St. James the Apostle

Transcription

1 34700 FREMONT BLVD. FREMONT, CA Open Mind Open Heart Open Door Oct. 30, 2016 St. James the Apostle Message from Father Antony ZACCHAEUS, COME DOWN To see Jesus was his burning desire, It grew in his heart like an unquenched fire. He wasn t His secret friend or follower, He didn t bring Him a bouquet of flower. Zacchaeus was a man of wealth and power, Physically he was small of stature. Friend of Rome, he was a tax collector, For him only money that did matter. He quietly climbed on a sycamore tree, Hiding behind branches, he waited to see- How the Nazarene really looked like, He did not care all the risks he would take. If discovered, his name would be at stake, People would laugh at him and his heart would break. He froze when Jesus called him by his name, The sinner stood exposed in guilt and shame. For people this was a public scandal- Jesus talking to a hated scoundrel. Zacchaeus made a sincere conversion, For all his wrongs, he made restitution. Zacchaeus climbed the tree as a sinner, Came down as saint and became a winner. Salvation comes not by your initiative, But by God s love, which is imperative. Questions: 1. Which stanza of this poem triggers emotions and memories for you? 2. Why do you think you are reacting this way? 3. Think about those people whom you have tried to correct. What is your current relationship with those people? 4. How does that compare with God s relationship with those people? 5. How will you and they all be unified and reconciled to God? Reflections: Zacchaeus, whose name means pure, lived in Jericho with a hole in his heart. He had amassed a lot of wealth and property. He knew very well that his riches were not honestly. He was very greedy, and as the chief tax collector appointed by Rome, he enriched himself at the expense of the poor, always taking more money from the people than what they owed to Rome and keeping the rest for himself. But there remained a growing emptiness in his heart that grew over time with his wealth, which he refused to address for a long time. He was surrounded by a handful of so-called friends, whom he knew were mere sycophants bearing no genuine love for him. People avoided him like a leper, believing they would contaminate themselves by talking to a public sinner and extortionist like him. In the midst of affluence and comfort, he was a deeply troubled and unhappy man. Sitting in his well-furnished office, he would often see a young rabbi walking along the mud road accompanied by a big crowd who talked loudly, and laughed even louder when they passed him by. Focused on what he was doing and busy counting the ill-gotten money, he would not even look up to see what was going on outside. Soon he heard everyone talking about a man called Jesus from Nazareth who made the lame walk, the blind see and the sick well. The groundswell surrounding Jesus could not escape his attention, and the crowds walking with Him grew in number daily. Slowly a desire grew in Zacchaeus heart to see Jesus and to understand what made Him so popular. But he was faced with two problems because of this. First of all, Jesus always had a huge crowd of people around him and his efforts to get close to Him failed, as the people would not allow him to cut through the line. Secondly, he was short of stature and it was impossible for him to get a glimpse of Jesus, who was surrounded by people with varied sizes and statures. There was only one way he could see Jesus, a desire that grew only out of curiosity than any personal desire to follow Him, was to climb quietly up a tree. He knew the risks involved by climbing the tree. Being a man of power and authority, it would be humiliating to be seen by the people on a tree. The desire of seeing Jesus became so irresistible, that on a sunny day he hid himself behind the branches of a sycamore tree close to the muddy path that Jesus would be taking. The tree was close enough for him to see Jesus but far enough not to be discovered by the crowd. From a distance he saw the crowd and Jesus walking in the middle of them. Except for his eyes, he was fully covered by the branches and nobody would notice him. As soon as the crowd passed by and it would be safe he thought for him to come down unnoticed and go straight back to the office to catch up with his lost time. This (Continued on page 2)

2 (Continued from page 1) was his plan. As these thoughts passed through his mind suddenly he heard his name called. At first he did not pay attention as he was sure that no one had seen him climbing the tree. He thought he was imagining. Who would know that he was on the tree? But then he heard it again and this time sounded very clear and distinct, Zacchaeus, come down. I am going to dine with you. He almost fell to the ground out of fright. Jesus had His gaze fixed on him. He came down from the tree immediately. For few moments their eyes met; with trembling and a repentant heart, Zacchaeus made a public proclamation of restitution to all those whom he had cheated over the years. He suddenly realized that his heart was overflowing with joy and his emptiness was gone. The hole in his heart was healed as he met his Savior. He experienced a new freedom that he had never known before. Unlike many of us who make empty promises, Zacchaeus was different. His personal experience with Jesus opened his eyes to see his life from a different perspective. Jesus, who is God Himself and the source of all life and love personified, irrevocably altered Zacchaeus, who immediately realized that money cannot buy real happiness. This was a true moment of salvation, one that only God Himself can accomplish. This was the nexus between God and man in the most unlikely of circumstances. Until this moment Zacchaeus focus was only on money, name and fame. He never took care of his soul nor did he care for spiritual life. However, his change came with a commitment as we can see in his decisive action: Behold, Lord, I give one-half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything I restore it fourfold. He had a concrete plan and he carried it out from a deep sense of love in his heart for God. It is this deep sense of love that allows a person to keep such a difficult promise. This was certainly no lip service. This was a miraculous conversion of heart and deserves your deep attention and contemplation, for that could have been you in the tree. Zacchaeus was confronted with truth, life, and the narrow gate to Heaven. He understood in that instant that nothing else would ever matter, for the rest of his life or for eternity. All else is fleeting. And as is the case of all conversions, a sacrifice would be required and he did not back down from this great and lifealtering challenge. He would give away most of his wealth to the poor with no possibility of recompense during his lifetime. This is genuine love and praiseworthy transformation. Jesus assurance to him is really moving. Today salvation has come to this house, since he, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost. The Gospel is full of the mercy of God and in the story of Zacchaeus we have one of the moving stories in the entire New Testament. Jesus never condemns anyone, and even in the worst criminal He sees a possibility of change and conversion. How our life will be so different if all of us stop judging others and give them, instead, a chance to change. We look at what is external and often judge people based on their appearances, which is an error-prone trap. Our judgment is always wrong because we never have enough information about others. Besides, who is so perfect that he has nothing to judge in himself or herself? Why do we look for the specks in the eyes of others while we have huge trees in our own? Jesus looks at peoples hearts and sees what they are capable of becoming with His grace. When He chose the twelve He knew they were not the best of men available in His time. But Jesus knew what they could be molded into. When He stopped to talk to Zacchaeus Jesus knew the scandal he would be causing among the crowd with Him. But He wanted them to know that only the sick needed physicians and that they were all spiritually sick and needed healing. Going against what they would say or do, Jesus made it abundantly clear that He had come to heal sinners and not the righteous. Jesus has not changed a bit, even to this day, and He waits for you and me to follow the example of Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus probably never anticipated what would happen to him. When we place our trust in Jesus He can do great things with us. Zacchaeus climbed the tree a sinner. He came down from the tree a saint. TO FATHER ANTONY & ST. JAMES PARISHIONERS Thank you for the successful response and generosity to the Knights of Columbus' Wheelchair Mission. From K of C St. James the Apostle Council 14541

3 Treasures From Our Traditions The recent October count tracking the statistics of participation at Sunday Mass calls to mind the situations of churches where it is difficult or impossible for Catholics to worship freely. This is especially striking in English Catholic history, as freedom of worship was systematically dismantled at the time of the Reformation. It seems that most English people retained deeply Catholic sympathies throughout the period of religious upheaval. Catholics who refused to participate in the public worship of the Church of England were called recusants, and beginning with the reign of Elizabeth I, they were subject to strict penalties. Recusant literally means a person refusing to obey a command. Most of those laws were in force until the early 1800s, and Catholics were not entirely emancipated from the duty of Anglican worship until Recusants paid heavy fines for not attending the state church. Holding on to Catholic faith was therefore a luxury of the very rich, who maintained private chapels, and sent their daughters and sons to English convents and monastery schools on the continent. Remarkably, the first among all British peers, the Dukes of Norfolk, the hereditary Earls Marshal of England, have never given up their Catholic faith. Many of these wealthy recusant families founded the colony of Maryland, and later many members of the old Catholic families continued on to the Kentucky frontier in search of greater religious freedom. Rev. James Field, J. S. Paluch Co. GOD IS WITH US The book of Wisdom tells us that the spirit of God is in all things. What a wonderful thought, and what a wonderful image to keep in front of us as we travel down life s road. For if the path is revealed in the treading, it s good to know that God is with us and all around us every step of the way. But Paul knows that this divine presence is not timid. Instead, God calls out to us, and Paul prays that we, along with the Thessalonians, might be made worthy of that call. And who knows more about God s call than Zacchaeus, the tax collector? Jesus called him out of a tree, for goodness sake. Or perhaps more correctly, as we reflect upon the end of today s Gospel reading, for heaven s sake. J. S. Paluch Co. 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 interested and would like more information, please contact Vincent Pediapco, (408) , vincent_pediapco@perkinselmer.com. Also, ask a Knight! Thank you. We are men of faith & men of action. From Outside Our Parish Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose Center for Education & Spirituality present: Exploring the Path of Modern Martyrs: Explorando el Camino de los Mártires Modernos. Archbishop Oscar Romero and Father Rutilio Grande, Saturday, Nov. 12, 9:30-11:30 am. Dominican Center, Mission Circle, Fremont [enter off Mission Tierra]. Presented by: Dr. Ana María Pineda, RSM, Associate Professor, Santa Clara University. For info call $20 RSVP by Nov. 1 at RomeroGrande or call (510) THE LISTENING TREE CORNER by Penelope Mind Your Own Business Sometimes I was with a new staff. I was working on the pain pump and she was drawing blood. She was almost finished but the she decided to pick up her ringing phone. I can't help but to stop what I was doing and finished hers instead. An awful lot of things popped to my mind on how to tell her that she did something wrong. And should never do that again. I was debating if I should I tell her now or later and the list goes on. The shift was almost over and then I realized that I did not finish what I was doing in the morning. The same time, when my focus was redirected on how to tell the new staff that she did something wrong. I was thinking of her all that time and I ended up with making a mistake instead. Does this sound familiar? In Matthew, Luke and Romans: Let me take the speck out of your eye while there is still a beam in your own eye. We aim to correct, to find, to nail someone else's faults rather than identify our own and correct ourselves. A simple story but one everybody can relate to. May this be a reminder to us all.

4 W S 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 D Weekly: Bible Study Wed. 9:30 am (Kitchen) Divine Mercy Chaplet: Thurs, after morning Mass In the Small Chapel: Legion of Mary Tues 9:30am Eternal Life Bible Study Thurs. 7:30pm Hour of Great Mercy Every Friday 3:00pm Charismatic Prayer Meeting 2nd & 3rd Fridays 7:00pm Monthly: Divine Mercy Cenacle Prayer Meeting Our Lady of Vailankanni Respect for Life Rosary Sacred Heart 7:00pm, 2nd and 4th Mondays (Small Chapel) First Saturday 7:00pm Second Sunday 11:00am Grotto 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) Fr. Antony Vazhappilly, Pastor Ernie Dandan, Deacon BAPTISMS To have your child baptized, please make an appointment with Father Antony. Come to the St. James Parish office or call the church office at For more details, please go to St. James The Apostle Parish Church website - Parish Info. Baptism Preparation/Training class: First Saturday of the month from 11:00 am - 12:30 pm in the Cry Room. Baptism Celebration: Last Saturday of the month from 11:30am - 12:30pm in the church. PLEASE REMEMBER THE YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN SERVING IN THE ARMED SERVICES ESPECIALLY: Pvt. Christopher Mueller, Dorian Fierro, Brian Christopher Carreiro, Sgt. Kristan Jofel T. Carado, Nicolas Ecija, Greg Savella, Major Jenny Ryan, Captain David Evans, Jacob Diaz Jordan Matulich, John Barr, Tomás Sandoval Klassen, Alice Ferreira, Martha Torres, Agnes Harris, Janis Bumgarner, Fey Elena Del Rosario, Esther Briones, Vilma Sarino, Judy McKenney, Bob Nehls, Ray Ballin, Jeff Cantu, Juanito Francisco, Mama Moose, Amelia Ruiz, Diane Vegas, Conrado Villanueva, Juanita Estrellas, Iluminada B. Lagos, Camila Aloysia, Deacon Ernie Dandan, Dawn Barker, Tammy Bumgarner, JR Bumgarner To add names to this list, please contact the parish office at or bulletin@sjapostle.net.

5 COLLECTIONS OCT 22/23 $ MISSIONS $ 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. ALL SOULS ENVELOPES All Souls envelopes are available in your box of donation envelopes and on the table at the rear of the church. Donation Envelope users should us their numbered envelope to receive proper cedit. They may be placed in any collection from Oct. 30 through the end of November. These souls will be remembered at all the Mass during the month of November. ST. VINCENT DE PAUL SOCIETY We help people and families in need. Our ministry serves those in North Fremont area. We provide temporary assistance with food, utilities, and living expenses. If you are in need of assistance, or someone you know, please consider calling our message center at Next Bake Sale November 5-6 MOMs BEREAVEMENT SUPPORT GROUP Our Deanery support group continues to meet in the Fireside Lounge at Holy Spirit Church, Fremont Blvd. You are invited to attend all or part of the sessions. 10/30 Sharing Memories, 11/6 Grieving During the Holidays, 11/1 Ritual and Healing, 11/20 Memorial Service PARISH CALENDAR Oct 31 Pastoral Council 7:00pm Nov 2 All Souls Day - Masses at 8:30am and 7:30pm Nov 5/6 MOMs Bake Sale Nov 7 Knights of Columbus Officer s Mtg 7:30pm Nov 14 St. Vincent de Paul Mtg 7:00pm Nov 21 Knights of Columbus Business Mtg 7:30pm Nov 24 Thanksgiving Day Nov 28 Bishop Begin Assembly 3546 Bus. Mtg 7:30pm Nov 28 Pastoral Council 7:00pm Dec 10 Dedication of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Statue Dec 12 Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe Devotions Schedule on the bulletin flap. Deadline for submissions to the bulletin: Two weeks before publication date. E mail articles to: bulletin@sjapostle.net. Send information for the webpage to: webmaster@sjapostle.net. Carolyn Fiori... Editor Jenna Dancel... Webmaster 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.