St. Paschal Baylon, St. Lawrence O Toole St. Cyril catholic Parish The Second Sunday of Advent December 9, 2018 Parish Office: 510-530-0761 Office Hours: 9:00-3:00 Sunday-Thursday SLOT.STPBoffice@gmail.com - oaklandcatholic.net Office/St. Lawrence Church 3725 High St. St. Paschal Church 3700 Dorisa Ave.
Awaiting the Salvation of God The world does not seem big enough to contain the jubilation of the first reading. In the Gospel reading, the Roman empire isn t big enough, either. The great powers of Rome are named and made to stand waiting for the arrival of God s salvation. And we find Paul meditating joyfully on what really matters. According to Baruch, the city of Jerusalem is like a person standing on tiptoe looking for God s salvation, which is coming from the east. Those who were led away on foot, heads down, now come back, a proud people. Why, the very way is smoothed out. The path is lined with fragrant, lush trees. It can t get any better than this, can it? Well, yes, it can. For a voice calls out in the desert. Here is the beginning of the salvation of God. Copyright J. S. Paluch Co. D i v i n e M e r c y C o r n e r St. Luke: The Gospel of Mercy (cont.) By Robt. Stackpole, STD (Sep 28, 2005, thedivinemercy.org) Mary then praises God in verses 51-55 for His mercy upon the faithful poor of Israel, who trusted Him to keep his promises to send the Messiah: He has shown strength with His arm, He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts, He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted those of low degree; He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent empty away. He has helped his servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy, As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his posterity forever. In the Benedictus in verses 67-79, Zechariah praises God for keeping His covenant promises to Israel: "As he spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant." Thus, Zechariah rejoices that the true Israel will be established, just as God had promised through His prophets. But Zechariah also recognizes that the new Israel will not be exactly the same as the old one; in verse 77 he acknowledges that the new Israel will be built upon deliverance from sin: "To give knowledge of salvation to His people, for the forgiveness of their sins." The new Israel will be spiritually renewed in every respect, all this will be a manifestation of the Lord's tender mercy: "Through the tender mercy of our God, when the day shall dawn upon us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace." Here also the phrase about giving "light to those who sit in darkness" is probably an allusion to Isaiah 9:2 : "The people who walked in darkness [that is, the Gentiles] have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has the light shined." In short, God will keep His promises to restore the Kingdom of Israel, but it will be a spiritually renewed Israel, and somehow the Gentiles will be brought in as well. All this comes from the "tender mercy" of God. The phrase used here in the Greek original text of St. Luke's gospel is "splagchna eleous," which literally means through the "bowels" or "guts" of God's "mercy" a phrase that expresses how deep the mercy of the Lord for us really is.
M a s s I n t e n t i o n s 4:00 STPB Sat. Vigil, December 8 5:30 SLOT People of the Parish Sunday, December 9 10:30SLOT Thanksgiving 1:00 SLOT Luther Nelson Richard Chavez Monday, December 10 8:30 SLOT Theresa Da SIlva Tuesday, December 11 8:30 SLOT Sabina Burns Wednesday, December 12 6:30 SLOT Jeremiah Means Thursday, December 13 9:00 SLOT Jeremiah Means 8:30 SLOT Felix Mba 4:00 STPB Friday, December 14 Saturday, December 15 5:30 SLOT Dr. Lilia Zamora Sunday, December 16 10:30SLOT Dolores May People of the Parish 1:00 SLOT S T E W A R D S H I P St. Lawrence-St. Cyril December 2 $ 4,348 OLG Celebration $ 612 Capital Improvement $ 556 Bishop s 2018 Goal $18,200 104% to Date $18,879 St. Paschal Baylon December 2 $1,862 Capital Improvement $ 355 Bishop s 2018 Goal $7,900 96% to Date $7,594 Thank you for your generosity! Christ Child Shower St. Paschal is running the Christ Child Shower program to support Wisdom Path, a developmentally delayed adult day care center. Please take an ornament gift request tag from the tree in the Narthex/ entryway at 3700 Dorisa Ave. and return the gift with the tag attached by Dec 16th at the latest. Thank you for sharing your Christmas with others. Free Advent Journey right to your inbox! Receive daily Advent video reflections delivered to your inbox. You can also add children's content. Go to oaklandcatholic.formed.org and launch into our Community where you ll find the link to sign-up. Drawing Contest All parishioners including children are invited to submit an 8.5 x11 colored drawing or painting based on Matthew 19:14....Jesus said, Let the children come to me Drop your artwork off at the parish office at 3725 High St. on or before the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, December 12, 2018. Please be sure to include your name, phone number and age. If you re under the age of 18 please be sure to include your parent name and phone number. The winner will receive a $100 gift card to Michael s along with their artwork displayed in the Sunday Bulletin, on our website, Face- Book page, and around the campus. Crayon drawings are welcome! Our Lady of Guadalupe Celebration Join us in St. Lawrence church on December 12th at 5:30 a.m. for mañanitas followed by Spanish Mass and then a warm breakfast in the gymnasium. (3701 High St.) Additionally we will have a bilingual Mass in the evening at 6:30 p.m. followed by hospitality in the narthex/ entry. Please join us as we celebrate Our Blessed Mother, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas! We need a lot of helpers, too, at varying times. Please contact Berta to inquire as to how you can serve. Thank you and may God bless you.
I m so impressed with the selfless giving of our community! Thank you to all of our generous parishioners who lovingly donated gifts for our families in need. We served four families through the Catholic Worker Christmas program. The tags were gone so quickly that next year we might be able to sponsor more families. Thank you and may God bless you. Readings for the Week Monday: Is 35:1-10; Ps 85:9-14; Lk 5:17-26 Tuesday: Is 40:1-11; Ps 96:1-3, 10ac, 11-13; Mt 18:12-14 Wednesday: Zec 2:14-17 or Rv 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab; Jdt 13:18bcde, 19; Lk 1:26-38 or Lk 1:39-47, or any readings from the Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary, nos. 707-712 Thursday: Is 41:13-20; Ps 145:1, 9-13ab; Mt 11:11-15 Friday: Is 48:17-19; Ps 1:1-4, 6; Mt 11:16-19 Saturday: Sir 48:1-4, 9-11; Ps 80: 2ac, 3b, 15-16, 18-19; Mt 17:9a, 10-13 Sunday: Zep 3:14-18a; Is 12:2-6; Phil 4:4-7; Lk 3:10-18 Saints and Special Observances Sunday: Second Sunday of Advent Monday: International Human Rights Day Tuesday: St. Damasus I Wednesday: Our Lady of Guadalupe Thursday: St. Lucy Friday: St. John of the Cross.Pray for the Sick and Homebound: Robert & Barbara McNair, Ulysses Collins, Marie Dezani, Rhea Rodgers, Father Richard Hinkley, Anna Alberti, Claudia Blancher, Herbie Price, Rowena Baca, Joanne Tornatore-Pili, Betty Tully, Cathy Weaver, Sue Ann Dunford, David Pantalone, Jonathan Pantalone, Marilyn Yager, Richard Selby, Scott Hall, Bill Slon, Kathie Slon, Angie Orante, Kathy Ditlefsen, Castora Vivit, Bob Dianda, Helen Weber, Dakota Soublet, Norma Perry, Helen Cruz, Denise Sanford, Guadalupe Zaragoza, Felix Mba, and Pamela Davis Barbara Calabi + Felix Dizon Jr. + Santos Castellanos + Margie Benavidez + Please note the prayers for the sick will be refreshed every three months. If anyone listed on Ministry to the Sick would like to receive Holy Communion at home, please contact Sister Mario at 510-530-0761 x104.
M a s s S ch e d u l e St. Lawrence St. Cyril Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri 8:30 a.m. Wednesday 6:30 p.m. Vigil Saturday 5:30 p.m. & 7:00 p.m. (Vietnamese) Sunday 10:30 a.m. & 1 p.m. (Spanish) St. Paschal Baylon Wednesday 8:30 a.m. 1st Friday 8:30 a.m. Vigil Saturday 4 p.m. and Sunday 8:30 a.m. Divine Mercy Devotion Wednesday 6:30 p.m. Mass & Devotion (St. Lawrence Church) Pray the Chaplet in song, Confessions, and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament BAPTISMS: Please contact the office to discuss the steps to Baptism for your children. We offer Baptism preparation classes in Spanish 1st Monday of the month; in English 2nd Monday @ 7:00 p.m. MARRIAGE: Engaged couples should contact the pastor at least 6 months prior to desired wedding date. Marriage Preparation is required. BECOMING CATHOLIC (R.C.I.A.) Call or email Fr. Brandon SACRAMENT OF PENANCE: Before Masses or Wednesday 7-8:00 p.m. at SLOT- SC or call the office for an appointment Contact Us! Rev. Brandon Macadaeg, Parochial Administrator x106; fr.macadaeg@gmail.com Rev. Luis Lopez, Parochial Vicar x102; luislopezsp@me.com Rev. Joseph Duong Phan, In Residence Ministry to the Homebound: Sr. Mario Raffaelli x104 Music Director: Enrico Banson, enricobansonmusic@gmail.com Facilities Coordinator: Dave Ratto slotfacilities@gmail.com Office Manager/Parish Secretary: Vanessa Barrett x105; slotvanessa@gmail.com St. Vincent de Paul Society: 510-424-3529; slotsvdp@gmail.com Catholic Funeral & Cemetery Services: 800-498-4989