January 27, 2019 Open Mind Open Heart Open Door JESUS IN HIS NATIVE VILLAGE PARISH CALENDAR

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1 January 27, 2019 Open Mind Open Heart Open Door JESUS IN HIS NATIVE VILLAGE Jesus came to be known far and wide, He became a name no one could hide. He grew in people s admiration. People came without hesitation. Jesus was a young man of thirty, To listen to him they were thirsty. Men of all ages came to listen, Just to see Him women would hasten. Nazareth was an unknown village, Birth of Jesus was a privilege. Here the Son of Man spent His childhood, In His place He was misunderstood. He came to the synagogue one day, People stood up and began to pray. They were amazed at what Jesus read, No one read like Him, they all agreed. People then talked about His Background, They knew everything about His household. They knew from where Joseph and Mary came, There was nothing special for them to name. PARISH CALENDAR Jan 29 Pastoral Council Mtg. 7:00pm Feb 1 First Friday - Devotions all day in the Small Chapel Feb 4 KofC Officer s Meeting 7:30pm Feb 11 St. Vincent de Paul Meeting 7:00pm Feb 16 St. James Crab Feed at Holy Spirit Gym Tickets on sale after weekend Masses or Call the Parish Office Feb 18 KofC Business Meeting 7:30pm Feb 26 Pastoral Council Mtg. 7:00pm Feb 28 Bishop Begin Assembly 3546 Bus. Mtg 7:30pm Mar 6 Ash Wednesday Mar 8 Friday, Stations of the Cross through April 12, Soup and Fellowship following Apr 15 Holy Week Begins Apr 21 Easter Sunday Apr 28 Divine Mercy Sunday Aug Oct 25 Oct 26 Dec 8 St. James Festival International Rosary Dinner Dance Christmas Party 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. His own relatives thought He was mad, To keep Him bound they tried very hard. Hence, He wasn t accepted in His village, With His people He had no good image. Questions: 1. Which part of the poem reminds you of a personal experience of rejection. 2. What do you feel when you are rejected? 3. Why do you think Jesus visited Nazareth, knowing in advance His rejection was assured? 4. What does God ask of you through knowledge of this Scripture? Reflections: There is an old joke that Jesus was grounded by His parents, Joseph and Mary, for 18 years after He was lost and found when He was twelve years old. His parents had taken Him to the temple in Jerusalem and, without His parents knowledge or permission, He remained there while his parents departed with the caravan. The parents had already made one a day s journey toward home when they realized that Jesus was missing. They were terribly worried and anxious until they found Him after three days of searching: After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions (Luke 2:46-47). Nothing else is known about His life from the age of 12 to 30, with this (Continued on page 2) Fremont Blvd Fremont, CA office@sjapostle.net

2 Message from Father Antony (Continued from page 1 exception: Then He went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man (Luke 2: 51-52). Jesus reappears in Scripture when He is about 30 years old and is beginning His public ministry. He began His mission by first being baptized by immersion in the river Jordan by John, who initially protested baptizing the Messiah. As Jesus emerged from the water there was an extraordinary manifestation as a voice from heaven proclaimed, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:16-17). After the baptism, "the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness" (Mark 1:12). There He spent 40 days and nights in preparation for His three years of public life, which would culminate with his agonizing death on the cross. With great spiritual power, Jesus would return to Galilee, where He would teach in many synagogues. His name spread through the region and more people began to come and listen to Him teach. They were vocal in their praises for Him and there was widespread speculation about where He had gotten his wisdom and knowledge. They were amazed at what He did and taught. Women would bring their children so Jesus would bless them. Jesus became a widely sought-after healer as people brought the blind and lame, the dumb and the possessed. They all went back thanking Jesus for the complete cure they had experienced. Jesus mission of preaching and teaching became more widely publicized after John the Baptist, His cousin, had been imprisoned by Herod Antipas, the ruler of the regions of Perea and Galilee. It may seem that He inaugurated His public ministry at Nazareth on a Sabbath day, reading aloud the portion of Isaiah 61:1-2, a well-known Messianic prophecy of His work to Israel. After He finished reading, He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing " (Luke 4:20-21). It is hard to say how much the people who had listened to Him understood. The prophet Isaiah lived in 740 B.C. and his ministry was mostly centered in Jerusalem. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he had already prophesied of the coming of Jesus, the Savior of the world. The passage that Jesus read was the prophetic message of the prophet about the Messiah to come. It was ironic that, after waiting for the Savior for 700 years, when He finally came, the Jews did not accept Him for the simple reason that He was born of Joseph and Mary, who they believed did not have the social credentials to be the parents of the Messiah! The Jewish scribes and leaders were confounded simply because Jesus was born into a poor family. Many admired Jesus eloquent sermons and were amazed at the miracles He performed. Some even wanted to make Him their king when they saw Him feeding thousands of people with just a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish. It would be natural to expect the people of his own village, where He grew up, to be proud of Him and become His followers and disciples. For one thing, Nazareth came to be known only because of Him. Until Jesus it had never been mentioned in the Old Testament. There is an interesting story about Philip telling Nathanael that he had found Him of whom the prophets had spoken. Surprised, Nathanael said, Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip said, Come and see (John 1:45-46). This highlights how obscure the birthplace of Jesus was. Nazareth was a small hamlet with a small population. Many in the village eagerly anticipated seeing Him after having received so many wonderful reports about His works. As He spoke, everyone in the synagogue listened with rapt attention, unable to take their eyes off Him. For a moment they must have felt proud for this son of their soil. But such good sentiments did not last long. Inasmuch as they admired His ability to speak, they could not understand how a poor Nazarene, son of Joseph and Mary whom they knew very well from His childhood, could speak with such authority. Jealousy crept into the hearts of some of them, who instigated others against Jesus. As a result, He was rejected by the people and departed. He could not perform many of the miracles He would have loved to do for the faithful among His people. Probably Jesus knew everyone in the village, yet it was the only place He found Himself unwelcome, which prompted Him to say, "Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in his hometown (Luke 4:24). To feel rejected is a very painful experience. One you can only understand how deep this feeling is through personal experience of with close relationships such as a spouse, friend or children. Jesus had returned to His native birthplace but was not accepted on account of His parents, who did not come from the wealthy class. Such things still happen, even in the 21st century. People are rejected because of color, ethnicity and religious affiliation. If anyone has the misfortune of going through such terrible experiences, think of Jesus who will tell us, If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first (John 15:18). My Dear Parishioners, Many of us have the painful experience of losing some of our dear ones from their faith and the Church. We want them back and will do our best through prayers and the grace of the Holy Spirit. We are starting a Prayer Warriors to be led by Percy and Minna Verdeflor. If you have someone to be prayed for, please let them know. When opportunity presents itself, they will be happy to talk to them if need be. We may say, Am I my brother s keeper? As we are accountable to the Lord, yes we are their keepers and have a responsibility for them in Christ Jesus. There is no obligation to be part of the prayer group, but rather a commitment on our part to pray for those in need. Beginning on Monday, Jan 21, thru Saturday, January 26, right after the 8:30 Mass, a Rosary will be held daily for this intention. Please feel free to be part of the prayer group. This is one way of responding to the Lord s calling to extend our hand to those in need. Father Antony 14 DAY PILGRIMAGE Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, Croatia & Medjugorje Sunday April 28 - Saturday May 11 San Francisco/San Francisco (Airline taxes included) Insurance $ (Optional) For more information and reservation, please contact: Tessie Ricafort, , tessricafort@yahoo.com The Spirit the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me

3 COLLECTIONS JANUARY 19/20 $ ND COLLECTION - SEMINARY $ CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT $ The second collection next week is for OUR Capital Improvement Fund (Building Fund for our new church). The money from this collection remains in the Parish for our parish's immediate and long range facility plans. TREASURES FROM OUR TRADITION Saturday s feast of the Presentation is a day for the blessing of candles. Why does liturgy require candles? In the first years of the church, worship was often at night, and candles and torches were carried from place to place within the worship space as needed. Candles were also a mark of festivity and hospitality when people gathered for prayer in homes, and later on in large buildings with thick walls and dark corners. But even after gaslight and electricity, candles were kept. Part of the reason has to do with the warm, clean light of a candle s flame. Candles are a good sign of the partnership of God and creation: wax made by bees, gathered and fashioned by human hands into something beautiful and useful. In order for the light to shine, the candle surrenders itself, almost as if it is pouring itself out so that the light can flood into the world. The candle of baptism, placed into our hands, and carried again and again, speaks silently of that same wisdom. If you would save your life, you must lose it. You must pour your life out like Christ so that you may be filled with the light of his love. James Field, J. S. Paluch Co. TIME The holidays are well behind us; the year stretches out ahead. And what sort of year will it be? To judge by the words of Jesus in today s Gospel, it will be a year acceptable to the Lord. And Jesus surely didn t mean only the next three hundred sixty-five days facing his listeners at that time. When Jesus announced the arrival of God s favor, it was a message for all time, for every year. Similarly, we read today in Nehemiah how the people gathered with solemnity to hear God s word as though for the first time. They listened, and then fell to the ground and wept. But the prophet said, Today is holy... do not be sad, and do not weep. The year acceptable to the Lord is this year. The day that is holy is this day. The time to listen is now. What sort of year will you have? What sort of day? God s help is always here. What you do with each day can be holy and acceptable to the Lord if you but listen to and act on God s word. Copyright J. S. Paluch Co. Mother Teresa Center Reservations: Contact , MTC@sjapostle.net or leave a message at the Parish Office at (No prices or quotes are given over the phone or in an .) St. James Bulletin and Website since 2007 Submission deadline is two weeks before publication date. E- mail articles to: bulletin@sjapostle.net. Send information for the webpage to: webmaster@sjapostle.net. Editor: Carolyn Fiori WORSHIP SCHEDULE Monday-Saturday Mass: Rosary 8:10am, Mass 8:30am Saturday Mass: 5:00pm Sunday Masses: 8:30am, 10:00am, 12:00noon Holy Days of Obligation: Masses 8:30am & 7:30pm Confessions: Saturday 4:00pm or by appt. Every Friday Adoration: 9:00-10:00am First Fridays: Adoration 9:00 am-6:30pm Sacred Heart Novena 6:30pm Benediction 7:15pm Healing Mass 7:30pm Our Mother of Mass & Novena, Perpetual Help: Wednesdays, 7:30pm DEVOTIONS Prayer Warriors Weekly: Bible Study Divine Mercy Chaplet: In the Small Chapel: Legion of Mary Eternal Life Bible Study Charismatic Prayer Meeting Rosary after 8:30am Mass Monday thru Saturday Wed. 9:30 am (Kitchen) Thurs, after morning Mass 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) 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 Cody Maisono, 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 To update this list, please send an to bulletin@sjapostle.net, leave a message in the Bulletin box in the parish office or call KNIGHT S CORNER Would you like to join the Men in Blue Blazers? The Knights of Columbus of St. James the Apostle Council No is accepting applicants. A prospective candidate must be a practicing Catholic and at least 18 years of age. This is a great opportunity for single and married men to serve God and the parish s community activities, set an example for its youth and make families closer to God. If you are interested and would like more information, please contact Willie Lagos, jwblagos@yahoo.com, Or ask a Knight! Thank you. We are men of faith & men of action. to bring glad tidings to the poor. Luke 4:18a

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

5 Baptism In December 2018, the Parish Family of St. James joyfully welcomed the following children through the saving waters of Baptism.: Ada Ning Yue Tupaz Xin (Dec. 28) & Noah James Thomas (Dec. 29)