St. Stephen Parish SaintStephenSF.org 451 Eucalyptus Dr., San Francisco CA Church StStephenSchoolSF.org 401 Eucalyptus Dr.

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1 St. Stephen Parish SaintStephenSF.org 451 Eucalyptus Dr., San Francisco CA Church StStephenSchoolSF.org 401 Eucalyptus Dr., San Francisco School Weekday Mass: 8:00 a.m. Reconciliation: Saturday 3:30 p.m. or by appt. Vigil Mass Saturday 4:30 p.m., Sunday Mass 8:00, 9:30, 11:30 a.m. & 6:45 p.m.

2 The Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts were centuries away from becoming a reality, yet the young boy in today s Gospel was already living up to the Scout Motto: Be Prepared. It appears thousands of adults followed after Jesus with no thought of what to do if it was time for dinner! No fast food outlets nearby; too far to make it home in time. Andrew locates the boy who came prepared with bread and fish for a few, but not for the many. Jesus takes the little and feeds the many. Now, we don t know if anyone else prepared ahead like this young boy. It is possible. It is possible the few who did began to feed the many who did not. If so, that would have been quite a miracle too. Notice the skepticism of the Apostles. Whenever we witness this skepticism, we tend to be harsh with them. Didn t they know any better? Didn t they understand with whom they were dealing? In reality, they didn t know any better because they still didn t fully understand who Jesus was or what he was going to do for them namely, offer them salvation. By breaking the bonds of death by his death, and thus reuniting them to the Father, Jesus would do something far greater, even, than feed five thousand with two fish and five loaves. Are we not skeptical at times, too? Doubting that Christ can truly take care of us and our needs? Where does that come from, since we know who Jesus is? It comes partly from our human nature, and partly from the reality that we, too, are coming to terms each day with who Jesus is growing in our faith and increasing our trust in him. The truth is Jesus is able to take what we have been blessed with and do great things only if we are willing to share, and not hoard, our blessings. It is our choice, our free will, whether or not to share what we have for the good of all. The parallel of this to the Eucharist jumps off the pages of today s Gospel. Taking the bread, blessing and sharing it along with the chalice of salvation is at the heart of the liturgy we gather to celebrate. It is here we do what Jesus did, and the miracle of his saving presence takes place in this time and place before our very eyes. There is no room for skeptic hearts here. There is too much to be done. We may be the few, but with the blessing of Jesus, we have the grace and grit to tend to the many. Bread taken, blessed and shared that is what we are called to do with our blessings. In so doing, we state emphatically we understand the Eucharist we gather here to celebrate this day. Thanks for joining us in prayer today. As the summer vacation weeks start to wind-down, keep safe and healthy as you enjoy what is left in any leisure time you plan on enjoying. Blessings to you all! Father Tony LITURGY AND LIFE How can you be more willing to rely on God to answer your needs? What does it mean to live in a manner worthy of the call that you have received? How do you understand God s abundant love through the Eucharist?

3 Monday, July 30 8:00 a.m. Robin Moshonov (By: Barbara Stephens) Tuesday, July 31 8:00 a.m. Deacon Rory Desmond Sp. Int. (By: Adele Caunan) Wednesday, Aug. 1 8:00 a.m. Rachel Dougherty (By: Lisa & Alan) Thursday, Aug. 2 8:0 a.m. St. Stephen Parishioners Sp. Int. (By: Fr. Tony) Friday, Aug. 3 8:00 a.m. Lorin, Dorothy & Paul Medlin (By: Jane Medlin) Saturday, Aug. 4 8:00 a.m. Julie West (By: Ramon Marquez) 4:30 p.m. Janet & Michael Kelly (By:Cindy Kelly) Sunday, Aug. 5 8:00 a.m Mike Fitzgerald (By: Sinead Mackessy) 9:30 a.m. Jim Hennessy (By: Larry & Peggy) 11:30 a.m. Dodge Espina (By: Dorothy Over) 6:45 p.m. Tella Galdo (By: Josie & Joe Fernandes) Bold Indicates Mass Intentions REMEMBERED IN PRAYER: Elise Ann Vagadori Helen Baiss Betty Corry who passed away this past week. May they rest in peace. Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time July 29, 2018 The eyes of all look hopefully to you, and you give them their food in due season. Psalm 145:15 Monday, July 30 Tuesday, July 31 Wednesday, Aug. 1 7:30 p.m. On Eagle s Wings/EC Thursday, Aug. 2 Friday, Aug. 3 7:00 p.m. GA Meeting/EC Saturday, Aug. 4 8:00 a.m. Yoga Retreat/Hall Sunday, Aug. 5 8:00 a.m. Yoga Retreat/Hall 3:30 p.m. WKICU/Church & EC 7:00 p.m. Adult Volleyball/Gym Our online website includes a community events calendar. HOSPITALITY MINISTERS for our 9:30 a.m. Mass Today, July 29 - Nellie Hizon Group Sunday, Aug Parish Staff Sunday, Aug Francie Pasquini lease pray for the sick and homebound of our community and for all P those written in our book of the sick. May they know the healing touch of Jesus. Jean Alga, Elena Amaya, Edileide Jose Barbosa, Larry Barbiere, Ed Cummings, Emma Lew, Lawrence Lee, Carol Dominguez, Kenneth Fambrini, Eden Finn, Al Gragnani, Marc Gutierres, Juan Pablo Grover-Paez, Maria Matthews, Nenita Sangalang, Anna Macalino Thompson, Betty Rodriguez, Joel Rivera, Jovita & Richard Thompson. Our Mission Statement We are a Catholic Community that is called by God to follow Jesus Christ. We believe that we are called to worship God together, to lead God's people along the path of hope laid down by Jesus, to share his message through preaching, through the education and formation of our people, young and old, and through caring service and sensitive outreach to those in need Rev. Tony P. LaTorre, Pastor

4 AAA $93,240 (100%) $83,916 (90%) $69,930 (75%) $46,620 (50%) 2018 ARCHBISHOP s ANNUAL APPEAL Update We are closing in, (slowly) on reaching this year s tax goal of $93, Thank you to all households who have made this possible. We still have a ways to go with a balance of $24,828.00, so, I, again ask those who have not yet made their donation/pledge to this year s required tax, to please pray over it and help us any way you can. No gift is too small and all contributions are valued and appreciated. We thank those households, listed below who have made their contribution this past week: Getting Started ( 0% ) Mrs. Doreen Aguirre Mr. Sorasith Intrasingkathong Ms. Lutzie Sotto A complete list of contributors is posted on the bulle n board in the ves bule (Father Tony) Additional Thoughts from this Week s Gospel A Challenge to Generous Sharing 1)The Gospel account teaches us that Jesus meets the most basic human need, namely hunger, with generosity and compassion. 2) Today s readings also tell us that God really cares about His people, and that there is enough and more than enough for everybody. Studies show that the world today produces enough food grains to provide every human being on the planet with 3,600 calories a day, not counting such foods as tuber crops, vegetables, beans, nuts, fruits, meats, and fish. Hence, let us pray and work for better social justice in all communities and countries. 3) As Christians we need to commit ourselves to share and to work with God in communicating His compassion to all as the early Christians did. God always blesses those who share their blessings and talents with loving commitment. We can begin our own humble efforts at "sharing" right in our parish by participating in the works of charity done by organizations like the St. Vincent DePaul Society, the feeding of the homeless activity, participating in the shelter programs, etc. A Bag of Rice to Share From her personal experience, St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) related a story showing how the poor are more generous than the rich because the poor have experienced hunger and poverty. Learning of a poor Hindu family in Calcutta who had been starving for many days, Mother Theresa visited them and brought a big parcel of rice to the mother. She was surprised to see how the mother divided the rice into two equal portions and went out with one bundle to give it to her Moslem neighbor. When she returned, Mother Theresa asked her why she had done such a generous deed. The woman replied: My family can manage with half the rice in this bag. My neighbor s family has several children and they are also starving." Today s Gospel tells the story of a small boy who showed this same kind of generosity. By sharing his small lunch (which consisted of five barley loaves and two dried fish), he became the instrument in Jesus working of a miracle that fed thousands.

5 A Grand Day A special day camp for St. Stephen Grandparents and their Grandchildren to come together and have fun. DATE: Saturday, August 11, 2018 TIME: 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. LOCATION: St. Stephen Parish, O Reilly Center, 451 Eucalyptus Drive, San Francisco Must register in advance. Registration forms are available in back of church and parish office. Contact Mary Molly Mullaney in the parish office with any questions. Phone: (415) x4 or FaithFormation@SaintStephenSF.org 9:00 a.m. Gathering with donuts, coffee and juice 9:30 a.m.- 12 noon Day Camp Activities-(songs, games, crafts) 12:00 noon - 1:00 p.m. Light Lunch provided No Charge. Our Humor for the Week I heard about a little boy who got into a heated argument with his sister about who was going to get the last brownie, and his mother overheard this discussion and came in to try to resolve the fuss. Her two children, both extremely upset, each wanted that last brownie. So, sensing the opportunity to teach a deeper spiritual truth, the mother looked at her children and asked that very relevant question..."what would Jesus do?" Well, that little boy immediately answered, "That's easy. Jesus would just break that brownie and make 5,000 more!" * * * * * * * * * * There is the story of a little girl in Milwaukee who had a tonsil inflammation and was staying with her grandmother while her parents were at work. She often complained of a sore throat and pain. "I have some holy water from Lourdes that I got from my mother," the grandmother said. "Should I apply a little of it on your neck?" The girl thought for a moment and then asked, "What's the expiration date on it?" * * * * * * * * * A young man saw an elderly couple sitting down to lunch at McDonald's. He noticed that they had ordered one meal, and an extra drink cup. As he watched, the gentleman carefully divided the hamburger in half, counted out the fries, one for him, one for her, until each had half of them. Then he poured half of the soft drink into the extra cup and set that in front of his wife. The old man then began to eat, and his wife sat watching, with her hands folded in her lap. The young man decided to ask if they would allow him to purchase another meal for them so that they didn't have to split theirs. The old gentleman said, "Oh no. We've been married 50 years, and everything has always been and will always be shared, 50/50." The young man then asked the wife if she was not going to eat, and she replied, "It's his turn with the teeth." A Miracle! Rembrandt could take a two-dollar canvas, paint a picture on it, and make it a priceless masterpiece. That is art. John D. Rockefeller could take a worthless check, sign his name to it, and make it worth a million dollars. That's capital. A mechanic can take a piece of scrap metal and bend and shape it into a $500 automobile part. That is skill. Jesus Christ can take the commonest bread and dried fish, bless and multiply it, making a banquet for 5,000! That's a miracle. I Can Do That! I heard about a young preacher who was going to preach his very first sermon, and he was going to preach from the text that I will be preaching on this morning. As he introduced it he said, "I want to talk to you about how Jesus fed five men with five thousand loaves of bread and two thousand fish." Well, there was a man in the church that loved to intimidate preachers and he jumped up and said, "Great day, that's no miracle, I could do that!" This young preacher was just shattered and couldn't even preach the sermon. Well, the next Sunday, out of spite, he started over with the same sermon and announced this time correctly: "I want to talk to you today about how Jesus fed five thousand men with five loaves and two fish." He looked down at the critical church member and said, "I guess you could do that too?" The man said, "Great day, I could do that easy!" The preacher said, "How?" He said, "With what was left over from last Sunday."

6 A Heavenly Vision An old monk prayed many years for a vision from God to strengthen his Faith, but it never came. He had almost given up hope when, one day, a vision of Christ's face appeared in his cell. The old monk was overjoyed. But then, right in the middle of the vision, the monastery bell rang. The ringing of the bell meant it was time to feed the poor who gathered daily at the monastery gate. How could he leave now? What should he do - stay with his heavenly Visitor or go to his duty of distributing help to the needy. If he failed to show up with food, the unfortunate people would leave quietly, thinking the monastery had nothing to give them that day. The old monk was torn between his earthly duty and his Heavenly vision. But, before the bell stopped ringing, the monk made his decision. With heavy heart, he went off to feed the poor. Nearly an hour later, the old monk returned to his room. When he opened the door, he could hardly believe his eyes. The room was filled with Heavenly brightness. There stood Christ shining as the sun, smiling upon him with Divine tenderness. As the monk dropped to his knees in thanksgiving, the vision said to him, "My son, had you not gone off to fed the poor, I would not have stayed". (Bel San Louis in Stories of Life and Laughter; quoted by Fr. Botelho). Registration now open for Faith Formation for Students attending non-catholic Schools in grades 1 st through 8 th St. Stephen s religious education program is now open for enrollment for the coming Fall semester.. For more information, please call Mary Molly Mullaney at St. Stephen Parish Office (415) , x4 or on-line: FaithFormation@SaintStephenSF.org Register online (use bar code, or visit our webpage for a link to the Google Form). If you prefer to use a paper form they are available in the vestibule or parish office Online form: A WEEKEND OF DISCOVERY... A LIFETIME OF LOVE. The next Marriage Encounter Weekend is August 24-26, 2018 at the Vallombrosa Retreat Center. For more information visit our website at: sanjosewwme.org or contact Ken & Claranne at or on the web at applications@sanjosewwme.org Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time SAINTS AND SPECIAL OBSERVANCES Sunday: Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Monday: St. Peter Chysologus Tuesday: St. Ignatius of Loyola Wednesday: St. Alphonsus Liguori Thursday: St. Eusebius of Vercelli; St. Peter Julian Eymard Friday: First Friday Saturday: St. John Vianney; First Saturday TODAY S READINGS First Reading When they had eaten, there was some left over, as the LORD had said (2 Kings 4:42-44). Psalm The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs (Psalm 145). Second Reading Strive to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:1-6). Gospel Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted (John 6:1-15). Interested in Becoming Catholic? If you, or someone you know, may be interested in the Catholic Faith, or have been Baptized but never finished receiving the Sacraments of First Communion or Confirmation, you are encouraged to contact Mary Molly in the parish office to learn more about what our parish has to offer. Please call or Mary Molly Mullaney, office phone: (415) ext. 4 or FaithFormation@SaintStephenSF.org DOG DAYS OF SUMMER Parishes follow the pattern of the school year - i.e. the life of the parish and its organizations start up each September and continue into the following June. The three months of Summer usually means a diminished Sunday Mass attendance at St. Stephen. Many of you have been blessed by God with a second home elsewhere. As you look forward to getting away for some weeks, please remember your summer contributions to St. Stephen. Bills to be paid will continue to come in daily over summer. Also, during this time, there is less St. Stephen news in your Sunday Bulletin. We welcome your articles regarding an anniversary, wedding, baptism, your favorite poem or a memory of St. Stephen happening in the past.

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8 PASTORAL STAFF Rev. Tony P. LaTorre Pastor, ext.1 Mrs. Sharon McCarthy Allen School Principal Carol P Cagalingan Parish Manager, ext. 3 carol@saintstephensf.org Rev. Mr. Olet Abad Rev. Mr. Rory Desmond Permanent Deacons Mary Molly Mullaney Faith Formation Coordinator, ext. 4 faithformation@saintstephensf.org Shay Ingelfinger Event Center Coordinator, ext.7 donworthevents@saintstephensf.org Rhonda Smith Coordinator of Music & Liturgy, ext. 8 music@saintstephensf.org Teresa Devincenzi Bookkeeper, ext.5 teresa@saintstephensf.org Ed Prete Bulletin Editor, ext. 6 e.prete@saintstephensf.org ST STEPHEN PARISH ORGANIZATION/MINISTRY CONTACT PERSON Altar Servers Giovanna Hrvatin Altar Society Joan Leehane Bridge Group Helen Perlite Caritas Nellie Hizon Church Hospitality Mary Molly Mullaney Communion Ministers Rhonda Smith Faith Formation Mary Molly Mullaney Fifty Plus Club Helga D Arcy Finance Council Laura Birsinger Grief Support Clergy Lectors Rhonda Smith Liturgy Committee Fr. Tony Marriage Preparation Clergy Men s Club Andrew Hazard Music Rhonda Smith Parish Council Vicky Francisco RCIA Mary Molly Mullaney St. Stephen Book Club Mary Molly Mullaney St. Vincent de Paul Julie O Callaghan Ushers Bob Anthony Women s Guild Lydia Flocchini Our warmest welcome to all who celebrate with us. You can sign up or update your information by completing this form & placing it in the collection basket, by mailing it to the Parish Office, by phone at or online at Name Address City/Zip Phone Our parishioners receive the Archdiocese weekly newspaper Catholic San Francisco. I am interested in assisting with the Parish in the following way(s): Acolyte/Altar Service Altar Society Children s Liturgy of the Word Choir Greeter/Usher Hospitality after Mass/Special Events Holy Communion Ministers to the Homebound Lector/Holy Communion Ministers Music/Choir Please send me Sunday Envelopes (encircle): Yes No (Default is to send weekly Sunday envelopes to New Parishioners)