June 3, 2005
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I desire mercy, not sacrifice. |
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After the great feast of Pentecost,
the birthday of the Church, the liturgical calendar takes a turn into
Ordinary Time, with each Sunday being counted off. This term, Ordinary Time,
does not mean this is a plain time or a wasted
time, but rather that it is ordered or numbered. There are two periods of
Ordinary Time in the Liturgical Calendar. The first starts after Epiphany
and the Baptism of Jesus and runs up to Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent.
The second period of Ordinary Time starts after Pentecost and runs up to the
First Sunday in Advent.
We use green vestments in Ordinary Time, the color of hope. The Lectionary readings in this period of Ordinary Time focus on faith, the mission of the Church in the world, and our responsibility to proclaim the Gospel. The readings generally follow one of the Synoptic Gospels, this year we are using Cycle A so we are reading the Gospel of Matthew. As we approach the end of the season, the Feast of Christ the King, the focus changes toward social justice and action as our way of expressing the Lordship of God.
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Family Activities to honor Ordinary Time
Ordinary Time is a good reminder to slow down and take a look at how we are living out our faith every day. Here are some suggestions for making the most of Ordinary Time: Look through your photo albums or watch home movies. Take special notice of the "ordinary" times you’ve documented, such as playing in the backyard, a day at the pool or beach, etc. Try to recall some of your most cherished memories. Are they from major life events, holidays or special occasions? Or are they memories of everyday occurrences? For instance, while I certainly cherish events in my life such as my wedding and the births of my children, one of my most cherished memories is when my oldest sister, Beth, sat and carefully glued back together a ceramic frog of mine that had been dropped and shattered. It was a visual demonstration to me of compassion, patience and love. Find ways to make the ordinary extra-ordinary. Attend Mass at a different parish or at a different time. Say family prayers at a time other than you normally would, such as before dinner. Perhaps gather and say family prayers before bed. Or gather outside on the patio for prayers. Find different ways to change your faith routine. Remind yourself to slow down and appreciate life’s ordinary moments. Take time to read a book, walk in your garden, hug or kiss your kids or grandkids, enjoy the rain or the feel of the grass on your bare feet. For Teens: The Joys of Summertime. Not only are we in the period of Ordinary Time in our faith, you are probably starting your summer vacation from school. After you’ve spent the entire school year swamped with homework and after school activities, give yourself this time off. Granted, many of you might be working summer jobs, but try to make the most of your summer break. Go to an amusement park, the swimming pool or a movie, or have a grill-out at someone’s house and just talk. Some of my best memories came from when my friends and I were just "hanging out." For Kids: The Everyday Living Out of Our Faith. Ordinary Time is a period when we should focus on ways in which we are living out our faith on a daily basis. Stop and think about how you are doing that. Are you being kind to others? Are you doing good deeds? Now that it’s summer and you’re outside playing with your friends, are you treating them as you would like to be treated? Are you being respectful and loving toward your parents and those around you? If you are, keep up the good work! If not, take this opportunity of Ordinary Time to work on those things with which you’re struggling. |
Saint John Vianney Parish Pastoral Council
The Saint John Vianney Parish Pastoral Council held their first meeting on April 24, 2005. This meeting was to serve as a means to get to know each other, understand group goals and to make some real parish decisions. The meeting concluded with dinner and a celebration of Mass together at the 7:00 PM Mass.
This meeting was
attended by all Council members: Eugenia Sebastian, Lela Chavez, Diane
Branch, Ray Turner, Ann McEntee, Joseph Ponte, John Leyba, Steve Do and Olga
Rodriguez. Father Tim Kidney attended and guided the
meeting, Pamela Bjorklund facilitated the meeting, and Sylvia Stoddart took
notes as the Council Secretary. The meeting was a complete success as
everyone bonded and shared similar goals, namely to implement the will of
God and the community in making Saint John Vianney a true Spiritual place
welcoming to all members of the community.
At this meeting, the Council approved unanimously to continue to pursue funding for the new building per a plan put together by a special building task force; voted to approve the hiring of a new lay person for the parish; voted in support of implementing a Stewardship Campaign to begin this summer; set goals in the areas of Lay Leadership, Youth and Young Adults, and Social Justice; and elected Ray Turner as the Parish Council Chairperson for a two year term. These decisions will be discussed more completely in upcoming newsletters. Please expect to hear more about these in Church announcements and in the Parish Bulletin. The Parish Council is also working on developing ways to receive input from the community.
Save the date: June 12, 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM in the hall for the next SJV Town Hall meeting. More about this will be forthcoming.
SJV Fiesta Report
by Tina L. Morgado
Wow! What a wonderful and exciting new venue for this year's St. John Vianney Fiesta 2005! And with the theme this year of "Celebrating Our Diversity" that is exactly what everyone did - Celebrate! Because our local community is known as a close knit and family oriented community, most families and friends who arrived at the fiesta, not only enjoyed themselves on Friday, but returned for more fun on Saturday and Sunday! To see photos of the Fiesta submitted by Nicholas Adams click here.
The
venue was changed by utilizing the center of the SJV Campus for the covered
tent dining area. What a nice touch this was! The music was pleasing and had
variety for everyone to enjoy. The shows incorporated many local talents
from East San Jose, such as the karate demonstration and a local dance
studio.
As usual, the cooks, behind the booths, worked hard on the pizza, hamburgers, linguica, and, 'new' on the menu, bifana (Portuguese Pork Sandwich). It was just a nice assortment. A favorite, of course, was the Sunday Chicken BBQ. The cooks really put the fire on and showed us they are 4 Star Chefs! If you haven't seen them in action, it truly is an experience. The BBQ alone is so hot, and the smoke from the grill can be overwhelming at times, but these dedicated chefs kept the chicken cooking and the serving crew kept serving! It was a great BBQ and a great end to a wonderful fiesta!
Congratulations to the following raffle winners:
| Grand Prize / $ 10,000 | - | Felipa Carrillo |
| DJ Knight Sounds | - | Lupe Banuelos |
| Lady's Ring by Marco | - | Mack Fernandez |
| Lady's Ring from Lo Monaco | - | Daniel Foy |
| Pendant from Decker's | - | Marlong |
| Steer from Tony Lawrence | - | Eduardo Rocha |
| $ 500 Cash from Morgado | - | Tony Quadros |
| $ 500 Cash from Silva | - | Sonia Gonzalez |
| Logos Voucher for $ 300 | - | Charles Gulan |
| $ 100 Brunch Drying Shed | - | Kathy Serafin |
I sure hope to see everyone back again next year, I will be looking for you.
Best Wishes and have an enjoyable summer!
Tina L. Morgado
Publicity Chair - St. John Vianney Fiesta 2005
"Celebrating Our Diversity"
Human Relations Award Breakfast
The County of Santa Clara Office of Human Relations,
the Human Relations Commission, the Friends of Human Relations, and the Jim
McEntee Sr. Legacy Committee hosted an awards breakfast. They honored Jim
McEntee, a long-time SJV parishioner, and a number of individuals and
non-profit organizations, who are doing the work to which Jim devoted his
life. The breakfast was held on Thursday, June 2, at the Wyndham Hotel on
First Street, from 7:30 AM to 9:30 AM. As usual, the event was a sell-out.
The breakfast celebrated the life and work of Jim McEntee, including the announcement that the plaza in front of the County Government Office will be dedicated to the memory of Jim, who served our community for over 27 years as Director of Human Relations. Jim used that area to gather community members for a variety of celebrations and events, including events in direct reaction to 9/11. It is a fitting tribute to the man who called everyone together.
Long time parishioner and friend of the McEntee family, Florene Poyadue, gave a wonderful, animated presentation about the work that Jim did, that we must continue. She spoke about our need for Culture Competency. Florene encouraged us to think about the word RACE as follows:
Respect all people
Accept everyone
Care for people
Enjoy diversity, because that is who humans are.
The County also awarded the first Jim McEntee Sr. Lifetime Achievement Award to Gertrude Welch, a life long activist for social justice. Jim described her as his hero, so it is fitting that she be the first to receive an award in his memory.
Additional awards went to the following groups and individuals:
| The Arab-Jewish Dialogue Group | - | The Director's Award |
| Sam Ho, Lucy Victoria Tansey, Wiggsy Sivertsen, Samina Sundas, and Nancy Gutierrz | - | Awards of Special Recognition |
| Saint Joseph's Family Center | - | Board of Supervisors Award District 1 |
| Californians for Justice | - | Board of Supervisors Award District 2 |
| Fariba Nejat | - | Board of Supervisors Award District 3 |
| Union Community Resources | - | Board of Supervisors Award District 4 |
| Emily Thurber | - | Board of Supervisors Award District 5 |
Rigo Chacon, well known media spokesman and long-time friend of Jim McEntee, served as MC for the breakfast. The County also announced the creation of the James P. McEntee Sr. Institute, which will offer training in leadership and other skills for County employees and the community at large.
The James P. McEntee Sr. Institute seeks to promote positive human relations through proactive community leadership training.
The County Office of Human Relations also introduced their new newsletter, "In Touch", which details the work of the department where Jim served for twenty-seven years.
For more information about Jim McEntee, or to add your own story about Jim, visit the Friends of Human Relations web site at www.JimMcEnteeLegacy.org. To see the slide presentation about Jim's life click here.
Are We Creatures of Habit ? - Part 3
10:30 AM Sunday Mass
(survey assisted
by Gustavo Gonzalez)
Have you ever noticed many of us attend the same Mass time each week? We even seem to sit on the same side of the church, in the same row? Why is this?
In the May 6 issue, the SJV Communication Team reported on our survey of the 7:30 AM Sunday Mass. Last week we featured interviews from the 7:00 PM Sunday liturgy. We asked questions to help reveal the reasons behind our attendance choices and habits. We summarized results and presented three samples from our survey.
In this issue, we
continue the report of our informal survey. This week we feature the 10:30
AM Sunday liturgy, which is focused on Young Adults and
their families. Below, we share three sample responses.
As with the 7:30 AM Sunday Mass and the 7:00 PM Sunday evening Mass, many said they prefer to attend the 10:30 AM Sunday Mass time every week. It's interesting that this particular Mass time was seen by many as the beginning of their week. Again, music and liturgy, and the opportunity to be with friends and family, came up often as reasons why we attend this 10:30 AM Sunday Mass, and why we sit in the same place each time.
Name:
Why do you attend the Sunday 10:30 AM Mass?
Does this Mass time have a special significance for you and your
family?
How long have you been attending this Mass?
Do you have a preferred seating area?
Do you have a special routine before or after Mass?
Do you sometimes participate as a lector, musician, minister, etc.?
Have you attended any of the other Mass times lately?
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Change in the Scheduled Time for Confession:
Starting tomorrow, Saturday,
June 4,
the Sacrament of Penance will be available at 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM on Saturday
afternoons instead of 3:45 PM - 4:45 PM as it had been in the past.
Family Faith Formation is offered by St. John Vianney Parish. Registration will be taking place in June, with priority given to our own parishioners. Click here to see the Class Schedule & Registration Information for the upcoming catechetical year.
An evening Bible Study on the Gospel of John will be presented by the Very Rev. David Bird on Tuesday evening, June 7, and on Wednesday evening, June 15, from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM in the parish office center. If you want to join us next week, read chapters 1-13 of the Gospel of John and bring your bible with you on Tuesday evening.
Calling All Tamales: The inaugural Story Road Tamale Festival welcomes you and anybody who loves you. At the corner of King and Story roads, San Jose's Emma Prusch Farm Park will be cooking from 10 AM to 6 PM, June 4. For more information about the Tamale Festival, go to www.storyroadtamalefestival.org
Notre Dame High School Homecoming Reunion is Saturday, June 25. RSVP by June 12. Cost is $50 per person. Call (408) 294-1113. Go to www.ndsj.org/alumnae/homecoming.html
St. John Vianney School is still accepting applications for the 2005-06 school year for Kindergarten and First Grade. Applications can be picked up in the school office Monday-Friday from 8 AM to 4 PM or on-line at our school website www.sjvsj.org. For more information you can email mwood@sjvsj.org or contact Co-Principal, Martha Wood at (408) 258-7677.
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This Week:
10th Sunday in Ordinary Time, June 5
Next Week:
11th Sunday in Ordinary Time, June 12
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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:
Visit this web site for ideas on the Ignatious way to pray: www.sacredspace.ie |
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