In This Issue: New Pastor Town Hall Meeting Report March for Immigration Rights/Minor Miracles Guatemala: Part Two Mi Madre (My Mother) Blessed Mother Mary, Do We Know? Announcements Weekly Readings

I am the vine, and my Father is the vine grower.

New Pastor
by Fr. Tim Kidney

Fr. Francisco Rios, who is presently the Pastor of Our Lady Star of the Sea in Alviso, has been named pastor of St. John Vianney effective July 1. He is a personal friend of mine who will bring the pastoral presence that everyone has requested. Fr. Andres Parra has been named Parochial Vicar of Sacred Heart in San Jose. The new Parochial Vicar is Fr. Eddie Obero, presently at St. Thomas Aquinas in Palo Alto. Please welcome them as you have welcomed me.

Editor's note: Click here to read about Fr. Francisco Rios in The Valley Catholic, June 21, 2005.

Town Hall Meeting Report
by Ray Turner

Our Town Hall meeting Saturday, May 6, elected two new members to the Parish Pastoral Council. They are Steve Ayupan and Theresa Flores (pictured at left). Steve has children in SJV  school. Theresa has been a member of SJV since she was baptized here 48 years ago.

They replace two members, Joe Ponte and Diane Branch, (pictured at right) who helped get the Parish Council up and running in this past year - THANKS Joe and Diane!

We also reported on the progress made in the five priorities the people of SJV have set for the parish: Communication, Liturgy, Social Justice, Youth/young adult ministry, and Spiritual/parish renewal. Complete minutes of the meeting will be published in about two weeks on the parish web site at http://www.sjvnews.net/groups/council.

Lastly, we had a discussion and collected responses to the questions:  

What do we want to communicate to the new pastor?
What worked in the last pastorate?
What didn't work?

This information will be used by the Transition Team to help acclimate the new pastor to SJV and get up-to-speed faster.

If you were unable to attend the Town Hall meeting and would like to give us your responses to these questions, you may e-mail them to council@sjvnews.net.

The Transition Team consists of:

March for Immigration Rights
by Olga Rodriguez

May 1, 2006. Imagine a sea of people, in a band 100 feet wide, flowing like a river. And small streams flowing into it, from both sides, every 500 feet, joining the band. Each minute, the sea gets larger, exponentially, and with the size expanding, so the energy, spirit and purpose expands. The faces of so many human beings, people you never thought you would be in solidarity with, now walk beside you. People you always felt compassion for, now need you. These are people who have been in the backdrops of our lives, now in the open, pleading.

This is what it felt like to participate in the March on May 1 in San Jose. The March is the second of its kind in San Jose, and was organized by Catholic groups and included religious leaders from all over the City. The March was completely peaceful and motivating. I could feel the hope that came across to so many people when religious leader after religious leader gave a special prayer for all those affected by the plight of the immigrant. There was a special blessing for women who work in homes, for the hands that labor in hard work, for the children that need reassurance, for our elected and religious leaders. Support also came from different ethnic groups, such as American Indian, Middle Eastern, Filipino, African American and Asian. It was an event that reminded us that we are all of the human race and that we must all pray for each other.

The issue of immigration, illegal aliens, or whatever you want to call it, is one that is being heard everywhere today, from the radio station my son listens to, to the front page of the newspapers, and all the talk radio stations as well. So what is the big deal? Why all the publicity?

As many of us know, the House of Representatives tried to pass a law making it a felony to be illegally in this country. And since this, public outcry has resulted in rethinking of this law. Now, several versions of this law is being considered. But, mainly thanks to all who sent postcards, signed petitions and expressed their views to their local representatives. They are looking for other ways to address the issue.

I have been touched the past few weeks by the general overwhelming support that I hear about on behalf of illegal workers. And yet, I do not take for granted that that is to be translated as people generally do not care about border control. They are not one in the same. I think most do agree that some kind of border control is needed, but that is only part of the problem. The hard part is what to do with those who are already here.

To me, it is simple, because Jesus made it simple for us. We know what is right in our hearts. Breaking up families is not right. Taking away someone’s livelihood is not right. Treating people unfairly is not right. Taking advantage of someone’s vulnerability is not right. And blaming others for our own motivated oversights and failings is not right.

So, this event was perfect, because it shouted to the world that we are many, we want justice, we want to be part of this country, just give us a chance. I was proud of this city, San Jose, California, and my faith, because we led and supported this effort. The steps yet to come are a great challenge, but they can be done. This is why we have faith, because with faith, all can be accomplished.

Minor Miracles on the Immigration March, May 1
by Ellen Turner

I experienced some minor miracles on the March for Immigration Rights on May 1, 2006. My husband and I parked our car downtown, so we wouldn't have to walk all the way back to the start of the march, and Ann McEntee picked us up to take us to King and Story, where everyone was gathering. As we found our parking place and drove toward the start of the march, we saw many families with flags streaming toward the event, from Alum Rock and Capital to downtown. As we drove back toward the start we finally realized we could not get anywhere near Story and King, so we parked, along with many others, on Julian at King and walked toward Santa Clara/Alum Rock Ave.

In the long run, the police report an estimated 125,000 people marched in this amazing parade of people. We immediately abandoned our plan to find friends in the crowd. There were just too many people! The street was covered, shoulder to shoulder as far as we could see in front of us, and as far as we could see behind us. We were pretty much in the middle of the crowd.

We started off on the right hand side of the crowd, eventually moving toward the middle.

Miracle #1: After half and hour or so, the gentleman carrying the large American flag beside me introduced himself, reminding me that we had taken a class together at the Institute for Lay Ministry, a class on Social Justice, taught by Matt Hammer of PACT.

Eventually, we worked our way to the left hand side of the street. We didn't do that on purpose, it just happened. When we arrived at N. Almaden, we had Miracle #2. There on the corner, was Juan Luna who is in the SJV JustFaith program with Ann and me this year. In a stream of 125,000 people, what are the odds of finding someone you know?

Juan had become separated from his wife, Angeles, and wanted to stay right there where he had last seen her, until she came back for him. Ann loaned him her cell phone to call Angeles, but she didn't hear the phone ring, so she didn't answer. We left Juan there, promising to tell her where he was if we found Angeles. We did not have much hope of finding her.

Ray was exhausted from the long walk, so he went to the car and went home. Ann and I continued toward the park where the speakers were located because we had agreed to meet Manoli Kelly there. As we got closer, Ann phoned her and we zeroed in on her location.

Miracle #3: Angeles was with Manoli! We greeted them both and told Angeles where to find Juan. By this time, the speeches were over so Manoli, Ann, and I headed to Manoli's car and the trip home.

Miracle #3+: When we got to our JustFaith meeting that evening, Ann casually asked Angeles how she found Manoli in the crowd. She said, "Who is Manoli?" She was standing right next to Manoli in the crowd, so we had assumed they were together. In actuality, they did not know each other. Angeles had no idea that we went to that location, where she was trying so hard to find Juan, because that was where Manoli was. Praise God for minor miracles!

Guatemala
by Amy McEntee
the second part of a three part story

Refuge International, the organization behind my trip * to Guatemala, is also very involved in helping to provide education when they can. The most amazing stories that I heard while I was there were of the children's great desire to learn. There is public education in every town until 6th grade, however, that doesn't mean that there will be a teacher for every town. Apparently, there are only 2,000 teachers in the whole country. Last year in Sartsun, one teacher arrived to teach and then left shortly after. Then another teacher was assigned, but the government ran out of money. Refuge International agreed to pay the teacher for one year until it could be worked out with the government, and now this coming school year they will have a teacher for their school that is paid for by the government. However, once the children finish 6th grade their options are limited. Nearly all the children want to continue their education because they recognize early on that education is the one way out of their current economic status.

The desire of the children to go to school is very impressive and what they do to get an education would be unbelievable to students in the United States. Many children, as young as 12 years old, work all day with their family to earn money and to sustain themselves. Then in the evening, these same children listen to the radio at night to get lectures from their "Radio School". On the weekends, they travel to the school in the nearest larger city which may be 2-5 hours away depending on where they are coming from, and they attend school and take tests all weekend. The children who get to do this are considered very lucky. It cost about $45 a month for them to participate in the "radio school" because of transportation costs.

Refuge International is currently sponsoring about 11 students to go to school, but there are many others who would like to go but don't have sponsors. Currently, Refuge International sponsors the children who seem to have the greatest need, but in reality there are so many that have a great need that it is difficult to say "no" to those they can’t sponsor because of lack of funding. For example, one child who is sponsored by Refuge International to go to school right now is a 16 year old, Harrison, who is the oldest of three. His mother died last year from a large GI bleed that they couldn't reach the hospital for in time, and his father left the village and never came back years ago. Currently, his younger siblings and he live with his grandparent's who are too old to work. Harrison works cutting wood and doing other physical labor all day to provide for the family, and then listens to the radio at night for school. Then each weekend he walks one and a half hours to catch a bus to town to then get on a boat for another one and a half hours to go to school. Unfortunately, Harrison's story is not that unusual and there are many children in just as much need. I met Harrison while I was there and he proudly showed us his diploma and computer training certificate.

* Click here to see photos.

Editor's note: Amy McEntee, a graduate of St. John Vianney Parish School, and daughter of Jim and Ann McEntee, is a doctor at a Bay Area hospital.

Mi Madre (My Mother)
by Members of the Communication Team

A Poem for Mother, by Carmencita Quiroga:

Spanish		Portuguese		English
Madre, Tener años es fácil: ¡Basta vivir! Ser mujer es lindo: ¡Basta saber! Ser esposa es bueno: ¡Basta amar! Ser madre es difícil: ¡Basta sufrir!		Mãe, Fazer anos é fácil: Basta viver! Ser mulher é lindo: Basta saber! Ser esposa é bom: Basta amar! Ser mãe é difícil: Basta sofrer!		Mother Getting old is easy: Just live! Being a woman is beautiful: Just know! Being a wife is good: Just love! Being a mother is hard: Just suffer!

Mi Madre, Petra, by Olga Rodriguez: For me, Mom conjures up images of a woman who holds her own. My mom always did what she wanted, within acceptable cultural and religious traditions. She is a determined and motivated person who diligently and consistently made sure her children understood important values. These values had mostly to do with working hard, being respectful, especially to your elders. She taught us to always feel compassion for the poor and weak, and don’t ever think you are better than anyone. Finally, she taught us that family NEVER should break apart. The strong language I chose is deliberate, because she meant what she said, and she still does.

My mom was the oldest of 11 children born in a small ranch in Juarez, Mexico. She really has been a mom since the age of 12, caring for her siblings. As a young adult, she used to cross the border with a work permit and clean houses and care for children. All her money went to her parents. At age 23, she received her green card and came to San Jose, California to stay with her cousin and find a job. That is when she met my father. In her words, "he was tall, handsome, quiet and intelligent." He asked her to marry him and she required that he go to Mexico to ask for her hand in marriage to her parents. The wedding would then have to be in Mexico. So he did, and it was.

My mom had several different types of jobs. She worked for a Semiconductor company, a cannery, and for Levi Strauss. As she and my dad had a family, (five children total) she always worked, hiring someone to care for the children. In addition, she helped several family members come to California by letting them live with us and finding them a job. She helped all her brothers, a few cousins and a few sisters. On the weekends, she would drag us to the fields with another family to pick onions, apricots, strawberries and cherries. She was always worried that we would grow up to be lazy. She and my father became foster parents, and we had three foster brothers. She went to school and became a Teachers Aide for Head Start until she retired. When my Grandfather died, she went to Mexico and brought my Grandmother to live with us. She cared for my Grandmother until she died, for 25 years. My mom's dedication to her mom and siblings is a hard one to live up to. But she showed us how.

If my mom has a legacy, it is her strong will to carry out what she believes is right. From going to Church each Sunday, to caring for your family when in need, she never failed or faltered. And, she does not complain. She feels it is her duty.

My mom demonstrated this to me all my life, and maybe that is why I can be kind of stubborn, but I appreciate that. She also demonstrated love and compassion when I was ill, 16 years ago. My mom did not trust the doctors and had every nurse and doctor answering to her.

My mom loves to laugh. She will laugh about silly things, just joke around and be silly. It is strange, because when I was young, I wished she were not so serious, and today, I think she probably wishes I were not so serious. I love to see my mom happy and being silly, because she worked hard all her life, and she deserves lots of laughs. Today, my mom enjoys watching soap operas, going to Church, spending time with her brother, Felix, and just seeing the family together. I thank God for my mom, because no matter what she is, or how tough she could be at times, she is genuine. She is true to herself and I am grateful and thankful for that.

Mi Madre, by Leticia Scaringe: My mother is Antonia Becerra Rodriguez. She was born in Yahualica, Jalisco, Mexico, the eighth child of twelve siblings.

"Ma" has been there for me and my two brothers and two sisters. She was determined for us to attend Catholic schools that she worked numerous jobs (late-shift cannery work, picking orchard fruits/nuts, cleaning homes, etc.) to pay for the tuition.

She is "Buela" and "Mima" to nine grandchildren. I was fortunate to have "Ma" care for my three boys while I worked and didn't worrying about their well being. I named my youngest, Antonio, out of respect for "Ma". She also cared for the other grandchildren (that's a lot of diapers, burping, etc.)

"Ma" is a quiet, strong and caring person. She became a U.S. citizen and encourages us to vote. She makes us feel special by making our favorite meal on our birthdays.

For her 70th birthday, we honored our mother by treating her like a queen. We presented her with a tiara, a hand-made necklace with seventy small ribbon roses and a memory book. We then took her to our favorite Mexican restaurant, La Milpa in Milpitas, to show her off.

Ma, thank you for your caring support and happy memories. May God continue blessing you with many more happy and healthy years and "Feliz Dia de las Madres" (Happy Mother's Day). Con amor (with love), Leticia.

My Mother, by Joe Nolan: My mother is Ingrid (Rosa Maria Inge Munz) Nolan. She was born in Germany. She learned English in school as a child.  Her family was pretty small, she has one sister. She grew up a Roman Catholic, and raised us in the same faith. Our family came to the US a few years after my brother and I were born (in Germany). She is almost seventy now, but is very young at heart. She and my Dad (and my brother) live in Florida, which is where I spent most of my years, second only to the longer time I've been in San Jose. Mom tries to help everyone, gives to everyone. Happy Mother's Day Mom.

My Mother, by Ellen Turner: My mother is amazing! And cute as can be at almost 85 years of age. She was number five of a brood of seven kids growing up in the Eagle Rock area of Los Angeles during the Great Depression. She didn't learn to read until she was Middle School age, but she loved books. She went on to earn her teaching credential while raising five kids. She taught in Los Angeles Unified School District for many years. She also taught at UCLA and Cal State Northridge, often serving as a mentor to younger teachers. She believes that every child is a gifted child and all the children she taught were very lucky to have her as a teacher. She still maintains contact with many of the families of children long grown up. More than twenty years ago, along with two other teachers, Mom started the Southern California Kindergarten Conference, a very successful program she still attends each year.

Just before her 45th birthday, Mom had her sixth and last child, my little brother Mike. He was an uncle when he was born as my older brother was married and had a two year old already. She says he kept her young. Today, Mom and Dad live in Sutter Creek, a beautiful little Gold Rush town, where she manages the Lectors at her parish, works with the Democrats Club where she manages a yearly Bill of Rights contest for high school students, gardens, and enjoys her little dog, Buster.

The most fun every year for my family is Thanksgiving when we all gather in her big house for a feast to remember. We usually have a few friends over that evening also and a crowd of thirty-five or more is not unusual. Mom loves having company. She's got a large house, so just let her know if you want to come visit.

Blessed Mother Mary, Do We Know?
by Bruno Martinez

Mary, the mother of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, was singular in the faith that what God had planned for her was the manifestation of God's perfect love for humanity and for her. But consider what she went through to fulfill her calling.

Mary was a young, unwed, teenage mother, married in secret to protect Joseph's honor. So she and Joseph had to leave town. When they got to a strange city, they had no idea where they were going to stay. They knew no one. They had nothing. She gave birth in what, by our standards, was squalor. And yet she did everything for the love of God and her new born son.

How many women in Santa Clara county also have no one, have nothing, nowhere to go, no one to turn to for support? On Mother's Day, Sunday, 14 May, we will be holding our annual Layette collection in order that we, as faith community, may help those mothers who may be doing all they can for their children, but still not quite making it. We will be collecting money and new clothing for infants and toddlers in front of the church. The biggest need seems to be clothing for 18-36 month toddlers, and of course money, with which we may buy diapers. If you have any question or would like to volunteer, please contact Bruno Martinez at (408) 258-7832 x23 or bmartinez@sjvsj.net.

Announcements

PARISH AND DEANERY:

Fr. Francisco Rios, presently the Pastor of Our Lady Star of the Sea in Alviso, has been named pastor of St. John Vianney effective July 1. Fr. Andres Parra has been named Parochial Vicar of Sacred Heart in San Jose. The new Parochial Vicar is Fr. Eddie Obero, presently at St. Thomas Aquinas in Palo Alto.

Parish Event Calendar is Online: The SJV Parish Communication Team has launched a Parish Event Calendar. Click here to see the calendar. The calendar can also be found as a link from the parish web site, www.sjvnews.net. Taking the first term as the Calendar Administrator will be Leticia Scaringe, a communication team member. To post events, you may email (what, when, where) info about appropriate events to calendar@sjvnews.net. Events in the calendar, as with all productions of the SJV Parish Communication Team, are subject to review before posting. We are pleased to launch the online calendar in time to help promote the upcoming SJV Fiesta.

Weekly Readings

This Week: 5th Sunday of Easter: May 14   Acts 9:26-31   1 John 3:18-24   John 15:1-8 Next Week: 6th Sunday of Easter: May 21   Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48   1 John 4:7-10   John 15:9-17 Ascension of the Lord:   Acts 1:1-11   Ephesians 1:17-23 or   Ephesians 4:1-13 or   Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13   Mark 16:15-20

Praying the Scriptures:   Visit this web site for ideas   on praying the Scriptures:   www.liturgy.slu.edu Take a Moment to Pray:   Visit this web site for ideas   on the Ignatius way to pray:   www.sacredspace.ie

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