APRIL 2016 Monthly Newsletter Weekly Dinners PROVIDING MUCH-NEEDED REST FOR THE HOMELESS We all want our homes to be a place of rest and respite. But where do you go to find that when you don t have a home? How would you find the space to relax and let your guard down without four walls and a roof? Every Thursday night from November to April, St. Hilary becomes that place. Through the St. Vincent de Paul Society and the Marin Faith Communities Rotating Emergency Shelter Team (REST) parishioners at St. Hilary are making a difference in the lives of Marin County s homeless. This program opens the doors of local congregations to provide a nutritious meal and a safe night s rest for up to 40 homeless men during the coldest months of the year. As Ruth Ann Cawley, President of the St. Vincent de Paul Conference for St. Hilary, explains, parishioners at our church have come together to make sure these special visitors are taken care of as Christ has asked us to. Coordinating a weekly dinner of this size works like this one volunteer signs up with Ruth Ann to be the point continued on page 2 Young parishioners help dish out food for Marin County homeless who are taking part in the weekly community dinner offered at St. Hilary. The Rotating Emergency Shelter Team REST partners with county parishes to provide a hot meal and safe lodging on nights during the coldest months of the year.
Weekly Dinners continued from front cover person, and then recruits friends, family or fellow parishioners to help assemble a team of about nine people. The point person chooses the menu, assigns menu items to their group of volunteers, and then arrives early that evening to set up with the help of the team. On those nights, we set up card tables for the people and the men usually arrive around 6:30 p.m., and then we pray and serve them, Ruth Ann says. We clean up and we re home by 8 p.m. After dinner, the men who participate stay overnight in Tarantino Hall before heading out early the next morning. For the safety of all involved, Ruth Ann says the St. Vincent de Paul Society in San Rafael screens each homeless participant. It s a nice, easy way to do outreach and get a chance to meet people who are homeless most people don t get a chance to talk to people who are homeless, Ruth Ann says. Anyone can get involved. The kids who help are great and the men don t get to interact with children a lot, and it s good for them. It s usually a great experience. In this Year of Mercy, the REST dinners have provided both an opportunity to Parish youth gather after serving dinner to area homeless men. St. Vincent de Paul society president Ruth Ann Cawley says the parish has responded generously to a call for volunteers to help with this weekly dinner. show mercy and to learn what it means to be merciful within our own community. As luck would have it, last year s calendar afforded the opportunity for St. Hilary to open its doors on some very special days. This year, we had Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and New Year s Eve, Ruth Ann says. We got people who were willing to do both Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. I think you get special blessings for being willing to do that. With the colder season drawing to a close, the REST dinners have been blessed to have a full schedule of volunteers throughout the entire season. However, those who would like to volunteer in place of someone who has signed up and cannot be there, or those who want to express their interest in helping next year, may contact Ruth Ann Cawley via email at racawl@aol.com. 2
A Letter From Our Pastor All Things and All People ARE MADE NEW Dear Parishioners, We associate the Easter season with springtime a time of new life and new beginnings and Holy Scripture addresses this idea of newness many times. In one of our readings during April, God declares, Behold, I make all things new. This idea of being new is important to us as Catholics, and it is important to our parish. We need to strive to do this on a regular basis even on a daily basis. Think of the fact that all was once new. Regardless of how you view the development of this earth and those of us who occupy it, all was once new. During this ongoing Easter season, we need to retain that idea of being new. And being new means conversion, and we have often pointed out that conversion is at the heart of a life of stewardship. It is always risky to try to summarize God, but we hear in Holy Scripture four ways that the Lord makes things new: 1. God makes us spiritually and morally new. This is part of that conversion process, but it does not occur unless we want it to happen and we work at it. 2. God makes us physically and bodily new. This is the hope of eternal life, when God makes it clear that all of our sorrows and pains and challenges of this life will be eliminated. 4. God perfects our relationship with Him and with each other. In heaven there will be no sin to get in the way of His love for us, our love for Him, or our love for one another. For all of the seeming depth and complexity of these concepts, they really boil down to one basic idea if we live out our lives in ways that serve and love others, this newness is not only a natural progression, but also a natural result. It all comes down to the calling each of us has received. Are we responding to that call? Are we even thinking about that call? We need to, and we need to do it now not at some vague point in the future. We have an annual renewal here at our parish, but we might better term it a perennial renewal. That is what our faith and our lives need to be all about. Sincerely yours in Christ, Fr. William E. Brown Pastor 3. God makes creation new. This is difficult to imagine or to perceive, but the world that we will eventually experience is new and glorious. 3
Evangelizing Thr ST. HILARY S UPCOM For St. Hilary s pastoral associate Lisa Rosenlund, a seemingly simple invitation transformed her life in a way she never imagined. I was away from the Church for a number of years, Lisa says. St. Hilary was having small groups, and a neighbor of mine invited me to attend. That was all it took through it, I got close to the small group members, eventually leading me back to the church, to enroll my daughter in St. Hilary s School, begin substitute teaching, and finally work for the parish. Looking back 10 years later, it is amazing to see the transformation! Because of this experience, Lisa is passionate about ensuring more small groups are available within our community. An example of current small group opportunities are the Men s and Women s Faith Sharing groups, and Lisa is excited to add more small groups to our community in a new format. Musician Narada Michael Walden, who has produced 57 #1 singles, will perform for St. Hilary s Spiritual Happy Hour on May 13. After receiving a consensus from a number of parishioners, we decided that we wanted to change the small group format a bit, shortening them, Lisa says. We also decided to do them in conjunction with these big speaker events that have been happening at the parish. The small groups will immediately follow these events, lasting for around four weeks. The first parish event that will be used to kick-start St. Hilary s new small group sessions is the upcoming Spiritual Happy Hours program on May 13. Lasting from 5-8:30 p.m., the event s theme is I Shall Be Released: An Unforgettable Night Celebrating the Healing Power of Mary, Mercy & Music. May 13 is the 99 th anniversary of Our Lady s appearance at Fatima, Lisa says. It is also right around Mother s Day, so we wanted our evening to be centered around Mary somehow. Then, it s the Jubilee Year of Mercy. Centered on the healing power of forgiveness, the evening will feature Vietnam POW survivor Captain Guy Gruters as he shares about his harrowing experience and how Our Lady enabled him to forgive his captors. For younger parishioners, author Nicole Lataif will present her award-winning book I Forgive You. Finally, the evening will include uplifting performances from artist Narada Michael Walden and his Gospel choir. Allan R. Hunt s book, Everybody Needs To Forgive Somebody, will be the topic of the May small groups. Then, building off the momentum from this enriching program, parishioners will be able to join various small groups where they can more intimately dive into the theme of forgiveness. 4
ough Invitation: ING SMALL GROUPS We are following it up with Allen R. Hunt s book, Everybody Needs To Forgive Somebody, as the jumping off point for our small groups, Lisa says. The book basically explains why you should forgive and shows you how to forgive in a very practical way. Seeking to meet the needs of all parishioners, two different types of small groups will be available for sign-up. The majority of them will be neighborhood groups, consisting of parishioners who live in close proximity to one another. The entire parish will be divided into various neighborhoods and people will volunteer to host the gatherings, Lisa says. All parishioners are invited to become a part of this special program, allowing them to grow in their personal relationship with Christ while also building St. Hilary s overall sense of community. Please consider inviting someone new, too! You never know who is sitting on the sidelines, waiting for that invitation. If you are looking to get more involved with this ministry, the planning team is also currently gathering volunteers to host and/or facilitate a small group. The casual environment as well as convenient location of neighborhood small groups, explains Lisa, all provide an ideal opportunity for reaching out to others, whether to fallen-away Catholics, new parishioners or cradle Catholics. Recognizing, however, that forgiveness can be very personal, topical small groups will also be offered. These are designed for specific groups of people, such as Alcoholics Anonymous members or the Divorce and Separated Catholics Support Group. On May 13, Nicole Lataif will present her award-winning children s book on forgiveness. Men enjoy fellowship and prayer at a recent Men s Faith Sharing Group meeting. If you would like to get involved, or are interested in more information on how to join a small group, please contact Lisa Rosenlund at lrosenlund@sthilary.org or 415-435-1122. 5
6 Time: THE FOUNDATION OF STEWARDSHIP The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has told us that stewardship is part of discipleship and is a way of responding to God s call in every aspect of our lives. We refer to the three facets of stewardship as Time, Talent and Treasure, and when we consider the importance of these three Ts of stewardship, the time component comes first by design. When we talk about stewardship of time, we are referring to prayer time. Prayer is of the utmost importance in a disciple s life, and it serves as the fertile ground from which the gifts of talent and treasure blossom. Only by spending time in prayer each day and receiving the sacraments are we able to consistently and generously donate our talent and treasure to the Church. When looking for examples of how to live our lives as disciples of Christ and as stewards of God s gifts, we can always turn to the great saints of our Church to guide us. And when it comes to the Stewardship of Time, the life of St. Damien is just one example of how prayer, or Time, is the foundation for our lives of stewardship. Shortly after being ordained a priest, St. Damien volunteered to serve a colony of lepers isolated on the island of Molokai, Hawaii. From May 1873 until his death in 1889 (at the age of 49) St. Damien worked to restore within the lepers a sense of personal worth and dignity. Although for some time St. Damien took the necessary precautions to ensure that he did not contract leprosy, he knew that physical touch was necessary to communicate his love and concern to those afflicted with the disease. He embraced the lepers, dined with them, cared for them, and anointed them in the sacraments. With great humility and sacrifice, St. Damien offered his own life in order to save the lives of others. From where did St. Damien draw his strength? What was the source of his inspiration? Were it not for the constant presence of our divine Master in our humble chapel, I would not have found it possible to persevere in sharing the lot of the lepers in Molokai, St. Damien wrote. The Eucharist is the bread that gives strength... It is at once the most eloquent proof of His love and the most powerful means of fostering His love in us. He gives Himself every day so that our hearts as burning coals may set afire the hearts of the faithful. St. Damien found his strength in the Mass, the greatest prayer of the Church. Prayer was the impetus behind the generosity of this faithful servant of God, and is the fuel that ignites every heart to flame in love. Without prayer, without the grace that flows from the sacraments, we are incapable of leading lives of service and responding to God s call! How much time do you dedicate to prayer each day? One hour? Fifteen minutes? None at all? Before you consider joining a parish ministry or volunteering your talents in service, and before you discern your gifts of treasure to the Church, be sure that prayer is your foundation. Identify a prayer schedule that is manageable. This may entail arising 20 minutes early each day to offer your work to the Lord, or attending daily Mass once a week. Every prayer commitment is unique and personal. Yet, no matter what, this time offering, this dedication to prayer, is the key to serving the Lord with faithfulness, generosity and joy.
Matthew Harris ON BECOMING CATHOLIC: ONE YEAR LATER As a parish community, we often witness important sacramental milestones First Communion, Matrimony, Confirmation and Baptism but perhaps one of the most beautiful celebrations is witnessing an individual s journey through RCIA, or the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. And for parishioner Matthew Harris, the journey that officially began a year ago is ongoing as he continues to explore his new faith. In looking back, however, Matthew says he had been headed in that direction for some time. His mother and his wife s family were all Catholic. He and his wife, Kathryn, had married here at St. Hilary, and it was here that his two daughters Charlee, 7, and Parker, 3 were baptized. In fact, it seemed as if Matthew was surrounded by Catholics. It s ironic because for five years, I was an unofficial Catholic and attended Mass every Sunday with my family, but it wasn t until last year that I made it official, Matthew says. But it was time, and I was ready. And he had everyone s encouragement. Since those enrolled in the RCIA program learn about the Catholic faith while in the midst of a parish setting, the entire parish community plays an important role in witnessing, encouraging, praying, and supporting each and every candidate or catechumen. And with his mother and father-in-law serving as co-sponsors, and with the entire parish standing behind him, Matthew really felt that Matthew Harris with his wife, Kathryn, and their daughters, (from left) Parker and Charlee support especially since he was the only one taking the class. During the RCIA program, whenever I had to stand during Mass for one of the rites, I was the only one, Matthew says. So I was very focused on what was happening. Of course, during class there was no hiding in the corner, but I felt like I was in private school and I was able to learn and ask questions freely. Now that it s been a year since Matthew officially became a Catholic during that Easter Vigil Mass, there are still some standout memories. He remembers how the service lasted three hours, that the church was packed, and that his entire family was there. He can still hear the Litany of Saints being prayed, and feel the water trickling down his forehead during his baptism. And he remembers going forth to receive continued on next page 7
ST. HILARY CHURCH 761 Hilary Drive Tiburon, CA 94920 (415) 435-1122 www.sthilary.org Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Mailed from Zip Code 58040 Permit No. 3 LITURGY SCHEDULE Weekday Mass: 8:30 a.m. Saturday: 9:00 a.m., 5:00 p.m. Sunday: 7:30 a.m. 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. & 5:00 p.m. Confessions: Friday: 9:00 a.m. Saturday: 4-4:30 p.m. Matthew Harris continued from previous page the Holy Eucharist and, for the first time, not having to approach the altar with his arms crossed over his chest. It was a beautiful Mass, Matthew says. I really felt the love and support from both my family and the community. And this brings us to today. Matthew, who is an attorney specializing in estate planning, says that he has learned so much about himself while going through RCIA and in the year since becoming a Catholic. He loves that he can now fully participate in the Mass with his family, he enjoys helping with the REST homeless ministry in our parish, and he is looking forward to becoming even more involved. And while the road to the Catholicism officially ended when he became a full member of the faith, Matthew is still moving forward as he, like all of us, continues a journey of conversion to live the faith daily and to grow in God s love and grace. I feel that by becoming a Catholic, I have changed, Matthew says. It has made me a better husband, father, attorney, and friend. I am a better person. During the RCIA program, whenever I had to stand during Mass for one of the rites, I was the only one. So, I was very focused on what was happening. Of course, during class there was no hiding in the corner, but I felt like I was in private school and I was able to learn and ask questions freely. Matthew Harris