Welcoming our New Parishioners – St. Brendan is blessed to have such a warm and welcoming community that it attracts many people to our Church. For those of you who are “old timers,” meaning if you’ve been here for a year or more, and you see a face you don’t recognize, please don’t hesitate to say “hello” and introduce yourself to them. I’m sure we’ve all been in a situation where we are the “new” person, and nothing makes us feel more comfortable than a friendly person with a warm smile and a kind heart. And if you are the “new” person, I find that if I extend myself and introduce myself to those around me, that others will kindly reciprocate. So don’t be afraid to say “hello” to us. We promise not to bite. I want to thank the Welcome Committee for helping us to welcome new parishioners at our 9:30am Sunday Mass today. We had talked about welcoming new parishioners not just in November, at our parish dinner, but semi-annually. So we thought it would also be appropriate for us to welcome new parishioners today, on the eve of the feast of St. Brendan, who was one who reached out to others with the love of Christ. So to all our new parishioners, a great big WELCOME!!!
Blessed John Paul II – I’ve been asked, whether John Paul is now a saint. And that is a good question. Technically, he’s not a saint yet, according to the Church’s official procedure for naming saints. The church follows 3 steps in designating someone a saint. The first step, the person must be nominated for sainthood. Typically, a bishop nominates a person after he finds evidence of heroic virtue. Then, the case is brought to the Vatican, to the Congregation for the Cause of Saints. After their evaluation and approval, then the Pope proclaims the candidate as “Venerable,” which means that the person is a role model of Catholic virtues. If the person is shown to be responsible for a posthumous miracle, then the person is “beatified.” So our former Pope is now known as Blessed John Paul. For a person to be considered a saint, the Church awaits a confirmation from heaven, by a second posthumous miracle. It is after this confirmation from heaven that a person is then canonized a saint. But remember, it is not the Church who makes a saint. It is the person’s own holiness, and God’s grace that makes a person a saint. The Church has its procedure simply to investigate and to ensure that all candidates are indeed models of holiness that we can learn and imitate.
Growing in the Spirit – According to our Parish Survey, respondents have expressed Spirituality to be the category that we should give our highest priority. As the Advisory Board and I are meeting to plan concrete steps by which we will work to help our parish grow in our spiritual life, in the meantime, I would like to highlight the upcoming Catholic Charismatic Renewal Convention. The Charismatic Renewal is a movement in the Catholic Church that strives to help everyday Catholics be attuned to the movement of the Holy Spirit in their lives. It was through the Renewal that I came back to the Catholic Church and I am grateful for its influence in my life, as I’ve learned to be more sensitive to the presence of the Holy Spirit in my life. At this Memorial Day weekend, the seven northern California Dioceses will be hosting the 24th Annual Catholic Charismatic Convention at the Santa Clara Convention Center. The opening celebration will begin on Friday night, with praise and worship at 7pm, and Mass at 8pm, celebrated by our Auxiliary Bishop William Justice. Workshops will be available on Saturday and Sunday, with speakers like Fr. Chris Crotty coming to us from Kentucky, Ms. Martha Sardina from Texas, and Mr. Richard Lane from Missouri. See http://www.ncrcspirit.org/ for more information. Flyers are also available in the bookrack in the foyer. The closing Mass will be at the Santa Clara Convention center on Sunday, 5/29 with praise and worship beginning at 2:30pm and Mass beginning at about 3:30pm. Hope to see you there.
Peace,
Fr. Dan
