked by the apostolic visitation continue to bear abundant fruit for the revitalization and strengthening of religious institutes in fidelity to Christ, to the Church and to their founding charisms,” said Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, the prefect, at a Dec. 16 news conference at the Vatican. The apostolic visitation, carried out between 2009 and 2012, concluded with the publication of a final report summarizing the problems and challenges the apostolic visitors and the women themselves see in their communities. Joining Cardinal Braz de Aviz for the presentation of the report were: Archbishop Jose Rodriguez Carballo, congregation secretary; Mother Mary Clare Millea, superior general of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the apostolic visitor appointed by the Vatican; Mother Agnes Mary Donovan, superior general of the Sisters of Life and chairperson of the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious; and Sister Sharon Holland, vice president of the Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. The sisters attended Pope Francis’ private Mass that morning and spoke to him briefly afterward. Mother Clare said the pope thanked her for fulfilling the “long and arduous task.” She asked the pope if he had a message for the U.S. sisters and he responded, “Please tell them I send my blessings to them all.”

(CNS PHOTO/PAUL HARING)

Brazilian Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, speaks with Sister Sharon Holland, president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, at the conclusion of a Dec . 16 Vatican press conference for release of the final report of a Vatican-ordered investigation of U.S. communities of women religious. Also pictured is Sister Agnes Mary Donovan, coordinator of the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious. Mother Clare, speaking to Catholic News Service, said one thing she kept in mind during the visitation was the experience of her order’s founder, Mother Clelia Merloni. Because of “internal conflicts and jealousies,” she was denounced to the Vatican. “She was subjected to an apostolic visitation, removed from office and lived outside the congregation for 12 years.” Now “we are very close to her beatification,” Mother Clare said. Her suffering “very deeply touched my approach to the visitation,” she said, “knowing the sacredness of every sister, the sacredness of every congregation, so I could not treat them with anything but total respect.” In addition to the 5,000-word final report, Cardinal Braz de Aviz said, “individual reports will be sent to those institutes which hosted an onsite visitation and to those institutes whose individual

reports indicated areas of concern – because there are some of those, too.” Archbishop Rodriguez told reporters that the Vatican would not publish the individual reports out of respect for the communities involved. Mother Millea, who said she initially was “overwhelmed” by the “enormous task” of conducting the visitation, told reporters, “I now understand as never before how enriched and blessed the church in the United States is because of the myriad experiences and gifts of its current 50,000 women religious and the multitudes of dedicated women who have preceded us.” Her voice breaking with emotion, Mother Millea thanked the congregation leaders “for hearing our voices, our concerns and our goodwill, and for responding to us with sensitivity, respect and clarity. Your message to us today shows that you do understand our ongoing struggle to faithfully serve the church in challenging times, despite our shortcomings and limitations.” Sister Holland told reporters that the expressed purpose of the visitation when it began – “to look into the quality of life of religious women in the United States” – “was troubling. Some congregations reported that their elder sisters felt that their whole lives had been judged and found wanting.” However, she said, the final report is “affirmative and realistic,” reflecting the vast range of experiences of U.S. communities of women religious and the complex social, religious and economic factors that have contributed to the declining number of sisters in the United States, their financial difficulties and their struggles to discern how best to organize their ministries as well as their community life. Responding to a question, she said she worries about those sisters who are still angry that the visitation took place, but they need someone to listen to them. “It is not healthy to remain angry,” she said. “Sometimes when we are fearful and feel powerless, we externalize that in anger.”

WORLD 15

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 19, 2014

ARCHBISHOP: Global interfaith meeting affirms universality of marriage Archbishop Cordileone said the global gathering left him with ‘a renewed sense of purpose and unity and also a confidence … that what we already know gives us strength within us that marriage can’t go away.’

FROM PAGE 3

Archbishop Cordileone said Lord Jonathan Sacks, former chief rabbi of the United Kingdom, delivered one of the most powerful talks. Rabbi Sacks provided an interpretation of Genesis centered on Adam’s fatherhood: Adam realizes after the fall that nothing of him will survive his death unless he chooses a life partner in Eve and they have children. Rabbi Sacks also covered seven key moments in the evolution of complementarity, noting as one example that the earliest scientiﬁc evidence of sexual reproduction comes from the pairing of ﬁsh in a Scottish lake 285 million years ago. The development of a large brain in Homo sapiens necessitated the father to help with the completion of the child’s development outside the womb, Rabbi Sacks said in another of his seven points. He said monogamy was another step forward, allowing all men, not just the alphas, to pass on their lineage. The rabbi said marriage transformed the human race, making love the driving force of life and not merely a matter of fairness. Marriage is a covenant not unlike the covenant with God that Jews renew weekly in worship, but it is falling apart now, Rabbi Sacks said. “Science takes things apart to see

how they work,” he said. “Religion puts things together to see what they mean.” What marriage used to bring together “is now being torn apart – sex from love, love from commitment, marriage from having children, having children from responsibility for their care,” Rabbi Sacks spoke about the “fatal conceit” that we think we know better than generations that have come before us. He said the demise of marriage in the West exemplifies this. Archbishop Cordileone said the gathering left him with “a renewed sense of purpose and unity and also a confidence – I don’t know what’s going to happen with the law – but a new sense of confidence that what we already know gives us strength within us that marriage can’t go away. Marriage is based in nature and we can’t change nature. … Either we bring men and women together to parent their children or we ignore it to our demise.” Archbishop Cordileone was also in Barcelona, Spain, Nov. 24-26, as the only

North American church leader at a meeting of archbishops and cardinals at the International Pastoral Congress on the World’s Big Cities. Pope Francis is the ﬁrst urban pope “and had a personal interest in this,” Archbishop Cordileone said. More than half the world’s population lives in large cities, and the meeting focused on how God lives in the city and how the church can be there to witness the good Samaritan. “The missionary thrust of Jesus has to be our model,” Archbishop Cordileone said, “going out to the peripheries, encountering the poor in whatever way they happen to be poor.” The prelates ﬂew to Rome to end their meeting with a general audience with the Holy Father. “Something he said there really resonated with me,” Archbishop Cordileone said. “We have to recognize the reality that we’re living in. We have to change the pastoral mentality, is what he was saying.”

The church must recognize that it is no longer the primary producer of culture. “So we must enter into a dialogue with those other producers of culture, not in a relativistic sense as if we’re just one menu option on the table but always keeping in view the evangelical thrust of the church, recognizing that the human person is emancipated by God,” the archbishop said, paraphrasing the pope’s remarks. “God is the one who makes us free. “So, he says, we need to enter into a dialogue not in this relativistic sense that we’re just one life choice among many but to plant the seeds of the Gospel in their hearts,” the archbishop said. Archbishop Cordileone said Catholics need a deeper understanding of their faith, not just rote answers, in order to respond to the questions people are asking. He said another focal point of the meeting was that the church must be less reliant on priests and empower the laity to evangelize. Examples of lay evangelization at other local churches around the world include house meetings for prayer and faith-sharing; “white nights” in Naples, Italy, where young people reach out to weekend partiers to pray before the Blessed Sacrament at nearby churches; and confessional stations established in shopping malls in the Washington archdiocese.

Pope Francis continues to take ‘the world by storm’ CAROL ZIMMERMANN CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

WASHINGTON – During the second year of his pontiﬁcate, Pope Francis was still feeling the love, and not just from Catholics or those from his homeland of Argentina. A Pew Research Center study released Dec. 11 showed that the pope has broad support across much of the world. Sixty percent of the 43 nations polled had a positive view of the pontiff. And Americans, in particular, have shown their fondness for Pope Francis, often extolling his simplistic style. According to the Pew study, 78 percent of Americans view the pope favorably. Put another way: Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, who just completed his ﬁrst year as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said the pope has “taken the world by storm.” He recently told Catholic News Service that 2014 brought worldwide attention to almost everything Pope Francis said and did – which “in so many ways,” he said, made the U.S. bishops’ work easier. And the bishops were not the only ones to recognize the pope’s appeal. The pontiff, who was on the cover of many magazines in 2013, still had the coveted cover spot – not usually reserved for religious leaders – on Rolling Stone magazine this February. He was also the topic of a number of books issued this year and innumerable Catholic discussions either during coffee and doughnut socials after Masses or larger-scale symposiums at Catholic universities. During a Feb. 3 talk on the “Francis factor” at Georgetown University, panelists used descriptors such as “troublemaker” and “anti-establishment” in their discussion about Pope Francis. They also commended his strong leadership and management style and of course, his popularity. Kerry Robinson, executive director of the National Leadership Roundtable on Church Management, said the pope’s strongest action so far had been urging people to personal conversion. The conversion he seeks in the world, she said, “starts now, with us.” At the same gathering, hosted by Georgetown’s Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life, John Allen, associate editor at the Boston Globe, said there are likely some cardinals who might say the pope has done things that make them nervous, but they would still no doubt appreciate his overall appeal.

(CNS PHOTO/PAUL HARING)

Pope Francis greets the crowd during his general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican Dec. 10. One catch, so far with the pope’s popularity, is that it has not, as of yet in the U.S., drawn more people, or those who have left the church, back to Mass or the sacraments in measurable numbers, according to a Pew Research Center poll earlier this year. Some observers have said the pope’s impact shouldn’t be measured in returning Catholics, but in the restored image of the Catholic Church and the number of Catholics who feel proud of their faith again thanks to Pope Francis. Eileen Burke-Sullivan, associate theology professor at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, told CNS in March that in visits to various parishes in the country, she heard numerous stories of parents’ grown children who have been inspired by the example of the pope and want to come back to the church. She also said parishes should be prepared for these returning Catholics and be sure they are ready to serve as “field hospitals” welcoming all, as the pope has said they must do. This fall, the pope had a lot of eyes on him during the extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family at the Vatican. The pope opened the first working session, but never expressed his views during the gathering. At the synod’s end, many news outlets said the final report was a “setback” or “loss” for the pope, because it did not include the midterm’s conciliatory language toward people with ways of life contrary to church teaching, or reflect the theme of mercy, the pope so often articulates. German Cardinal Walter Kasper, who gained atten-

tion during the synod for his proposal to make it easier for divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to receive Communion, told an audience at The Catholic University of America in Washington in early November that Pope Francis is “a pope of surprises.” In using words that almost sound like something the pope would say, the German cardinal said Pope Francis has “succeeded in a short time in brightening up the gloomy atmosphere that had settled like mildew on the church.” He also acknowledged that the pope has his detractors, saying: “What for some is the beginning of a new spring, is for others a temporary cold spell.” The cardinal said the pope doesn’t “represent a traditionalist or a progressive scheme,” but instead “wants to lead faith and morality back to their original center,” to the heart of the Gospels. That’s a recurring theme of Pope Francis and for many it was echoed in the pope’s appointment this fall of Archbishop Blase J. Cupich as the new archbishop of Chicago. The archbishop’s simple and very pastoral style has often been compared to Pope Francis. When he was asked why he was given this new position, the archbishop has repeatedly told reporters that the pope “sent a pastor.” He also referred to the pope’s remarks at the synod’s opening session when he said he sees his role as guaranteeing unity in the church. Archbishop Cupich told CNS that in many ways a bishop has that same responsibility: “to make sure that we walk together, to accompany each other.” And certainly many Catholics will accompany each other next fall when Pope Francis will make his ﬁrst visit to the United States to attend the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia in late September. Plans call for the pope to attend the Festival of Families Sept. 26 – a cultural celebration expected to draw up to 800,000 participants – and to celebrate Sunday Mass the afternoon of Sept. 27 on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art for a crowd of about 1 million people. Donna Crilley Farrell, executive director of the 2015 World Meeting of Families, said numbers for the gathering are expected to grow each day and could reach close to 2 million people. Other details of the U.S. trip have not been announced, but this summer Pope Francis told reporters that President Barack Obama and the U.S. Congress had invited him to Washington and that the U.N. secretary-general had invited him to New York.

16 OPINION

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 19, 2014

The many feasts of Christmas

or many Americans the Christmas season now seems to begin shortly after Labor Day and ends around 10 a.m. Dec. 25, or just after the last present is opened and placed in the “to be exchanged” pile. Contemporary society emphasizes the time before Christmas as being FATHER the most ANTHONY festive period, GIAMPIETRO, CSB and this can be a time of intense excitement for the young and the not so young. There is the anticipation of presents, special kinds of food, and all the relatives gathered in one room. Sights, sounds, and smells that engage the entire person. When Christmas Eve arrives, the wrapped gifts are under the tree, the room dark but for the lights on the tree and those near the crèche. And then there is the quiet anticipation: How will those who love me remember me this year? How will those I love respond to what I have prepared for them? At Christmas we connect with people we don’t see very often. And perhaps we receive notes from friends far away bringing us back to precious memories and to what is most important in life. Christmas is also a time of reaching out to those in need. We bring our presence, a kind word, food to eat and, if we can make it happen, a place to sleep for the homeless. We can make a special effort to visit the elderly, those in prison, and those who have no one to visit them. These are all wonderful ways to enter more deeply into the spirit of Christmas, to remember those who are dear to us, and to help those who may become dear to us. Of course, these are also things that even non-Christians will do this time of year. Catholics can enter more deeply into the coming of Christ, however, by celebrating the many feasts that occur during this liturgical season. St. Nicholas Day is Dec. 6, and it brings a foretaste of the sweets of Christmas. Also before Christmas are the wonderful feasts of the Immaculate Conception of Mary Dec. 8, and Our Lady of Guadalupe Dec. 12. During the last seven days of Advent, those praying the Liturgy of the Hours recite the beautiful O Antiphons. Catholics from the Philippines celebrate Simbang Gabi, “night Mass” in the Filipino language, on the nine days immediately before Christmas. Each night there is a special Mass in the parish church. In Filipino neighborhoods around San Francisco the churches are packed for each of these Masses.

Perspectives from Archbishop Cordileone and guest writers

Christmas is an opportunity for the best part of our humanity to come to the surface, in beautiful and inspiring ways.

LETTERS Hear the cries of injustice

After reading your article “Police officer leans on Catholic faith during Ferguson crisis,” (Dec. 5) I am worried that some readers may be encouraged to view the many protests throughout our nation as a case of “Good Guys vs. Bad Guys.” For me, the article leaves the impression that the protestors are the “Bad Guys” who are unholy and angry looters protesting an imagined injustice. I would like to encourage readers to recognize that the protests are about real injustices in our society, especially in our criminal justice system. These injustices are biased against our black and brown brothers and sisters, and good people can perpetuate unjust systems. Violent protests are wrong, as Jesus taught, and the violence in the protests does make it harder to hear the message. But please my fellow Catholics, let us not continue to pretend we just do not see. Let us hear the cries of injustice throughout our nation, and work together to build a more just society. For a longer discourse about the reasons for the demonstrations, please see my homily “The Answer is Blowing in the Wind” at www. stpauloftheshipwreck.org. Father Paul Gawlowski, OFM Conv. Pastor, St. Paul of the Shipwreck Parish, San Francisco

Identity assessment is correct remedy

The Presentation of the Lord, artist unknown The first day after Christmas the church celebrates St. Stephen, the first martyr. Even as the church delights in the sweet and gentle birth of Jesus, it reminds Catholics that they are called to offer even their lives in witness to the faith. The feast of the Holy Innocents Dec. 28 comes next. The holy innocent ones are the baby boys who were killed by King Herod. Although King Herod did not know who the new Baby King was, he feared an eventual rival, and he wanted to make sure Jesus could never reign as king. So the young baby boys were killed even as Joseph, warned by an angel, whisked the Blessed Virgin Mary out of Bethlehem and toward Egypt. A week after Christmas is the feast of Mary the Mother of God, Jan. 1, which is followed by the Epiphany, when the Magi arrived from the Orient with their gifts. The Sunday after the Epiphany celebrates the Baptism of Christ, and finally, on Feb. 2, there is the Presentation of Christ in the Temple. Some readers are perhaps surprised to see the date of Feb. 2 above. Also known as Candlemas, the feast of the Presentation occurs 40 days after Christmas. Traditionally these 40 days were known as “Christmastide.” Indeed, in the Vatican in Rome, Christmas decorations are not taken down until Feb. 3, the day after the formal end to the religious celebration of Christmas. On the feast of the Presentation the church recalls when, adhering to the Mosaic law, that is, the law given to Moses on Mount Sinai, Mary and Joseph brought the Baby

Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem and presented him, the firstborn, as an offering to God. When they arrived, Simeon and Anna were there to greet them. Inspired by the Holy Spirit and filled with awe for the young mother Mary, they responded in joy: “Lord, now you let your servant go in peace; your word has been fulfilled: My own eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared in the sight of every people: A light to reveal you to the nations and the glory of your people Israel.” Christmas is an opportunity for the best part of our humanity to come to the surface, in beautiful and inspiring ways. And it is an opportunity for each of us to reflect more deeply on the mysteries of our faith, on the joy of being alive and of being embraced by a loving and merciful God, and on his ultimate gift of eternal life. When does Christmas end? We should pick one of the dates above well after Dec. 25 as the date for our end of Christmas. In addition, we should enter as fully as possible into six or seven of these feasts, so that our lives may become even more Christ-centered. To understand these feasts is to understand who we are, called into being by God, and offered fullness of life forever. We are blessed beyond all imagining. Come let us prepare. Come let us celebrate. Come let us rejoice and worship the Lord! FATHER GIAMPIETRO, CSB, is the interim director of development for the Archdiocese of San Francisco. He is the ninth of 11 children and has many wonderful Christmas memories.

A great start for this year’s Advent of Jesus’ birth is the new focus on Catholic identity in high schools by the archdiocesan Office of Catholic Identity Assessment (Dec. 12). Wisely, Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone has chosen this way to start reconstructing the religious health of our high school students, as we’d expect a trusted physician’s careful medical exam to show whether a triathlete is up to the rigors of what lies out there in the race course. Today’s aggressive intrusion of politics, perverted pleasures, and proﬁteering must not be allowed to steal from our young people their destined position in the future as priests, religious, and strong advocates for our Catholic faith. With fewer good people coming forth to pass on our faith than we have seen in the past, we can be grateful to our archbishop for securing the days when we need not worry for lack of priests, brothers, nuns, and religious teachers to pass on the word of God. Robert Jimenez Burlingame

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

OPINION 17

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 19, 2014

A time of great joy and humility

or many people, it grates us at this time of the year when we hear others greet us with “Happy Holidays” rather than “Merry Christmas.” While there does seem to be a secularizing philosophy behind this, on the other hand, there is some sound reason for this greeting, especially for us as Catholics. This time of year is ﬁlled with many special holy days – “holidays” – usually related to the Christmas mystery, most notably Christmas itself and its octave, New Year’s Day, which is both the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God and the World Day of Prayer for Peace. ARCHBISHOP Other feasts in this season have SALVATORE J. special signiﬁcance in one culCORDILEONE ture or another (St. Nicholas, St. Lucy, Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Immaculate Conception, etc.). And while the practice of exchanging gifts at this time of the year has become a part of the secular observance of the holiday season, it, too, retains an important place in the spiritual meaning of Christmas. At Christmas we give gifts to one another because we have received from God a gift, a baby. The crucial element is not that the baby is the cutest, most darling baby ever. Rather, it is that the baby is God’s own Son. God himself has become one of us, and he begins his personal revelation to us by being born of the Virgin Mary in a stable in Bethlehem. His name is both Jesus, which means God saves, and also Emmanuel, which means God is with us. That is, his names capture important aspects of his being. As the letter to the Hebrews tells us, not only is this baby far superior to the angels, but the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs (Hebrews 1:4). He is the true light that enlightens the entire world, a light more powerful than a billion stars. But, like stars, this light shines in the darkness of rejection by many of his people, the people of the Promise made to Abraham, Moses, and David. When the prophet Isaiah points to the Messiah, he encourages the Jews, who are depressed due to their exile for 50 years in Babylon. When, having been conquered by the Babylonians, the Jews were sent into exile, the Jews were pained that God rejected them by banishing them from the very land He himself had given them because they had violated his Covenant.

But now, says Isaiah, “the Lord has bared his holy arm in the sight of all the nations; all the ends of the earth will behold the salvation of our God” (Isaiah 52:10). Just as God humbled the Jews in their captivity in Babylon, God Himself enters into an act of solidarity with His people’s humiliation of exile by having his own Son descend from his heavenly throne and be born humbly in a manger. With the birth of Christ, God begins to rectify not only the exile in Babylon but also the more devastating exile of our ﬁrst parents from the Garden of Eden. God

Are womb transplants immoral?

recent news report described the unusual story of a baby’s birth from his grandmother’s womb. A 29-year old woman from Sweden, born without a uterus, received a transplanted womb from her mother, the same womb that had brought her into the world a generation earlier. The woman then became pregnant through in vitro fertilization and delivered a healthy baby boy. The research had been dogged by controversy and questions: Could a transplanted womb from a post-menopausal woman be “triggered” back into action once it had been introduced into the body of a younger woman? Could a transplanted uterus effectively provide nourishment to a growing baby during all the gestational stages of a pregFATHER TADEUSZ nancy? Would such a costly PACHOLCZYK and risky surgery involving two people, mother and daughter, donor and recipient, be justiﬁable? Are such transplants ultimately ethical? The speciﬁc circumstances involved are critical to determining whether this novel type of transplant is ethical. Various medical anomalies can cause a woman to be missing a uterus. A congenital disease called Rokitansky syndrome can cause the uterus to develop anomalously, or not form at all. Uterine cancer or other serious gynecological issues may necessitate that a woman undergo a hysterectomy, resulting in permanent infertility.

MAKING SENSE OUT OF BIOETHICS

(CNS PHOTO/PAUL HARING)

A Nativity scene decorates the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican Dec. 15.

originally wanted all people in the Garden of Eden, and now by sending His Son He invites us to share divine life with him. The harmony that sin destroyed God now restores by sending his Son as one of us. Imagining no children present at our Christmas creates a telling moment for Christian adults. Suppose, by conjecture, at Christmas we did not see the captivating delight of children opening and playing with their gifts. Would we adults still have intense joy? In order to rejoice on Christmas even in the absence of the contagious joy of children among their gifts, we adults have to be convinced that we have received a gift far surpassing the most fabulous lottery jackpot. The central Good News already contained in the Christ child in the manger is that Christ saved us from the exile of sin. Not only are we no longer banished from Eden, now we are restored to the peace and purity of His Kingdom. This is our great gift. Just as children enjoy their gifts by using them immediately, so adults have to enjoy being freed from the slavery to sin by humbling ourselves and accepting God’s will for us, just as our Lord humbled himself, coming down from heaven to take on human flesh. The divine, infinitely wise and powerful God did this; so we should want to follow Jesus by humbling ourselves. The Church provides us with an action that reminds us that all Catholics are called to humble themselves, as Christ did. During the Creed at Christmas, when we say the words “by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man” everyone genuflects together. We do this because it marks both the beginning and also the mode of our salvation. Jesus, who saves us from our sins, is the baby in the manger, and we participate in his Kingdom by humbling ourselves, as he did so often for us. Every time we genuflect, it should remind us that we are part of Christ’s Kingdom only if we identify with his lowering of himself. In his letter to the Philippians, St. Paul says, “Jesus humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8). Lowering ourselves is the way to participate in the Kingdom. This means humbly acknowledging our need of support through religious activities: weekly Mass attendance as the only way to build up ourselves and the Church; regular confession, which is certainly a humbling experience; grace before meals, even in a restaurant; serving poor people in our city, country, and around the world, because they, too, are made in the image and likeness of God. Christmas is a time of great joy and humility.

The womb is a unique organ with a highly specific function, and the transplantation of a healthy womb into a woman who lacks one due to a birth defect or disease is loosely parallel, some would say, to a situation where a patient’s kidney fails, and another person donates a healthy replacement organ. Yet others would say that the womb is not a vital organ like a kidney, and while the transplantation of a womb is directed toward improving a patient’s quality of life, it clearly does not constitute lifesaving surgery like a kidney transplant. Therefore, womb transplants require strong ethical justifications. As we reflect on the ethics surrounding new medical treatments and technologies, it can help us to recall the general principle, enshrined in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, that the morality of a human act depends on three factors: the object, the end, and the circumstances involved. An act is morally good only if all three of these factors are morally good. If any one of them is bad, we recognize that the overall act itself becomes morally bad. For example, a diva using her voice to sing a passage from a famous opera has the morally good object of performing a beautiful and artistic musical composition. The end for which a diva might sing would be to perfect her singing skills – also morally good. But if she decides to do it at 3 a.m. in a dormitory, so that it disturbs the sleep of her neighbors, then the circumstances would not be good, and we would conclude that the action of singing in that way by the diva is, in fact, morally bad. In the case of carrying out a womb transplant, the object of the act would be good, namely, to restore a woman’s bodily wholeness by transplanting a healthy womb in situations where she lacks one. The end for which the womb transplant would be carried out would also be good, namely, to achieve a pregnancy.

But particular circumstances can easily render the womb transplant immoral. If the transplant were done for the purposes of pursuing a pregnancy through IVF, this circumstance would render the entire act of the womb transplant morally bad and disordered, given that IVF is invariably immoral as a means to engender new human life. All reported instances thus far of womb transplants followed by successful pregnancies have arisen because of the use of IVF. A similar problem with the circumstances of the transplant could arise if the womb that was used for transplant had been donated by a healthy woman still in her reproductive years who harbored a contraceptive intention and no longer desired to have more children of her own with her husband. In such a situation, her uterine donation would cause her to become sterile, and would represent a seriously ﬂawed moral circumstance that would likewise render the action of receiving the transplanted womb unethical on the part of the other woman. When might a womb transplant be morally acceptable? If a uterus were transplanted from either a deceased or a freely consenting, post-menopausal woman to another woman whose ovaries, fallopian tubes and other reproductive tissues were then able to function so she could conceive a child within the marital embrace, rather than through IVF (and assuming minimal medical risks to both donor and recipient), the womb transplant could represent an ethical means of resolving her uterine-factor infertility. In conclusion, the speciﬁc circumstances of both the donor and recipient are crucial in discerning the ethical appropriateness of this unusual procedure. FATHER PACHOLCZYK is a priest of the Diocese of Fall River, Massachusetts, and serves as the director of education at The National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia. See www.ncbcenter.org

18 OPINION

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 19, 2014

Francis, filtered

bout a year ago, I suggested to one of the top editors of a major American newspaper that his journal’s coverage of things papal left something to be desired, as it seemed based on the assumption that Pope Francis was some kind of radical wildman, eager to toss into the garbage bin of history all GEORGE WEIGEL those aspects of Catholic faith and practice that mainstream western culture finds distasteful. My friend replied, in so many words, look, you know how these media narratives are: They’re like bamboo. Once they get started, there’s no stopping them. They just keep growing. Alas, he was right. And while there’s been a lot of talk about the “Francis effect,” it’s worth pondering, on the Holy Father’s 78th birthday, the Francis filtration. The Francis filtration began in earnest during the impromptu press conference in the papal plane while the pope was en route home from World Youth Day 2013 in Rio de Janeiro. That was the presser that produced the single-most quoted line of the pontificate: “Who am I to judge?” But as Cardinal Francis George pointed out in a pre-retirement interview with John Allen, that sound bite “has been very misused … because he was talking about someone who has already asked for mercy and been given absolution…That’s entirely different than talking [about] someone who de-

e are all familiar with the biblical story of the Visitation. It happens at the beginning of Luke’s Gospel. Mary and her cousin, Elizabeth, both pregnant, meet. One is carrying Jesus and the other is carrying John the Baptist. The Gospels want us to recognize that both these pregnancies are biologically FATHER RON impossible; one is a virginal ROLHEISER conception and the other is a conception that occurs far beyond someone’s childbearing years. So there is clearly something of the divine in each. In simple language, each woman is carrying a special gift from heaven and each is carrying a part of the divine promise that will one day establish God’s peace on this earth. But neither Mary nor Elizabeth, much less anyone around them consciously recognizes the divine connection between the two children they are carrying. The Gospels present them to us as “cousins,” both the children and their mothers; but the Gospels want us to think deeper than biology. They are cousins in the same way that Christ, and those things that are also of the divine, are cousins. This, among other things, is what is

(CNS PHOTO/PAUL HARING)

Media continue to filter Pope Francis’ words according to a “humane, progressive pope vs. meanie reactionary bishops and hidebound Catholic traditionalists” narrative, George Weigel says. In this photo the pope arrives to lead the rite of final commendation at the funeral of Argentine Cardinal Jorge Maria Mejia in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Dec. 11. mands acceptance rather than asking for forgiveness.” (For the record, the entire quote, which is almost never cited, was “Who am I to judge them if they’re seeking the Lord in good faith?”) But as my journalist-friend suggested, the “bamboo” shoot of “Who am I to judge?” has continued to grow, until it’s now a virtual bamboo curtain. And what’s being ﬁltered out? All the things the pope says that don’t ﬁt the now-established “narrative” of “humane, progressive pope vs. meanie reactionary bishops and hidebound Catholic traditionalists.” Things like what? Well, things like the pope’s passionate defense of marriage as the

stable union of a man and a woman, which he underscored in an address to the Schoenstatt movement right after Synod 2014, and in his keynote address to a November interreligious conference at the Vatican on the crisis of marriage in the 21st century. And things like the pope’s defense of the Gospel of life, a persistent theme in Francis’s November address to the European Parliament. The press reports I read focused on Francis’ concerns for immigrants and the unemployed. Fair enough; that was certainly in the text. But what about the Holy Father’s defense of those whom indifference condemns to loneliness or death, “as in the case of the terminally ill, the elderly who

are abandoned or uncared for, and children who are killed in the womb?” What about his insistence that “Europe,” past, present, and future, makes no sense without Christianity? What about his condemnation of those who subject Christians “to barbaric acts of violence,” and his plea for support for those Christians who are “evicted from their homes, and native lands, sold as slaves, killed, beheaded, crucified or burned alive, under the shameful and complicit silence of so many?” You didn’t read much about that, did you? Nor did you read (unless you read the pope’s text himself) that Francis, having made a plea for environmental stewardship, went on to “emphasize” (his word) that “along with an environmental ecology, there is also need of a human ecology which consists in respect for the person.” Another aspect of Pope Francis’ preaching that’s been too often filtered out of the coverage of his pontificate involves (if you’ll pardon the term) demonology. No pope in decades has so regularly referred to Satan as Pope Francis. The evil one is no abstraction to this pontiff, nor does he think of “satanic” as a rhetorical intensifier to underscore one’s disapproval of, say, Hitler. Satan and his minions are very real to Pope Francis; it would be interesting for an enterprising reporter to draw him out on the subject in one of those freewheeling papal press conferences. The Francis filter may be bamboo. But if it keeps growing, so will the distortions that bamboo curtain creates. WEIGEL is a senior fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, Washington, D.C.

The Visitation revisited In simple language, each woman is carrying a special gift from heaven and each is carrying a part of the divine promise that will one day establish God’s peace on this earth. contained in the concept of the Visitation. Mary and Elizabeth meet, both are pregnant with the divine. Each is carrying a child from heaven, one is carrying Christ and the other is carrying a unique prophet, the “cousin” of the Christ. And a curious thing happens when they meet. Christ’s cousin, inside his mother, without explicit consciousness, leaps for joy in the presence of Christ and that reaction releases the Magniﬁcat inside of the one carrying Christ. There’s a lot in that image: Christ’s cousin unconsciously leaps for joy in the presence of Christ and that reaction draws the Magniﬁcat out of the one who is carrying the Christ. Christian de Cherge, the Trappist abbott who was martyred in Algeria in 1996, suggests that, among other things, this image is the key to how we, as Christians, are meant to meet other religions in the world. He sees the image as illustrating this paradigm: Christianity is carrying Christ and other religions are also carrying something divine, a divine “cousin,” one who points to Christ. But all of this is unconscious; we do not really grasp the bond, the connection, between what we are carrying and

what the other is carrying. But we will recognize their kinship, however unconsciously, when we stand before another who does not share our Christian faith but is sincere and true to his or her own faith. In that encounter we will sense the connection: What we are carrying will make something leap for joy inside the other and that reaction will help draw the Magniﬁcat out of us and, like Mary, we will want to stay with that other for mutual support. And we need that support, as does the other. As Christian de Cherge puts it: “We know that those whom we have come to meet are like Elizabeth: They are bearers of a message that comes from God. Our church does not tell us and does not know what the exact bond is between the good news we bear and the message that gives life to the other. ... We may never know exactly what that bond is, but we do know that the other is also a bearer of a message that comes from God. So what should we do? What does witness consist in? What about mission? ... See, when Mary arrives, it is Elizabeth who speaks ﬁrst. Or did she? ... For most certainly Mary would have said: ‘Peace, peace be with you.’ And this simple greeting

made something vibrate, someone, inside of Elizabeth. And in this vibration, something was said. ... Which is the good news, not the whole of the good news, but what can be glimpsed of it in the moment.” Christian de Cherge then adds this comment: “In the end, if we are attentive, if we situate our encounter with the other in the attention and the desire to meet the other, and in our need for the other and what he has to say to us, it is likely that the other is going to say something to us that will connect with what we are carrying, something that will reveal complicity with us ... allowing us to broaden our Eucharist.” We need each other, everyone on this planet, Christians and non-Christians, Jews and Muslims, Protestants and Roman Catholics, Evangelicals and Unitarians, sincere agnostics and atheists; we need each other to understand God’s revelation. Nobody understands fully without the other. Thus our interrelations with each other should not be born only out of enthusiasm for the truth we have been given, but it should issue forth too from our lack of the other. Without the other, without recognizing that the other too is carrying the divine, we will, as Christian de Cherge asserts, be unable to truly release our own Magniﬁcat. Without each other, none of us will ever be able to pray the Eucharist “for the many.” OBLATE FATHER ROLHEISER is president of the Oblate School of Theology, San Antonio, Texas.

FAITH 19

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 19, 2014

SUNDAY READINGS

Fourth Sunday of Advent Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.’ LUKE 1:26-38 2 SAMUEL 7:1-5, 8B-12, 14A, 16 When King David was settled in his palace, and the Lord had given him rest from his enemies on every side, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God dwells in a tent!” Nathan answered the king, “Go, do whatever you have in mind, for the Lord is with you.” But that night the Lord spoke to Nathan and said: “Go, tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: Should you build me a house to dwell in?’“It was I who took you from the pasture and from the care of the flock to be commander of my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you went, and I have destroyed all your enemies before you. And I will make you famous like the great ones of the earth. I will fix a place for my people Israel; I will plant them so that they may dwell in their place without further disturbance. Neither shall the wicked continue to afflict them as they did of old, since the time I first appointed judges over my people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies. The Lord also reveals to you that he will establish a house for you. And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins, and I will make his kingdom firm. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever.”

PSALM 89:2-3, 4-5, 27-29 Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord. The promises of the Lord I will sing forever; through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness. For you have said, “My kindness is established forever”; in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness. Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord. “I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant: Forever will I confirm your posterity and establish your throne for all generations.” Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord. “He shall say of me, ‘You are my father, my God, the Rock, my savior.’ Forever I will maintain my kindness toward him, and my covenant with him stands firm.” Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord. ROMANS 16:25-27 Brothers and sisters: To him who can strengthen you, according to my Gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret for long ages but now manifested through the prophetic writings and, according to the command of the eternal God, made known to all nations to bring about the obedience of faith, to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ be glory forever and ever. Amen.

LUKE 1:26-38 The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.” Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

The 6th month of woman time

stranger. She is uncomfortable at having her spiritual life turned inside out. She feels intruded upon by words which deviate from the usual way people speak to each other. She is confused and at a loss for words to understand this initiative as a “greeting.” She is afraid at what seems unfamiliar and unsafe. Was she also anxious about childbearing, having seen other women go through difficult labor? I’m not sure Gabriel’s torrent of assuring words had an immediately calming effect on Mary – “full of grace”…“Lord is with you”… “do not be afraid”… “found favor with God”… “conceive in your womb and bear a son.” Luke says Mary was “greatly troubled.” She “pondered what sort of greeting this might be.” This implies Mary had to take time to consider what was happening. Luke presents the “coming in” of Gabriel as an overwhelming experience for Mary – emotionally, socially, physically, cognitively and spiritually. Was the Annunciation a sudden, surrealistic moment, over in a ﬂash, as it seems in the compressed narrative of Luke? Or is it more realistic to imagine the Annunciation as a series of “comings”? Is the Annunciation a sort of dynamic ( as in the Greek word for “power”), an unfolding of Mary’s consciousness? Over time, Mary gradually came to focus and understand certain things in a compelling way – the Lord’s closeness and love for her, her maturity as a woman

ready for motherhood, the destiny of her child in the tradition of Judaism, God’s endowment of her child with favor, the meaning of what she would name her son, intimacy with her husband, the holiness of the way her child would be conceived, and her personal part in carrying out God’s plan to bless the world. It had to have taken time for her to deal with her turmoil, anxiety and uncertainty – to ponder, absorb, engage, and respond meaningfully, with a sense of purpose, to these convictions arising in her consciousness. At a certain moment, she expresses her willingness and agreement to go forward: “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord …” But that could not have been until after a long struggle. What gave Mary courage, ﬁnally, to believe these series of messages from the angel were trustworthy? What was the time everything “came together” for Mary? In Luke, it was after Gabriel told her about another woman: “Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren.” So after all the angel’s exalted assurances to Mary, the Annunciation is not a private revelation. Annunciation is Mary’s sisterhood with Elizabeth. God saves the world in “woman time.”

MONDAY, DECEMBER 22: Monday of the Fourth Week of Advent. 1 SM 1:24-28. 1 SM 2:1, 4-5, 6-7, 8abcd. LK 1:46-56.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25: The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) Vigil Mass. IS 62:1-5. PS 89:4-5, 16-17, 27, 29. ACTS 13:16-17, 22-25. MT 1:1-25 or MT 1:18-25 .

Mary and Joseph. SIR 3:2-6, 12-14 or GN 15:1-6; 21:13. PS 128:1-2, 3, 4-5 or PS 105:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9. COL 3:12-21 or COL 3:12-17 or HEB 11:8, 11-12, 17-19. COL 3:15a, 16a or HEB 1:1-2. LK 2:22-40 or LK 2:22, 39-40.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 23: Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Advent. Optional Memorial of St. John of Kanty, priest. MAL 3:1-4, 23-24. PS 25:4-5ab, 8-9, 10 and 14. LK 1:57-66.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26: Feast of St. Stephen, first martyr. ACTS 6:8-10; 7:54-59. PS 31:3cd-4, 6 and 8ab, 16bc and 17. PS 118:26a, 27a. MT 10:17-22.

n Nazareth there are two traditions about what Mary was doing when Gabriel appeared. The Latin Catholics imagine Mary piously at prayer – the representation we see in art. Mary kneels at her prie-dieu, reading her Bible, or gazing out the window in a serene room. The Greek Orthodox, on the other hand, point to the fountain where Mary was drawing water. I prefer the interpretation that Mary was in the midst of carrying out a woman’s ordinary daily chores, and this was the moment she heard Gabriel speaking to her. It is also in the midst of another woman’s “work” of childbearing – the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy. SISTER ELOISE Luke doesn’t describe what ROSENBLATT, RSM Mary actually saw, but what she heard – the angel’s words to her. The Annunciation is the conversation of a woman with an angel. Luke describes Mary’s rush of feelings: She is defensive at hearing herself intimately addressed by a

SCRIPTURE REFLECTION

MERCY SISTER ELOISE ROSENBLATT is a Ph.D. theologian and an attorney in private practice in areas of family law and wills and trusts. She lives in San Jose.

LITURGICAL CALENDAR, DAILY MASS READINGS

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24: Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Advent. Christmas Eve. 2 SM 7:15, 8b-12, 14a, 16. PS 89:2-3, 4-5, 27 and 29. LK 1:67-79.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 27: Feast of St. John, apostle and evangelist. 1 JN 1:1-4. PS 97:1-2, 5-6, 11-12. JN 20:1a and 2-8. SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28: The Holy Family of Jesus,

MONDAY, DECEMBER 29: Fifth Day in the Octave of Christmas. Optional Memorial of St. Thomas Becket, bishop and martyr. 1 JN 2:3-11. PS 96:1-2a, 2b-3, 5b-6. LK 2:32. LK 2:22-35. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 30: The Sixth Day in the Octave of Christmas. 1 JN 2:12-17. PS 96:7-8a, 8b-9, 10. LK 2:36-40.

20 ARTS & LIFE

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 19, 2014

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Big but boringâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Exodus epic no threat to DeMille JOHN MULDERIG CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

NEW YORK â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Time was when the biblical extravaganza was a Hollywood staple. In fact, from the silent era through the mid-1960s, it seemed a safe bet that selected slices of the best-selling volume of all time â&#x20AC;&#x201C; or ďŹ ctional spinoffs from it like â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ben-Hurâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; translated to the screen on a large scale would yield box-office gold. Post-Beatles irony and the baby-boomer generationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s antipathy toward authority and tradition may have put that calculation to rest for a few decades. But, as earlier movie offerings from this year â&#x20AC;&#x201C; ranging from â&#x20AC;&#x153;Son of Godâ&#x20AC;? to â&#x20AC;&#x153;Noahâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; suggest, some in Tinseltown are ap-

(CNS PHOTO/FOX)

Christian Bale, Kevork Mailkyan, center, and Maria Valverde star in â&#x20AC;&#x153;Exodus: Gods and Men.â&#x20AC;?

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parently dusting off their copies of the Scriptures and taking a second look. The latest to do so is director Ridley Scott (â&#x20AC;&#x153;Gladiator,â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Kingdom of Heavenâ&#x20AC;?). The bad news is that his 3-D epic â&#x20AC;&#x153;Exodus: Gods and Kingsâ&#x20AC;? (Fox) turns out to be big but boring. The good news is that, somewhere, Cecil B. DeMille is at ease, knowing his 1956 blockbuster â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Ten Commandmentsâ&#x20AC;? remains the deďŹ nitive mass-media take on this crucial portion of the Old Testament. Just as DeMilleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ďŹ&#x201A;eshing out of the story is not above satire, though (witness Billy Crystalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hilarious channeling of Edward G. Robinsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Dathan), so Scottâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tale is not without its promising aspects. Chief among them, for viewers of faith, is the conversion story his ďŹ lm introduces into the life of Moses (Christian Bale). Here, the patriarchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s series of trials and triumphs takes him from religious skeptic to true believer. Raised as a foster son to Egyptâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pharaoh, Seti (John Turturro), and adoptive brother of Setiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s heir, Ramses (Joel Edgerton), Moses is sent into exile when Hegep (Ben Mendelsohn), a corrupt official whose wrongdoing he has uncovered, reveals his lowly origin as the child of a Hebrew slave. Working as a shepherd in Midian, Moses ďŹ nds solace in married life (Maria Valverde plays his loyal, devout spouse Zipporah). But his contentment is once again disturbed when God â&#x20AC;&#x201C; oddly personiďŹ ed by an 11-yearold boy (Isaac Andrews) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; calls on him to lead his enslaved compatriots to freedom. While Scottâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s picture has computer-generated effects to spare, especially in the plague scenes, its human interaction is stilted and uninvolving. Thus Mosesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; potentially intriguing spiritual development is only sketched out in the dialogue, and lacks the heft that might propel the audience along on its trajectory. Additionally, the collaborative script â&#x20AC;&#x201C; penned by Adam Cooper, Bill Collage, Jeffrey Caine and Steven Zaillian â&#x20AC;&#x201C; is skittish where miracles are concerned and revisionist in its treatment of the relationship between Moses and the Almighty. Granted, the Moses of the Bible sometimes plays the role of advocate for the Israelites, pleading with God to spare his wayward people. But itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nonetheless perplexing to ďŹ nd Scottâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main character frequently coming across as more merciful than the petulant lad who embodies his vision of the Divinity. Though it ends with the giving of the commandments, at running time of over two-and-a-half hours, the ďŹ lm may strike many as recalling more directly the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness by which the ďŹ delity of the Hebrews was thereafter put to the test. MULDERIG is on the staff of Catholic News Service.

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COMMUNITY 21

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 19, 2014

Marin Catholic gym becomes sacred space for Advent Mass CHRISTINA GRAY CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

PHOTOS BY CHRISTINA GRAY/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

A parade in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe organized by Our Lady of Loretto parish’s Directiva Hispana ministry processed down Grant Avenue in downtown Novato on Dec. 12, ending with an evening Mass and reception. The parade included Aztec dancers, parishioners dressed as Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe and a flower-adorned float with an illuminated image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Our Lady of Guadalupe parade stops traffic in Novato

Marin Catholic High School’s gymnasium was converted to a sanctuary on Friday, Dec. 12 for its annual all-school Advent Mass and to honor the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The campus’ chapel only accommodates around 120 people according to Nicole Ferris of Campus Ministry, which planned the annual Mass that was attended by almost 1,000 students, staff, faculty and guests. Students turned the gym into a sacred space by stringing lights, creating an Advent wreath and spelling out the word “hope” with traditional luminaria candles, which Marin Catholic’s director of mission and ministry Msgr. Robert Sheeran emphasized in his homily. He also called Our Lady of Guadalupe “the mother of the marginalized,” and offered a special blessing to the school’s Latino students. A student and faculty choir provided song as did Marin Catholic’s Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist who sang Lo How a Rose E’re Blooming and O Salutaris Hostia.

Nearly 1,000 students, faculty, staff and guests gathered in Marin Catholic High School’s gymnasium on Dec. 12 for an all-school Advent Mass on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Msgr. Robert Sheeran, the school’s director of mission and ministry, called Our Lady “the mother of the marginalized.” The Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist and school choir sang songs of the season.

(PHOTOS BY CHRISTINA GRAY/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)

CHRISTINA GRAY CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

Rush hour traffic in downtown Novato slowed on Dec. 12 to watch as an altar boy holding a cross and a robed deacon led the devoted across busy Redwood Highway in a parade organized by Our Lady of Loretto parish in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The annual parade is organized by the parish’s Hispanic community and Directiva Hispana ministry, according to Deacon Alex Madero. He was flanked by Novato police officers and Marin members of the Knights of Columbus as he and a crowd of several hundred singing, dancing and praying families processed a mile down Grant Avenue to the church for an evening Mass. Two young parishioners were dressed as Native American peasant Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe, the “maiden” he saw and spoke to in a vision outside Mexico City in 1531. Men carried a float on their shoulders with an illuminated image of Our Lady of Guadalupe surrounded by flowers, provoking Christmas shopping townsfolk to join the parade. “People just fell in behind us,” said Deacon Madero.

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ƌŝŶŐ ǇŽƵƌ ĨĂŵŝůǇ ĂŶĚ ĨƌŝĞŶĚƐ ĂŶĚ ƚŽŐĞƚŚĞƌ ůĞƚ ƵƐ ͞ZĞŶĞǁ ŽƵƌ WƌŽŵŝƐĞ ƚŽ <ĞĞƉ ƚŚĞ ƌĞĂŵ ůŝǀĞ͟ ϭϭϮϮ :ĂŵĞƐƚŽǁŶ ǀĞŶƵĞ ; ĞƚǁĞĞŶ ϯƌĚ ^ƚƌĞĞƚ Θ :ĞŶŶŝŶŐƐͿ ͻ ^ĂŶ &ƌĂŶĐŝƐĐŽ ϰϭϱͲϰϲϴͲϯϰϯϰ ͻ ǁǁǁ͘ƐƚƉĂƵůŽŌŚĞƐŚŝƉǁƌĞĐŬ͘ŽƌŐ

22 COMMUNITY

Around the archdiocese

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 19, 2014

CHINESE CHRISTMAS EVE MASS: The all-archdiocesan Chinese Christmas Eve Mass is Dec. 24 at St. Anne of the Sunset Church, 850 Judah St., San Francisco. Christmas carols start at 7:30 p.m. and Mass begins at 8 p.m. Shown here are two children dressed as Mary and Joseph at last year’s Christmas Eve Mass.

CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY, MENLO PARK: Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone selected a tree for the archdiocesan Pastoral Center lobby at the School of the Nativity Christmas tree lot Dec. 9. Nativity parishioner Sue Connelly snapped the photo of the archbishop with some of the school children.

WORKPLACE HOLY PLACE: Looking toward St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco from the archdiocesan Pastoral Center’s outdoor area, a carved rendition of the stable and manger in Bethlehem helps chancery workers and passersby look toward Christmas.

(PHOTO COURTESY FATHER PETER ZHAI/CHINESE CATHOLIC MINISTRY)

ARCHBISHOP RIORDAN HIGH SCHOOL, SAN FRANCISCO: The school and the University of Dayton Alumni Association hosted a “Christmas on Campus” for youngsters from St. Charles Borromeo School and Mission Dolores Academy Dec. 12. The students decorated Christmas cookies, sang Christmas carols and visited with Santa.

(PHOTO COURTESY ARCHBISHOP RIORDAN HIGH SCHOOL)

SCRIPTURE SEARCH Gospel for December 21, 2014 Luke 1:26-38 Following is a word search based on the Gospel reading for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Cycle B: the Annunciation. The words can be found in all directions in the puzzle. ANGEL VIRGIN PONDERED GREAT KINGDOM POWER OLD AGE

GABRIEL JOSEPH GREETING MOST HIGH NO END BORN BARREN

GALILEE HOUSE JESUS FOREVER SPIRIT ELIZABETH IMPOSSIBLE

ANNUNCIATION G

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COMMUNITY 23

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 19, 2014

FUNERAL SERVICES

“Here’s wishing happiness and wellbeing to all the families of the Archdiocese. If you ever need our guidance please call at any time. Sincerely, Paul Larson ~ President.”

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Around the archdiocese SACRED HEART CATHEDRAL PREPARATORY, SAN FRANCISCO: The girls varsity volleyball team won California Interscholastic Federation Division III state championship in games Dec. 6. The high school sports website MaxPreps.com ranks SHC No. 2 in the nation. Coach Margi Beima is in the back row, third from left.

HOLY CROSS CEMETERY, COLMA: Msgr. John Talesfore led a Christmas Remembrance Service Dec. 13 in the cemetery’s All Saints Chapel for more than 200 people who came to pray for missed loved ones. The rite has become an important part of the holiday season at the cemetery.

ST. PAUL OF THE SHIPWRECK PARISH, SAN FRANCISCO: Parishioners joined with congregations across the nation Sunday Dec. 14 “Black Lives Matter Sunday.” Conventual Franciscan Father Paul Gawlowski, pastor, and the more than 100 people at Shipwreck’s weekly gospel Mass marched from the church singing and with hands raised denoting “don’t shoot, black lives matter.”

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ST. ANTHONY’S, SAN FRANCISCO: St. Boniface Parish pastor Franciscan Father Tommy King serves water at St. Anthony’s temporary shelter set up for homeless people to escape the Dec. 11 rainstorm. The shelter guest is Brandy Gans.

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24 COMMUNITY

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 19, 2014

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OBITUARY

Father Jose Arong, OMI – former archdiocesan planning director Oblate of Mary Immaculate Father Jose Arong died Dec. 6. He was 77 and in residence at Sacred Heart Church, Oakland. Born in the Philippines, Father Arong entered religious life in 1959 and ordained to the priesthood April 4, 1966. He held a graduate degree in anthropology and doctorate in education from Stanford. From 1991 to 1997, Father Arong served in the Archdiocese of San Francisco as director of the Office of Research and Planning. For more than 25 years, he served in the ongoing forma-

tion programs of the Cursillo movement in the archdiocese and Oakland, San Jose and Sacramento dioceses. He served as national consultant for the Filipino Apostolate in the United States, acting as liaison between the Filipino community and the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Migration. Among his responsibilities was helping diocesan offices ﬁnd personnel for their growing ethnic ministries. A funeral Mass was celebrated Dec. 17 at Sacred Heart Church with interment in his congregation’s plot in San Fernando.

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CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 19, 2014

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

PUBLISH A NOVENA New! Personal prayer option added

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HELP WANTED ARCHDIOCESE

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CATHOLIC CEMETERIES Family Services Counselor Job Posting Purpose and Scope A Family Services Counselor is a full-time â&#x20AC;&#x153;non-exemptâ&#x20AC;? level employee who reports directly to the Family Services Manager. This position works collaboratively within the Family Services Department, combining ministry, sales and public relations. Working within a religious, not-for-profit environment, we offer a competitive salary and benefits package. This position is governed by a Collective Bargaining Agreement. The Family Services Counselor is a person of faith committed to Gospel values. He or she values service to the Catholic Community and helps the Cemetery Department fulfill its mission and purposes.

Essential Duties: â&#x20AC;˘ Provides exemplary personalized customer service to families planning funeral arrangements â&#x20AC;˘ Educates individuals and families about burial, cremation and memorialization options within the context of Catholic teaching

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities â&#x20AC;˘ Knowledge and experience in funeral home and/or cemetery practices, preferred â&#x20AC;˘ High level of compassion and integrity; detail-oriented and professional â&#x20AC;˘ Excellent listening, written, oral communication, and interpersonal skills are essential â&#x20AC;˘ Bilingual English/Spanish, preferred

Competencies and Education â&#x20AC;˘ High School education + 1-2 years of college or equivalent of education and experience â&#x20AC;˘ Proficiency in Microsoft Office computer applications â&#x20AC;˘ Previous experience in cemetery or funeral service preferred â&#x20AC;˘ Valid California Driverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s License with an insurable driving record â&#x20AC;˘ Active practicing Roman Catholic who understands and supports the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, preferred.

Hours â&#x20AC;˘ Tuesday through Saturday 8:30am â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 5pm â&#x20AC;˘ Part-time position may also be available

Please submit resume and cover letter to: Christine Stinson, Family Services Manager PO Box 1577, Colma, CA 94014-0577 Email: costinson@holycrosscemeteries.com Fax: 650-757-0752

Archdiocese of SAN FRANCISCO

DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS The Archdiocese of San Francisco seeks a well-qualified Director of Communications. The Director develops and executes a pro-active media strategy for the Archdiocese. This strategy is nuanced to embrace three spheres of influence: the Archdiocese, covering the three counties of San Francisco, San Mateo, and Marin; a national audience; and an international audience focused on the Vatican. Located in the Archdiocese are over 400,000 Catholics, with over 300 priests and 700 religious. Among the Catholic institutions in the Archdiocese are 75 elementary and high schools, 3 colleges/universities, one seminary, and seven Catholic cemeteries.

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Please submit resume and cover letter to: Attn: Patrick Schmidt, Acting Director of Human Resources

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26 CALENDAR

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 19, 2014

SATURDAY, DEC. 20 HANDICAPABLES MASS: Father Kirk Ullery, retired pastor, Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, San Francisco is principal celebrant and homilist at HandicaFather Kirk pables Mass Ullery and lunch, noon, in lower halls of St. Mary’s Cathedral, Gough Street at Geary Boulevard, San Francisco, Gough Street entrance. All disabled people and their caregivers are invited. Volunteers always welcome. Call Joanne Borodin, (415) 239-4865. Handicables marks its 50th anniversary Jan. 17 at the cathedral.

Gough Street at Geary Boulevard, San Francisco, 4 p.m., featuring various artists; freewill offerings accepted at door; (415) 567-2020, ext. 213; www. stmarycathedralsf.org. PHOTO EXHIBIT: “Therefore I Have Hope” through December 31, St. Mary’s Cathedral, Gough Street at Geary Boulevard, San Francisco, weekdays 8:30-5 p.m.; Saturday, Sunday 10-3 p.m. in Cathedral Event Center, Charlene Dorman’s black and white photographs, johnmdmd@gmail.com.

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 23 LIVE NATIVITY: On steps of Porziuncola Nuova, Columbus at Vallejo, San Francisco with re-enactments from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sponsored by the Knights of St. Francis of Assisi, guardians of the Porziuncola. Last year more than 1,500 people came by for the blessed event. Visit www.knightsofstfrancis.com.

SATURDAY, DEC. 20

THURSDAY, DEC. 25

TURKEY DRIVE: Christmas Turkey Drive, St. Emydius Parish, 260 Ashton Ave., San Francisco, 9 a.m.-noon, benefiting St. Anthony’s Dining Room, San Francisco; Pierre Smit at sfpierre@ aol.com.

SUNDAY, DEC. 21 CONCERT: St. Mary’s Cathedral,

CATHOLIC TV MASS: A TV Mass is broadcast Christmas Day at 6:30 a.m. on the Bay Area’s KOFY Channel 20, and 9:30 on KTSF Channel 26, and in the Sacramento area at 9:30 a.m. on KXTL Channel 40. It is produced for viewing by the homebound and others unable to go to Mass by God Squad Productions with Msgr. Harry Schlitt, celebrant. Catholic TV Mass, One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 24 CATHEDRAL CHRISTMAS EVE: Mass at 5:30 p.m. with carol prelude at 5 p.m. by Archdiocesan Children’s Choir and St. Brigid School Honor Choir; Archbishop Archbishop Salvatore J. Salvatore J. Cordileone Cordileone is principal celebrant and homilist of Mass at midnight, with carol prelude at 11:30 p.m. by the Cathedral Choir and Golden Gate Brass Quintet; St. Mary’s Cathedral, Gough Street at Geary Boulevard, San Francisco; (415) 5672020, ext. 213; www.stmarycathedralsf.org.

THURSDAY, DEC. 25 CATHEDRAL CHRISTMAS: Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone is principal celebrant and homilist of Mass at 9 a.m. with Gregorian chant and cathedral singers; Mass at 11 a.m. with the Cathedral Choir; St. Mary’s Cathedral, Gough Street at Geary Boulevard, San Francisco; (415) 567-2020, ext. 213; www.stmarycathedralsf.org.

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CONCERT: St. Mary’s Cathedral, Gough Street at Geary Boulevard, San Francisco, 4 p.m., featuring various artists; freewill offerings accepted at door; (415) 567-2020, ext. 213; www. stmarycathedralsf.org. PHOTO EXHIBIT: “Therefore I Have Hope” through December 31, St. Mary’s Cathedral, Gough Street at Geary Boulevard, San Francisco, weekdays 8:30-5 p.m.; Saturday, Sunday 10-3 p.m. in Cathedral Event Center, Charlene Dorman’s black and white photographs, johnmdmd@gmail.com. TV MASSES: EWTN airs Mass daily at 5 a.m., 9 a.m., 9 p.m. and at 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. EWTN is carried on Comcast 229, AT&T 562, Astound 80, San Bruno Cable 143, DISH Satellite 261 and Direct TV 370. In Half Moon Bay EWTN airs on Comcast 70 and on Comcast 74 in southern San Mateo County. CATHOLIC TV MASS: A TV Mass is broadcast Sundays at 6 a.m. on the Bay Area’s KTSF Channel 26 and KOFY Channel 20, and in the Sacramento area at 5:30 a.m. on KXTL Channel 40. It is produced for viewing by the homebound and others unable to go to Mass by God Squad Productions with Msgr. Harry Schlitt, celebrant. Catholic TV Mass, One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco 94109, (415) 614-5643, janschachern@aol.com.

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CALENDAR 27

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 19, 2014

FRIDAY, JAN. 2

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 28

FIRST FRIDAY: Contemplatives of St. Joseph offer Mass at Mater Dolorosa Church, 307 Willow Ave., South San Francisco, 7 p.m. followed by healing service and personal blessing with St. Joseph oil from Oratory of St. Joseph, Montreal. TAIZE: All are welcome to Taizé prayer around the cross, Mercy Center, 2300 Adeline Drive, Burlingame, 8 p.m. Taizé prayer has been sung on first Fridays at Mercy Center with Mercy Sister Suzanne Toolan since 1983; (650) 340-7452.

SATURDAY, JAN. 3 ‘LOOKING EAST’: Our Lady of Fatima Russian Byzantine Catholic Church, 5920 Geary Blvd. at 23rd Avenue, San Francisco, Divine Liturgy 10 a.m.; luncheon noon, talk by Father Kevin Kennedy, pastor 1 p.m. All are welcome throughout the day. Series continues first Saturdays of the month. Parking is in St. Monica Church lot; www. byzantinecatholic.org; (415) 752-2052; OLFatimaSF@gmail.com.

PRIORY TALKS: “Water: A Sacred Trust,” explore both the beauty of God’s sacred gift of water and the senseless degradation of this precious Dr. Mary E. resource in McGann, RSCJ today’s world with Dr. Mary E. McGann, RSCJ, 7-9 p.m., Woodside Priory School, 302 Portola Road, Portola Valley, Founders Hall, admission is free, refreshments provided, Carrie Rehak crehak@prioryca. org, (650) 851-8221; www.prioryca.org/life/campus-spirituallife/insight-speakers-series/.

HANDICAPABLES 50TH ANNIVERSARY: Father Kirk Ullery, retired pastor, Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, San Francisco is principal celebrant and homilist at a Handicapables Mass and lunch commemorating the group’s 50th anniversary, noon, in lower halls of St. Mary’s Cathedral, Gough Street at Geary Boulevard, San Francisco, Gough Street entrance. All disabled people and their caregivers are invited. Volunteers are always welcome to assist in this cherished tradition. Call Joanne Borodin, (415) 239-4865.

SUNDAY, JAN. 18 Honor Choir, St. Mary’s Cathedral, Gough Street at Geary Boulevard, San Francisco, 4 p.m., (415) 567-2020, ext. 213; www.stmarycathedralsf.org.

PEACE MASS: Immaculate Conception Chapel, 3255 Folsom St., San Francisco, 9 a.m. Franciscan Father Wiliam, pastor, principal celebrant and homilist; (650) 580-7123; zoniafasquelle@gmail.com. CEMETERY MASS: Holy Cross Cemetery, 1500 Old Mission Road, Colma, All Saints Mausoleum, 11 a.m., Father Kirk Ullery, retired pastor Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, San Francisco, principal celebrant and homilist. (650) 7562060, www.holycrosscemeteries.com.

discernment day for young women; RSVP by Jan. 12 or for more information contact Sister Joseph Marie, vocations@nunsmenlo.org; visit www. nunsmenlo.org/vocation-discernmentday-january-2015. Day begins with Mass at 8 a.m. followed by Divine Office, rosary, conferences, and talks by Dominican nuns and friars.

TUESDAY, JAN. 13 WEEKLY BIBLE STUDY: Understanding the journey of Jesus with Mercy Sister Toni Lynn Gallagher, Tuesday 9 a.m. through Feb. 17, Marian Room inside St. Stephen Church, 451 Eucalyptus Drive at 23rd Avenue, San Francisco; Veronica Wong, (415) 681-2444 ext. 27; Peggy Teshara, (415) 334-0653.

SUNDAY, JAN. 4

SATURDAY, JAN. 17

LESSONS AND CAROLS: Epiphany Lessons and Carols, Golden Gate Boys Choir and Bellringers, Archdiocesan Children’s Choir, St. Brigid School

DISCERNMENT DAY: During the Year of Consecrated Life, the Dominican Nuns of Corpus Christi Monastery, 215 Oak Grove Ave., Menlo Park, host a

SATURDAY, JAN. 24 2-DAY ENGAGED RETREAT: San Francisco Catholic Engaged Encounter weekend, Vallombrosa Retreat Center, Menlo Park. Take time to prepare for your marriage; scholarships available; www.sfcee.org, catholicsfee@gmail. com; Dave and Lorraine Hayes, (650) 619-0689. WALK FOR LIFE WEST COAST: 11th year for this pro-life effort that has been attracting crowds of as many as 50,000 people. Visit www.walkforlifewc.com.

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SATURDAY, FEB. 7 CEMETERY MASS: Holy Cross Cemetery, 1500 Old Mission Road, Colma, All Saints Mausoleum, 11 a.m., Father Tony LaTorre, pastor, St. Philip Parish, San Francisco, principal celebrant and homilist. (650) 756-2060, www. holycrosscemeteries.com.

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 25 PRIORY TALKS: “God, Grace of the World,” with Camaldolese Benedictine Brother Ivan Nicoletto. In a world in which humanity can create and destroy life, what grace may God have for our lives and our communities? 7-9 p.m., Woodside Priory School, 302 Portola Road, Portola Valley, Founders Hall, admission is free, refreshments provided. Carrie Rehak, crehak@prioryca.org, (650) 8518221; www.prioryca.org/life/campusspiritual-life/insight-speakers-series/.

SATURDAY, MARCH 14 FESTIVAL MASS: Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone is principal celebrant and homilist for Northern California Choral Festival Mass, 5:30 p.m., St. Mary’s Cathedral, Gough Street at Geary Boulevard, San Francisco. Student singers from the Archdiocese of San Francisco and around the Bay Area lead song under the direction of Richard Robbins of the music faculty at University of WisconsinSuperior. A choral prelude will precede the liturgy. Visit www.pcchoirs.org.

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CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | DECEMBER 19, 2014

In Remembrance of the Faithful Departed Interred In Our Catholic Cemeteries During the Month of November HOLY CROSS, COLMA Frances J. Ahern Luis Alfonso Almendarez Lavinia Sheila Anderson Andrew J. Baumann Julius K. Beisel Petronila C. Bernal Shirley J. Bianchi Paul Anthony Bose Barbara Brady Archie Anthony Briggs Edward L. Burke, Ph.D Dorothea Carney Mario Nelson Castro Jose G. Catalon Mary Caroline Cerutti Ilisa Chan Teresita Contreras Juan Carlos Cordero Jesus Manuel Cordova Rosemary Cozzo Elodia D.R. Cuadra Edoardo Antonio Curotto Benjamin Dalberg Bing Isidro Dionida Charles M. Dowling Albert James Draper William C. Dunn Carmel Helen Enright William John Feeney Ralph J. Flageollet Margaret M. Foppiano Illuminada P. Francisco Dominic Thomas Galu Beatrice Julia Geraldi Mary E. Ghiorso Andy Goldstein Esequiel G. Gonzales Lindy Gonzales Norma Marie Grassi Dolores June Gunther

Otto Francis Gunther Jane Hildegard Hagmaier Gregory Haran, III Jess R. Herrera Hugo P. Iannacone Rosamond Johnson Joanna A. La Macchia Justiniano F. Madrigal Fadi Malouf Frances J. Marano Ronald James Martinez Anthony P. Mateo, Sr. Anthony Maurovich John Joseph McArdle Mary Morgan McCarthy Evonne Ann Medina Norbert A. Meyerkamp Ellen “Ellie” Minshall Ernest R. Moisant Catherine C. Mullin Catherine Faulkner Murphy Adeline Della Neves Bong Yuen Ng Victor A. Nowicky June Renner O’Brien Clorinda Orlovich Trinidad Palileo Lara L. Pinten Benito Hosain Polo Robert F. Reilly Jack Rodgers Anthony Tate Romero Mathilda Rosado Edward B. Rowan Susannah Samaras Katherine M. Santaferraro Urbana Schiappacasse Sr. Frances Irene Sherman, PBVM Pablo Silva-Re Eva Soulé Antoinette Theresa Strong Thomas R. Sutter, Jr Albert Teglia Anwar Totah

Bruno Venturini Elaine Carmel Walsh Edward J. Weaver Mercê Ramos Westwood Robert L. Williamson Virginia Zavoral

MT. OLIVET, SAN RAFAEL Eva Radosevich Bowen Diana V. Casper Gerald Russell Kerby Dorothy Bartlett McClain James Graham Moore James F. (Jeff) O’Donnell, Jr Raymond P. Rossi Santina “Tina” Saso Michael Stanz Renee Ann Sullivan-Weaver Salvatore P. Tarantino

HOLY CROSS, MENLO PARK John William Bacon Ruth Bettencourt Thomas Kirkbride Lolita “Elizabeth” I. Lacunza Judith Ormeno Elaine Margaret Rouse Catherine Patricia “Pat” Smyth

OUR LADY OF THE PILLAR John Constantino Candelori Paulina Rodrigues

HOLY CROSS CATHOLIC CEMETERY, COLMA FIRST SATURDAY MASS – Saturday, January 3, 2015 All Saints Mausoleum Chapel – 11am Rev. Kurt Ullery, Celebrant

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Tradition of Faith Throughout Our Lives.