For The Bulletin Of March 26, 2017 THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT. Jesus is for us and who we are to be for others.

Transcription

1 For The Bulletin Of March 26, 2017 THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT From Father Robert The second creation account in the Book of Genesis tells us how the Lord God formed the man out of the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life. God was the first potter! God was the first to have the pleasure of taking dust and water, mixing it and smoothing it, and then drawing it into a divine image into which God breathed God s very own life. This Sunday s gospel tells of another divine potter Jesus, the Son of God Who uses His own saliva to mix with the dust of the earth, make clay, and use it to bring new seeing and believing out of a blind beggar. All the man needed to do was to obey Jesus command to Go wash. He did so, and was re-created to see with the new eyes of faith. Through baptism we come to a new seeing and we are re-created into being more perfect members of the Body of Christ, more truth-filled images of God. Our own believing-responding to Jesus continually re-creates us with new spiritual insight, with deeper believing, with more sure understanding of Who Jesus is for us and who we are to be for others. This long gospel intertwines many conversation-encounters on many levels. There is the conversation-encounter of the miracle: Jesus touched, the man went and washed. There are the conversation-encounters of relationships: the disciples and Jesus, Jesus and the blind man, the neighbors and the blind man, parents and the Pharisees, Pharisees and the blind man, Pharisees and Jesus. There are the conversationencounters about seeing: gaining sight, resisting sight; coming to faith, resisting faith. Lent invites us into the same conversation-encounters with Jesus, in which we choose either to be drawn toward Jesus or to turn away from Him. Which do we choose? This is our lifelong baptismal challenge. The miracle recorded in this gospel is less about a blind man receiving his sight than it is about the openness of the blind man to having an encounter with Jesus, his willingness to enter into a conversation with Him, and his readiness to believe and respond in worship. This gospel challenges those who are preparing for the Easter Sacraments to deepen their faith in Jesus power to recreate them as members of His Body. It challenges all of us to deepen our faith so that we, too, are re-created with ever new Life. Then, like the blind man whom Jesus helps to see, we can exclaim I do believe and worship with raised hearts and voices. Living The Paschal Mystery Baptism is a ritual sign of coming to believing, admitting us to full 1

2 participation in worship. This statement doesn t imply that those who have not been baptized or fully received into the church haven t worshiped God. They have or they probably wouldn t be seeking to be initiated into the Catholic Church. Initiation changes the way one can worship and the sign of this is admittance to Eucharist and reception of the Body and Blood of Our Lord. Worship, however, is far more than attendance and engagement in ritual acts, as important as that is. Worship includes a mission to reach out to others who are in need of spiritual insight, of a more sure believing, of a deeper conversation with Jesus that brings re-creation and life. Authentic worship always requires a response of charity on behalf of others. Authentic worship includes an encounter with the One Who gives us sight and a conversation that re-creates us to full stature in Christ. Today marks the half way point in our Lenten journey. How is your commitment and discipline to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving going? If you haven t begun, then perhaps today is the day to begin! One conversation-encounter with Jesus I frequently have is It leads me to choose The conversation partners who help me encounter Jesus and make strong faith choices are because A new conversation-encounter I ought to have with Jesus during this Lent is About Liturgy: Authentic Worship, Participation, and Body of Christ In the five decades after Vatican Council II there have been many calls for full, conscious, and active participation in the church s liturgy. This is probably one of the best known of the council s decisions. But, participating in the ritual actions themselves is only one aspect of what the council fathers desired. The council fathers also called for the renewal of our identity as those baptized in Christ, the Body of Christ who participates in Jesus paschal mystery. One sign of authentic worship and participation, then, is how we are together the Body of Christ (that is, the church). Authentic worship always calls us outside of ourselves into something bigger than any one of us. Authentic worship demands of us the willingness to surrender ourselves which means even our personal tastes and desires in how we might want to worship in order for the Body of Christ to be strengthened. This may seem a contradiction because worship, in one sense, is a deeply personal act so why should we give up our personal tastes and desires? The real issue here is that the surrender is intensely personal and that is far more important than our personal tastes and 2

3 desires. The Body of Christ comes to full stature when our own surrender is joined to others surrender and something new Christ s life bursts forth. This is when worship is exciting and fruitful: when worship calls us beyond ourselves, when we receive gifts from God through others, and when we then return those gifts to the community in mission. Memorial Service at which the students who were killed are mourned. At the conclusion of the service, the deceased are reunited with their parents and letters from both parents and students are read as a part of the Memorial Service indicating their feelings and emotions following the mock accident. This coming Tuesday and Wednesday, March 28 th and 29 th, I will be joining Antioch Police Department officers for the Annual Every Fifteen Minutes Program. This is taking place at Deer Valley High School. The program is for junior and senior students to show them the effects of drinking and driving. A tragic accident is staged on the football field to which police, fire, AMS, and the Coroner respond. Chaplains are dispatched to the parents of the students killed in the crash to inform them of the deaths. One chaplain travels to a local hospital with one of the students who dies while being treated in the ER. Another Chaplain travels with the Deceased to the morgue and Coroner s office to witness the body being processed and autopsied. Throughout the day, every 15 minutes, another tombstone is placed in the student quad to remind the student body that every 15 minutes, someone is killed in an alcohol-related driving accident. On the second day of the program, students and faculty gather in the gym for a Lenten Communal Penance Service Our Lenten Communal Penance Service will take place this Thursday evening, March 30 th, at 7:30 p.m. in the context of Sung Evening Prayer. Please plan on being with us for this beautiful and meaningful liturgy at which we receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Additional confessors will be present. If you are unable to join us, here is the schedule of additional Penance Liturgies in our Deanery: Thursday, March 30, 2017 St. Peter Martyr, Pittsburg 7:00 p.m. Monday, April 3, 2017 Most Holy Rosary, Antioch 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, April 4, 2017 St. Anthony, Oakley 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, April 5, 2017 St. Anne, Byron 7:00 p.m. Monday, April 10, 2017 Our Lady Queen of the World, Bay Point 7:00 p.m. 3

4 Palm Sunday Preparation One of the great traditions of our parish is the preparation that takes place on the Saturday before Palm Sunday. You are invited to join us on Saturday morning, April 8 th, beginning at 9:00 a.m. to cut, wash, dry, and bundle the palm fronds that will be blessed and distributed for our Palm Sunday Liturgies on Sunday, April 9 th. Please bring gloves and good scissors. We ll have coffee and pastries! Palm Sunday, April 9, 2017 Saturday Vigil Liturgy, 5:00 p.m. Blessing of Palms, Procession, Reading of the Passion According to St. Matthew Sunday Eucharist, 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. PLEASE NOTE TIME CHANGE Blessing of Palms, Procession, Reading of the Passion According to St. Matthew Monday of Holy Week April 10 Eucharist at 8:00 a.m. Tuesday of Holy Week April 11 Liturgy of the Word and Holy Communion at 8:00 a.m. Wednesday of Holy Week April 12 Eucharist at 8:00 a.m. The Chrism Mass You are cordially invited by The Bishop to attend the annual Chrism Mass at the Cathedral on Thursday, April 6 th, beginning at 7:00 p.m. The Oils of the Sick and Catechumens will be blessed and the Oil of Chrism will be consecrated. These are the oils that are used in the sacraments throughout the remainder of The newly-blessed Oils will be returned to the parishes to be formally presented to their respective faith communities at the liturgies of Holy Thursday evening. THE SACRED PASCHAL TRIDUUM Holy Thursday April 13 Sung Morning Prayer at 8:00 a.m. The Evening Mass of the Lord s Supper at 7:30 p.m. Presentation of the Holy Oils, Liturgy of the Word, Washing of Feet, Holy Eucharist, Procession to the Altar of Repose, Adoration (Incense) Good Friday April 14 Sung Morning Prayer at 8:00 a.m. Ecumenical Service, The Seven Last Words of Christ at 12:00 Noon 4

5 Solemn Liturgy of the Passion and Death of the Lord at 3:00 p.m. Liturgy of the Word, Veneration of the Cross, and Holy Communion Sung Evening Prayer and Veneration of the Cross at 7:30 p.m. (Incense) Holy Saturday April 15 Sung Morning Prayer at 8:00 a.m. The Great Paschal Vigil at 7:30 p.m. Lighting of the New Fire, Procession, Liturgy of the Word, The Celebration of the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist); Incense; A Festive Reception to welcome the newly-initiated immediately follows the liturgy in the parish hall. Easter Day The Feast of the Resurrection April 16 8:00 a.m. Festive Choral Eucharist Procession, Renewal of Baptismal Promises and Sprinkling Rite, Holy Eucharist (No Incense) 10:30 a.m. Festive Choral Eucharist Procession, Renewal of Baptismal Promises and Sprinkling Rite, Holy Eucharist (Incense) Become a part of a wonderful parish tradition by helping to provide the Easter Environment! Your contribution makes possible the blooming plants, Easter Lilies, Trees, Festive Cloth Panels, the Paschal Candle, and the triptych at the Altar that celebrate the Resurrection. Your gift may be made either In Honor of or In Loving Memory of a family member, friend, or Loved One. Please use the Easter Flower Envelope that is placed with the Easter Letter or additional envelopes that may be found on the credenza. Contributions will be acknowledged in the bulletins of the Easter Season. Thank you for helping the Art & Environment Committee to create an environment that says Easter for the entire seven weeks of the season. Birthday Celebration You are invited to join me and my family in celebrating my 70 th Birthday on Sunday afternoon, April 30 th, beginning at 3:00 P.M. in the parish hall. Dorothy Lamendola is celebrating her 89 th birthday the same day!!! Together we will welcome family, friends, and parishioners to join us in this wonderful celebration of life. Our Social Events 5

6 Committee, the YLI, and the Knights of Columbus are all working together to make this one spectacular event. A meal of mixed green salad, hot garlic bread, pasta, and dessert will be served, along with beer and wine, available at a nominal charge. A donation will be requested of each person attending that will benefit the YLI and its outreach ministries, including our parish. Please save the date and plan to join us for this wonderful occasion. A flyer with all the details is forthcoming. Please be sure to obtain your ticket from the members of the YLI who will be selling them following all the liturgies on the weekends of April 1 and 2, April 8 and 9, April 22 and 23, and April 29 and 30. No tickets will be sold at the door. to our faithful volunteers who arrive very early each Saturday morning to clean and prepare both the church and parish hall for the weekend: Jack Goncalves, Steve Rojek, Carole Miller, Mency Osborne, Rose Salamanca, and Angela Bueno. to our volunteer parishioners who do such a great job of cleaning and maintaining the bathrooms in both the church and parish hall on Saturday and throughout the week: Robert Goncalves, Mary Ewing, Patricia Britton, Harlan Young, and Virginia Noack. to Dilcia Aparacio who does such an excellent job of washing, ironing, and caring for the Sacred Linens. to our Sacristans and Altar Guild who prepare the sanctuary for the celebration of Eucharist each week: Peter Degl Innocenti, Pam and Rich Confetti, Vincent Rodriguez, Harlan Young, Rowena Cayaban, Monika Kauer, Cynthia Enrique, Belen Farin, Nancy Santos and Rose Salamanca. to our counting teams who are here every week to count the weekly collections. to our volunteers who assisted in the parish office last week: Harlan Young, Melodye Costanza, Yvette Young, Alicia Perez, Joe Fanfa and Bev Iacona. to our St. Vincent de Paul and Mobile Mall volunteers who transported last week s donations: Bob Carvalho and Barbara Jackson. to our faithful weekly bulletin assembly team: Carole Miller, Dave Costanza, Bob Carvalho and Vangie Parrilla. From Father Griener Last week I received an from Fr. Griener letting us know that he had received all the cards, notes, and letters from parishioners wishing him well as he recovers from the stroke. He was overwhelmed by your kindness, compassion, and love. He continues to improve through therapy for both his left arm and leg, speech therapy, and has returned to teaching and working with his doctoral students as they finish their dissertations and prepare to defend them. He looks forward to being with us again hopefully in April. Please continue to keep him in your prayers. 6

7 Easter Cards For Archbishop Brunett and Father Griener, S.J. Please do not forget to send Easter Cards and greetings to both Archbishop Alexander Brunett and Father George Griener, S.J. Cards to Father Griener may be left in the box at the window to the office of Faith Formation (the ledge in front of the window to the left of the narthex). Cards to Archbishop Brunett may be addressed as follows: Archbishop Alexander Brunett Archbishop Emeritus Archdiocese of Seattle th Avenue Seattle, Washington Now is the time for married priests Thomas Reese Mar. 16, 2017 It is time for the Catholic bishops to stop hoping for an increase in vocations to the celibate priesthood and to acknowledge that the church needs married priests to serve the people of God. We cannot have a Catholic Church without sacraments, and a priest is needed for the Eucharist, confession, and anointing. At the Last Supper, Jesus said, Do this in memory of me, not have a celibate priesthood. The need for the Eucharist trumps having a celibate priesthood. For at least 50 years, the Catholic Church in the United States has seen a drop in the number of priests. According to CARA reports, in 1970, there were 59,192 priests in the U.S.; by 2016, there were only 37,192. Meanwhile, the number of Catholics increased to 74.2 million from 51 million. That means the people/priest ratio grew from 861 Catholics per priest in 1970 to 1,995 per priest in These numbers include all priests both religious and diocesan, as well as retired priests. When the priests currently over 65 years of age die, these numbers will be even worse. Already, in many parts of the United States, we have seen the impact of declining numbers of priests. Parishes are merging and closing. Few parishes have more than one priest. African and Asian priests have become missionaries to the United States. In rural areas, priests drive hundreds of miles on weekends visiting parishes in small towns that no longer have a resident priest. Some rural parishes might see a priest once a month. The number of priestless parishes rose from 571 in 1970 to 3,499 in The problem is not just in the United States; in fact, it is worse elsewhere. In 2014, there were 414,313 priests for 1.2 billion Catholics in the world, for a Catholics/priests ratio of 2,896 to one. It's been four years since Pope Francis' election. In Latin America, for historical reasons, there has been a shortage of priests for more than 100 years. This is one of the reasons that Evangelicals and Pentecostals have been successful in Latin America. If there is no priest in the town, people will go wherever there is a service. Africa and Asia are pointed to as places where vocations are plentiful, but even in those areas, there are not enough priests. And already, vocations are beginning to fall in some places on those continents. 7

8 Why are vocations declining? There are lots of theories. Conservatives tend to blame secular culture and the current generation of young people who are seen as self-centered consumers who lack the discipline and spirit of selfsacrifice necessary to be priests. Sociologists point to demographic changes. Families are smaller. In a large family, parents support having one of their children become a priest, but if they have only one or two children, parents prefer grandchildren to priests. Universal access to education also makes a difference. Historically, becoming a priest was one of the few ways to get an education, especially for a child not from a rich family. The priest was often the best educated person in the community, which gave him additional status. Today education is more readily available. The priest does not have the status he had in the past. In brief, a lot of vocations in the past came from large families where the priest was the first member of the family to get a college education and where the family lived in a community where the parish priest was a respected figure. As this world disappears, so do vocations. Even in parts of India, where Catholics are educated, middle-class, and having fewer children, we see a decline in vocations already. There is nothing to indicate that this will not continue to happen in Africa and Asia when Catholics become more prosperous. There have also been changes in the church that have affected vocations. The Second Vatican Council stressed the role of the laity and the importance of marriage as a path to holiness. Priesthood and religious life were taken off their pedestals. Also, after the council, many ministries that previously were open only to priests became possible for lay people. There are now lay theologians, pastoral ministers, spiritual directors, teachers, as well as lay people working in chanceries and Catholic charities. Technically, a lay person can do almost anything a priest can except preside at the Eucharist, hear confessions, and anoint the sick. Those who felt called to serve the church saw that they could marry and do many things without being a priest. American sociologist Dean Hoge surveyed young men working in campus ministry and found that significant numbers would be interested in being priests if they could marry. In fact, some argue that there has not been a decline in vocations; the bishops are simply not acknowledging that God is calling married men and even women to the priesthood. Earlier this month, Pope Francis spoke about vocations and the possibility of ordaining viri probati, that is proven or tested married men. "The problem is the lack of vocations, a problem the church must solve," Francis said. "We must think about whether viri probati are one possibility, but that also means discussing what tasks they could take on in remote communities. In many communities at the moment, committed women are preserving Sunday as a day of worship by holding services of the Word. But a church without the Eucharist has no strength." 8

9 In my column last week, I noted that one of the major achievements of Francis is his opening up debate and discussion in the church. Although Pope Paul VI briefly considered the idea, discussing married priests was not permitted under the last two papacies. I could not have written this column when I was editor of America ( ). Even as an archbishop, Jorge Bergoglio was gently raising the issue of married priests. In Chapter 6 of On Heaven and Earth, he acknowledged that there were already married priests in the Catholic Church from the Eastern traditions (Byzantine, Ukrainian, or Greek), and he noted that they were good priests. The Western or Roman Catholic Church has the rule of celibacy, but the Eastern Catholic Churches, who are in union with Rome, have always had married priests. In the United States, we also have former Anglican and Lutheran priests who are married and operating as priests in the Catholic Church today. For about the first 1,000 years of its existence, the church had married clergy. For the last 1,000 years, we have had the rule of celibacy. The rule is not always well observed. Bergoglio hated the practice of priests not living up to their commitment. He could be forgiving if the priest changed his ways, but he said he preferred a good layman to a bad priest. If a priest fathered a child, Bergoglio said the priest must leave because a child s right to have a father was greater than a man s obligation to remain a priest. suddenly announce from St. Peter s Square that the church is going to have married priests beginning next week. That is not the way he operates. He believes in a collegial church where he makes decisions along with the college of bishops. Erwin Krautler, a Brazilian bishop, approached the pope about having married priests in his huge diocese in the Amazon rain forest where there are 700,000 people and 27 priests. The pope s response was to urge him to go back to his bishops conference and get the bishops to ask for it. This is the most likely way that married priests will be reintroduced in to the Roman branch of the Catholic Church. It will be at the request of bishops conferences for married priests in remote places where there is great need. But once married priests are introduced, they will spread quickly to other places. If the people of God want married priests, they need to let their bishops know. The pope is waiting for the bishops to ask. People need to push their bishops to ask. [Jesuit Fr. Thomas Reese is a senior analyst for NCR and author of Inside the Vatican: The Politics and Organization of the Catholic Church. His address is treesesj@ncronline.org.] I believe that Francis is in favor of optional celibacy, but he is not going to 9

10 St. Joseph lives on in the hearts of Italian-Americans St. Joseph's altar 2003, Bisaquino, Sicily Traci Badalucco Mar. 18, 2017 Editor's note: Below is a reprint of a 2016 article about St. Joseph Day altars and how a generations-old Italian tradition lives on in the U.S. The snow falls in layers outside, one upon the next until the streets are blanketed in white. New Year s Day has come and gone, and Chicagoans know that mid-january is only midwinter and spring is many long days away. But inside her apartment near the city s Northeast side, signs of spring are appearing for Connie D Agostino. For D Agostino, spring -- and the promise of rebirth it brings -- is marked by a generations-old Italian tradition, the St. Joseph Day altar. And D Agostino needs two months of preparation to fulfill her promise to keep the altar alive. St. Joseph s Day altars -- often referred to as tables in the U.S. -- are triple-tiered displays laden with sculpted bread, fresh fruits and vegetables, Italian pasta and seafood dishes, and sweets, and can be found in homes and parishes throughout the U.S. and Sicily on March 19, the Feast of St. Joseph. D Agostino is one of thousands of Italian-Americans who celebrate St. Joseph s Day. Most recount the same story: My family is Italian, and since I was born, they have been going to the St. Joseph s table, said D Agostino, a native Chicagoan and member of Santa Maria Addolorata Parish. It s been continuing on and on, and St. Joseph continues to intercede for people. It's been four years since Pope Francis' election. Help us continue to report about this pope and his vision for In exchange for prayers answered, most have made promises to a relative or to St. Joseph to keep the tradition alive. Catholics who are unaware of the feast day probably don t have a history of Italian-Americans in their community. Some of the biggest altars in the country, for example, are in New Orleans -- a gateway into America from Sicily in the late 1890s and early 1900s. The tradition, told by Italian-Americans, dates back to medieval times in Sicily. The legend says that a drought came to the island -- the largest in the Mediterranean -- in the 1600s and created a great famine. With no rain, no crops and no hope, Sicilians turned to St. Joseph. They prayed to him and promised that if he ended the drought, in 10

11 return, they would dedicate a feast day every year in his name. St. Joseph, the protector of the family and the patron of carpenters, answered their prayers. Crops were planted when the miracle came and they were able to rise up and thrive again from this rain, said Gabriella Mileti, director of programs at the National Italian American Foundation in Washington, D.C. They prepared a grand feast from their crops, and they would invite the less fortunate and the homeless and the sick to eat at the table and they would feast together. Sicilian immigrants initially built the altars in their homes and invited locals. But over time, they began hosting them in local parishes that offered more space. St. Joseph s altars symbolize an offering to St. Joseph in gratitude, and those who host the altars invite locals to feast free of charge. The altar by definition means no one involved is to incur financial gain. Instead, most parishes ask for contributions, and in return, donate to local charities. Leftover food is also sold for charity or donated. The altars vary from city to city, and each adds its own spin, like the crawfish dish at St. Francis Xavier Church in Metairie, La. But each must contain certain items to be considered a true St. Joseph s altar: three tiers to represent the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; bread, fruits and vegetables; and, in the U.S., a St. Joseph statue and the fava bean, which Italian-Americans say was the only crop able to grow during the famine. In fact, many consider the fava bean the most prized possession of the feast day. Most parishes distribute goodie bags containing the bean, along with a St. Joseph s prayer card and medal. St. Joseph's table 1960 at Santa Maria Addolorata Catholic Church in Chicago. The altars were filled with mainly peasant food, said Mileti, like fruits and vegetables, and bread braided into shapes to symbolize St. Joseph. Bread is a symbol of life and abundance, and the most important symbol of the feast, said Mileti. You might be poor, but as long as you have bread, you will survive. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) never leaves home without a fava. Still to this day, I always carry around a fava bean with me everywhere I go to remind me of my faith and Italian heritage, so proudly displayed every year at St. Joseph s Day alters throughout the New Orleans region, Scalise told NCR. Because the feast day falls during the Lenten season, meat dishes are not permitted. Instead parishes serve pasta Milanese a dish with olive oil, garlic, 11

12 fennel and anchovies sprinkled with breadcrumbs, a symbol of St. Joseph s sawdust. Tables are also filled with homemade Italian cookies, cakes and sweets, including the zeppole, fried dough sprinkled with powdered sugar. Egg dishes are often present, and flowers and candles are also staples at most altars. The tradition was then adopted by the early Christians, said Salvaggio, who dedicated the prosperity to St. Joseph. St. Joseph s altars in Sicily are similar in design, each with three tiers and each filled with bread, fruits and vegetables, sweets, and flowers, but instead of a St. Joseph statue they display a picture of the Holy Family. And in Poggioreale, a town of about 1,500 people, women spend the weeks leading up to March 19 sculpting squartucciati, a dough shaped into crosses and other symbolic figures using special instruments and filled with dried figs. A basket with a handle, for example, contained the fruits that served as sustenance to Persephone in the long journey from the underworld to the land, said Gaetano Zummo, Salvaggio s husband. Seafood display at the St. Joseph's table 2015 at Holy Rosary Parish in Kansas City, Mo. (Francesca Cuccia) In Italy, St. Joseph s Day is known as Festa di San Giuseppe and is also celebrated as Father s Day. Most towns in Sicily still devote the weeks leading up to the feast day for preparation, but the tale they tell is strikingly different from the one celebrated in the U.S. This tradition is not the result of the famine legend that you know, but rather stems from a pagan tradition used by the ancient Greeks and then by the Romans, in honor of Ceres, goddess of agriculture but also of prosperity, said Sicilianborn Nellina Salvaggio, 74. "Gli squartucciati", dough shaped into symbolic forms, seen at the 2015 St. Joseph's altar in Poggioreale, Sicily. (Sandro Ippolito) The art form has been passed down for centuries, and represents the Sicilian Baroque style. Salvaggio has been 12

13 creating the pieces for 40 years to place on the altar. And like most feast days in Italy, a statue of St. Joseph is carried in a procession through the town s main streets, while locals chant hymns in Poggiorealese dialect. Cakes, plants and flowers also fill the altars, as well as a pasta dish served with a special sauce made with cauliflower, fennel, asparagus and daffodils and covered with breadcrumbs. But bread still holds the most significance. In a rural culture, such as ours, the bread takes on a deeper meaning, Zummo said at a 2012 St. Joseph conference in Poggioreale. It is a basic component of a people, a community, achieved through hard work, through toil and sweat, thus becoming an almost sacred element. Therefore, it is inconceivable to throw away. Poggioreale hosts five altars in town both in their homes and in the local churches and about 1,200 locals visit the altars. In the United States, almost a century has passed since the high point of Italian immigration here, but Italian-Americans still cling to their dear St. Joseph. D Agostino, like many others interviewed for the story, promised a relative usually mothers or grandmothers that they would continue the tradition of sponsoring a table in gratitude for an answered prayer. When D Agostino s brother was sent to Iraq during the Desert Storm War, for example, her mother, Grazia, prayed for his safe return. Grazia also prayed to St. Joseph to heal her husband, who was having heart trouble. In return, she promised to dedicate an altar in his name every year on March 19 at her parish. The D Agostino family has been helping create the St. Joseph s Day altar in Chicago ever since. My brother came home and my father is still living today.... He is in his 90s right now, said D Agostino. Many altars include personal prayers and petitions to St. Joseph. Others display memorabilia or pictures in honor of the deceased. St. Joseph's table 2016 at Holy Family Parish in South Pasadena, Calif. (Gina Sabatella) Some parishes, like St. Francis Xavier in Metairie, La., feed up to 2,000 people on St. Joseph s Day. Jack Siciliano, a parishioner and an altar volunteer, said they cook 140 pounds of pasta to feed the crowd. Others continue the traditional altars in their homes that immigrants first made when they arrived to the U.S. 13

14 My grandmother had a big influence on me, so when she passed away I promised her every year that I would carry on the tradition. So I ve tried to honor her by having the St. Joseph s table, even if it s just a small altar with three tiers, said Sheryl Fava, 49. It just makes me feel like she is here with us. Babin says they made 14,060 cookies this year, and talking about it gives her goosebumps. A lot of the children want to come up and make the little bags, she said. It is a part of their life now and it s a part of the school year now. March, she says, is the happiest time of her life. Fava will host a table this year at her aunt s home and invite friends and family. In 2006, she fed 200 people at her home in Bryan, Texas. I think for Italians, tradition is everything, said Theresa Shaw, a volunteer at the St. Joseph s table at Holy Family Church in South Pasadena, Calif., who has been attending altars in the state for 25 years. Shaw says they receive people every year. All proceeds go to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and the Holy Family Giving Bank, which provides one week s groceries to 300 families a week. It s important for us to tell our story to keep them alive because one day people are going to ask you, What does it mean to be Italian?, and if you don t know those answers, then we re in big trouble, Mileti said of the tradition. To ensure the tradition is passed on, Angela Babin makes sure the children are included at St. Peter Parish in Covington, La. Babin, a New Orleans native whose relatives came from the Sicilian city of Palermo, spends the three weekends before St. Joseph s Day baking cookies using her grandmother s recipes. Joining her are the 800 children in the parish from first through seventh grades. Cookies children made for the 2016 St. Joseph altar at St. Peter School in Covington, La. (St. Peter School) And what began as an Italian-American tradition has evolved into a multicultural event, a reflection of the United States melting pot effect. D Agostino s parish, Santa Maria Addolorata, has become a predominantly Latino church. Even though [the feast day] is not really recognized in Mexico, they recognize who St. Joseph is as a protector of family, D Agostino said. They do know that they can turn to him. Consequently, Mexican food like meatless Spanish rice and flautas has been added to the Italian food on the tables at Santa Maria Addolorata so that Latino families feel included. 14

15 Everyone is welcome to the table, she said. It s heavenly... This is something that we should all enjoy. [Traci Badalucco is an NCR Bertelsen intern. Her address is tbadalucco@ncronline.org. Follow her on From Marla Plurkowski Thank you to all the parishioners and guests who attended our 11 th annual St. Joseph s Festival Dinner last Saturday. It was a wonderful dinner followed by a fun and exciting auction. The musical duet of Daniel Lockert and Jenny Matteucci was breathtakingly beautiful. Everyone enjoyed their variety of songs and especially the Italian operas and sing-a-longs. A huge thank you to Dave Costanza, Tomas Lucia, Mark Costanza, Brian and Vicki McCoy, Will and Catherine Avitabile, Carole Miller, Al Cosce and Chad Curiel who prepared our delicious meal! Thank you to the following parishioners that donated appetizers and the wonderful desserts for the St. Joseph s altar. Thanks to Diane Hack, Father Robert, Joe Fanfa, Marie Battaglia, Annette Pisani, Mary Lucido, Pam Confetti, Tomas Lucia, David Simpson, Gail Burgarino, Dave Costanza, Al Cosce and Catherine and Will Avitabile. A big thank you to the following who donated auction and raffle items: Frances Rojek, Dotty Graham, Reggia Desmond, Marla Plurkowski, Clem Bushman, Carole Miller, Jane Sharpe, Judy Blakemore, Mark & Tina Costanza, Michele Raffalla, Faultless Cleaners and Rocco s Pizzeria and Ristorante. Thank you to the Knights of Columbus members and especially Steve Rojek, Rich Confetti, Clem Bushman, Jose Palomino and Bob Plurkowski for their wonderful help with set up, clean up and tending the bar. A huge thank you to the Social Events Committee members especially Sharon Bandy, Lesley Eubanks, Mary Ewing, Emily Plurkowski, Sue Batterton, Emily Douville, MaryAnne Douville, Reggia Desmond, Gail Burgarino, Marla Plurkowski and Lorraine Lohmeier for serving and hosting the dinner. Thank you to our Confirmation students Illianna Vitug, Celine Paguirigan and Sheena Dugao for serving and helping with the evening. And lastly, thank you to Father Robert who always makes the auction so exciting and fun! Thank you again to all who made this celebration in honor of St. Joseph a success! Welcome the Stranger Aljanabi Family Update A number of the Family to Family Team Members recently enjoyed a long lunch date with our family from Iraq, the Aljanabi s. Everyone seems to be doing fine. Mohammed (dad) continues taking English lessons and recently received his California Driver s License. Miaad is enjoying her role as grandmother and assisting with the daily care of her grandchildren. Hanan (twin daughter) is still working at McDonalds. Her plan is to enroll in college to complete her 15

16 bachelor s degree in Economics and Accounting as soon as she qualifies for California residency status for tuition purposes. We did notice Hanan s hijab (her traditional head covering) was decorated with bright green shamrocks which inspired an interesting discussion of St. Patrick and the tradition of his use of the shamrock to teach the concept of the Holy Trinity. Hasan confessed she didn t know about anything about St. Patrick but wore the green because she didn t want to get teased by her coworkers on St. Patrick s Day. Noor (daughter) is attending high school and recently participated in a senior project being prepared by a student from Northgate High School involving the family s experience with the refugee program. Hasan (twin son) is also working at McDonald s and his goal is to see more of the country. So far he has not been successful in enrolling in a training program for long-distance truck driving. The conflict in their homeland was a topic of discussion as well. Members of the extended Aljanabi family (cousins) are involved in the fight against ISIS in the Iraqi city of Falujah. Recently one of the cousins was killed while disarming an IED and our family is mourning his tragic death. All in all, the family is doing well. Even after nine months. It s still a major cultural adjustment for them and the young folks are naturally homesick for the friends they left behind. A visit home is being planned for the future. Please remember our family in your prayers. Building Campaign were discussed in detail. The summary identifies some of the steps already taken and future actions in the works to ensure that St. Ignatius of Antioch continues to meet the spiritual needs of this wonderful faith community. Town Hall Meeting Summary For those who were unable to attend one of the February Town Hall Meetings, a summary of the recommendations presented is attached to this week s insert. The fiscal health of the parish along with a status report on the 16