December 30, 2018 Open Mind Open Heart Open Door HOLY FAMILY PARISH CALENDAR ST. JAMES BINGO FOR SENIORS JANUARY 22 1:00-2:30 IN THE VESTIBULE

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Dec 31 Jan 1 Jan 4 Jan 6 Jan 7 Jan 13 Jan 14 Jan 21 Jan 22 Jan 24 Jan 29 Feb 16 Mar 6 April 21 PARISH CALENDAR New Year s Eve Dinner Dance World Day of Prayer for Peace First Friday of the New Year

James Bingo 1:00-2:30pm Bishop Begin Assembly 3546 Bus. Mtg 7:30pm Pastoral Council Mtg. 7:00pm St. James Crab Feed at Holy Spirit Gym Ash Wednesday Easter Sunday ST.

All those who visited them would conform. Father of the house was very quiet, Man of few words, he spoke to the point.

Their home was a haven of peace and joy, Fun and laughter sometimes they would enjoy. Among them, there was total acceptance, All of them did their tasks with diligence.

1 Dec 31 Jan 1 Jan 4 Jan 6 Jan 7 Jan 13 Jan 14 Jan 21 Jan 22 Jan 24 Jan 29 Feb 16 Mar 6 April 21 PARISH CALENDAR New Year s Eve Dinner Dance World Day of Prayer for Peace First Friday of the New Year Santo Niño Fiesta KofC Officer s Meeting KofC Novena Prayer for the Unborn after 10am Mass St. Vincent de Paul Meeting 7:00pm KofC Business Meeting 7:30pm First St. James Bingo 1:00-2:30pm Bishop Begin Assembly 3546 Bus. Mtg 7:30pm Pastoral Council Mtg. 7:00pm St. James Crab Feed at Holy Spirit Gym Ash Wednesday Easter Sunday ST. JAMES BINGO FOR SENIORS JANUARY 22 1:00-2:30 IN THE VESTIBULE December 30, 2018 Open Mind Open Heart Open Door HOLY FAMILY God and two saints made a perfect home. All those who visited them would conform. Father of the house was very quiet, Man of few words, he spoke to the point. The three treated each other with respect, Help from each other always, they d expect. Gentle and kind they were when they would speak, The mother was always humble and meek. Their home was a haven of peace and joy, Fun and laughter sometimes they would enjoy. Among them, there was total acceptance, All of them did their tasks with diligence. They did not quarrel over competition, No rivalries for power or positions. They were skilled in good communication, Relationships deepened in perfect union. The Son grew up in wisdom and in stature, He took upon Himself human nature. Helped His mom and dad with the daily chores, Day to day problems He willingly bore. Jesus, Mary and Joseph showed the way, For a good family, we need to pray. May their examples serve as inspiration, And our homes be models for emulation. Questions: 1. Which stanza of this poem reflects the desires you have for your own family? 2. What legacy does this inspire you to leave to the next generation? Reflections: Jesus, together with his parents Mary and Joseph, became the well-known Holy Family in Nazareth. We cannot think of another family holier than this, as all other families are composed of imperfect human beings. Holiness is something every family struggles to achieve. Mary, by the grace of God, was born sinless, remaining free of corruption forever. The Gospels describe Joseph, the foster father of Jesus, as a just man. Certainly in the sight of God, he was a good man worthy to be a father to His only begotten Son, Jesus. Though there is no written history of their lives together, we can assume that there was a perfect unity among them, which created a healthy ambience of love and sharing. In this climate, all of them felt understood, accepted, loved, and appreciated. This is typical in a happy family. Unfortunately, these ingredients are missing in modern relationships, as evidenced by the number of broken families in our community. If we really want our families to be havens of peace and love, we must emulate the good examples portrayed by the Holy Family of Nazareth Fremont Blvd Fremont, CA office@sjapostle.net

Message from Father Antony (Continued from page 1 During the last few decades, families have gone through tremendous changes, and there are no visible signs of improvement.

over twenty years. Family problems, leading to physical and mental health problems, are at crisis levels. Familyrelated violence is alarmingly on the rise.

2 Message from Father Antony (Continued from page 1 During the last few decades, families have gone through tremendous changes, and there are no visible signs of improvement. All the trends appear to worsen year after year, as the rate of incidence of single parent families continues to increase as a consequence of the accelerating divorce rate trend that has lasted for over twenty years. Family problems, leading to physical and mental health problems, are at crisis levels. Familyrelated violence is alarmingly on the rise. Family and marriage therapy have become typical activities within our society, and have unfortunately become places where people pursue quickfix solutions to these dilemmas. Man has been defined as a social animal, and has become today a super-social being with increasing demands causing stress and tension. Unlike our forefathers, who lived comparatively stress-free lives, today the rate of those who live with depression has skyrocketed. Psychosomatic problems, which are prevalent today, have repercussions in modern families. The ever-increasing demands of our daily lives have compelled both parents to work. In addition to the concomitant health problems they experience from stress that builds throughout each day, parents have little to no quality time to spend with their children and family. It is common to see families in which the children do not interact very much with their parents, because by the time the parents return home the children are asleep, and in the morning when they leave for work, the children are still sleeping. Modern life is very stressful, and has terrible effects on families. Communication and relationships are interdependent. Good relationships lead to good communication, and vice versa. Communication is a skill, and like all other skills, it can only be learned through daily and consistent practice. Communication has collapsed today, resulting in poor relationships. It may surprise you to learn that there often exists unhealthy competition between spouses. Competition to prove one s superiority over another destroys trust and confidence in each other. Once trust is lost, everything is lost. Trust is built up slowly over a long time, yet takes only a few moments to destroy. Most importantly, modern families no longer find time for family prayer. There is no substitute for prayer: if we want our families to be holy and good, we must create a foundation that can only be formed through prayer. Jesus grew up in stature and in wisdom. His parents knew the importance of trusting in God, who was given primacy in their lives. Today, every effort is made to acquire worldly knowledge and wisdom, to the detriment of Godly wisdom. Parents make great sacrifices for their children to be admitted to the best schools, but are so busy that they neglect their obligation to inculcate in their children God s values or religious principles. The children, though intelligent, cannot of their own accord maintain a balanced view of God and the world. If children are not taught religious values in their formative years, it becomes that much more difficult to develop them in their adult years. This becomes a vicious cycle of perpetuating godless families in the world. May the Holy Family of Nazareth be an inspiration to all of us, so that our families will have a solid foundation of prayer and love! The Holy Family - Luke 2:41-52 DIDN T YOU KNOW? The families who traveled down from Nazareth to attend the eight-day Passover feast in Jerusalem had already been gone from home for two weeks. Joseph was eager to get back to his unfinished work at the shop in Nazareth. He was also eager to end the first day of the long walk home. Only two more days, Joseph, one of his friends cracked as he watched the tired carpenter inspect his sore feet. If these feet last that long, Joseph replied, thinking this would be the last year that he would do this big trip to Jerusalem. Joseph! Mary interrupted, her face filled with fear. What? Jesus has disappeared, she said. He s not with the caravan, I ve looked everywhere. How can that be, I thought I saw him walking ahead with the other boys! Joseph asked. He s gone, Mary declared. After a moment Joseph rubbed his sore foot and sighed: We ll have to go back. We ll return to Jerusalem in the morning. This disaster was going cost them another three days; two walking and one trying to find their son. Twelve year old Jesus was in big trouble! They worried, sleepless, through the long night imagining all the things that might have happened to Jesus. At first light they parted with the caravan. At the end of a long day they had covered the 30-mile distance. They spent that night with Mary s cousin Elizabeth, who was also dismayed to learn that Jesus was missing. The next morning they entered the city in search of their son. Joseph and Mary were both physically and emotionally drained when they finally discovered Jesus sitting happily in the Temple talking with the elders. Mary s eyes searched Jesus face. Son, why have you done this to us. Your father and I have been terribly worried about you, she asked, her voice edged with disappointment and relief. With his innocent eyes wide with surprise, Jesus answered his mom: Why did you have to look for me? Didn t you know that I had to be in my Father s house? In a flash of light, Mary recalled it all: the night that the angel had spoken to her; her own words of submission and later the words of Elizabeth. Mary s memory filled with her child s miraculous birth the shepherds, the star and the stable. A shiver of fear crossed her face as she struggled to comprehend that this child before her was somehow God. Joseph was about to scold Jesus, but he felt Mary s hand press against his, so he calmed himself and said: Come, son, it s time to go home. Living every day with Jesus must have made it nearly impossible for Mary and Joseph to realize his divinity. The routine of their daily life smoothed off the edges of the reality that Jesus was the Promised One. Their memory was gradually buried under the softly falling snowflakes of time. The dream angel s announcements and the miraculous birth lay hidden under the quiet years. And now, suddenly, all was revealed again! Today s Gospel reminds us that our faith may be softened by the routine years that have passed. The edges of our understanding may also have been rounded off. Today s Gospel gives us a reminder that Jesus is the Promised One. As God s children we are called to say to the world around us: Don t you know that we must also be in our Father s house? Beloved, we are God s children now; what we shall be

WORSHIP SCHEDULE Monday-Saturday Mass: Saturday Mass: Sunday Masses: Holy Days of Obligation: Confessions: Every Friday

8:10am, Mass 8:30am 5:00pm 8:30am, 10:00am, 12:00noon Masses 8:30am & 7:30pm Saturday 4:00pm or by appt.

Mercy Chaplet: In the Small Chapel: Legion of Mary Eternal Life Bible Study Charismatic Prayer Meeting Wed.

Christopher Mueller, Brian Christopher Carreiro, Sgt. Kristan Jofel T.

ill John DiPaola, Evelyn Reyes, Frank Smith, Concha Garcia, Todd Wetherwax, Deacon Ernie Dandan, Joel Rivera, Melanie O

Ballin, Bob Nehls, Dawn Barker, Martha Torres, Tammy Bumgarner, Margarete Matulich, Carl Dubose Tues 9:30am Thurs.

Lady of Vailankanni First Saturday 7:00pm Respect for Life Rosary Second Sunday 11:00am Grotto Sacred Heart 6:30pm 1st

3 WORSHIP SCHEDULE Monday-Saturday Mass: Saturday Mass: Sunday Masses: Holy Days of Obligation: Confessions: Every Friday Adoration: First Fridays: Adoration Sacred Heart Novena Benediction Healing Mass Our Mother of Perpetual Help: Rosary 8:10am, Mass 8:30am 5:00pm 8:30am, 10:00am, 12:00noon Masses 8:30am & 7:30pm Saturday 4:00pm or by appt. 9:00-10:00am 9:00 am-6:30pm 6:30pm 7:15pm 7:30pm Mass & Novena, Wednesdays, 7:30pm DEVOTIONS Weekly: Bible Study Divine Mercy Chaplet: In the Small Chapel: Legion of Mary Eternal Life Bible Study Charismatic Prayer Meeting Wed. 9:30 am (Kitchen) Thurs, after morning Mass Please remember those in the Armed Services: Spec. Tara Mueller, Spec. Christopher Mueller, Brian Christopher Carreiro, Sgt. Kristan Jofel T. Carado, Greg Savella, Major Jenny Ryan, Captain David Evans And Parishioners and friends who need our prayers or who are ill John DiPaola, Evelyn Reyes, Frank Smith, Concha Garcia, Todd Wetherwax, Deacon Ernie Dandan, Joel Rivera, Melanie O Connor, Katherine Gomes, Lydia DeGraf, Judy McKenney, Tomás Sandoval Klassen, Laura Skaﬀ, Alice Ferreira, Agnes Harris, Ray Ballin, Bob Nehls, Dawn Barker, Martha Torres, Tammy Bumgarner, Margarete Matulich, Carl Dubose Tues 9:30am Thurs. 7:30pm 2nd & 3rd Fridays 7:00pm Monthly: Divine Mercy Cenacle 7:00pm, 2nd and 4th Prayer Meeting Mondays (Small Chapel) Our Lady of Vailankanni First Saturday 7:00pm Respect for Life Rosary Second Sunday 11:00am Grotto Sacred Heart 6:30pm 1st Friday Enthronement (formal ceremony to make the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus as the King of the house), please contact: Cora Surla (510) ; or Tessie Ricafort (510) has n HAPPY NEW YEAR, ST. JAMES PARISH! yet been revealed. 1John 3:2a

4 ST. JAMES THE APOSTLE PARISH OFFICE HOURS M-F 9:00AM TO NOON REGISTRATION IN THE PARISH Warmest welcome to all who worship in our Community. If you are not registered in the Parish, please complete a registration form available at church entrance or at the Parish Office or drop the form below in the collection basket. ANOINTING OF THE SICK Please call the Parish Office when a parishioner is home-bound or hospitalized to arrange for Holy Communion and Anointing of the Sick. MARRIAGES AND BAPTISMS Please contact the Parish Office at least 6 months in advance for weddings and 3 months in advance for Baptisms. BAPTISMS To have your child baptized, please make an appointment with Father Antony. Come to the St. James Parish office or call the Parish Office at For more details, please go to the Church website (Parish Info) or contact Marcial Vasco Baptism Preparation/Training class: First Saturday of the month from 11:00 am - 12:30 pm in the Small Chapel. Baptism Celebration: Last Saturday of the month 11:30am-12:30pm in the church FUNERALS We recommend using Catholic Funeral and Cemetery Services / Holy Sepulchre Cemetery and Holy Angels Funeral and Cremation Services. You may contact Shirley X 133. MOTHER TERESA CENTER RESERVATIONS. Contact our Facility Manager & Event Coordinator Larry Bellamy ( , MTC@sjapostle.net) or leave a message at the Parish Office. (No prices or quotes are given over the phone or in an .) Fr. Antony Vazhappilly, Pastor Ernie Dandan, Deacon Welcome, New Members! We encourage you to register in the parish so that you can receive communication via or regular mail. Registration information is essential for the office to respond to requests, send important parish and diocesan information and verify donations for tax purposes. If you need a letter of good standing to be a sponsor or Godparent for a baptism or marriage, registration is very important. Please fill out this form and place it in the collection basket and we will mail you a Parish Registration form. You can also find a registration form on the website (sjapostle.net) - Parish Info - Parish Membership. Name Address Phone

net Carolyn Fiori... Editor Facebook: Search St. James the Apostle Church, Like the page.

5 St. James Bulletin and Website since 2007 Submission deadline is two weeks before publication date. articles to: Send information for the webpage to: Carolyn Fiori... Editor Facebook: Search St. James the Apostle Church, Like the page. IF posting pictures, you must get consent from the people in the photo (per Oakland diocese Safe Environment). Please, NO tagging pictures.

Blessed are you among women,

Blessed are you among women, This week at St. James the Apostle. 34700 Fremont Blvd Fremont, CA 94555 510-792-1962 www.sjapostle.net office@sjapostle.net PREPARE YOUR HEART FOR CHRISTMAS The Savior of the world came from the East,