It s Less Infernal In Here

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ST. BRENDAN CHURCH 29 Rockaway Avenue San Francisco CA 94127 Tel. No. (415) 681-4225 www.stbrendanparish.

In the background is an enormously long line of frustrated-looking people.

The one open window is staffed by a woman talking on the telephone, stalling the line of people waiting. One of the demons says to the other, Don t get me wrong. Hell is awful.

1 ST. BRENDAN CHURCH 29 Rockaway Avenue San Francisco CA Tel. No. (415) Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time January 28, 2018 It s Less Infernal In Here A humorous cartoon on Pinterest features two horned demons clad in red, chatting casually with each other. In the background is an enormously long line of frustrated-looking people. Guided by an endless queue of velvet ropes throughout the massive, featureless room, they make their way zombielike toward a row of counters, most of which are closed. The one open window is staffed by a woman talking on the telephone, stalling the line of people waiting. One of the demons says to the other, Don t get me wrong. Hell is awful. But it could be so much more hellish. Pointing to the large DMV sign at the front of room, he adds, We have much to learn from them. In the gospel reading today, Jesus visits the synagogue in the seaside village of Capernaum. As was the custom at that time for any man conversant with the Scriptures, Jesus takes the opportunity to comment on the readings. Preaching with uncommon authority, he is heckled by a man with an unclean spirit. The man exhibits several signs of demonic possession. First, he has a clear aversion to the holy. In the presence of Jesus, the grip of evil on him becomes evident. Second, he indicates that he is afflicted by more than one demon. Like angels, demons are numerous and governed by a strict hierarchy. Finally, the stricken man addresses Jesus as the Holy One, which was a name normally reserved for God. Since Jesus had not yet revealed his divine identity, the man exhibits an uncanny knowledge of hidden things, another common indication of the demonic. Many Catholics today deny the existence of evil spirits, dismissing biblical references to demons as a mythical way of symbolizing illness and other human misfortune. However, the Church has always taught that demons are real spiritual beings, fallen angels, who were created by God but became evil by their own free choice (Catechism nn ). As late Father Gabriele Amorth, the official exorcist of Rome for 27 years, points out in his book, Satan was formerly an angel, created good, who later rebelled against God; he alienated himself from God and he constructed for himself and his followers what is called Hell. (Vade retro, Satana! (St. Pauls Philippines: 2014), 4-5). Indeed, the word Devil means one who splits up or breaks or throws away in Greek. Being alienated from God, Satan... recruits other creatures to rebel against God... and he will continue his destructive work until the return of Christ at the end of time (Id. at 7-8). While it is common to joke about or dismiss such things, it cannot be denied that the Church was established by Christ to stand against evil in the world, however one may choose to define it. Although the followers of Christ and their leaders are imperfect and often sinful, life is better when we follow Christ. As we continue our five-week message series leading up to Lent that we are calling, It s Better In Here, we should remember that life is better inside the doors of the church because, unlike the world out there (and the DMV), it s less hellish in here. Fr. Roger Gustafson

COLD AND FLU SEASON UPDATE Featured News & Events As always, you are reminded to use common good sense in the reception of Holy Communion during the annual cold

If you are feeling ill or think you may have been exposed to a virus, you should refrain from partaking of the Blood of Christ from the communal chalice.

If you are not comfortable sharing the sign of peace or receiving Holy Communion from the communal chalice for fear of infection, you should feel no pressure to do

Come together with the St. Brendan community at one of our Ash Wednesday Masses for worship and distribution of ashes. ST.

All classrooms from kindergarten through eighth grade will be displaying special projects that our students have made.

2 COLD AND FLU SEASON UPDATE Featured News & Events As always, you are reminded to use common good sense in the reception of Holy Communion during the annual cold and flu season. If you are feeling ill or think you may have been exposed to a virus, you should refrain from partaking of the Blood of Christ from the communal chalice. In the same way, you should refrain from offering your hand to others at the sign of peace. If you are not comfortable sharing the sign of peace or receiving Holy Communion from the communal chalice for fear of infection, you should feel no pressure to do so. ASH WEDNESDAY MASSES February 14, :30 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 6:00 p.m. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a season of fasting and prayer. Come together with the St. Brendan community at one of our Ash Wednesday Masses for worship and distribution of ashes. ST. BRENDAN SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE Sunday, January 28, 10:00-12:30 Please join us at St. Brendan School s annual Open House. All classrooms from kindergarten through eighth grade will be displaying special projects that our students have made. You will be able to meet the teachers and learn more about our excellent academic programs. We also invite you to visit our library, science lab and computer room and enjoy refreshments in the Church Hall. SAVE THE DATE: EXPERIENCED NAVIGATORS EVENT Saturday, February 24, 2:00-5:00 p.m. Church Hall Save the date for an Experienced Navigators Event featuring Vicky Evans of the Archdiocese of San Francisco speaking on Advanced Directives. Details to follow. For more information, contact Mary Ann Schwab at (415) or masfs11@gmail.com.

3 The Good News There s Total Belonging In Here As part of our message series, It s Better in Here, each week a parishioner will describe what Saint Brendan means to him or her personally. This week s article is by former school parent, Brit Hahn. Born in 1960 and raised in San Francisco, I remember first noticing Saint Brendan s as a kid riding the old 10 Monterey. The bus would stop in front of the school, and I would see the children in their uniforms with red sweaters playing and coming and going. Although I didn t know any of them, I remember wondering what it must be like to attend such a fine school. Although I was not Catholic, little did I know that years later, through a series of coincidences, I would have all three of my own children at Saint Brendan School. We were attending the annual May Crowning event when I first felt it: A feeling of total belonging. It was one of those rare moments when I felt like I was exactly where I was supposed to be. I knew at that moment that I needed to stop being a spectator and belong. I followed my wife Dawn, enrolled in RCIA, and was baptized and confirmed the following spring. It wasn t long before my mother Kathryn had joined and was confirmed as well. After the kids left the school, I found myself attending Mass less and less frequently, until I was barely going at all. It wasn t until our youngest was in his senior year of high school that I found myself feeling that something was missing in my life. Right around the same time, I decided to go ahead with a bilateral knee replacement that had been recommended for many years. I was scared. Aside from the obvious ordeal of getting through the surgery and recovery, I was certain that I would have massive complications and would end up in a wheelchair. Then I remembered the feeling I had that night at May Crowning. I realized exactly what I needed. I was afraid, and the only way I would ever get through this was to strengthen my connection to God and rebuild my faith. I made a commitment to attend weekly Mass. It happened slowly at first. Many times I would go to Mass and feel awkward and uncomfortable. But I just kept going. Before long my mother started going with me. Every Sunday morning I would pick mom up, and we would go to the 8 a.m. Mass and have breakfast at West Portal afterwards. Soon I had my knees replaced, and I was hobbling back to Mass every Sunday morning with mom. That feeling of total belonging returned. It didn t hit me suddenly like it did that night at May Crowning; it happened gradually and grew over time. It s been over four years and I haven t missed Sunday Mass once. I have found that, over the last few years, I have developed a strong faith in God that I feel almost all the time. I believe that I am in fit spiritual condition and that I am a calmer, kinder, more loving man as a result. Mom and I are both Lectors, and you can always catch us at the 8 a.m. Mass.

The Good News Prayer in the Dominican Tradition By Lisa Rosenlund, Saint Brendan Parish Manager Each week, we summarize a specific style, form, or approach to prayer, using the highly-acclaimed book

4 The Good News Prayer in the Dominican Tradition By Lisa Rosenlund, Saint Brendan Parish Manager Each week, we summarize a specific style, form, or approach to prayer, using the highly-acclaimed book by Robert J. Wicks, Prayer in the Catholic Tradition: A Handbook of Practical Approaches (Franciscan Media 2006). In this article, you ll learn more about prayer in the Dominican tradition. St. Dominic, founder and namesake of the Dominicans, did not himself prescribe a specific manner of praying, although there is a short book entitled, Nine Ways of Prayer, that was written after his death. The book contains descriptions and pictures of Saint Dominic praying in various ways, such as lying prostrate on the ground, bowing in front of the altar, or genuflecting with his gaze fixed on the crucifix. In fact, previous texts speak of two kinds of prostrations and two kinds of genuflections that were used by Dominican friars. (246, 247) Noted artist and Dominican monk, Fra Angelico s frescos in Florence depict some of these bodily postures of prayer and are also part of the Dominican tradition. It is said that Fra Angelico, as he was dubbed (from Fra meaning brother and Angelico meaning angelic ), never began a painting without a prayer. In addition to its depictions of the saints praying, Dominican art was itself a form of prayer. Similar to praying with icons, the portraits of St. Dominic at prayer in the Nine Ways of Prayer and the different bodily gestures shown were not only intended to draw what is described but to invite a reflection on the nature of prayer itself. (248) Dominican prayer is contemplative but not monastic. It is extroverted not introverted. According to Dominican scholar Thomas Aquinas, one of the mottos of the Dominican order is contemplari et contemplata a liis tradere ( to contemplate and to hand on to others the fruits of one s contemplation. ). (238) Thomas saw the order as a mixture of the contemplative life and a life of ministry, an integration of Martha and Mary. (239) To contemplate literally means to live in a temple. St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 tells us that we are God s temple because the Holy Spirit dwells in us. Our body really is our temple! Dominican Saint Catherine of Siena referred to this interior dwelling place of the soul as the cell of self-knowledge. It is here at the core of our being that we receive God s grace, which then pours out into the external space, where we live and engage with the world. One of St. Dominic s greatest influences was St. Paul, particularly Paul s instruction to pray always (1 Thessalonians 5:17). (246) Traditional forms of prayer, including the Eucharist, the Liturgy of the Hours, the Rosary and Adoration have always been mainstays of Dominican life. In order to enable us to follow St. Paul s directive, Dominican prayer is also inclusive of non-traditional ways of deepening one s contemplative life. In modern times, Dominicans have even incorporated aspects of Eastern religions into their prayer life. (245) To pray in the Dominican tradition is simply to pray. Unceasingly. Not self-conscious about a right way to pray. (249) Anyone can do it. Using any posture!

Stewardship Stewardship is the grateful response of a Christian disciple who recognizes and receives God s gifts and shares them generously in love of God and neighbor.

A steward recognizes that God is the source of all life and every blessing and that all gifts of time, talent, and treasure come from God. A steward is grateful for those gifts.

In today s second reading, Saint Paul responds to a number of concerns raised by members of the neophyte Christian community in Corinth. They were genuinely confused about the issue of marriage.

5 Stewardship Stewardship is the grateful response of a Christian disciple who recognizes and receives God s gifts and shares them generously in love of God and neighbor. Stewardship is not about money or fundraising. It is a spirituality. It is a way of life. A steward recognizes that God is the source of all life and every blessing and that all gifts of time, talent, and treasure come from God. A steward is grateful for those gifts. A steward takes care of and increases those gifts, and en freely gives back the first and best portion of those gifts to God. In today s second reading, Saint Paul responds to a number of concerns raised by members of the neophyte Christian community in Corinth. They were genuinely confused about the issue of marriage. One particular conundrum was whether new believers should divorce their spouses who remained pagan. Paul essentially advises them to stay as you were when God called you (1 Cor. 7:17, 20, 24). Likewise, he recommends that those who are single remain unmarried. Paul s way of celibate singleness is preferable, he believes, because it allows for undistracted devotion to God s work (1 Cor. 7:22-36). Paul was writing at time when the new age in Christ had just begun and early Christians were trying to figure out how to adjust to the new reality of their faith. Today, we may view this passage through a similar, but different, lens. Whether we are married, divorced, remarried, single, or ordained, we are called to remain constant in our vocation and devoted to God s work. Stewardship helps us to discover our vocation and live it. (Gerber, Eugene. Forward: A Meditation. Grateful and Giving, by Dcn. Donald R. McArdle, 2011, Catholic Stewardship Consultants, Inc.). Prime among the many gifts that come with being created in God s image and likeness is the capacity to give and to receive, writes the former bishop of Wichita, Eugene Gerber. Everyone, regardless of circumstances, has something to give to others and is in need of receiving from others for the glory of God and the salvation of the human family (Id.). Regardless of the many anxieties prevalent in this world, we should always remain anxious about the things of the Lord by living our vocation through giving and receiving. --Father Roger Gustafson, Pastor Saint Paul wants all believers to be free of anxieties, as he wrote in the second reading for today. Dutch Catholic priest, professor, writer, and theologian, Henry Nouwen wrote that money has something to do with that intimate place in our heart where we need security. (A Spirituality of Fundraising. The Henri Nouwen Legacy Trust, 2010, 31-32). However, [t]he pressure in our culture to secure our own future and to control our lives as much as possible does not find support in the Bible. (Id.) Whatever financial blessings God has given you, we invite you to make a planned, proportionate, and sacrificial financial commitment to this parish and to the poor that will continue throughout the year. The biblical standard is a tenth of our income, before taxes or anything else is taken out, half to the Church and half to the poor. It takes trust, but we can never out give God. NO SECOND COLLECTION NEXT WEEK SUNDAY COLLECTION January 21, 2018 GOAL $ 9,500 TOTAL $ 9,525 Over $ 25

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8 SAINT BRENDAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Church School Convent 29 Rockaway Avenue San Francisco CA Rectory Phone: (415) Mon - Thurs: 8:30 am - Noon, 1 p.m. - 4 p.m. Sun: 9:00 am - 1:00 pm Laguna Honda Blvd. San Francisco CA Tel. (415) Canossian Sisters 234 Ulloa Street San Francisco CA Tel. (415) MASSES Sunday: 7:00, 8:00, 9:30,11:30 AM Mon-Fri: 6:30 & 8:30 AM Saturday: 8:30 AM 5:00 PM Holy Days: 6:30 AM, 8:30 AM and 6:00 PM CONFESSIONS Saturday: 4:15-4:45 PM Wednesday: 7:15-7:45 PM EUCHARISTIC ADORATION Wednesday: 7:00-8:00 PM Saturday: 4:00-4:45 PM BAPTISMS & WEDDINGS For information, please see our website at or call us at (415) Monday SAT 8:30 a.m. SAT 5 p.m. SUN 7 a.m. SUN 8 a.m. SUN 9:30 a.m. SUN 11:30 a.m. MASS INTENTIONS (January 29-March 4, 2018) 6:30 a.m. 8:30 a.m. Rolando Magsalin (D) Weekend Open Paul J. Herlihy (D) People of St. Brendan Parish Stephen Hui & Cheng Sui King (D) Chet Rhoan (D) Frank Schwab (D) Elsa Javier (L) (Healing) Tuesday Open David L. Alvers (D) Wednesday Open Sr. Diane Erbacher (D) Thursday Open Ricardo S. Morada (D) Friday Weekday Pura Lippi (L) (Special Intention) Pura Lippi (L) STAFF Pastor Fr. Roger Gustafson fatherrogergustafson@gmail.com Parochial Vicar Fr. Peterson Tieng frpete@stbrendanparish.org Ext.220 Ext.214 In Residence Fr. Paul Warren Ext. 208 Pastoral Associate Sr. Angela Furia, FdCC Ext. 201 srangela@stbrendanparish.org Director of Evangelization & Faith Formation Manolito Jaldon manolito@stbrendanparish.org Ext. 205 Music Director Mario Balestrieri (415) School Principal Dianne Lakatta (415) dlakatta@stbrendansf.com Parish Manager Lisa Rosenlund (415) lisa@stbrendanparish.org Finance Manager Venetia Hui Gatus Ext. 202 venetia@stbrendanparish.org Administrative Assistant Ext. 101 Maeve O Reilly maeve@stbrendanparish.org Parish Leadership Advisory Board : Mike Modesti Finance Committee : Eoin O Connor Children and Youth Under Five Ministry: Kendra Perlitz Devon Klinefelter Girl Scouts: Kirstin McFarlane Boy Scouts: Boy Scouts: Maureen Hurley Cub Scouts: Robert Rees (rdrees@gmail.com) Youth Ministry: Stacey Simpson Gus Del Puerto Religious Education & Sacramental Preparation Infant Baptism & RCIA for Children Sr. Angela Furia (415) , Ext. 201 Adult Faith Formation/Rite of Christian Initiation (RCIA): Manolito S. Jaldon, Jr. (415) , Ext. 205 Sunday Children s Liturgy: Manolito S. Jaldon, Jr. (415) , Ext. 205 Preparation for Reconciliation & First Holy Communion Grade 2: Stephanie Stanko Faith Formation: Grade 1: Michele Neitz, Megan Rabbitt, Avelina Accad Grade 3: Tara Donohue Grades 4 & 5: Christina Bui Preparation for Confirmation: Grade 6: Manolito S. Jaldon, Jr. Grade 7: Liza Bonpin Grade 8: Mary Zell Spellman Liturgical Ministries Lectors: Richard Pinto Eucharistic Ministers: Charlotte Bautista Ushers: Mike Casazza Sacristan: Jack Mona Liturgy Committee: Anne Kearney Parish Life Welcome Committee Andrea Regjo Jeremy Straus (sbwelcomecommittee@gmail.com) Hospitality Committee Maria Evangelista Mothers Club Lori Doyle Men s Club Joshua Shaskan Respect Life Mary Ann Schwab Knitting Ministry Marie Jean Longa Experienced Navigators: Tony Fernandez Small Groups: Outreach Ministries Consolation Ministry Merry Jean Chan mjchanstb@gmail.com Detention Ministry (San Dimas) Julio Escobar (415) Marian Servers Dr. Lou Scheerer St. Vincent de Paul Society Tad Tassone (415)

There s Healing In Here

ST. BRENDAN CHURCH 29 Rockaway Avenue San Francisco CA 94127 Tel. No. (415) 681-4225 www.stbrendanparish.org Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time February 4, 2018 There s Healing In Here After demons flee helplessly