Ordination of Bishop Thomas Daly – On May 25, 2011, many priests and laity from San Francisco and San Jose attended the ordination of Fr. Tom Daly as Auxiliary Bishop of San Jose. As I approached the Cathedral of San Jose, there was a wonderful energy as long time friends from throughout the Bay Area greeted one another for this festive occasion. I bumped into classmates from the seminary, who had studied for San Jose diocese, whom I had not seen in years. And we were all there to support and pray for this son of St. Brendan.
Bishop Daly grew up and attended St. Brendan school. His mother, Marion Daly, still regularly attends the Saturday 5pm Mass. Along with his mom, his aunts, 6 brothers & sisters with their spouses and 14 nephews and nieces were also in attendance. It was a very prayerful and joy filled event. At the end of the ordination Mass, Bishop Daly thanked his parents who first taught him the faith and he reminded us, that the home is the first place where we teach and model the faith to our children. He also shared with us how he broke the news to his mother. He said that after he had received news from the Pope, he had dinner with his mom at her home. At the end of dinner, he told her that the Pope had asked him to be the Auxiliary Bishop of San Jose. His mom’s immediate response was, “No, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” But the Bishop responded that he had already said yes to the Pope, so she said she‘d pray for him. In Bishop Daly’s coat of arms, he chose for his motto, “Into Your Hands, Lord.” This sums up his deep conviction, that it is in surrendering to the Will of God, that we are able to accomplish what is God’s design for us. Let us hold him in prayer, then, that he will be a wonderful blessing to the people God has chosen him to serve. Ad multos annos!
8th Grade Graduation Mass – On Sunday, May 22 at 9:30am, the 8th grade class celebrated a graduation Mass with their family and the parish. It was a beautiful event as each 8th grader processed in with their graduation gown, and served the community as Lectors and Eucharistic Ministers. They then introduced themselves to the community, as a way to show the fruits of our support for the school. A pleasant brunch at the Olympic Club was held after Mass. During the meal, 2 of the students served as MCs. One student, speaking on behalf of his classmates, expressed his gratitude to the priests. Another student did the same for the faculty. Two other students shared their memories from the time they were in Kindergarten until the
present. The highlight of the morning was each child introducing their parents to the community and sharing with everyone the gratitude they felt towards their parents. More than a few tears were shed. The brunch ended with 3 of the students singing a song they composed recalling their time together and the joy they feel. It was a very very nice way for the 8th graders to celebrate their accomplishments with their parents. Their actual graduation took place on Friday, June 3rd. May the good Lord bless them as they continue on to High School.
Thanking our Altar Servers – I think most of you will agree that our altar servers are among the best, if not the best, in the whole Archdiocese. As the 8th graders graduate, the 7th graders are charged with training the 6th graders. So typically, a 7th and a 6th grader are assigned together at a weekday Mass. And they continue to serve even in the summer weekday Masses. The parish, in your name, gave them a special thanksgiving celebration. We gave them a day off from school and took them, on Thursday, June 2, to Raging Waters in San Jose. Needless to say, they enjoyed themselves. I want to thank all the parents who drive and help our servers get to their assigned Masses. Know that your efforts do not go unnoticed or unappreciated. And I would also like to thank the parents who served as chaperones for that special day, for those who arrived at the park early to save us a nice picnic area and for those who shopped and brought us plenty of food and drink.
It was a blast!
Fr. Dan
