Dear St. Joseph Family
Next Sunday is Halloween, so I would like to use this opportunity to look ahead to that holiday, cherished by some, misunderstood by many.

The name of the holiday pretty much says it all. Halloween is a conglomeration of the words All Hallows Eve, which signifies the night before (Eve) the day that celebrates all the saints (hallows), which is the day that is celebrated the day after Halloween on November 1, the Solemnity of All Saints. Just like we celebrate Christmas a little early on the evening before Christmas Day, so the Church has celebrated All Saints Day the night before, on “Halloween.”

The present form of Halloween has somewhat diverted from its original intention, however. Now we see children dressing up as their favorite superheroes and villains, or characters from movies and books, and heading out into their neighborhoods to ask for candy. And there is nothing wrong with that. I hope all the families in our parish who choose to participate in this custom enjoy it and enjoy it safely. Just do not forget that at its core, Halloween is a truly Catholic holiday.

When we celebrate Halloween rightly, we celebrate the saints, which means we celebrate God, for it is through His generous mercy and love that we are made into saints. Yes, all of us are called to, sainthood, to sanctity, to holiness. The word for ‘saint’ in Latin, sancta/e, literally means ‘holy.’ The saints were holy people, which is not something that they did on their own. Throughout Scripture, we hear the admonition to “be holy as God is holy” (Leviticus 21:8, Exodus 19:6, 1 Thessalonians 4:7, 1 Peter 1:16), but this does not mean that God expects us to make ourselves holy. Holiness is an invitation, a gift, to undergo a supernatural, divine transformation to actually become like God, to love like Him. The thing to remember is that the invitation should not be refused, for to become a saint is not something extra, like having sprinkles on top of your ice cream. Becoming a saint is essential to who you are, and who you were made to be.

Now, this does not mean that all of us are going to be “canonized” saints, that is, those people who are officially recognized by the Church. But we are all called to sainthood nonetheless. Another way to phrase this is “beatitude,” which can be translated as blessed, or happy. Jesus called all of us to the life of true happiness. And how do we get there? The Gospel passage for All Saints Day, the Beatitudes from Matthew 5, tells us. Sometime before All Saints Day I invite you to open your Bible and read Matthew 5:1- 12. This is our “roadmap” for sanctity, for holiness, for happiness. The Beatitudes teach us to reject what the world tells us will make us happy, so that we can embrace the things of God, the things countless individuals embraced throughout their lives, people who are not recorded in the canon of the saints, people we will never hear of, but who are nonetheless heroes worth imitating. Just think of all the innumerable people who, out of love of God, served their families and neighbors, the poor and the outcast, who used their gifts and resources to benefit others; these “unknown” saints are the ones we celebrate with the canonized saints on All Saints Day, a day so important to us as Catholics that we begin to celebrate it the night before, on All Hallows Eve.

So, if you haven’t picked out your Halloween costume yet, consider dressing up as your favorite saint. And when giving out treats to the kids who knock on your door, consider giving them a blessing as well. We need all the blessings we can get as we make the journey from this life to the life to come, the life of perfect beatitude.

With much love,
Fr. Mario

Dear St. Joseph Family,

This is a bit of a slow news week for us. Although there is much I could comment on, Texas’ ongoing battle over abortion legislation, the bi-sexual Superman who was revealed on “National Coming Out Day” on Monday, the history of explorers like Columbus, I am going to put those on hold, and instead of simply filling this space with a pre-made reflection, I would like to offer a simple word of encouragement.

Every month, I, and sometimes 3-4 other priests from our diocese, meet on zoom to pray together. We use as our guide a book called The Marian Movement of Priests, which is comprised of short private revelations of Mary given to a priest named Father Stefano Gobbi. As a sidenote, private revelations differ from public ones (which would be Scripture and Tradition) in that they do not demand the same adherence of faith. Even something as profound as the appearance of our Lady of Guadalupe or Fatima is not “required” so to speak. This is because contained within the public revelations of Scripture and Tradition are all the essential truths and teachings that God wanted us to know, in order to lead us to salvation (see the document from Vatican II, Dei Verbum # 11). Thus, we do not await any further public revelations from God (ibid, #4). We have everything we need.

Yet, from time to time, certain private revelations do manifest themselves, which are highly scrutinized by the Church to determine their authenticity, for example, the on-going apparitions of Mary in Medjugorje. These private revelations, once approved as being authentic, are not essential to our faith-life, but in many instances can bolster it. The revelations to Fr. Gobbi by our Blessed Mother are an example of this.

Within the pages of the book that my fellow priests and I read are short recordings of words Mary spoke to Fr. Gobbi from the 1970s through the 1990s. Her messages are ones of hope and encouragement, during a time that was experiencing, “a profound crisis of faith,” a “situation of interior disunity of the Church,” “a new atheistic and materialistic civilization (pg. ix). Sound familiar?

I would like to share the excerpt that we read yesterday. Although it is addressed to priests, we can all hear our Blessed Mother speaking to us personally.

You must be my hands, which distribute graces to all who find themselves in any necessity. In these times, I want to manifest myself through you. I desire to distribute my graces through your priestly hands, which must always be opened as a help and comfort to all. Pour balm upon the many painful wounds; bring help to those who are in poverty and neglect; assist the suffering, the marginalized, the little people, the oppressed, and the persecuted to walk along the road of confidence and hope. You must be the hands of your heavenly Mother, which are always opened to pour the fullness of graces upon all her children!

You must be my Heart, which opens itself to give its motherly love. Love with the very beating of my Immaculate Heart. You are consecrated to me that I may be able to form you in the perfection of love. Be gentle and sensitive, pure and humble of heart. You must be the help which I want to give today to all who have need of love in order to be saved. Love those who are far away and who are atheists; love even those who persecute you and reject you; love all, without any distinction of language, race, or religion. In this way, each one of you becomes a beat of my Immaculate Heart, which comes down upon all, to give the comfort of my unwavering love.

You must be instruments of my mercy. Today humanity has great need of divine mercy. Only through mercy can it be entirely renewed and saved. It is sick because of obstinate rejection of God, which hinders it from walking along the road that has been pointed out by Him in order to lead it to salvation. It is gravely ill because it is incapable of loving. The world has been reduced to an immense desert, devoid of love. In it there flourish the bad weeds of hatred, of division, of sin, of unbridled egoism, of impurity, of violence, of war. Only a great miracle of divine mercy will be able to save this straying and dying humanity, which has even now touched the depths of its extreme misery.

This is the reason why, in these times, the entire world has been entrusted to the Immaculate Heart of your heavenly Mother. You, O priests consecrated to me, must be instruments of my motherly mercy. In this way, you will cause new buds of life and holiness, of purity and love to sprout forth everywhere. And thus, you will have a part in building, with me each day, new heavens and a new earth, as the most beautiful fruit of the fullness of grace and of mercy, which the Immaculate Heart of your heavenly Mother forever gives you.

During the remainder of this month dedicated to our Lady of the Rosary, let us all pray to be instruments of this Mercy, which our Lord desires to extend to all through Our Lady.

With much love,
​​​​​​​Fr. Mario
 

Dear St. Joseph family,

I would like to give a shoutout to Manuel De Robinson, who graciously volunteered to build a second tier on the back altar. I asked him to do this to simply give the altar some depth, which I felt was looking a little flat. I have received a lot of compliments about how the back altar looks with the added candle sticks and vases. As good as this new tier looks, you may be wondering, “is this going to replace the marble high altar from the capital campaign?” And the answer is “no.” This is just a temporary holdover, since the marble high altar will take a while to acquire. Thank you, Manuel, for sharing your gifts with the parish!

As this is the second Sunday of the month (a.k.a. ad orientem Sunday), I want to write one last bulletin article on this posture. We have been celebrating Mass like this since June 20th, and I hope it has offered you, if nothing else, a renewed appreciation for the diversity of expressions of the liturgy which our Church offers us. We can celebrate Mass in English, Latin, Spanish or Tagalog. We can have Gregorian chant, or praise and worship music. The word “Catholic” means “universal”, or “the whole.” On one hand, this means that the Catholic Church contains the whole of the revelation of God, the fullness of the truth. It also means that the Catholic Church takes from the whole, what is good and true, from different customs and cultures. Ultimately, being Catholic means knowing that no matter what the Mass looks or sounds like, if it is celebrated reverently, respecting the rubrics and guidelines, then it is always the true and authentic Mass. And that is a great reassurance. If we celebrate daily Mass in half an hour, or go to Africa for an all-day Sunday experience, it is the Mass. If we celebrate Mass for the elderly and sick, or a Mass for children, it is the Mass. If we celebrate facing each other, or facing the same direction, “toward the East,” it is the Mass. That is the beauty of being a Catholic, that our liturgy, although taking on diverse external appearances, reveals an unseen, internal unity.

If you would like to re-read the bulletin articles that I wrote on celebrating Mass ad orientem, you can find them on the website under the tabs “News ⇒ Bulletins”, on the dates of July 4, 2021 and September 5, 2021.

Finally, I would like to draw your attention to a new offering, which I mentioned in my homily last week. Former Pastoral Council member, Sue Spiersch, encouraged me and Fr. Sunil to record our homilies so that they could be listened to again. You can find these homilies on our parish’s YouTube page, where they can be easily shared with others. Thanks for the recommendations. Enjoy!

With much love,
Fr. Mario

Dear St. Joseph Family,

In addition to this being the month of the Rosary, October is also Respect Life Month in the Church, and perhaps this is not a happy accident, since the mysteries of the Rosary are meant to draw us into the life of Jesus Christ, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Only by following Him – which requires frequent meditation on His own life and the life of his mother - do we begin to experience what it means to be fully alive, as Jesus said, “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

For Jesus’ followers, the fullness of life is experienced when we love one another as He loved us (John 13:34), which is the foundation for Respect Life Month. Jesus, as we all well know, loved everyone, Jew and Greek, slave and free, man and woman. He dined with tax collectors and sought out sinners. He called the rich and the poor to follow him. He showed no partiality. The only requirement for being His disciple was one’s willingness to be led by Him, to learn from Him, and to imitate Him, who said, the greatest among you must be the servant of all (Mark 10:43).

Respect Life Month reminds us that we are to have each other’s best interests at heart. It means turning away from indifference, and the mindset that it is someone else’s responsibility to solve the world’s problems. It means seeing the other as a beloved friend, whether the other is a different age, ethnicity, gender, or social class.

In our day and age these “others” are the homeless and the poor, which the St. Vincent de Paul Society cares for with so much compassion. They are the migrants and refugees, who the Oakland Catholic Worker and Welcome the Stranger ministries take in with incredible generosity. Respect Life Month also includes caring for the planet, our common home, so that future generations can enjoy its amazing resources the way that we do, which means not allowing corporations to exploit these resources for selfish gain, at the expense of the vulnerable.

Ultimately, Respect Life Month calls our attention to the most vulnerable group of all, the unborn. During this time, when we are seeing so much injustice taking place around us, so many rights being violated, it is necessary to turn our attention to this group, who for too long have often been denied the most fundamental of all rights, the right to life. We place the unborn at the center of Respect Life month because the right to life is the foundation for all other rights and the fair and just treatment of all other groups. Without the right to life for all, all other rights are meaningless.

Recently, the issue of abortion has taken center stage in the form of warring legislation. Just when Texas passes a law preventing abortions once a heartbeat is detectable, our own Governor signed a bill that would allow minors to obtain abortions (and sex reassignment procedures) without the knowledge of their parents. It saddens me and is quite confounding, that in a first-world country like ours, so determined to trust the science, we have people like Governor Newsom who label the protection of an innocent human heartbeat as “dark days.” 

The issue of abortion is a difficult one, but we must not lose sight of it, for, as Pope Francis recently  stated in an interview, “abortion is murder.” And this is not his opinion, it is the teaching of the Church. This is why we focus on this issue, because abortion does not simply affect the unborn child, it also has an immense impact on the mother (and father), who usually faces great stress in determining the way forward. We must remember that respecting life means embracing the mother, and offering her true options, ones that support her in the challenging, yet awesome task of bringing forth and nurturing life. I hope that our parish can develop a vibrant ministry that collaborates with pro-life pregnancy centers and the women who come to them in their need.

As Catholics, we have challenging times ahead of us. We are called to be protectors of life, which includes the innocent and vulnerable, from the unborn to those on their deathbed after a long life. It also means reaching out to those who have committed violations against the dignity of another, including women who have procured abortions. We as Catholics are called to minister to them, to love them, by calling them to repentance and embracing them with mercy. We are called to show them the joy and peace of the life lived in Christ.

During this month of October, the month of the Rosary, I hope you will join us for our weekly gatherings as we pray the Rosary on Fridays at 6pm. Let us entrust to our Blessed Mother’s gentle care all those who are suffering in any way. May they be cared for and their lives be respected.

With much love,
Fr. Mario

Dear St. Joseph Basilica Family,

Greetings from the Diocese of Orange! I am currently at a conference (until Friday) for new pastors from the Western United States. This biannual conference is sponsored by the California Catholic Conference of Bishops, aimed at helping provide new administrators and pastors with some practical tips on how to lead a parish. So far, we’ve had talks about leadership and communication, with discussions on Human Resources to come. After this conference I will be traveling to a city near Santa Barbara for another event, a Board of Directors meeting for the California Association of Natural Family Planning. I have been on this Board since 2016, and we also meet in person twice a year. So, I will not be at the Basilica this weekend. Thank you for your prayers.

This week in the life of the Church is called National Migration Week. It goes from Monday the 20th to Sunday the 26th, the final day being the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, which is a Vaticancelebrated event. This year, the theme of this day is “Toward an ever wider ‘We’”. What this means, as Pope Francis says in his letter, Fratelli Tutti, is that we cannot see each other in terms of “them” and “those”, but “us.” This is something Jesus prayed for on the night of the Last Supper, that we would all be one (John 17:21).

How blessed we are to have not only one but two groups in our parish that are committed to serving our brothers and sisters who have been displaced from their homelands and are searching for a new life in our country. These groups are Welcome the Stranger and the Oakland Catholic Worker.

Welcome the Stranger has been active for some years now, and is a deanery-wide collaborative (that means St. Joseph, St. Barnabas and St. Philip Neri/St. Albert all work together). They have helped assist refugees from Afghanistan, and will be welcoming a family that was a part of the recent evacuation. The way that that entire withdrawal unfolded was tragic, and I think we would honor the service men and women who lost their lives over the last 20 years and at the Kabul airport, as well as the many people left behind, by welcoming this family into our community with open arms. Please pray for those left behind suffering under Taliban rule.

The Oakland Catholic Worker (OCW), in addition to their food distribution operation that takes place several times a week at their facility on International Boulevard, also houses migrants from Central America. They have about 25 “guests” that they are helping, and will soon be moving a new family into the old priest residence on San Antonio Avenue. Just in case you were not aware, I moved out of that residence in the beginning of the year, and OCW is now renting it at a discounted rate.

I look forward to the time when OCW and Welcome the Stranger are able to introduce us to their migrant and refugee families. I hope you do as well. You are always so supportive of our outreach ministries, and I know these relationships will be lasting ones, as we discover how to live out this relationship of “us.” Helping these groups is a small part we can play. When we see the images of the Kabul airport, or the thousands of migrants on the southern border camped under a freeway, our first reaction may be of hopelessness, or fear, or anger. Remember that even Jesus, Mary, and Joseph were migrants for a time, fleeing Herod for the safety of Egypt. And I am sure we all know someone who left their home country behind for this one. My father’s mother migrated from Italy to the United States after WWII, as did several of my great grandparents before her.

We shouldn’t be surprised that people are clamoring to enter the United States; we live in the greatest country in the world. Great because of the opportunities it affords us, but more so because the people here are so generous and willing to sacrifice for one another, which comes from the foundation of being a country that is united, “indivisible,” under God. That is why St. James told us a few weeks ago in the second reading that his works are a consequence of his faith in God who makes us all an “us.”

If your faith is speaking to you to get involved, if you would like to be a part of having an impact on someone’s life by assisting either of these ministries or another like St. Vincent de Paul or Knights of Columbus, please contact the office and we will put you in touch with the right people.

With much love,
Fr. Mario

Dear St. Joseph Basilica Family,

This upcoming week I will be away again, this time on a required seminar in Orange County for new pastors. I will be returning Monday the 27th. When I returned from my last extended stay away, the retreat for priests ordained 10 years or less, I was surprised by how many of you inquired about the retreat, and if it had been beneficial to me. I received much encouragement in the fact that you were thinking about my well-being.

I experienced something similar to that this past Monday at our International Rosary, where, following the recitation of the Rosary in something like 15-20 different languages, a group of women prayed over me and Fr. Sunil. That was a spiritual boost for me, much needed in a time that can very easily deplete us of positive spiritual energy.

The moral of the story, there is power in gathering together as a church family, even if the gathering is something that is out of your comfort zone. Yes, after a long day of work it is so much easier to stay home and watch tv. Push yourself, even if it’s just for 5 or 10 minutes by yourself in the basilica. In October, the month dedicated to the Rosary, we will have weekly gatherings scheduled on Friday evenings in the Gathering Space, which will include praying the Rosary and Eucharistic Adoration. Come and experience the love and support of your St. Joseph family.

Some updates around the parish:
Sound System – Last Thursday, the contractor presented his proposal for the sound system upgrade. After going through the proposal and a demonstration of the new speakers, the committee of parishioners unanimously decided to move ahead with the design. I am not certain of the timeline to completion, but after discussing our intentions with the Finance Council to upgrade the system, I can say that there will be no request for funding from you. Due to your history of continued generosity to the parish over the years, we will be able to use money from our savings to pay for the sound system upgrade in full. Thank you for your patience and perseverance with the current sound system.

Other finances – When we were told to shelter in place last year and attendance at Mass was restricted, the parish had to adapt by reducing staff salaries. With the obligation to attend Sunday Mass again in effect, the last of the salary reductions have been returned to pre-shelter-in-place levels, my salary included. I want to thank the staff, all of who took cuts to their hours and pay. And since the majority of our expenditure goes to staff, I want to thank you for your generous contributions. Although we are currently running at a small deficit, the Finance Council and I are confident that we will make it through this time. For more detailed financial data, please contact our business manager, Stan.

Renovation – The earthquake retrofit has been completed in both the Grotto room and the wall connecting the sacristy to Marianist hall. The delays came mostly from waiting for inspections by the city. Now that the city has approved the completed work, we can move ahead with finishing the Grotto, which has plans and a bid. We also are waiting our turn from a cabinet maker to complete cabinets for the flower room, which is the room across the sanctuary from the sacristy. That room has long been used like many of our garages at home. With the increased storage, it can now be used as a gathering space for ministries. The sanctuary remodel has been a slow process due to a lack of clarity in the contract. The Finance Council, and persons who headed up the remodel campaign, have been working diligently to get these issues ironed out. As for the silver candlestick holders, my attempt to complete envelopes to raise funds for these has been delayed. I have taken on the role of teaching 6th-grade religion, which has restricted my time somewhat.

Thank you so very much for reading this, and for your presence here in this community.

With much love,
Fr. Mario

Dear St. Joseph Family,

Thank you very much to those of you who contributed to the collection two weeks ago for Sister Celia’s mission appeal, and thank you to those who were present to greet Fr. Paul Schmidt, who celebrated Mass for us at noon. I’d like to share with you the letter he wrote to us after the event.

Dear Fr. Mario and kind people of St. Joseph Basilica,

Thank you for the opportunity to celebrate the Sacred Liturgy with you, and for the very generous and thoughtful contents of the gift basket. I was overwhelmed by your generosity. Because of the unfortunate circumstances I was always concerned to keep my temporary presence in the parish as low-key as possible – and was happy to melt back into my “zombie coffin” as soon as new leadership was provided, so I was not expecting any formal farewell. It was a pleasant surprise to be asked to return for an official parting ceremony. The liturgy was beautiful, and there were many small flourishes of thoughtfulness and kindness. It is good to see that the parish is thriving under your leadership and the able assistance of Fr. Sunil and the fine staff. Sister recounted well the many ministries and works of charity that are thriving at St. Joseph’s. Alameda is blessed to have at its heart such a fine Christian Catholic community. I congratulate you for taking on such a big challenge and measuring up to it so well.

With prayers,
Fr. Paul Joseph Schmidt

I want to echo Fr. Paul’s letter, specifically the part about Alameda being blessed to have the presence of St. Joseph’s community. That’s not to make our head swell, but to remind us that we are here for a reason, to make Christ present, which happens primarily, as Fr. Paul noted, through beautiful liturgy, generous hospitality, and works of charity.

Jesus Christ established His Church to do these things for the purpose of drawing all peoples into communion with the Trinity. This is needed so much right now - the encounter with Him who is Light, Joy, Truth, Peace and Mercy. As we remember the 20th anniversary of September 11, we must remember, and be convinced of the role Christians are called to play in these times of suspicion, division, and violence. Jesus said, you are the light of the world; you are the salt of the world; you are the yeast that leavens the batch of dough. As Fr. Paul said, to do these things is a big challenge, but with fidelity to the Church and to Her Sacraments, we will measure up.

Thank you for being a part of the community, and for contributing to this mission of making Christ present to the world. If you would like to get involved in any way, even if it means setting up chairs before the 9:30am Mass, do not hesitate to reach out, and our “fine staff” will find a way to do that.

With much love,
Fr. Mario

Dear St. Joseph Basilica Family,

As next weekend is the second weekend of the month, we will be having our monthly ad orientem Masses inside the Basilica. To prepare us for that, I’d like to follow up on a point I made in my homily from the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary. If you were at one of my Masses, you heard me speak about how Mary’s being taken up into heaven is a preview of the life that awaits us. But just because this life is revealed fully in the life to come doesn’t mean we don’t get a foretaste of it here and now. Mary shows us that we can get a preview of heaven by imitating Christ on earth, by becoming an alter Christus (“another Christ”), and the best way to become an alter Christus is to become an alter Maria.

In that homily, I noted that this title, alter Christus, is ordinarily applied to the priest, although it can be applied to all the baptized in an analogous sense, since Baptism and Confirmation seal us with Christ’s Spirit, and conform us more closely to Him. Historically, however, the term is used to highlight the function of the priest, who, by virtue of the Sacrament of Holy Orders, stands in for Christ, the eternal High Priest, during the liturgy. St. Augustine helps us to visualize this when he says, “It is Christ who baptizes, Christ who forgives sins, Christ who celebrates Mass.”

In addition to the phrase alter Christus, the Church has also employed the phrase, in persona Christi capitis (in the person of Christ the head). This phrase looks to St. Paul’s image of the Church as the body of Christ found in 1 Corinthians 12:27, “Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it…” as well as Ephesians 5:23, “…Christ is head of the church, he himself the savior of the body,” and Colossians 1:18, “He is the head of the body, the church.” The two phrases focus us on the central point, that the Church is intimately and inseparably united to Christ himself, at all times, but especially during the liturgy.

The architecture of our church building speaks to this truth. In your mind’s eye, enter the basilica, stand in the middle of the nave (the area where the pews are), and imagine the footprint of the basilica. Then, pretend that you are floating above the basilica. What does the building look like?

A cross, right? Churches have been constructed this way for centuries, as a reminder that when the individuals gather, the whole Body is gathering, which includes the people, who sit in the nave (the area that makes up the body) and transepts (which make the arms), and Christ, who in the priest, sits in the sanctuary (the place for the head).

At Mass, the whole Body, or to use another term of the Church, “the whole Christ,” is gathered, and faces the Father, to offer once more, in an unbloody way, the sacrifice of Calvary. In the person of the priest, Christ is the principal actor, praying the prayers on the body’s behalf, but as inseparable members of His body, all are united in making this offering. Christ willed that people of all ages could make His offering their own, and so experience the infinite grace and blessing that flows from it.

The notion of the priest being in persona Christi capitis may be a way for you to enter into the ad orientem Mass more since it attempts to manifest the image of Christ’s Body in the church. The priest can face the same way as the people because his face and his personality, are not central. He is alter Christus, in persona Christi capitis, leading the body in prayer.

These terms are important to our theology of the liturgy because even when we’re not celebrating Mass ad orientem, they help us focus on the importance of Christ’s role in the liturgy, that He is present, praying with us, and offering the necessary sacrifice on our behalf, a sacrifice of infinite worth that is wholly His, but which he wishes to make our own, as we, His Body, offer it with him, with full, active, and conscious participation.

Thank you for reading. Please continue to pray for our world, for our government leaders, and for the peace and the well-being of those who are being persecuted, especially for their faith.

With much love,
Fr. Mario

Dear St. Joseph Basilica Family,

When I moved out of the San Antonio house into the rectory, I did a little bit of exploring and found several candlestick holders hidden away in the attic. I’m not sure exactly when these were used, but it’s possible that they were used during the time when the marble high altar was still in existence. I decided to have them refinished, in addition to the candlestick holders that we had been using for Mass that sit next to the altar and ambo, a Missal stand, and some flower vases. I hope you enjoy the beauty these items add to the sanctuary. If you do, we have some other items that could use refinishing, but we will wait on those.

If you would like to contribute to the refinishing costs, I have placed cards with the images of the items and different monetary values on them. Please take a card that suits your liking and return it to the office or a collection basket so we can keep track of what has been paid for.

Going forward, I want us to be aware of the physical beauty of our church. Churches aren’t named basilicas haphazardly. They acquire this title because they are places of “renown” throughout the diocese. See the explanation of the Norms for Granting the Title of Basilica here, which I found to be quite fascinating. Among other requirements, a church may be named a basilica “…because it has been constructed and dedicated to God on the occasion of some particular historical and religious event, or because the body or significant relics of a saint are preserved in it, or because some sacred image is there venerated in a special way. The historical value or importance of the church and the worthiness of its art are also be considered.”      

I believe St. Joseph was named a basilica because of the latter. If you’ve been a parishioner for a long time, or have ever seen old photos of the interior of the church, there was quite a collection of worthy art. Unfortunately, that art was painted over or removed, for reasons I am not aware of. That is why going forward, I feel that it is our duty as a community to live up to our basilica title, and where possible, seek to make our worship space as beautiful as possible. That includes the upcoming renovation of the sanctuary floor, and the Grotto room, and trust me, when the sound designers provide recommendations for audio improvements, we will be considering if changes need to be made to the aisles.   

All this sounds good, and yet, some might protest that our money should be used to serve the poor. My response is that we can do both, for the way I see it, a beautiful church is a service to the poor, since beauty, along with truth and goodness, are attributes that, when found in objects or ideas, point us to God, who is the Beautiful, and the Truth, and the Good. Beautiful things lift us up out of the difficulties of life, which is why when the disciples berated the woman who anointed Jesus’ feet with the costly perfumed oil, Jesus responded, “Why do you make trouble for the woman? She has done a good thing for me” (Mt 26:10).

The beautification of our basilica will be an ongoing process. Yet, the external beauty will be of little value if the internal beauty of our souls does not go along with it. There have been several times in which I have preached about the Sacrament of Reconciliation in my homilies as being a gift from God, and how I have encouraged you to celebrate this Sacrament frequently (once a month is recommended). And yet, offering one hour a week is hardly sufficient to accommodate this recommendation. Therefore, in addition to adding some beautiful accoutrements to our physical space, Fr. Sunil and I will be adding an extra half hour a week of confessions on Saturday mornings after the daily Mass, from 9 to 9:30 am, starting Saturday, September 4. This doesn’t sound like a lot, but when I say a “half-hour” I mean we will stay for as long as is needed, but if no one is in line at the half-hour mark, we will assume that confessions are finished. If you afford yourself of this opportunity, and we recognize a need for more opportunities for Confession, then, by all means, we will add additional times.       

Thank you for your continual support of the parish. It has been a real blessing to have you back. Continue to eat healthy food, exercise, take your vitamins, get plenty of sleep, and spend time in prayer! And please continue to pray for Afghanistan.

With much love,
Fr. Mario                                                         

Dear St. Joseph Family,

I am writing this from my retreat at Vallombrosa Center in Menlo Park. Bishop Barber asked all the priests of the Diocese of Oakland who have been ordained 10 years or less to go on retreat with him, and so, here we are (although, if you’re reading this on Saturday or Sunday, I’m back!).

On the 16th Sunday of Ordinary time on July 18th, we heard this invitation of Christ to the Apostles: “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest awhile” (Mark 6:31). Retreats are a special opportunity to experience this rest, to hear words of encouragement and instruction from a retreat master, like the one we have this week, Bishop Chad Zielinski of Fairbanks, Alaska, a diocese that is twice the size of California, and to spend more time in prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament. The purpose of this “rest” is not purely physical, nor is it a vacation. In the words of St. Paul from his letter to the Ephesians, it is to help us become “imitators of God.” It is to help me become a more Christ-like shepherd. So, know that while I am in this “rest” I am holding you close in my prayers.

Going on a retreat isn’t something just for clergy, though. We have a retreat house in Danville called San Damiano, which is open to all. You can book a room there and have some time away, either on a guided retreat, or on your own. Maybe we can plan a retreat as a parish, which doesn’t necessarily have to take place at a retreat center, but can take place at the Basilica itself, consisting of Eucharistic Adoration, Confession talks on our faith – the sky’s the limit. If this sounds interesting to you, let me know. As I mentioned in last week’s bulletin, I am eager to hear from you about what you’d like to see our parish offer in order to help us grow in our faith.

To get you thinking, Bishop Barber has been sharing with the priests for several years now what his vision for spiritual growth in the diocese looks like. It revolves around three things. First, what he calls “the Sunday Experience.” For Catholics, Sunday is our preeminent day of rest, because it is on Sunday that we enter into God’s presence, we converse with Him, are loved by Him, and love Him in return. Thus, Sunday Mass should stand out, it should impress us, and leaves us with a sense of awe that inspires us and sustains us throughout the week. I’ve always looked at Sunday as being a day that offers us something that we cannot get anywhere else. If we leave Mass on Sunday and feel unaffected, then something has to change.

Second, Bishop Barber wants the parishes in our diocese to be places where the spiritual and corporal works of mercy are practiced, which is a natural consequence of a profound Sunday experience. As a parish, we do a good job at these, but we can grow. We come together to pray, and have active outreach ministries, like St. Vincent de Paul, but the need for new members is urgent as we see more and more people displaced and living on the streets. This is where we as Catholics shine, and can continue to be a light to those around us. Nourished by prayer and fed by the Sacraments, we are sent to comfort and feed those who go without. This is why I opened up the house on San Antonio Avenue to the Catholic Worker of Oakland, so that we can assist the poor, and encounter Christ yet again.

Lastly, Bishop Barber wants the parishes to be places where missionary disciples are formed. What this means is that parishes should never be shut in on themselves. To use an image from Pope Francis, the doors of the church need to be thrown open, not necessarily to let people in, which is correct, but to let the faithful out. The temptation is to close ourselves off and compartmentalize our faith, keeping it distinct and cut off from the rest of our lives, but this is completely contradictory to the mission Jesus gives us: “GO, therefore, and make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:19). Only when we accept our mission to take our faith in the Trinity out into the world and share our relationship with God with others will we be truly happy.

Soon, the Pastoral Council and I will resume our meetings after the summer break, and we will continue to pray and strategize with the Holy Spirit on how to make Bishop Barber’s vision a reality. I hope that you will play an active role in this process, which is never finished. We are always growing, always maturing, and always sharing what we have received, because what we receive is infinite love, from the One who loves us unto the end.

Please pray for Afghanistan, and for peace throughout the world.

With much love,
 Fr. Mario

Dear St. Joseph Family,

Happy Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, and happy return to the Basilica! If this is your first time at Mass since the obligation to attend Mass was suspended, then welcome home! You have been missed! A few weeks ago, I wrote in the bulletin about the word “obligation” as it pertains to the obligation to attend Sunday Mass and Holy Days of Obligation. In that article, I wrote about how Sunday is the “Lord’s Day,” the day of Jesus’ Resurrection, which is the fulfillment of the Sabbath, the final day of creation when God rested. Our Lord’s Resurrection is a sign of the definitive “rest” that has been offered to us; rest from the burden of sin and death, which will be enjoyed definitively in heaven, but which we can get a foretaste of here and now when we gather in the context of divine worship with one another. This is why God commands the Sunday obligation because He wants us to rest with Him and with each other. This obligation is not a punishment; it is the greatest blessing we can receive in this life.

If you don’t believe me, just look to some of the preliminary research that has shown that people who are active in their religious communities tend to identify as happier. A Pew survey from 2019 showed this, available here.

These results cover a range of religions, not necessarily Catholics, but as Catholics, we have something to be extra happy about, since we have direct access to God in the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist and Confession. Again, don’t believe me that these Sacraments make a difference? I wish you could have seen some of the people cry this last year upon receiving the Eucharist after being away for a long time. I wish you could hear the sighs of relief and the many times someone has heaved a profound “thank you Father!” my way at the end of a confession. As Catholics, we should be the happiest people of all!

This may be a little premature due to the ever-changing reality we live in of variants and mandates, but moving forward, I want to invite you to speak to me, Fr. Sunil, a member of the staff, or a member of the Parish Council, about what would make you and others happier in our parish community. What aspect of your faith life needs nourishment? Maybe it’s formal catechesis on the doctrines of the faith. Maybe you’d like to read more Scripture or learn different methods of prayer. I know that one thing we are all missing is connection, gathering, embracing, and seeing each other smile.

So please, as we return to Mass, don’t hesitate to let me know how we can make St. Joseph Basilica a place where we can have these joyful connections. How can we make St. Joseph a place of authentic happiness, where people can find rest for themselves in Christ Jesus?

I look forward to being with you all. Once again, welcome home!

With much love,
Fr. Mario

Dear St. Joseph Family,

During the past 14 months or so, you may have heard me refer to the “reopening committee” in some of the announcements I’ve made about what our parish is doing during the pandemic. With the recent rise in COVID numbers, this committee met last week and decided to return to wearing masks indoors. This was before this week’s mandate by the county. At our meeting, I asked one of the members, Teresa Courville (RN, MN, CPN,) to provide me with some key points justifying the return to mask-wearing for all.

• Contrary to what many people thought about the vaccines, they were not developed to prevent infection completely. Rather, they were meant to prevent severe disease and death. They were so effective, however, that there were signs that they could prevent transmission against coronavirus variants.
• Now, there is evidence showing that the Delta variant, which accounts for 85% of cases, is capable of infecting fully vaccinated people at a much higher rate than previous variants could. • New data indicates that fully vaccinated individuals who acquire the Delta variant (although they experience less if any, symptoms), have similar amounts of the virus as compared to unvaccinated individuals, which is a much higher amount than the original virus, making it much easier to transmit the virus to others.

Dear St. Joseph Family, 

It is with great joy that I share with you that Oakland Catholic Worker (OCW), a charitable organization that operates out of East Oakland, distributing groceries and assisting migrants from Central America, will be renting the residence on San Antonio Avenue, previously occupied by the priests.

The Catholic Worker began in the early 1930s in New York City, under the direction of Peter Maurin and Dorothy Day, who, along with Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King Jr, was mentioned by Pope Francis in his address to Congress in 2015 as noteworthy contributors to the fundamental values and spirit of America. Maurin and Day’s vision was to lift people up who had been beaten down by the Great Depression. They began with a newspaper, and gradually developed farming communes in rural areas and “houses of hospitality” in the cities, where the spiritual and corporal works of mercy could be practiced. I highly recommend that you watch the movie “Entertaining Angels,” which is a beautiful retelling of the Catholic Worker’s humble beginnings. As Pope Francis said in that address to Congress: “[Day’s] social activism, her passion for justice and for the cause of the oppressed, were inspired by the Gospel, her faith, and the example of the saints.”

So, how did this idea for OCW to join us in Alameda come about? When I arrived at St. Joseph’s in January 2020, I moved into the residence on San Antonio Avenue, which was very comfortable, but a little bit isolated. I wanted to be closer to the church, my office, and the parishioners, as well as make more frequent visits to the chapel I created in one of the vacant rooms above the offices. What’s more, the pandemic had caused our plate collections to drop, and so, I saw the potential income from rent as an opportunity to offset that. After a year of living in that residence on San Antonio Ave, I felt that the time was right to move to the rectory/ office building, where Fr. Sunil also resides.

Yet, as I thought about listing the residence, OCW came to mind. This is partly because I had been assigned there as a seminarian for a few weeks in the summer of 2015. I helped with the grocery distribution, as well as painted some of the interiors of their housing and office space (see photos below). It was a very blessed time for me to be able to contribute in that little way. I have always felt that when we assist the poor, we benefit far more than they do. This is why Jesus told us that on the day of Judgment He would say to those who had served the needy, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food…” (Mt 25:34-36).

OCW also stood out to me because of the troubling images of the Southern Border we were beginning to see in early 2021. Seeing those vast groups of migrants, I was reminded of my time at OCW and the encounters I had had with so many people who had left their lives behind in their home countries in search of a better life. Thus, I didn’t feel quite at ease renting the house at market value to just anyone, even though that might have been the logical thing to do. So, after much prayer, I called Bob Lasalle-Klein, one of our parishioners who serve on the OCW Board, and proposed my idea to him. Bob then brought the idea to Peter Brown, the Director of OCW, as well as to the rest of the Board, who enthusiastically accepted my offer. It took some time for them to get all their ducks in a row, but they were finally able to begin moving in last week.

OCW will be using that residence simply to house staff, which gives them a much-needed repose from the commotion of East Oakland. It will also house some of the migrants or “guests” as they are referred to. They will maintain their location on International Boulevard as their food distribution site. Their hope is that by moving some of their staff and families to Alameda they can expand the amount of work that they do in Oakland. This expansion is made possible partly because we are not asking them to pay the market value rent, but they will be contributing something to the parish, so, it is a win-win for both entities. God always provides, and as I said, I believe this will benefit us far more than them.

In time, we will clarify how we can contribute to helping them grow their mission, which is so illustrative of the beauty of Catholicism. I thank you in advance for your kindness toward and support of OCW. This parish has a history of loving service, from the Pastoral Care Ministry to the St. Vincent de Paul Society and the Knights of Columbus, just to name a few.

With much love,
Fr. Mario

Dear St. Joseph Basilica Family,

July 25-31 is Natural Family Planning Awareness week in the Church. This is because on July 25, 1968, Pope Saint Paul VI published the encyclical Humanae Vitae (Latin for “Human Life”). This document is possibly the most hotly contested document ever issued by the Church because it has to do with something that is incredibly personal and sensitive: contraception. Now, I know what you may be thinking, “here goes Fr. Mario again.” And that may be true, but I hope you won’t dismiss this important topic right away. So, I’d like to offer a beautiful passage on the subject from Dr. Janet Smith, a Catholic theology professor, before continuing with this slightly longer-than-usual bulletin letter…

”The Church’s teaching on contraception is not just a doctrine that states what not to do. Many people would benefit from knowing that it is a doctrine that explains how extraordinarily important is the act of having children. One reason that modern culture has trouble understanding the truth of Humanae Vitae is that it fails to appreciate what a profound good children are. It is true that most parents love their children beyond belief and frequently even acknowledge that they are great gifts from God. Many parents will testify that when they held their baby for the first time, they experience a rush of love matched by little else.

But they do not always realize that in having children they are “co-creators” with God. This is not a term used by Humanae Vitae; it is a term used by John Paul II in his writing. Humanae Vitae does speak of the “extremely important mission of transmitting human life” that God has entrusted to spouses. A human life is of inestimable value; a human soul is destined to share a blissful eternity with God, the angels and saints. Only God can create a new human soul, but he needs the help of human beings to bring forth a new person. When engaging in sexual intercourse spouses are inviting God to perform his creative act of bringing a new human soul into existence: they supply the sperm and egg; God provides the soul. He then entrusts that soul to the parents to guide and educate and ultimately to help get them to heaven.

Our culture does not really focus on helping people to realize that someday they will likely be parents and how tremendously important a task that is. We do not often think that we should be spending much of our youth preparing for the responsibilities of being parents. Contraception enables us to think of sexual intercourse as a casual and to some extent as an insignificant act rather than an act that can change the universe – for the coming to be of a new human being truly changes the universe. Someone who did not exist before comes into existence and will remain in existence forever.”

No, sex is not insignificant at all. That is why one of my favorite tasks as a priest is marriage prep, and believe it or not, the talk I have with couples on Humanae Vitae and the “marital act” as it is called because as Dr. Smith says, the Church’s teaching on contraception is not just a blanket “No!” It is a gigantic “yes!” for couples to fully experience the significance and beauty of this action.

This is how I explain the Church’s teaching on sex to couples. We are a sacramental world, which means, we use signs to communicate. We have 7 Sacraments in the Church, which use visible, tangible material to communicate something invisible. Yet so much of our daily life is also sacramental, especially when it comes to our bodies. We can call this “body language.” For example, a handshake is a visible sign that communicates something invisible. It says that an agreement or contract has taken place. Progressing further, a hug is sacramental, for it says that there is mutual affection between people. Taking this analogy further, a kiss is a visible sign of even great affection. Now, what about sex? What is that a visible sign of? What does sex communicate?

When a married couple comes together to make love, their body language communicates something very specific. They are saying – or making present – what they said and did on the day of their wedding, their vows, when they affirmed (1) that they were there freely and without coercion; (2) that they were going to love and honor the other, and only the other, for as long as they both shall live, (3) that they would give and receive from the other totally, both the good and the bad; and (4) that they would accept children lovingly from God. Sex is a sacrament of the wedding vows, said on the wedding day, and renewed throughout their lives as they come together in the bedroom.

After explaining this, I invite the couple to ask this question, if that’s what making love naturally communicates, what is the “body language” of sex that uses contraception? It is a tough question to answer because most couples don’t intend something negative when using contraception, but what contraception communicates is, “I don’t want to make a total gift of myself to you, and I don’t want you to give the total gift of yourself to me.” I hope you see that the Church believes that sex is a gift from God, that it is good and should be enjoyed. But it is only truly good and enjoyable when it takes place in its proper context, between a committed husband and wife who are ready to give and receive everything from the other, including their fertility. Otherwise, what contraception communicates is that pleasure is the goal of sex, and if pleasure is the goal, then sex is more about “me” than “us.” And if that is the case, then it ceases to be something that is good for the couple.

Therefore, the Church offers Natural Family Planning as a way for married couples to communicate that total gift of themselves to the other, even if they are not capable of welcoming a child into their lives. NFP, not to be confused with the “rhythm method,” is an umbrella term that includes several unique methods of reliably tracking the woman’s reproductive cycle to know very precisely when she is fertile and when she is not. Some call NFP “Catholic contraception” because of its effectiveness at preventing pregnancy, but the essential difference between NFP and artificial contraception is that the couple who uses NFP is not intentionally obstructing the natural reproductive process.

NFP is based on the science of the woman’s body, and thus, is reliable, not only at preventing pregnancy but also in achieving one if that is desired. It is also reported that the divorce rate of couples who practice NFP is far lower than those who do not, mainly because NFP requires a level of discipline and sacrifice, as well as communication and cooperation in discerning when the right time to make that most profound gift of self is, that using contraception does not.

NFP is not easy, but it is very rewarding. Thus, I have asked one of our couples, Mariana and Carlos de la Torre, to speak on their experience of using NFP. They spoke once to couples in February and will host another talk on Zoom for anyone who wants to learn more about NFP. This is not a debate about Church teaching, but an opportunity for those who are seriously curious about NFP and how it can benefit into their own life, or the life of someone they know. Their talk will take place during NFP Awareness Week, on Thursday, July 29th, from 7 to 8 pm. Please email Sherley in the office and the Zoom link will be emailed to you on the day of the event.

With Much love,
Fr. Mario

Dear St. Joseph Family,

Last week I wrote about Bishop Barber’s decision to reinstate the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days, beginning on Sunday, August 15th, the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In that article, I highlighted what our understanding of the word “obligation” is, noting that God’s commandment to keep holy the Sabbath is not for His good, but for our own. It is good for us to gather together, to be with Him and one another. It is so critical for us to be together, that without this weekly gathering, we would be seriously deficient in our development as human beings, for it is at Mass that God pledges to give us everything we need to flourish: faith, hope, and love, found in His Word, the Eucharist, and in the community. This is the etymology of the word “obligation,” a binding pledge. God pledges something good to us, and we pledge something back to him and to each other: our presence, our commitment to love Him and one another. That’s a beautiful notion, isn’t it?

The reason I am reminding of this reinstatement of the Sunday obligation, is because I have decided, in union with the livestream team, to discontinue the Sunday livestream on YouTube. The last Mass to be live streamed will take place on August 1, a couple of weeks ahead of the August 15th return. We will, however, continue to livestream the daily Mass from Facebook at 8:30 am.

With that being said, I would like to preemptively thank the livestream team for all of their hard work over the last 16 months or so. Where would we have been without our Sunday Mass livestream? With the drivethrough Communion, it was like the life raft that kept us afloat amidst the storm of the pandemic. The livestream filled our homes with familiar sights and joyful sounds. It kept us connected and eased our isolation and loneliness. It enabled us to encounter the sacred and the Divine, even if we were still wearing our pajamas. I am incredibly grateful to the livestream team for all that they did for us. I am inspired by their dedication, always arriving around 10:30 am to set up and oftentimes providing their personal equipment for our own use. I will miss their friendly faces and generous attitudes. Please join me in thanking the livestream team as we prepare to end this amazing ministry (If there is anyone who helped out along the way who I forgot to mention, I apologize. You know who you are, and I am grateful to you too):

Amy Aguon (Sound)
Sal Castaneda (Camera operator)
Laura Chinnavaso (Creator of the worship aids)
Michael Chinnavaso (Camera operator)
Carlos De la Torre (Camera operator) Robert Heimbichner (Sound)
Tuan Nguyen (Camera operator)
Alex Ramos (Ministry lead and YouTube channel manager)
Henry Ramos (Camera operator) Victor Ramos (setup)
James Toner (Camera operator)
Gordon Yee (Youtube channel moderator)

With much love,
Fr. Mario

Dear St. Joseph Family,

n case you missed it, we published Bishop Barber’s letter in last week’s E-news, in which he writes about the importance of the Eucharist. In that letter, he noted that he will be reinstating the obligation to attend Mass on Sunday, August 15, the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Although many of our neighboring dioceses have already reinstated the obligation, our return on this solemnity is a fitting one, since, as we approach the minister to receive Communion, we do so in the spirit of Mary who received the Body of Christ most perfectly into herself. Our “Amen” at that time is, in a very intimate way, united to her “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).

I’d like to take a moment to discuss the word “obligation.” First of all, what is the obligation we are referring to? It is the obligation for all Catholics to attend Mass every Sunday and Holy Day (of obligation), unless for a serious reason they are unable to. Some serious reasons include sickness (even if only minor symptoms), having health risk factors that require avoiding public spaces, being homebound or caring for someone who is (even children), some kind of emergency like a flat tire, or not having access to Mass due to travel (although being on vacation does not dismiss us from attempting to attend Mass).

Why the big fuss about attending Mass? First, because Sunday is not ours, but the “Lord’s Day,” since it is the day of the week that His Resurrection took place. Think of it this way, that’s the most significant event in human history, and if we do well to celebrate our lesser anniversaries, we ought to celebrate this one, and not just annually, but weekly. But this isn’t because God needs us to celebrate the Resurrection, but because we need it. The Lord’s Day is the fulfillment of the sabbath day, the day of rest, which for our Jewish brothers and sisters takes place on Saturday. Remember in the Book of Genesis, God rested on the 7th day of creation. For Christians, the sabbath is no longer Saturday, but Sunday, the day of the new creation. As Psalm 118 says, “this is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.” The obligation, therefore, is not for God’s sake, but for our own. Jesus said, “the sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath” (Mk 2:27), which means, attending Mass is expressly FOR US and for our benefit.

We need rest, it’s as simple as that, but rest of a particular sort. In next Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus will invite his apostles to come away by themselves, away from the crowds, to rest with him (Mark 6:31). This isn’t any ordinary type of rest, like taking a rest day after an intense workout. This rest is mental and emotional; it is a truly spiritual rest. And just as our bodies depend on rest to grow after that intense workout, so do our spirits. Our catechism says that we are obliged to attend Mass every Sunday and Holy Day because this is the day we are “confirmed” in the practice of our Christian lives. Confirmed means made strong. At Mass, we are made strong, namely by the hearing of the Word and reception of the Eucharist, but also by simply being in the presence of one another, as the Catechism says, “participation in the communal celebration of the Sunday Eucharist is a testimony of belonging and of being faithful to Christ and to His Church. The faithful give witness by this to their communion in faith and charity. Together they testify to God's holiness and their hope of salvation. They strengthen one another under the guidance of the Holy Spirit” (#2182). This is why St. John Chrysostom said, “You cannot pray at home as at church, where there is a great multitude, where exclamations are cried out to God as from one great heart, and where there is something more: the union of minds, the accord of souls, the bond of charity, the prayers of the priests” (cf. #2179).

So, why are we obligated to attend Mass every Sunday and Holy Day? Because, in order to grow into the people we were made to be, we need to rest with the Lord and with each other. We need to rejoice. The pandemic has taught us this. Thus, to deliberately fail in this obligation (e.g., to skip Mass to go to a sporting event) is to commit a grave sin, since to intentionally skip Mass is to say to God and to one another, “I don’t need you.” This is an offense against charity that must be brought to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Therefore, as we prepare to return together on August 15, we remember the responsibility we have of reminding our fellow Catholics, especially those who have fallen away from the practice of their faith, of our obligation, not because we are sticklers of the law, but because being with us will do them good, and being with them will do us good as well.

With much love,
Fr. Mario
 

Dear St. Joseph Family,

Happy 4th of July weekend. I hope you find some time to enjoy yourselves while remaining conscious of the significance of the event we are celebrating. During holidays like this, I am reminded of a poster that hung in a classroom in my high school which had an image of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the words, “MLK holiday is not a day off but a day on.” The same can be said for the 4th of July holiday. It’s a day off, yes, of BBQs and fireworks, but more importantly, it is a day that reminds us to strive for the ideals of what our country was founded on, “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” This comes from the beginning of the Declaration of Independence, which I think ties in with the conclusion of our Mass when it is said, “go in peace.” Not to return home to sit on the couch, but out into the world to serve one another in love.

Speaking of service. Our schools are in need of filling some positions. This may be a long shot, but I ask you to look over these openings and reach out to anyone you know who may be qualified to apply, especially for high school math, and 7th and 8th-grade homeroom. Thank you!

As I mentioned some weeks ago, I will be celebrating Mass in the posture of ad orientem (“towards the East”) one weekend per month inside the Basilica. Next weekend, July 10 and 11 will be that weekend, and as promised, here is some more catechesis on the topic.

Perhaps you have heard of the phrase, “fully conscious and active participation.” This phrase comes to us from the document on the liturgy from the Second Vatican Council, Sacrosanctum Conciliium. In that document, the Council called for a reform of the liturgy and a renewal in liturgical education so that all would be able to participate more fully at Mass. This reform included the approval of translations of liturgical texts into the vernacular. However, as the implementation of the Council’s reforms progressed, something of the essential meaning of “fully conscious and active participation” was lost. The developing sense of the phrase was thought to mean that participation at Mass depended on one’s action in a ministry such as lectoring, music, or being an extraordinary minister of the Eucharist. But it didn’t stop there. I’m sure many of you have attended Masses with “liturgical dancing,” or even the rare “clown Mass,” where priests and ministers dressed as clowns (sadly, I am not joking).

“Fully conscious and active participation” is not dependent on whether or not you are a liturgical minister. Rather, being a minister is dependent on this sort of active and conscious participation, which is firstly an interior prayerfulness. This is because ultimately, the Mass is not something that we create or do for ourselves. Rather, the central action that takes place at Mass is God’s, who is the main actor, and who invites us to participate in His action. And what is this action? Namely, it is the Eucharistic prayer.

The first part of Mass, the Liturgy of the Word, is rightly described as a dialogue between us and God. God speaks to us in the readings, we listen and respond to Him. But in the second half, the Liturgy of the Eucharist, God speaks alone, for it is He who must do for us what we could never do ourselves, i.e., offer the acceptable sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving (Eucharistia is Greek for thanksgiving).

During the time of the Eucharistic prayer, after the gifts of bread and wine have been brought forth, the priest in a sense disappears as the principal actor, Jesus Christ, emerges, who, speaking through the priest, prays on behalf of His body, the Church. The priest is merely Christ’s instrument, who addressing the Father, invites the entire congregation to join with him in praying the Eucharistic Prayer, in which His Passion, death, Resurrection and Ascension are re-presented to us. This is why we hear in Eucharistic Prayer 1, “Remember, Lord, your servants and all gathered here whose faith and devotion are known to you. For them, we offer this sacrifice of praise or they offer it for themselves and all who are dear to them…”

This may all sound very confusing. Don’t worry. The point is this, some people object to Mass ad orientem because they see it as a barrier to “participating” in Mass. I invite us to think of participation not as something we have to provide externally, by reading, or singing or dancing, but as joining with God to offer with Him what He himself is providing. This means that participation is an internal experience of uniting with the Body of Christ in prayer. In this way, Mass ad orientem can be viewed as a bodily manifestation of the fact that we are not being asked to differentiate ourselves during Mass, to offer something uniquely our own from our own talents, but that we are being led by Christ in offering with Him the most essential thing, that which is His: His prayer, His Body and Blood, His life.

This means that you could be the last person in the last pew stuck behind a pillar, but if you are fully listening to God speak, if you are actively responding from your heart with a desire to do His will, if you are consciously praying the Eucharistic prayer in faith, then you are 100% participating.

With much love,
 Fr. Mario Rizzo
 

Dear St. Joseph Family,

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a bulletin article about the importance of the Eucharist and receiving the Eucharist in a worthy state – the “state of grace” we Catholics say – which means not being aware of having committed any serious sin. If so, the Church warmly and compassionately offers us forgiveness of our sins and return to “Communion” in the Sacrament of Penance/Reconciliation/Confession. In that bulletin article I used President Biden as an example, who, by not only supporting abortion rights but also seeks to further them through the removal of the Hyde Amendment in his proposed budget, separates himself from the teachings of the Church, and thus, many argue, disqualifies himself from receiving the Eucharist, the Sacrament of Communion. You may have heard that the U.S. Bishops met last week and decided to draft a document about the Eucharist in the life of the Church. I do not believe that this document will mention President Biden per se but will serve as a reminder to all of us of what the Eucharist means and how we should approach it. A draft of this document will probably be ready in the Fall.

Also, this week our Church was in the headlines in Pennsylvania, where the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the local Catholic Social Services (CSS), saying that the city of Philadelphia violated the Constitution by threatening to shut down CSS unless CSS agreed to certify same-sex couples as foster parents, which was a violation of the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. Residents of the area and throughout the country are praising the decision, not only as a defense of religious liberty, but also as a win for children (many of whom are minorities) who are served by CSS. See some of the reactions to the Court’s decision here.

I bring all this up because this week the Church in the U.S. celebrates Religious Freedom Week. We began on Wednesday, June 22, the Memorial of Saints John Fisher and Thomas More, who were both executed by King Henry VIII of England in 1535 for refusing to abandon their religious beliefs on the topic of divorce. More is famously quoted as saying, “I die the King’s good servant, but God’s first.” You can read more about them here.

We Catholics are no strangers to persecution, whether it be a bloody martyrdom or an unbloody one. Lately, in our country, this persecution has been coming under the guise of a well-known saying, “the separation of Church and State.” But let me assure you, the Founding Fathers never intended for religion to be subjugated to the State. These men – who sought high ideals while often falling short – believed that religion was a good that benefited society and needed to be protected. At the time of the founding of our country, a plurality of religious sects were present, and many colonies had adopted state churches; the Constitution meant to prevent the establishment of a national religion, thus protecting other religions from being dominated by the one. The founders never intended for religion to be expelled from the political sphere but intended for religion to be a guide and an aid in forming morally upright and responsible citizens.

To separate Church and State is an impossibility since each person exists in both realms, the eternal and the temporal; one realm seeks happiness in this life, the other in the life to come. In order for separation to take place, we would have to separate ourselves. Rather, what is needed is distinction with cooperation, because ultimately, the two cannot command opposite things. Sadly, this is where we find ourselves today, struggling to determine what is owed to Caesar, and what is owed to God (Mk 12:17). Ultimately, our allegiance is to God, which means, among many other things, standing up to anything that violates the dignity of the human person created in God’s image and likeness, from conception to natural death; abortion, euthanasia, economic injustice, racism, poverty, and hunger. It also means respecting marriage as the union between one man and one woman, and every child’s right to be raised by a mother and a father.

These are difficult teachings! And if you stand up for what our Church teaches, many people will cast you out, as it happened to John Fisher and Thomas More. You will be insulted and accused of being intolerant. “Love is love,” some people say, which is an ambiguous statement. Our church prefers something more concise, that love is willing the good of the other. That is what our Catholic teachings propose, the good of the other, loving the other, and if you make that the goal of your life, no matter what people say about you, you will always be free.

With much love,
Fr. Mario
 

Dear St. Joseph Family, Now that June 15th has come upon us, I would like to share with you the changes that I and our re-opening committee have agreed upon based off of the State’s and the Diocese’s reopening guidelines.

You will notice that we are offering several different options with varying amounts of risk. Please choose the best option for you and your family.

Some options designate that vaccinated persons do not need to wear a mask, however, even if you are vaccinated you may continue to wear a mask for as long as you wish.

We will not be asking for proof of vaccination, but we maintain the guideline that non-vaccinated persons continue to wear their mask.

With much love,
Fr. Mario
 

9:30 am Mass in the Quad

Seating
- Our dedicated team of ushers will continue to set up chairs before Mass. You can enter the quad through any gate, but we will continue to maintain the current seating sections to the best of our ability.
Masks and singing
- No one is required to wear a mask outdoors, whether you are vaccinated or not. - Singing will continue, even without masks.
Eucharist
- The ministers of Communion will continue to bring the Eucharist to you in your seats.

5pm Saturday Mass and 12pm Sunday Mass in the Basilica

Seating
- Although there is no restriction on capacity, pews will be marked to designate where to sit so that there is some physical distancing maintained. The new configuration will allow for more people to sit in the pews than before.
Masks and singing
- If you have been vaccinated you do not need to wear a mask indoors. However, non-vaccinated persons, including minors, must wear masks indoors. - Singing will be allowed at these Masses.
Eucharist
- Ushers will escort you into the main aisle to process to the minister to receive the Eucharist. If you are unable to enter the line, please signal an usher and a minister of Communion will come to you.

7:30am Sunday Mass in the Basilica

Seating - Seating will be the same as the 5pm and 12pm Mass
Masks and singing
- To offer an indoor option with less risk, this Mass will be a spoken Mass only and will not employ singing. Vaccinated persons do not need to wear a mask, but non-vaccinated persons do.
Eucharist
- A line will form in the main aisle, like at the 5pm and 12pm Mass.

8:30 am Daily Mass in the Basilica

Seating
- Same as Sunday Masses
Masks and singing
- If you have been vaccinated you do not need to wear a mask indoors. However, non-vaccinated persons, including minors, must wear masks indoors.

Dear St. Joseph Family,

April, May, and June are special months in the Catholic Church. April is traditionally dedicated to the Eucharist, May is dedicated to our Blessed Mother, and June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, with the feast day of the Sacred Heart this year falling on Friday the 11th. In celebration of this day, we will have a procession around the block following the 5pm Saturday Vigil Mass. This is a time for us to witness publicly to the joy of being Catholic.

The devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a Biblical one. From the Cross, we hear how Jesus’ heart was pierced, and from it flowed water and blood, symbols of the Sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist. After the Resurrection, Jesus appeared to the Apostles and invited them, namely Thomas, to place his hand into His side, where His heart had been wounded. This is an invitation for all of us to take refuge in Jesus, who is present in the Church.

Centuries later, between the years 1673 and 1675, Jesus appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, a Visitation nun from France, and told her to spread devotion to His Sacred Heart. Margaret Mary wrote: “This divine heart is an abyss of all blessings, and into it the poor should submerge all their needs. It is an abyss of joy in which all of us can immerse our sorrows. It is an abyss of lowliness to counteract our foolishness, an abyss of mercy for the wretched, an abyss of love to meet our every need.”

You may have known this already, but there is a stained-glass window above the organ that depicts Jesus and St. Margaret Mary. I think the architecture of our building speaks a profound truth. At one end of the basilica, we have Jesus opening up his Sacred Heart to St. Margaret Mary, and at the other end, Jesus opening up His Heart on the Cross. It is almost as if the architect was saying, within the Church we are surrounded by the love of Christ’s Sacred Heart.

Imagery like this captivates me. That is one of the beauties of our Catholic faith and worldview, that we see sacramentally, that we use images to help us see hidden realities more clearly. For example, water poured over a child at baptism is not an external washing of the body, but an internal washing of the soul. This is why we use candles, bells, and incense during Mass, to clue us into the fact that what is taking place is unique, transcendent, other-worldly. Even our postures at Mass say something. Sitting is a posture of receptive and open listening. Standing is a biblical posture of prayer and strength; we stand in the presence of Jesus the Victor, present in the Gospel. Kneeling, arguably our most important posture, is one of worship, and of submission, but not out of weakness, but out of confidence in the God who provides for us. Yes, our bodies are important to our worship for they proclaim something that we leave unspoken, even the direction we face has sacramental value.

In the Catholic Church we face the sanctuary, which comes from the word for “holy place.” Our Catholic sanctuaries are modeled off of the Jewish understanding that God had a place reserved in the Temple that was called “the Holy of Holies.” In our Churches, we believe God is present in the Tabernacle, and on the altar, and in the Word proclaimed at the ambo. We face the sanctuary because it is there that we encounter the living God. What’s more, Catholic churches were built, and often are still, so that when the people face the sanctuary, they face East, the direction of the rising sun. This is to teach the faithful, in an unspoken, sacramental way, that Christ is the true light who rises to banish the darkness of sin and death from our lives. And for centuries, when the faithful gathered together for Mass, the priest faced “east” with them. This long-winded explanation of sacramental theology and Church architecture is my way of saying that starting this weekend, and on one weekend a month, I will say the Eucharistic Prayer in the posture known as ad orientem, “towards the east,” at all the Masses inside the basilica. This does not mean that I am “turning my back towards you” as I often hear people say, but that I am facing the same direction as you, I am facing Christ with you. Some may also argue, “this goes against what was taught by the Second Vatican Council.” Contrary to popular belief, the Council never instructed us to turn the altars around.

Rest assured, this is a valid way of celebrating Mass, which Bishop Barber approved for us. My hope is that this turn will provide a new sacramental angle for us to view the Mass, our greatest prayer and act of worship, and that you will receive some consolation from it, just as I remember receiving the first time I participated in a Mass ad orientem. I recognize that this may be a difficult change for some, so I will continue to provide our community with ongoing catechesis to help us supplement our understanding of this posture, which has been an important part of our Catholic liturgy and identity since the beginnings of the Church.

With much love,
Fr. Mario

Dear St. Joseph Family,

On this Corpus Christi weekend, I thought I would share an encounter I had with someone a couple of weeks ago after Mass. I had seen this person attend drive-through Communion and Mass regularly and receive the Eucharist. Only after several months of giving them Communion did I become aware that they were not Catholic, but of a Christian denomination. So, I approached them in order to instruct them gently that the Church teaches that non-Catholics are to refrain from receiving the Eucharist. Unlike other non-Catholics who have accepted this teaching with humility and even reverence, this person became defensive, stating that they were probably a better Christian than most of the Catholics present. “That may be true,” I said, “but receiving Communion means more than just believing in Jesus Christ.” To get at the heart of the issue, I asked, “since you enjoy receiving the Eucharist, would you ever want to become Catholic?” To which this person responded adamantly, “no!” “Why then do you want to do what Catholics do?” I asked. They didn’t seem to understand that this Sacrament is called Holy Communion in the first place because it signifies a union amongst those who hold their beliefs in common.

As Catholic Christians, we, like our Protestant brothers and sisters, believe that God reveals himself His Word, his teachings through the words recorded in Sacred Scripture. But we Catholics go beyond that and say that this Word is also revealed through Sacred Tradition, which comes about when the Holy Spirit inspires the Magisterium – the Apostles and their successors, the bishops – in their preaching and teaching of the Gospel. This is what Jesus meant when he said, “I am with you always.” We are given this Tradition because not every specific detail about faith and morals was preserved in Scripture, and when these issues that are not found in Scripture come up, they require God’s guidance, which is given by the Spirit to the Magisterium. This is Sacred Tradition, and with Sacred Scripture, makes up the entirety of the Word of God.

I bring this up because it has to do with the Eucharist. We call the Eucharist Holy Communion because, on one hand, the Eucharist brings about Communion with Jesus on an individual level, but Jesus didn’t call us to Himself simply as individuals. He called us as a Church, which St. Paul referred to as a body, Christ’s body. Thus, we can be in Communion with the Body of Jesus in the Eucharist when we are first in Communion with His Body, the Church. What this implies is that the faithful give an assent of their intellect and will to the teachings of the Church as revealed in Scripture and Tradition, and that they avoid any teachings that are contrary to them.

This is why we ask non-Catholics to refrain from receiving the Eucharist, that is, until they are ready to make this assent of faith, for, to say “Amen” at the time of receiving the Eucharist is not simply to say, “I believe in Jesus,” but also, “I believe in His One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church and its authority to teach truth.” Once someone is ready to profess this, then we welcome them wholeheartedly to the Lord’s Table through RCIA or adult Confirmation.

Please understand then, that I am not writing this to denigrate non-Catholics (my mother is a convert from Judaism). If my encounter with that person after Mass taught me anything it is that we have received the most incredible gift in the Eucharist and that I need to do my very best to receive it worthily. This means that not only non-Catholics, but Catholics especially, must ask themselves where they stand on their assent to the teachings of the Church, for, to be baptized Catholic does not guarantee that we are in full communion with the Church.

Someone who has attracted attention in this regard is President Biden, a baptized Catholic, who, since well before his nomination has been called out by the U.S. Bishops for his support of policies that promote abortion, a grave moral evil. Although they have done so in the past, the bishops have renewed their reminders that anyone who is actively promoting sin should not present themselves for Holy Communion, for to do so is a contradiction.

In these difficult cases, the Church has the responsibility to correct, even if it seems like Her correction is harsh. Yet, as I said in my homily last Sunday, when the Church says “no”, for example, in the case of asking someone to refrain from receiving Holy Communion, it is always at the service of a greater “yes.” The Church always wants Her members to be fed and nourished, and this comes from the Eucharist on one hand, but also from “every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God,” from Scripture and Tradition. Ultimately, to receive the Eucharist when one obstinately denies or doubts a teaching of the Church is not nourishment at all. It is sin, which hurts both the individual and the Body. Thanks be to God for His kindness and mercy, though, for through the Sacrament of Penance (aka Confession), He gives the members of the Body the means by which they may return to full Communion, return to full spiritual health and maturity.

On this Corpus Christi weekend, let us all take a serious look within our hearts and ask ourselves if we are doing our best to assent to the teachings of Christ and His Church, to the Church’s teaching on abortion, the meaning of marriage and the purpose of sex, love of our neighbor and of the poor, Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist – our greatest gift as Catholics. Our Lord does not ask us for perfection, but He does ask that we trust Him, and that we at least try to see that the Church’s teachings, even if they are unpopular to some, are true, for if we know the truth and seek to follow it, the truth will set us free.

With much love,
Fr. Mario
 

Dear St. Joseph Basilica Family,

Thank you very, very much for last weekend’s outpouring of love for the remembrance of my birthday and anniversary of ordination. I hope that every priest in the diocese gets to experience what I experienced. Truly, it was a reflection of God, His generosity, and the delight He takes in being with us and celebrating with us. It is totally cliché to say this, but I mean it, your presence in my life is the great present of Priesthood. Please know that I thank God for you in my daily prayers.

As I said at the end of Mass, never underestimate your prayers for your priests. They are so needed and so welcome. What’s more, never underestimate your prayers and your acts of love and mercy toward all of the people you encounter. That is because where there is love, there is God. “God is love,” (1 John 4:16), and so where we infuse love into the world, we are participating in the life of God. We cannot underestimate that.

This is what we celebrate this weekend, Trinity Sunday. God is love because God is a community of persons that give to each other totally. God is not turned in on Himself, selfish, egotistical, isolated, but always looking outward to the other, to share what is best. That is what love is. And being made in the image and likeness of God, the Trinity, neither are we are meant to be turned in on ourselves; we are meant to look outward at each other, as you did for me this past weekend. When we do this, the image of God within us comes to maturity.

Trinity Sunday is often referred to as “the preacher’s nightmare,” but I’ve never seen it that way. The Trinity is not some superfluous feast we celebrate once a year. Every Mass in a sense is Trinity Sunday since it begins with a recognition of the Trinity as we sign ourselves with the sign of the Cross and invoke the Name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We remind ourselves with that sign that we are made in God’s image and are sent to be God’s presence in the world to those who do not know love.

This takes intentional and persistent practice. Like an athlete, a musician, or any professional, you must practice how to love so as to bring the image of God within you to maturity and awaken with others the knowledge that they are loved, that their dignity and worth comes from God. Do works of mercy, come to the basilica, and spend time in silence before the Blessed Sacrament, read Scripture. The world is depending on us.

We have seen so much discord in the world lately; racial violence on our streets, immigration crises at our border, full-out military assaults in our world. What is the answer? Legislation? Yes. But at all times legislation must be accompanied by divine love, the love of the Trinity. We may change structures, and curriculum, and institutions, but if the individual is not touched by God’s love, all this work will be in vain. God is love, which means if there is going to be peace if life is going to have meaning, then we must all be intune with God who loves us. We must never tire of asking God to reveal his love to us, to increase His love within us, and then help us to give that love away. Take some time today, and each time you sign yourself with the Cross, to remember that you are God’s, that the Most Holy Trinity loves you with an infinite love, and that He has given you the task of making others aware of this great love.

With much love,
Fr. Mario Rizzo

Dear Friends,

We are drawing close to the end of the season of Easter with the celebration of the Feast of Pentecost. As we read in the Scriptures, Jesus Ascended, went up to the Father, into heaven to send the Holy Spirit upon the disciples, and upon us.

We normally celebrate this event at Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit. It is also an event associated with the mystery of Jesus; Jesus sending the Holy Spirit upon us. It is through Pentecost that He becomes present to His followers. Jesus is present with us in a new way through the Holy Spirit and His presence is confirmed in us.

The Feast of Pentecost reminds us of the birth of the church and through the sacrament of baptism, the church continues to be reborn. Through the sacrament of confirmation, the presence of the Holy Spirit is confirmed on every individual. This invites us to reflect on the breathing of the Holy Spirit upon us just like Jesus breathed upon the disciples. We are reminded of our own Responsibility to ‘breathe upon our family members, young generation, our friends, and the whole world.

With the coming of the Holy Spirit for the apostles who were with Jesus, was the culmination of the experience of the mysterious person of Jesus. They wonder at the Resurrection, coming of the Holy Spirit, speaking in different tongues, accompanying miracles, their ability to preach, and the number of people following their way. It was also the point of departure for them: from their closed room of fear they venture forth to preach Jesus to the whole world, powered by the Holy Spirit. It is also for us, filled with the Holy Spirit, we go to announce Jesus.

With the coming of the Holy Spirit, the disciples realized a different way of being with Jesus. We too realize that being with Jesus is not only keeping His commandments but being present to Him, acknowledging His presence in our midst, listening to His promptings, and living by the Holy Spirit. We strive in our efforts to receive the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit so that we can produce the same gifts and fruits to the best of our ability for the glory of God and for the well-being of our brothers and sisters.

Blessings, Fr. Sunil Orathel
 

Dear St. Joseph Family,

I’d like to begin with an update on a few happenings around the Basilica. First, the Sacristy retrofit is moving along. We should be painting and installing new counters within two weeks. This includes the Flower Room. Next will be the Grotto. For the Sanctuary, the Finance Council and Parish Council will be reviewing final plans and contracts to approve the acquisition of the marble high altar. Thank you to all who have contributed to the Capital Campaign to fund these projects.

Lastly, in the past month we have had three sound technicians visit the Basilica to look at our current setup of speakers. As of right now, it looks like we will be moving toward installing speakers that are more appropriate for our space. The current speakers project sound in all directions; we need ones that project away from the ceiling, which acts as a megaphone. The speakers will also be placed in a better position to enhance intelligibility. Thank you for your patience as we modify our sound system.

Now, onto more spiritual matters. This Sunday’s feast, the Ascension of Jesus, is a bitter-sweet one. Bitter because it marks the end of the 40 days Jesus spent with Mary and the Apostles after His Resurrection, and yet sweet, because Jesus’ going away brings about a greater union with Him, since His return to the Father signifies Jesus bringing us up into heaven with Him. This is what St. Augustine meant when he said, “Out of compassion for us he descended from heaven, and although he ascended alone, we also ascend, because we are in him by grace.” Wow! Even though we remain here on Earth, our faith teaches us that even now we can experience heaven. To do this, we have to put on the eyes of faith, or, as I told the First Communion children this weekend and last, our Sacramental glasses. Just like at a 3D movie in the theaters, we need the eyes of faith to help us see that something is happening around us that we cannot see without faith. And that is that we are in union with Jesus Christ, who reigns in Heaven. This can be difficult to recognize during the routines of daily life, so I invite you to close your eyes, put on the eyes of faith, and recognize that while you are reading this from Alameda, or Oakland or San Leandro, that you are also in Christ’s presence, you are also in heaven.

This is because Heaven is not so much a physical state, but a state of being. God, the Trinity, is not in heaven because it is the best place. No, wherever God is, there is heaven. Heaven is being with and living like God. This adds to the sweetness of this feast of the Ascension, because it also marks the time when the Holy Spirit was gifted over to the Church. As Jesus said, “But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7). Jesus gifting us His Spirit means He has desired that we always live with and like Him, as he makes us temples of God, little tabernacles, little points of contact with Him and Heaven.

During this last week of the Easter season, let us savor this truth, that through us God wishes to bring heaven to Earth. And so, I share with you the prayer we have been praying at daily Mass. Pray this every day to continue to become the temple of God that He made you to be.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your spirit and they shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the Earth. O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant, that by the same Holy Spirit, we may be truly wise and ever enjoy his consolations.

With Much Love,
Fr. Mario Rizzo
 

How good of a communicator am I?
Do I communicate well with my God, family, and society?
How do I communicate and what type of messages am I communicating?

In the Gospel, Jesus reminds us, “I call you friends because I have told you everything ...” Jn 15:15. I am the bread of life, I am the light of the world, I am the lifegiving water, I am the good shepherd, I am the resurrection and life, I am the vine are examples of his life-giving communication with us. The essence of what Jesus told us is “I command you, love one another” Jn 15:17.

In the second reading, Saint John reminds us that “God so loved the world that he sent his only son” and that was the fullness of God’s revelation and communication. We make our hearts open to that channel of communication. St Peter in the first reading challenges us: “Can anyone withhold the water for baptism?”, through which the love of God flows into each one of us.

We are given the model of Our Blessed Mother in May, who perfectly communicated with God, that she listened and opened her heart and womb to the promptings of God. We are meditating on the wonder of the person of St. Joseph, who listened to the communication of God through his silence, yet wise actions. We are preparing ourselves for Ascension, Pentecost, and other Christological feasts in the coming weeks. We turn and look to our inner selves to clear our path of communication with God and with one another. This enables us all to be friends with God and one another.

Blessings,
Fr. Sunil Orathel

Dear St. Joseph family,

For this week’s bulletin article, I would like to share a reflection from one of our fellow parishioners, Margo Ponce Diaz. Margo, husband Frank, and daughter Victoria are a part of our Special Needs Inclusion Ministry. As April is Autism Awareness Month, I’d like it if we closed out this month by listening to Margo speak to us. I would like to thank Margo for sharing her story. Enjoy!
Fr. Mario Rizzo

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Some of you might know me as one of the members of the Special Needs Inclusion Ministry. Others know me from my work as one of the Saint Joseph catechism instructors.

My husband Frank will tell you that some days I obsessively prepare for teaching the Children’s Liturgy of the Word lessons. What a lot of you might not know is that I am on the spectrum. I have to work on my social skills. To me, there are times when everything in the world feels “too loud” for me. I am often more formal than most in my interactions with others. One friend noticed that when I am having a bad day I go into “interviewing reporter” mode or am startled when I run into friends and colleagues in places where I am not expecting to see them. Sometimes I enter a room the “wrong” way when my mind falters, and I have to exit and re-enter: I have learned to be more subtle about this and other difficult moments.

From early childhood, but more and more as I grow older, the treasure of my Catholic faith has been my anchor, my citadel. My saving. Some of my most cherished early childhood memories are of the candlelit stained glass windows of Our Lady of Guadalupe church. My grandmother’s voice raised in song. Learning the Lord’s Prayer from my parents and praying with my parish family. The patience showed to me by my Youth Group friends during my teen years, when I would falter or stutter in small group gatherings or retreats. Clergy Bulletin Message Some days I feel like I carry scars, that everyone can see. Then I remember the risen Jesus’ scars, and can be more at peace with my own, lesser sufferings and scars: They become tributes to something hard that I have overcome or achieved. And I can feel ok with carrying scars, having pieces of myself that don’t quite fit together in the usual way.

Some days I feel like being on the spectrum has given me superpowers of sorts. I have used the same aspects of my brain that make sounds and sights reverberate so intensely to craft poems: I notice patterns where others might not see them. As a catechist, I have become very aware of the beauty of the symmetry of the Old and New Testament histories: I have tried to kindle in my student's similar awe and reverence for this symmetry. I think of the Parable of the Talents and would like to share what I can.

I take great comfort in the Gospel moments where Jesus is reaching out to those avoiding, or avoided by, the majority of society: the Samaritan woman at the well, Zacchaeus in the tree. These intensely one-on-one moments calm and dissipate the surrounding turbulence of the moment, cloak the marginalized in faith and renewal.

And in this season of Easter, one of my favorite Gospel readings is Jesus’ post-Resurrection walk and dinner with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus: These men were not Apostles, not in his most intimate circles. Just two followers who desperately needed his message of assurance and hope.

Jesus’ life assures me that we are all warmly welcomed at his table. That we all have something to share in his house. That we are all home here: He is our treasure, and we are his.

Margo Ponce Diaz

“I am the Good Shepherd”.
Many of us may not be familiar with the image of a shepherd.
For the early Christians, the image of the shepherd was very familiar. The early artwork in the Roman catacombs represents the image of Jesus carrying an injured sheep. Historians suggest that images of Jesus as the good shepherd were in popular use than the images of crucifixion, last supper, or other images. It continues to be a favorite image of Christ for many across the world. One of the stained glasses of our Basilica (above the choir) depicts a beautiful image of the good shepherd.

The image of Christ as a Good Shepherd has always appealed to human nature. There is a manifestation of love that touches our innermost feelings. Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). Like a shepherd, he knows us, his sheep well. There is a personal relationship between Jesus and us his followers. Jesus knows each of us by name. How well do we know our shepherd and respond to his voice? We are called to respond to his voice rather than the voice of the one who calls us to ease, comfort, pleasures, and sinfulness that leads us to harm and loss of eternity. Like a shepherd who uses a staff with a hook on the end to guide the sheep and pull back the stray, Jesus uses the church, sacraments, and scripture to guide his flock. Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). Unlike a hired hand who flees to save his life, Jesus saved his flock by sacrificing his own life. Are we prepared to stand by our responsibilities and tasks amidst the challenges that ensnare us?

In the Old Testament, there are many references to God as a shepherd: Ps 23 speaks of the divine shepherd that leads to green pastures and refreshing waters. The prophets like Ezekiel says “I will pasture my sheep; the lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will strengthen” (Ezekiel 34:15-16). As a continuation, Jesus uses the example of the lost sheep, tells Peter to feed the sheep, and proclaims himself to be the good shepherd. We affirm our resolve to be the one true flock of Christ and to be a shepherd after his own heart.

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want”

Blessings,
Fr. Sunil Orathel

Dear St. Joseph Family,

On October 5, 1938, at the age of 33, a young religious nun by the name of Helen Kowalska died in a convent of the Congregation of Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Cracow, Poland. She came from a very poor family of ten children who struggled hard on their little farm during the terrible years of WWI. Since she had only three years of simple education, in the convent she performed humble tasks in the kitchen, vegetable garden, or as a porter. Yet in her simplicity, Our Lord appeared to her and made her the apostle of the wonderful message of Mercy for all mankind. Her scribbling became the diary of Sr. Faustina through which we received the profound wealth of the Divine Mercy.

One such diary note reads: in the evening, when I was in my cell, I became aware of the Lord Jesus clothed in a white garment. One hand was raised in blessing, the other was touching the garment at the breast. From the opening of the garment at the breast there came forth two large rays, one red and the other pale. In silence I gazed intently at the Lord; my soul was overwhelmed with fear, but also with great joy. After a while Jesus said to me, 'paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the inscription: Jesus, I trust in You.”

Sometime later, Our Lord again spoke to her: "The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous; the red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls...These two rays issued forth from the depths of My most tender Mercy at that time when My agonizing Heart was opened by a lance on the Cross....”

As we celebrate the Divine Mercy Sunday, we too can make her prayer our own: “O my Jesus, each of Your saints reflect one of Your virtues; I desire to reflect Your compassionate heart, full of mercy; I want to glorify it. Let Your mercy, O Jesus, be impressed upon my heart and soul like a seal, and this will be my badge in this and the future life.”

Blessings,
Fr. Sunil Orathel

Dear St. Joseph Family,

A blessed and joyful Easter to you all. As it is with Christmas, Easter is not simply one day, but an entire season that extends until Pentecost Sunday on May 23rd. During this time, we celebrate Jesus’ rising from the grave on Easter Sunday, as well as the period of time he remained with the early Church community until His Ascension 40 days after the Resurrection. I imagine those were incredible days for the Apostles, our Blessed Mother, and many others who encountered the risen Lord as he continued to teach and heal. The Church offers us this extended period of time in order to draw us into this experience of remaining with Jesus so that He can teach and heal us as well.

In his homily on the Easter Vigil, Pope Francis mentioned that Easter is about accepting the invitation of Jesus to go to Galilee to meet Him Who goes before us and waits for us there. It is in “Galilee”, the place where the encounter with Jesus first began, that, despite our failures and defeats, we can begin anew. It is there that we will be amazed by our Lord’s infinite love. Returning to Galilee, Pope Francis also said, is a call to move away from the tomb, to move away from living in the past, and of thinking that Jesus is only a distant memory. Returning to Galilee is a signal that our faith must always be on the road, journeying forward, with an openness to being continually surprised by God.

How do we do this? How do we return to our own Galilee? What can we do, practically, during this period to set it apart, to savor it, to be surprised by God, so that it doesn’t simply become a holiday on the calendar that comes and goes, but a season that informs the entirety of our lives? I would like to recommend three things. Prayer, Reconciliation, and Service.

First, prayer. Not to quote Pope Francis too much, but in his General Audience on Wednesday, he remarked that prayer is the breath of our faith; without prayer, our faith cannot survive. Looking to Luke’s Gospel, the Pope turned to Jesus’ question, “when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” For so many of us, life can become consumed with organizational success. But Jesus is not asking for this, He is asking for faith, an entrustment of our lives to Him, which is nourished in prayer. Some of us may find prayer difficult. “How do I pray?” we ask. I always recommend coming to church outside of Mass and sitting in God’s presence. Five minutes at a time, then increase. Be silent and open your heart to hear God speak and to receive His love. Prayer is precisely this, not so much us speaking many words, but an exchange of love between God and us.

Second, Reconciliation. Last week we celebrated Divine Mercy Sunday. Besides reception of the Eucharist, there is no greater exchange of love that we can regularly participate in than the celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It is there that we say “yes” to leaving our own tombs behind to begin a new life. Has it been a while since you’ve been to Confession? Don’t be afraid or embarrassed. As I said in my homily on Sunday, nothing means more to me, or any priest for that matter, than welcoming home a prodigal son or daughter, because we’ve been there ourselves.

Lastly, service. Jesus came to serve, that was His mission, to serve us with his dying and rising, and this was the mission He gave to His Apostles and us. And serving is not a burden. It is what flows naturally from the person who has been reborn and set free by God’s mercy. Service is a way for us to experience and prolong the message and dynamism of Easter. Each time we encounter someone in need and share with them what we have received, the Resurrection of Jesus is manifested anew in our world. I am grateful to God for you and for this community that has shown me fervent witnesses to the power of prayer, reconciliation, and service. Continue to live these things and you will inspire many more to love Jesus and be loved by Him.

With much love, happy Easter,
Fr. Mario

Dear St. Joseph Family,

I’m not sure how many times the Triduum has begun on April Fool’s day, but there’s an intriguing comparison to be made there, wouldn’t you say? Over the course of the next four days, we will recount the greatest reversal of events that has ever occurred in history. Just when everyone thought that Jesus was dead…the joke’s on them.

Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, however, was no joke. It was God’s carefully designed plan. Seeing humanity fall into sin and bent on self-destruction, God knew that the only remedy would be for Him to save us from ourselves, to enter into our own experience, to put death to death. In reality, the joke is really on the Evil One, who 40 days ago tried to tempt Jesus into worshipping him. Jesus resisted him then and brought that initial victory in the desert to completion on the Cross. The devil, who had successfully used his temptations of pride and self-preservation on the scribes and Pharisees, Judas and Pontius Pilate, was defeated by Jesus’ humility and self-gift to the Father.

I think this date of April Fool’s Day is a fitting irony, because it appears that many in our world think that the devil won, and that the tomb which was closed on Good Friday remained that way. And so, they mock God, oftentimes right to His face. This week, a musician created and sold 666 pairs of shoes with satanic emblems on them, which sold out immediately. And on Good Friday, a movie is being released about a young woman who claims to be receiving visions of the Blessed Mother but is really experiencing demonic activity.

That is blasphemy. But the joke is on them, because our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, is risen from the dead. Don’t let anyone convince you that He isn’t.

In the face of these attacks, what I often turn to (besides the testimony found within Sacred Scripture) is the witness of the vast number of people in the early Church who rejected self-preservation to give up their lives for the Gospel. Just think of the Apostles for a second; if the Resurrection did not happen, why would they, and St. Paul, risk their lives to preach that it had? What did they stand to gain? Absolutely nothing. In fact, by preaching this, they gave up everything.
But St. Paul says, “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God…God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something” (1 Cor: 18, 27-28).

Now, I don’t want this to sound like it’s us against them. Jesus’ message, the message of the Cross, is that it is “us for them.” Yes, “unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit” (John 12:24). And this is perhaps the biggest “joke” of all, that if we love our lives in this world, we will lose them. But if we lose them now, even for those who hate us, we will find them forever.

And this is the great challenge of Easter. As one of my professors in the seminary once said, Easter is a much more difficult season than Lent, because now we must go forth and live for others as Jesus lived for us. By no means does this mean we allow others to walk over us. What it means is that we allow the “power of God” to shine through us, as we teach, by our words and our works, that Jesus is alive, that love and truth are more powerful than lies and death. And you can do this. Do not doubt the power of God. This power, that raised Jesus from the dead, that inspired the martyrs of the early Church to witness to the Gospel, that moves modern-day saints to self-less love and service of their neighbors, is the same power that is poured out upon you. May you experience this power anew this Triduum and Easter season.

With much love,
Fr. Mario
 
 

Dear Friends,

Whether we realize it or not, we are approaching the end of the season of Lent, the season of praying, fasting, and almsgiving. We are remembering the solemn entry of Jesus into the city of Jerusalem to accomplish the Paschal mystery of his passion, death, and resurrection. We honor the memorial of that event which we celebrate as we hold palms in our hands and sing Hosanna to the King.

The central event of the Paschal mystery - the paschal sacrifice - is embedded between two triumphant events; the solemn entry into Jerusalem and the solemn event of the resurrection. This invites and prepares us to join into the Holy week with our devotions, faith, life, sacrifices, joys, and sorrows. If recollecting those moments from the life of Christ does not arise some feelings and emotions within us, then it might be a good time to examine and rekindle our affinity to the mystery of Christ.

Some of the questions that are in the gospel of Sunday could guide our thoughts into the depths of our faith, our hearts, and to the Paschal mystery: Why are you doing this? What are you doing? Why has there been this waste? Why do you make trouble? Where do you want us to go? Where is my room prepared? Surely it is not I? Are you asleep? Can you not keep awake with me for one hour? Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Is it with a kiss that you betray? Have you come out to seize a robber? Have you no answer? Are you Christ, the savior? What do you think? Are you the King? Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews? What do you want me to do? Why? What evil have I done? My God, Why have you forsaken me?

As we enter into the week of meditating on this mystery of redemption, we are stunned at the way God planned and accomplished his mission through his son Jesus, which was not completed without my cooperation. We wish everyone the joys and fruits of the reflection on the mysteries of our salvation. I accompany you all with my prayers as we let ourselves be guided by the spirit to relive these moments of liturgical and spiritual solemnity.

Blessings,
Fr. Sunil Orathel

Dear St. Joseph family,

Happy Feast Day of St. Joseph! I want to congratulate the group who completed the 33 Day Consecration to St. Joseph. Because it was such a meaningful experience, another group is being formed to begin the consecration on March 29, so as to finish on May 1, the Feast Day of St. Joseph the Worker. If you would like to join, please fill out the registration form here. This group plans to meet weekly, instead of daily, to pray and reflect on the short daily meditations that you will read on your own from the book written by Fr. Donald Callaway. We have some books available to purchase for $15.

Moving on to returning to the Basilica for in-person Mass, I’d like to remind you about my bulletin letter from a couple of weeks ago. In that letter, I highlighted a couple of important aspects of attending Mass in person and asked you to reflect upon your physical capacity to return to Mass, even if only outside. I invite you to continue to consider this invitation, as the schedule for returning to a regular schedule for indoor services continues to clarify. In the next week, expect to see a schedule for Holy Week and Easter.

In preparation for indoor Mass, we will be holding a training for ushers on Saturday, March 27th, from 12:30 pm to 2:00 pm. At this meeting, we will walk through the protocols, which are not complicated. I am asking you to consider coming to this meeting, even if you are not a current usher. Just so you know, I am asking that 7-9 ushers be present at each Mass. If we want to resume a normal schedule of 4-5 Masses on a weekend, that will require about 35-45 ushers. Right now, we have a committed team of about 25 ushers. So, you see the need.

On a more spiritual note, as the season of Lent moves toward completion, I invite you to take some time to reflect on how these last weeks have been. Has your prayer, fasting, and almsgiving led you to a deeper awareness of your need for Christ, and His desire to satisfy that need, like the woman at the well? If not, you still have a couple of weeks left. Come to the Basilica for prayer, especially on the next two Fridays from noon-7pm, and spend time before the Blessed Sacrament. Come to Confession on a Monday from 6-7 pm or Saturday from 3:30-5 pm. Do something out of the ordinary for someone, even something very simple, and you will find joy. Then you will be ready for Easter.

With much love,
Fr. Mario

 

Friends,

This is the year of St. Joseph as declared by Pope Francis. St. Joseph is the patriarch and the patron of our parish. The solemnity of his feast on the 19th is fast approaching. The nine-day novena in preparation for the feast begins on March 10th. We congratulate the team that is doing the 33 days of consecration to St. Joseph and invite others to take the opportunity to know and seek His intercession.

We are not as familiar with Joseph as Pope John the XXIII wrote. Joseph, except for some slight springing of references to him here and there in the writings of the fathers of the Church for long centuries remained in the background, in his characteristic concealment, almost as a decorative figure in the overall picture of the life of Jesus. It took time for devotion to go beyond and take root in the hearts of the faithful as a sign of trusting abandonment. St Jose Manyanet reminds us that after two thousand years we started only now to glimpse something of the mystery in which Joseph is immersed.

 In the Old Testament (Gen 41:55), we have the story of Pharaoh who told people that were affected by famine and distress "Ite Ad Joseph" - “Go to Joseph”, which has become a key in approaching St. Joseph as the foster father of Jesus, protector of the church, patron of a happy death, a model of workers, head of the families and such titles.

We are reminded by Pope Pius XII that Joseph who was so engaged in protecting and providing for the family at Nazareth, now from heaven is lovingly guarding the whole church and all its members. If anyone cannot find a master to teach one to pray, says St Teresa of Avila, take Joseph and you will not go astray. May our devotion to him draw us all closer to Jesus who reminds us in the Gospel that our lives in truth and light give glory to God.

Blessings,
Fr. Sunil Orathel

Dear St. Joseph family,

This week we moved into the Basilica for daily Mass at 11 am, a little bit ahead of the schedule that I wrote about in the Bulletin two weeks ago. I want to thank all of you who have attended, for your patience with making some adjustments from Mass to Mass. This is an important step for our community. As I wrote in that bulletin, with recommendations from the Re-opening Committee, I have decided to look at a move-in date for Sunday Mass that mirrors conditions that are similar to when the county gave us approval to return indoors in the late Summer/early Fall. If you are not coming to daily Mass, and you have time during the week, consider attending, as it will help you to gauge your readiness for attending Sunday Mass inside.

I’d like to note that there is no sign-up for daily Mass, as there is (and will continue to be) for Sunday Mass. Yet, all the other protocols apply. Please wear a mask at all times, keep 6 feet distance (pews are marked off to help this), and do a health screening for yourself before you arrive. If you have any cold or flu-like symptoms also associated with COVID-19, please stay at home.

In addition to moving inside, we also began a 12 pm Mass in the quad two weeks ago. These first two weeks, the registration has been lower than expected, about one-third, to half of the 9:30 am attendance. Now, I recognize that attending an in-person gathering makes some of us recoil, especially those of us who are older or have a pre-existing condition. Sometimes, however, we don’t worry about it so much. A couple of weeks ago I was helping out a friend who has hit some tough times. I met him at Walmart in order to help him buy some essential items. The amount of people inside and the lack of social distancing had me scratching my head. Unless you have gone into total hermit mode, I would venture to say you have had similar experiences over the past year. When we go to the store, we don’t really bat an eye, but when it comes to attending even an outdoor Mass, some of us run for the hills. I understand how this can be the case for you if you are older or have an underlying health condition, but if you are younger and have no underlying health issues, I’d like you to consider why.

You may respond, “well, I watch Mass on tv,” or “I go to the drive-through.” Not to mention, “we are dispensed from attending Mass on Sunday.” All good points. So, let me posit a response of my own. It is important to attend Mass in-person (if we are healthy enough to), because the gathering at Mass is sacramental, which means that it is a visible sign of some invisible reality. God, from the beginning of history, has desired nothing else but to gather all peoples to himself, which Jesus Christ brought about through His Church. When we come together in our small community, we are actually a sign of the Universal Church present throughout the world. We affirm that God is active, and his plan is coming to fruition. Second, the visible actions that take place at Mass reflect what is happening in heaven. There, Jesus Christ offers the Father perfect worship with all the angels and saints around him. At Mass, we are drawn into Jesus’ act of worship. To put it plainly, what happens at Mass is a foretaste of heaven. Don’t we all want to experience that in-person?

I am not writing this to guilt-trip anyone. If, because of your health, you do not feel safe attending Mass outside, then by all means, stay home and watch the live stream. But a year has gone by since the pandemic distanced us, and I sense that some members of the Church are convincing themselves that they can get by on their own. Weighing all your personal circumstances, I invite you, with sincere love, to consider if one hour a week at Mass, outside, is something that you can do. You are important to me and your faith family. Stay healthy physically, but also spiritually. And if I am preaching to the choir, maybe this letter is a summons for you to invite someone to Mass with you who has not been in a while.

With much love,
Fr. Mario

Dear Friends,

God did not even spare His own Son, but send Him to us so that we can have the transformational effect in our life, as we are reminded during this season of Lent. We want to list a number of small actions/attitudes that may help us in our effort to feel good with the Lenten season. Adaptations according to individual situations make the suggestions a practical possibility. Following is a list of sample practices that can prompt us in making the season transformational.
Gathering as a family to pray
Visit the Blessed Sacrament
Join/pray Stations of the Cross
Pray the rosary
Abstain from social media
Share an inspiring story
Read the story of Jonah
Donate food Help someone in need
Appreciate one another
Write a letter of gratitude
Reach out to someone ignored by you
Make peace with someone
Listen more
Visit someone (Zoom)
Speak less
Fewer beverages (coffee/drinks)
Have some family time
Share your meal
Invite someone to discuss faith
Read about missions
Listen to spiritual talk
Draw a scene from the bible
Compose a poem/ reflection on-lent
Think of St. Joseph
Learn about Christian denominations
Appreciate your parents
Visit a senior living home (window)
Remember the disabled
Work on inner healing
Perform Manual labor
Clean the devotional objects at home
Less TV time
Watch a religious movie
Visit a cemetery
Less gossip
Fill positive attitudes
Share your faith experience
Visit a neighboring church
Moments of silence
Read the parable of the prodigal son
Think of the people in your life
Remember those who are saddened by you
Confession Receive Eucharist
Learn the prayers Practice patience Know your neighbors
Take a spiritual walk
Recite the act of contrition
Pray the divine mercy
Read about saints
Display a Cross at home
Less sugar intake

Blessings, Fr. Sunil

Dear St. Joseph Family,

On this first week of Lent, I want to remind you that you are in my prayers. As I mentioned in my homily on Ash Wednesday, I have come to really enjoy the season of Lent (almost as much as Christmas ☺). For me, it is like participating in an extended retreat. As a priest, I am required to take an annual retreat and have been doing so since my years in seminary formation. They have been incredible moments of grace, in which my relationship with God has grown, free from the noise and distractions of daily life. My prayer is that this Lent you will be able to retreat a little with Jesus, who said to his disciples, “come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest awhile." By doing so, I hope you too will appreciate this season, marked by what can seem like the strenuous discipline of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving, as a time of rest, and intimacy with God.

In order for you to enter into this experience, I am happy to share several options for spiritual growth and refreshment. Like many retreats, which are led by a “retreat master,” who gives daily talks, we have structured our weeks during Lent so that there is something for you to participate in almost daily. I encourage you to look at the schedule and make the intentional choice to participate in some, or all, of the offerings.

A word of an update on indoor Masses. For the time being, we are going to remain outside. The weather seems to be in our favor, and so we will take advantage of that. The preliminary plan, however, is to monitor the numbers closely and make a concerted effort to return indoors once the county returns to the Orange Tier. You may remember that this was the tier which we were in when we were making plans to return indoors in the Fall. Consistency with this guideline seems prudent. In the meantime, we will be considering a move indoors for daily Mass a little bit sooner. This is because the number of parishioners does not reach the same amount as Sunday Mass. I appreciate your patience and understanding as I, and the reopening committee, weigh many factors. Your safety is our #1 concern.

Lastly, a word of gratitude to our volunteers who assist with Mass in the quad and drive-through communion. This community owes you a tremendous debt of gratitude. On Ash Wednesday, I assisted with seating people at the noon Mass, and I tell you, it is a sacrifice to serve in this capacity as you try to simultaneously focus on Mass. Being an usher truly is a labor of love. And so, my request goes out to all of you to consider sacrificing some of your time to participate in this ministry. The more ushers we have, the more we can allow each other to rest from these duties. And, if we all arrive at Mass early, that makes it easier on the ushers as well.

And our drive-through workers, thank you too! Like our Mass ushers, most of them worked both distributions of the ashes. And Ash Wednesday evening was a sight to behold! A line of cars out on the street, flowing consistently for the entire hour. That night, I was thinking, the Catholic Church is alive! And it is alive because of our faithful ministers. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

With much love,
Fr. Mario

Dear Friends,

To rise from ‘slavery to saint’ is beyond words and imagination. To transform from ‘leprosy to clean’ requires faith and healing. To advance from ‘search for love to love’ is a blessing and an accomplishment.

Josephine Bhakita (1879-1947) was a nonChristian local slave girl from Sudan, whose Feast we celebrated on February 8th. Bhakita displayed tremendous courage and the irrepressible virtues of a soul. She did not give up even though that would have been very easy, she refused to seek revenge or even speak of it, nor did she allow hate to poison her life when she later became a free person in Italy. She refused to allow the wounds of the past to destroy the promises of her future and remained a simple Canosian sister who guarded the gate, cooked or mended the clothes, and earned the loving title of ‘Black Mother’, all with a simple smile on her face. The realization of the presence of the uncleanliness or leprosy of various natures within the individual and in society makes the person seek the healing touch of Jesus. The proof of the cleansing is shown through the actions that follow the healing. Even if the actions are not public, the effects of conversion and healing can reveal the glory of God and the profoundness of the human soul.

Our search for love makes us encounter others and share their being with us. It is strange yet true that both the failures in human love and its ultimate experiences lead us to seek and be immersed in the love of God. The red roses and the red glittered gifts might also remind us of the love poured on us through the red life-giving blood that has been shed for us. Let all our thoughts and deeds as reminded by St. Paul be "for the glory of God".

Blessings,
Fr. Sunil Orathel

Dear St. Joseph Family,

This month of February is Black History Month. As I said in some remarks approaching Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s holiday, his day is not a “day off” but a “day on.” Similarly, may the remembrances of this month not be isolated to one month out of 12, but let all of us seek to continue to educate ourselves about the history of our Black brothers and sisters, and to celebrate their contributions to our country and our world. For my part, I will be reading more of Reverend MLK’s sermons. You can find a few here.

This Saturday, we will be anticipating the World Day for the Sick. This day was inaugurated by Pope St. John Paul II, and falls on March 11, the Feast Day of Our Lady of Lourdes. Our Lady appeared to a peasant girl named Bernadette in 1858 and told her to dig in the ground. In that spot a spring of water emerged, which to this day continues to flow, and where millions of pilgrims journey with their sick companions in search of healing, both in the body and in spirit. My brother-in-law, who was diagnosed with cancer, was fortunate to go to Lourdes with the Order of Malta in 2018.

On Saturday the 6th, Bishop Barber is inviting the diocese to celebrate Mass with him via live stream on their Facebook page at 10 am. You can join them there, or you can watch our Mass on our Facebook page or come to the gathering space at 11 am. Afterward, we will celebrate the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick as we used to do more frequently. Thus, I’d like to take this opportunity to delve into this Sacrament a little deeper.

Contrary to what many people think, the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick is not “last rites.” It pains me when families wait until the last moments to call me to come and anoint their family members (if they even call at all). It seems that some people think that if they call the priest to anoint their sick loved one that they are somehow prematurely sounding the death knell. No, do not hesitate to call for the Anointing of the Sick.

The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick should be administered at the moment when someone finds out that they are due to in danger of death, due to sickness or old age, or those preparing for serious surgery. This is because the Sacrament is not some kind of ticket to the after-life, but a prayer for strength to endure the suffering that is ahead. Indeed, a Sacrament is an encounter with Jesus Christ, the living God, whose ministry was bound up in comforting the sick, which is why it is ideal that the celebration of the Sacrament takes place when the recipient has their mental faculties, so that they can experience the Church praying with them in solidarity, that they may courageously unite themselves to Christ as they carry their cross, and as we pray for health to be restored.

What this means is that not everyone should receive the Anointing of the Sick. I often see healthy people approach the minister for this Sacrament when we hold communal services. Perhaps we have our own spiritual maladies that deplete us and make us feel wounded and frail, but for those who are healthy in body, we have the Sacraments of Confession and Eucharist to heal our spiritual wounds and fortify us. So, this Saturday, please allow those who are truly sick in body, or who even have a mental illness, to receive the Sacrament.

In a similar vein, Pope Francis has declared that the fourth Sunday of July will be celebrated as the World Day for Grandparents. The fourth Sunday will be a day that is close to the Memorial of Saints Anne and Joachim, the parents of Mary and grandparents of Jesus. Pope Francis has often spoken about these significant people in our lives, of their value and essential contributions to society, as they connect us from one generation to the next. Unfortunately, grandparents, and people in this age group, often find themselves forgotten, or, as Pope Francis has said before, victims of the “throwaway culture.”

May all of these celebrations remind us that we are all members of the same family, that we all have an incredible dignity in God’s eyes, and that we are all deserving of love.

With much love,
Fr. Mario