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He remained outside in deserted places, and people kept coming to him from everywhere.
Balancing Faith and Life
by Olga Rodriguez
It is Sunday, February 4th, and I just finished going to the 7 PM Mass and listening to an enlightening homily by our pastor, Father Kidney. He shared with us many important messages, as he always does. Among them was a message to remind us that Jesus, as focused and diligent as He was about his mission to preach and spread the word, even He recognized that resting is important. In this week's reading, Jesus visited Simon Peter and Andrew with John and James (Mark 1:29-39) for a day of relaxation after being in the synagogue. Then, he learned that Peter’s mother-in-law was ill. Jesus cured her and she rose and waited on him.
Immediately following Mass, I thought, I am not a good servant. I do not follow this teaching strictly. I work everyday! By work, I mean I am serving, cleaning, doing chores, only to believe that just one more chore, and I will be done and ready to rest. So the day passes without arriving at this goal, often until it is time to go to the 7:00 PM Mass.
You see, my family is a typical Californian city family. I am an engineer,
my husband is an ergonomist. We have two children, one in college, one in
high school. We are active in Church, active with our children and we both
have family near by. We also have many hobbies. Among them is being fit.
This is the way we balance a work life that is mostly in front of the
computer. We enjoy walking, running, bike riding, hiking, etc. So with
demanding jobs, family, hobbies, and passions, where do we find the time to
rest?
Especially me. I thrive on being effective and productive, almost at times
to a level of deterrence. Where do we find time to rest, enjoy the presence
of our family? Especially as a woman, I have already accepted the inequities
of life as a woman, but on the Sabbath?
I recall growing up, I was active in music groups. I would spend most of Sunday playing music in Mass celebrations with a group. Or, our family would go to the park and play baseball. Sometimes, we visited with my Aunt in South San Francisco and shared a meal. When I married, my husband and I would go to Mass and sing with our choir. We then spent most of the day in some kind of church function, or with family. When we had children, we would take the day to go to the park, visit family, go on some type of outing. We consciously made an effort to make it a family day of fun.
As the children grew older, this became more difficult. It was, and is, harder to keep up with life’s demands. Six days in one week just does not seem like enough, so work rolled into Sunday. After all, one day is 14% of our time. For busy Californians, raising a family, working full time, this is a significant amount of time. I recognize that partially we too have become more involved in other activities that we are not willing to drop. So how is it that I can take this day back?
Reclaim Sunday as a day of rest, reflection and family. Where do I begin? Well, it is clear to me that it must be a family decision, first of all. Lets face it, at least in my family, we are heavily bonded and we feed off of each others energy. This is called Synergy. This can be good, but sometimes, it can work against us. Teenagers are especially good at influencing this synergy with, what we call, attitude. We, as parents, have to find a fun and creative, or just creative, way to make synergy work in our favor. So, my first step will be to talk to my husband, son and daughter about this, and get them to agree that having a fun family day is a good idea. I can find a way to sneak in some scripture, or prayer. They will like it since they are always telling me, "Mom, you work to much." So, now, they will have to accept, as a consequence, that they will help to assure that no chores should roll over into Sunday. They will love this. This means we can go to the movies, play scrabble, have a bar-b-que, visit with relatives, go to the park or whatever. I am sure that even at our age, we will still learn new things about each other and create some memory that will linger with us through the week. Also, eventually, we will become hooked on this and use it as an opportunity to have fun.
So, getting back to the technicalities, I will talk with the family. Then, I will make a list of what I usually get stuck doing on Sundays (like my college daughter's laundry). Then, I will delegate this to everyone to do during the week. Yes, they will have to do it during the week. This too is good, as they will become more aware of what I do and how they can help. On our new Sunday, meals will have to be planed, along with the daily clean up and no grocery shopping. I know that it is not enough to say this because it won't happen unless we really figure out how those things will get done. And some things are not as essential as we think they are. For my husband, I will have to lighten up the pressure as well. On Sundays, we can really practice the fairness that we women strive to have in our daily lives.
This still feels a little overwhelming to me, so I will start with one small step at a time.
Step 1. Talk with the family. Do they agree this is a good idea?
Step 2. Make a list of what "work" we usually do on Sundays
Step 3. Reallocate our time to free up the time on Sunday
Step 4. Plan our Sunday activities, or rest and do nothing together.
I believe that if a work activity does roll into Sunday, it can be made into a family activity by having the whole family do it together while having conversation. Avoid the T.V. because it tends to deter conversation. Try to keep focused on each other. Don't let them lure you into shopping, this can be hard on our pocket book.
Remember that this time can make the difference between creating a family bond, and neglecting our families; between having stress induced illnesses, or emotionally healthy lives; between a reflective faith that grows with commitment and a stagnating faith that becomes weak with time. I truly believe that taking this time can help us feel like we have control of our lives and helps us grow in our faith as Catholics. We will also be setting an example for our children.
Town Hall Meeting Coming Up Soon
Our next Town
Hall Meeting
will take place on Thursday,
February 16,
from 7:00 PM to 
8:30
PM in the Main Hall. All parishioners are encouraged to attend.
This is our opportunity to let our Parish Pastoral Council, as well as our pastor and the staff, hear about our concerns and priorities. Encourage everyone you know in the parish to attend.
Sometimes, finding the right meeting time is a problem. Some parishioners will not come to night meetings, others are not available during daytime hours on weekdays, so the Town Hall Meetings are scheduled for different times. Last time, a Sunday afternoon, did not seem to work for many people. This time the meeting will be on a Thursday evening, which we know can be difficult for some who avoid night meetings.
Our following meeting will be on a Saturday morning. After these three (last, current, and next) meetings, hopefully there will be an understanding of which time/day slot works best for the largest number of parishioners.
So, mark your calendar now for Saturday, May 6, from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM.
Healing
Mass and Anointing of the Sick:
You are cordially invited to a Healing Mass and Anointing of the Sick in
celebration of the World Day of the Sick. The celebration will be at St.
John Vianney Parish Church on Saturday,
February 11,
at 11:00 AM. A reception will follow in the Parish Hall.
Last year, the families who came with their sick loved ones really thought the event was wonderful and healing.
If you, or someone you love, are ill with long term, or short term problems, or under the care of a physician for any condition, come and take part in this special blessing and healing Mass.
For more information, contact Mrs. Gina Sebastian at (408) 923-6943 or (408) 896-7829.
At the State of the City Address on Wednesday, February 8, in the Rotunda of the new City Hall, two local groups were among the honored citizens awarded the Good Neighbor Awards. Each council member selects one group from their district for the award. This year, the District 4 honoree was the Berryessa Art and Wine Festival Committee, and the District 5 honoree was the Alum Rock Village Business Association.
The Berryessa Art & Wine Festival Planning Committee has worked hard to successfully plan and implement an enjoyable annual celebration that is shared with our entire community.
The Committee's community volunteers have worked tirelessly over a period of many years, giving countless hours to ensure that the Berryessa Art & Wine Festival is always among the best community events in San Jose.
Some of the volunteers have dedicated over a decade of their expertise and experience, and as a result of this sustained commitment, the Festival has a history of 30 years of success serving the people and businesses of both the Berryessa area and San Jose.
We applaud the members of the Berryessa Art & Wine Festival Committee for their time and talent to one of our oldest and best-known neighborhood events in San Jose.
The Alum Rock Village Business Association allows business owners in the Alum Rock area to take an active role in shaping their neighborhood business district.
With the involvement of the Business Association, there were immediate positive changes in the Alum Rock Village neighborhood. These included an enhanced parking program for business customers and employees; improved public signage; a street banner project; and numerous pedestrian and traffic safety improvements.
The Association also hosted a free small business workshop and collaborated on a marketing project with the Alum Rock Library.
The members of the Alum Rock Village Business Association have shown their strong and effective commitment to their surrounding neighborhood through their partnerships with the community and their model of success. For this, we thank you.
What it Means to Be a Deacon
by Deacon Joe V. Alvarez
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Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
It has been my honor and privilege to have been ordained a Permanent
Deacon on December 12, 1974. Since my ordination, I have been serving St.
John Vianney Parish Community and the Diocese of San Jose. I am also
serving St. Martin's Parish Community in Sunnyvale and the different
Parishes throughout the diocese and outside the diocese whenever I have
been asked to assist. I am also the Bishop's Liaison to the Charismatic
Renewal for the Spanish speaking in the Diocese of San Jose.
In order to become a Permanent Deacon, a man has to be active in the community and live his life according to sound, Christian principles. He has to make a decision before he applies to become a Deacon to serve the Lord either single or married before his ordination. Otherwise, once you are ordained, it's too late and you must abide by the decision that you made or leave the ministry. |
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Deacon Joe V. Alverez |
The duties of a Permanent Deacon are basically the same as those of a priest except that the Deacon does not consecrate, does not hear confessions, and does not administer the Sacrament of the Sick.
In my official capacity as a Deacon, I administer the Sacrament of Baptism, Preside over Marriage Ceremonies, Quinceaneras, Preside at Wake Services, Funeral Rites and Burial Ceremonies, Bring Holy Viaticum to the Sick and Dying. I preside at Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, Minister of the Word, e.g. read the Gospel and give Homilies, Conduct Prayer Services, e.g. Holy Rosary, Stations of the Cross, etc. I bless Homes, Automobiles and Sacramentals, and assist the Priest and Bishop during Masses. I also conduct Evangelization Classes throughout the Diocese of San Jose.
I have been deeply blessed by the Lord every time I have served Him in the various instances in which I have ministered to people, not only here locally, but in various states in the United States and abroad. When I went to the Conference in Rome, I was blessed to serve, along with other deacons, at a Mass that was Presided by Pope John Paul II in the Vatican. I also served in Jerusalem, in Assisi, in Spain, in Portugal, in France, in Mexico and so many more places. All these could have only been possible by the Lord Himself.
May the Lord Jesus fill you and your families with the joy of His Holy Spirit as you receive abundant grace through the Sacraments.
Sincerely grateful,
Joe V. Alvarez, Deacon
[You can contact Deacon Joe at 258-7832 x25.]
St. John Vianney Parish Council and PACT LOC Meeting
by Olga Rodriguez
Members of the PACT LOC (People Acting in Community Together - Local Organizing Committee) at St. John Vianney hosted members of the Parish Council at the Parish Center, on January 25, to talk about the upcoming mayoral race in San Jose. The meeting was chaired by Beth Gonzales, an active parishioner and long-time PACT leader, and attended by approximately 20 parishioners, including the pastor, Fr. Tim Kidney.
St. John Vianney's new PACT organizer, Tim Lilienthal, facilitated the group
through a visioning exercise where people were invited to explore their
deepest concerns for the city. Lilienthal, who will be replacing Alicia Ross
as the parish's organizer, began the meeting
by calling the group's attention to the June mayoral elections, and the fact
that once a mayor is elected in San Jose, they are usually re-elected to a
second term. This pattern makes this year's mayoral race very important,
Lilienthal explained, since the city will, in effect, be electing its top
public official for the next 8 years.
PACT is organizing in its 20 member congregations throughout San Jose to help each church community articulate issues they feel are most important to address in the mayoral race. When PACT did this in the 1998 mayoral race, it developed a "covenant" of eight issues that every candidate committed to working on. Looking back 8 years later, Mayor Ron Gonzales followed through on every one of these commitments.
This meeting was aimed at helping St. John Vianney begin exploring what issues it feels most passionate about. Lilienthal led the group through a "blank-check exercise," in which everyone was given two fake "blank-checks" that they could use to donate money to any two areas that they felt are in need of change or attention in the city. From this list, the group was able to identify common concerns, and to then develop questions they would like to see the candidates for mayor address in the course of the campaign.
Below is a summary of this exercise. As you read this, think about how you would have answered these questions and what issues are important to you. If you are interested in getting involved in PACT, please contact Tim Lilienthal at 230-5239 or tlilienthal@pacbell.net.
Blank Check Exercise: If the members of the St. John Vianney Parish Council and PACT Local Organizing Committee were to be elected mayor, and were given a special power to write two checks to whatever organization or agency they wished, to whom would they donate?
- Affordable Housing
- Pre-School and After-School Programs
- Sacred Heart Community Services
- Children’s Health/Health Care
- Public Education
- Teacher Leadership Training
- Public Transportation
- Open Space/Parks
- Public Safety
- Job Training
- Juvenile System
Looking at these areas as being of deepest concern to us, what questions would we want to ask the candidates for Mayor?
- What will you do to increase the availability of extremely low-income housing? How will you affect our land-use policies to increase the availability of truly affordable housing?
- What will you do to help develop businesses in the East San Jose community that pay living wages to its employees?
- What are you committed to doing to improve the condition of public education in low-performing districts? What city services will you provide to assist the educational goals of our public schools?
- How will you foster collaboration between all levels of public education (i.e. elementary, middle, high schools and community colleges/state universities)?
Santa Clara Lectures: Church Leadership, Ethics, & the Future
You are invited to the Santa Clara Lecture Series presentation on Tuesday, March 7, 2006. The topic is Church Leadership, Ethics, and the Future, by James Keenan, S.J.
Most Roman Catholic
clergy and bishops receive little in any professional ethical training.
While they are taught how to govern and make ethically accountable the
members of their congregations, they are not taught by what reasoning,
insights, or norms, they should govern themselves ethically.
James Keenan, S.J., (picture at right) has been a Jesuit in the New York Province since 1970, and an ordained priest since 1982. He holds Boston College's Gasson Chair and is professor of moral theology at Weston Jesuit School of Theology. He earned his bachelor's degree from Fordham University, his master's of divinity from the Weston Jesuit School of Theology, in Cambridge, MA, and his licentiate in sacred theology and doctorate of sacred theology from Gregorian University, Rome.
He is author and/or editor of numerous books, including Virtues for Ordinary Christians, and Moral Wisdom: Lessons and Texts from the Catholic Tradition. His research interests include fundamental moral theology; history of theological ethics; Thomas Aquinas; virtue ethics; HIV/AIDS; Genetics; and church leadership ethics.
This lecture is co-sponsored by Santa Clara University's Markkula Center for Applied Ethics.
Tuesday, March 7, 2006, 7:30-8:30 PM, Benson Memorial Center, Williman Room, Santa Clara University. Free and open to the public. For more information, call the Ignatian Center at 511-1951, or click here.
SJV Parishioner Pamela Bjorklund, Ph.D.,
presents a Holy Week Retreat Weekend: "Meeting Violence with Love,
Jesus' Response to the Passion",
April 7-9,
2006, Friday at 4:00 PM to Sunday at 1:00 PM, at Presentation Center. For
more information, visit the web site: www.presentationcenter.org.
The Annual Diocesan Appeal (ADA) Campaign, "Proclaim God's Message," is the 2006 major fund raising drive for the Diocese of San Jose. Each parish is assigned a specific goal to meet. We have met our goal and all additional funds received will go toward the new projector system for St. John Vianney Church. Please be generous, as this will make our liturgies much nicer. For more information about the Annual Diocesan Appeal, click here.
Deanery 6 invites all interested persons to attend a day of Catholic Social Justice education at St. Francis of Assisi Church, 5111 San Felipe Road San Jose, CA 95135-1220 on Saturday, February 25, 2006, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. The Keynote Speaker will be the Reverend Paul Fitzgerald, SJ, from Santa Clara University. Click here to read the registration flyer. Also, click here to check out the story about this workshop on page 5 of the January 17, 2006, issue of the Valley Catholic.
A Series of Six Evenings of Discussions Based on the Justice Writings of Pope John Paul II. Ascension Parish, Saratoga, 7:30 to 9:00 PM. Registration begins at 7:15 PM.
| Monday, Feb. 27, 2006: | Rev. Paul Fitzgerald, SJ. "In The Words of John Paul II: Our Ecological Vocation: A Catholic Response to the Environmental Crisis." | ||
| Monday, Mar. 20, 2006: | Mr. Joseph Hastings, West Coast Director, Catholic Relief Services. "In The Words of John Paul II: Creating Networks of Peace." | ||
| Monday, Apr. 24, 2006: | Rev. Joseph Sands, SJ. "In The Words of John Paul II: Justice in the Americas: The Continuing Disparity of Wealth." | ||
| Monday, May 22, 2006: | Diane Clyne: Justice Coordinator for the Mercy Sisters, Burlingame California: "In The Words of John Paul II: Free Trade Agreements and the loss of lands and livelihood of Indigenous Peoples." | ||
| Monday, Jun. 12, 2006: | Sister Jean Schafer, Co-Director, Anti-Human Trafficking Project. "The Tragedy of Human Trafficking." | ||
Applications for the 2006-07 school year at St. John Vianney School are available now at the school office and on the school website: www.sjvsj.org. Completed application packets must be returned on February 15 or 16, between 5 PM and 7 PM in the school library. Application processing fee is $50. If you have any questions, or need additional information or tuition assistance, please contact the school at 258-7677, 8-4 PM, Monday through Friday.
Parish Ministry Formation: See our prior newsletter issue for full story. Friday, February 17, 7:15 PM to 9:30 PM, and Saturday, February 18, 8:45 AM to 3:00 PM at the Vietnamese Catholic Center, 2849 South White Road. Friday, March 17, 7:15 PM to 9:30 PM, and Saturday, March 18, 8:45 AM to 3:00 PM at the Most Holy Trinity Church, 2040 Nassau Drive. For more information, pick up a green flyer in the vestibule, or contact Maureen Ickes at (408) 363-2300 ext. 23.
The Hurricane Katrina Committee of St. John Vianney Parish is looking for DONATIONS and we need your help. We are in need of items to be used as auction and raffle prizes in conjunction with our up-coming Mardi Gras/Katrina Dinner & Auction on March 4. If you'd like to make a donation of an auction or raffle item, please contact Jerry Walker at (408) 251-1466 or email JayDub@ix.netcom.com for more information.
The largest gathering of Catholics in the United States takes place each Spring at the Anaheim Convention Center, across the street from Disneyland. Called the Religious Education Congress The workshops offered at the Congress are amazing. This year the dates are March 31 through April 2. Check it out at www.recongress.org.
SJV Spring Fling 2006, "Springtime in Paris": Friday, April 28. The Drying Shed Restaurant, San Jose. Tickets: $40 each Contact: Kristin Heinemann at (408) 258-7677 or kheinemann@sjvsj.org. All proceeds to benefit the SJV-Sister Joan Marie Scholarship Fund.
Coming Events:
o SJV Fiesta,
May 19-21,
at the SJV Courtyard
For more information, contact the SJV School Development Office at (408)
258-7677 or lelston@sjvsj.org.
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This Week:
6th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Feb. 12
Next Week:
7th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Feb. 19
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Praying the Scriptures:
Visit this web site for ideas on praying the Scriptures: www.liturgy.slu.edu
Take a Moment to Pray:
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