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From
the Pastor's
Desktop
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Fr.
Charles
Puthota
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A
Message from
the
Pastor
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September
24,
2023
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Dear
Parishioners of
St.
Elizabeth,
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Deanery
Meeting at St.
Elizabeth: A
Deanery Meeting was held
last Tuesday September
19 in our Cantwell Hall.
As you may know, a
Deanery is made up of
several neighborhood
parishes. Our Deanery
called Alemany Deanery
consists of parishes of
St. Elizabeth, Corpus
Christi, Epiphany,
Visitacion, St. Paul of
the Shipwreck, St.
Emydius, Our Lady of
Lourdes, All Hallows,
and St. Michael Korean
Catholic Church.
Pastors, some
parishioners, and staff
from these parishes were
present as well as some
from the departments of
the Archdiocesan
Chancery. Information
from various parishes
was shared and the
meeting ended with a
delicious meal. I'd like
to thank our own
sacristans and Fred
Spence for setting up
the Hall for this
event.
Catechetical
Sunday Last
Week:
Congratulations to
Laurrie Digneo
(Coordinator), Richard
John, Fran Oropeza,
Maria Oropeza, Cypriano
Peneyra , Mike Walsh ,
and Patti Spiteri
(Pastoral Coordinator)!
Last Sunday, celebrating
Catechetical Sunday, we
had the opportunity to
encourage and thank them
for their excellent work
in sharing faith and
being witnesses to the
gospel values. I had the
honor of commissioning
them for another year of
catechetical work. Let's
keep our Faith Formation
program in our prayers.
If there is any who
would like to volunteer
as a catechist, please
let us know. If you'd
like to enroll your
child or grandchild in
this program, we'd love
to have them.
Word
of God: God's
Ways are Different from
Ours: The Gospel reading
this 25th Sunday in
Ordinary Time presents
Jesus' powerful and
subversive parable about
the Kingdom of God. The
landowner hires laborers
at various times of the
day for work in his
vineyard but pays them
all the same wages,
starting from the last
ones to arrive to the
first ones. The early
laborers feel cheated,
but their agreed-upon
wages are justly paid to
them. They are upset
because the last ones
are paid the same as
them. More work, more
pay, is their logic.
That would be the logic
in the workplace. But in
the Kingdom of God, in
the system of God's
values, things are quite
different. It's not the
amount of work, but the
spirit in which all work
is done. It's not the
length of our life but
the quality of love and
service rendered to God
and others. God's ways
are radically different
from ours, which is
highlighted in the first
reading from Isaiah:
"For my thoughts are not
your thoughts, nor are
your ways my ways, says
the Lord. As high as the
heavens are above the
earth, so high are my
ways above your ways and
my thoughts above your
thoughts."
The gospel parable needs
to be read in the
religious and social
context of Jesus'
ministry. The Pharisees
and Sadducees, the
religious and political
authorities, believed
that they were the
chosen ones of God and
so they automatically
merited the rewards from
God. They thought they
didn't have to respond
to God's grace in a
continuous and
consistent way. They
didn't care about the
Kingdom of God that
Jesus came to
inaugurate. Whereas the
socially and politically
oppressed people, the
so-called sinners and
tax collectors, who came
into the vineyard late,
were looked down upon by
the elites and shunned
as unworthy of respect
and God's blessings. To
those elites whose ways
are far from God's ways
and thoughts, there's a
wake-up call that God's
grace is unmerited. It
belongs to those who are
humble and simple, the
poor and those crushed
by society, the sinners
and lowly. If we would
like to belong to God's
Kingdom, if we would be
the disciples of Jesus,
then we must open our
lives entirely to God's
ways and surrender to
his love. Regardless of
who came early or who
came late, God has a
warm welcome to
everyone, as he looks
into our hearts and
evaluates our life on
the basis of love and
service. Jesus'
beatitudes would an
authentic measure of our
discipleship. Therefore,
let's "seek the Lord
while he may be found,
call him while he is
near."
Feast of Saint
Vincent de Paul
(1580-1660),
Wednesday
September 27,
2023: St.
Vincent founded the
Congregation of the
Mission (the
Vincentians),
established
confraternities of
charity for physical and
spiritual help of the
poor and sick, founded
along with St. Louise de
Marillac another
Religious Order called
the Daughters of
Charity. He is the
patron saint of all
charitable societies.
The Society of St.
Vincent de Paul, which
does admirable
charitable work in many
parishes and dioceses,
was founded by Blessed
Frédéric
Ozanam.
Feast of St.
Lorenzo Ruiz, Thursday
September 28:
Protomartyr of the
Philippines. Happy Feast
to the Filipino
Community of St.
Elizabeth.
Feast of
Archangels Michael,
Gabrial, and Raphael,
Friday September
29: St. Michael
appears in Daniel's
vision and in the Book
of Revelation. St.
Gabriel appears in
Daniel's visions and in
the Annunciation to the
Blessed Virgin Mary. St.
Raphael appears in the
Book of Tobit. The
Archangels carry out
God's mission and
communicate his message
to the human beings.
They wage battles on
behalf of God and
against the powers of
evil. It's amazing that
in a secularized world,
angels are still spoken
of positively in popular
culture and media and
are believed in.
Feast of St.
Jerome, Saturday
September 30:
Famous for translating
the Bible into Latin
(Vulgate) from Greek and
Hebrew. He said:
"Ignorance of Scripture
is ignorance of Christ."
We would do well as
Catholics to pay more
attention to reading and
meditating on the sacred
Scriptures. Why not just
start with one Gospel
and complete reading it
prayerfully?
Humor: 1.
Some things are best
left as they are: An
enthusiastic young man
who had just graduated
as a plumber was taken
to see the Niagara
Falls. He studied it for
a minute, then said. "I
think I can fix this."
2. A teacher was giving
a lecture on modern
inventions. "Can any of
you mention something of
importance that did not
exist fifty years ago?"
she asked. One bright
lad in the front row
raised his hand eagerly
and said. "Me!"
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Your
Friend and
Pastor,
Father
Charles
Puthota
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The
Synod on Synodality
October 2021 to October
2024
Theme:
Communion, Participation,
Mission: The Synod on Synodality
is a three-year process of
listening and dialogue that began
with a solemn opening in Rome on
October 9 and 10, 2021. The
synodal process will conclude in
2024. Each individual diocese in
the whole world has gone through
a process of preparation for the
Synod. The Synod is both an event
and a process in which the whole
People of God are called to walk
to gather together toward what
the Holy Spirit helps it to
discern as being the Lord's will
for his Church. Pope Francis has
invited the entire Church to
reflect on a theme that is
decisive for its life and
mission: "It is precisely this
path of synodality which God
expects of the Church of the
third millennium. This journey,
which follows in the wake of the
Church's "renewal" proposed by
the Second Vatican Council, is
both a gift and a task: by
journeying together and
reflecting together on the path
that has been made, the Church
will be able to learn through Her
experience which processes can
help Her to live communion, to
achieve participation, and to
open Herself to mission." The
16th Ordinary General Assembly of
the Synod of Bishops will be held
in two sessions. The first one
from October 4 to 29, 2023. The
second session will be in October
2024.
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What
is a synod? A synod in the
Catholic Church is both an event
and a process where clergy,
religious, and laity gather to
discern important matters of the
faith. It is a journey of search
rooted in the Holy Spirit. Synods
are transformative events that
lead to renewal in the life of
the Church. The current synod is
called Synod on
Synodality. Its a
synod that would explore the very
processes of synod and examine
how as the People of God we are
journeying together. Pope Francis
says: Synodality is the way
of being the Church today
according to the will of God, in
a dynamic of discerning and
listening together to the voice
of the Holy Spirit. You
might want to be informed more
about this Synod by going online
and doing your own research.
Do check out the Synod
website
https://www.synod.va/en.html
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MASS
SCHEDULE
as of
April 11,
2023
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Saturday
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4:30pm
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...
Sunday
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8:30am
& 10:30am
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Monday
thru Saturday
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8:30am
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Holy
Days
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8:30am
& 6:00pm
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Confessions
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after
the 8:30am Daily
Masses
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4:00pm
(before the 4:30pm Saturday
Mass)
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PARISH SACRAMENTAL
CELEBRATIONS
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SACRAMENT
OF
BAPTISM
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SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION
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High
School Students
should call the
Religious
Education
Office for more
information.
Adult
confirmation is
available on an
individual
basis.
-.Details
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SACRAMENT
OF THE
ANOINTING OF
THE
SICK
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Call
the Parish
Office in case
of serious
illness and
before surgery
and hospital
care. -
Details
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SACRAMENT
OF
EUCHARIST
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Our
Eucharistic
Ministers are
available to
bring the
Eucharist to
the sick or
homebound.
Contact the
Parish Office.
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Details
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SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION
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Saturday
3:30pm to
4:15pm or by
appointment. -
Details
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SACRAMENT
OF
MARRIAGE
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There
is a six month
period of
preparation for
the celebration
of this
Sacrament.
Contact the
Parish Office
to make
arrangements. -
Details
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Faith
Formation
- Cantwell
Hall
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Saturday
9:00am to
11:00am. -
Details
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Parish
Office:
(415)
468-0820
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Benediction
and Our Lady of
Perpetual Help
Novena:
Wednesdays
after the 8:30am
Mass.
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Legion
of Mary
Meeting
5:00pm Monday in the
Church.
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1000
Hail Mary's
Third
Saturday after the
8:30am Mass until
3:30pm.
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Over
50
Group
Thursdays at 12:00pm in
Cantwell Hall.
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Rev.
Charles Puthota, Ph. D.,
Pastor
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Sandy
Mehrwein,
Parish
Secretary
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Patricia
Spiteri,
Pastoral
Coordinator
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Laurrie
Digneo,
Coordinator
of Faith
Formation
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