. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .			Fr. Charles Puthota
	From the Pastor's Desktop
	A Message from Father Charles Puthota
	March 16, 2025
Dear Parishioners of St. Elizabeth,

Archdiocesan Annual Appeal: Goal is $36,292. See the names of donors in the bulletin. We have just completed the four weeks of the month-long campaign. We have so far raised $ 25,975. We are yet to collect $10,317. Please donate early and quickly. If you are able to give 1.4%, which is $500 or more, please do give, for us to be able to reach our goal quickly and even exceed our goal. Please keep in mind that this fundraiser is also a faith-raiser, a mission-raiser, for the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Through our support and the support from all other parishes, the Archdiocese will be able to continue to do God's work of proclamation of the Kingdom of God and the various services for the people, parishes, organizations, and institutions.

Season of Lent: We had our foreheads marked with the words, "Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return." It's pretty strong language; a wake -up call. The meaning of the ashes accompanied with this reminder is that our lives in this world are not permanent. In fact, we do not own anything, even though we have an illusion of it. If we really owned anything, we should be able to take it into the next world. Since obviously we cannot take anything beyond this world, we are only entrusted with certain things and blessings in this world, which we need to be responsible stewards of. In other words, we are to gain perspective on what to do in this life, how to live and love, how to relate to people and things, what is important and what is not, what is eternal and what is not, what matters and what doesn't, what is true happiness and what isn't. When we are able to see these things clearly, it is then we truly begin to live from the soul. Lent is a special time to figure these things out. Sometimes, we might go through decades of life or a whole lifetime, without discovering what God wants us to do and how he wants us to live. While we are engaged in all sorts of spiritual activities this season, let all these efforts converge on a deepening and maturing of our relationship with God and others where love and humility flourish. Happy hunting this season of Lent---for things money cannot buy!

Parish Lenten Retreat: Saturday, March 22. Starts at the 8:30am Mass. Topic: Some Christian Spiritual Practices. If you'd like to join, please sign up by this Monday so that we could make arrangements in time for the food.

Pray for Pope Francis: There are indications that there is a slight improvement in the health condition of our Holy Father Pope Francis; that he is out of imminent danger. A couple of weeks ago at the weekend Masses, we prayed a decade of the Rosary for his health. Let's continue to pray for him so that, if it's God's will, he might be restored to his strength and health.

Cardinal Robert McElroy: You may recall that he was a priest of our own Archdiocese and I remember sitting with him at several meetings at the Chancery. He was installed as Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Washington On March 11. He has a profoundly important and delicate mission to carry out in the Capital of our nation. Let us keep him and his ministry in our prayers.

Lenten Quote: "O lord, make this Lenten season different from the other ones. Let me find you again. Amen."---Henri Nouwen.

Word of God: Transfiguration: This Sunday the Gospel is about the mystery of Transfiguration of Jesus narrated by Luke the evangelist. This is one of the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary. The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches the following about Transfiguration: "What is the meaning of the Transfiguration? Above all the Transfiguration shows forth the Trinity: "the Father in the voice, the Son in the man Jesus, the Spirit in the shining cloud" (Saint Thomas Aquinas). Speaking with Moses and Elijah about his "departure" (Luke 9:31), Jesus reveals that his glory comes by way of the cross and he anticipates his resurrection and his glorious coming "which will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body" (Philippians 3:21)." "You were transfigured on the mountain and your disciples, as much as they were capable of it, beheld your glory, O Christ our God, so that when they should see you crucified they would understand that your passion was voluntary, and proclaim to the world that you truly are the splendor of the Father." (Byzantine Liturgy).

Glass Windows Repaired in Cantwell Hall and Church: Recently we got the Cantwell Hall and Church windows repaired and glass replaced at the cost of $10,270. Two large pieces of wire glass at the front of Cantwell Hall and five pieces inside the hall were replaced. The wood covering the louvers in both restrooms was removed and replaced with glass. The hinges on many widows were repaired so that we are able to open and close them now. Additionally, in the church, hinges on three stained glass windows were repaired to make them functional now. I would like to thank David Gemignani for supervising this repair work.

Humor: 1. A little boy offered up this simple prayer: "God bless mommy and daddy, my brother and sister; and God, do take care of yourself because if anything happens to you, we're all sunk." 2. A small boy in Faith Formation class described how powerful God is: "God is more powerful than Batman, Superman, and the Lone Ranger put together."

Your Friend and Pastor,

Father Charles Puthota