Dear Parishioners,

Each year on Holy Thursday, Pope Francis has opted to wash feet not necessarily within the confines of Saint Peter’s Basilica, but in prisons, care facilities, or refugee centers. It is here, at the “peripheries,” where Pope Francis follows Jesus’ lead.

The first reading provides context to help us understand Jesus’ interaction with the leper in today’s Gospel. In addition to declaring himself “unclean,” the leper, according to the Levitical law, shall dwell apart, making his abode outside the camp. While this law protected others from contracting the disease, it also stigmatized and ostracized the sick for something that they had little or no control over. Lepers were outsiders in every sense of the word.

Amid this context, Jesus went to the peripheries, both literally and figuratively. At this point in Mark’s Gospel, Jesus has been traveling around Galilee, proclaiming the message of the kingdom of God. It is a harsh environment; the land around is vast and dry; the sun shines hot and bright. It can be uncomfortable for even the healthiest of people. It is no wonder, then, that Jesus is moved with compassion upon seeing the leper. The leper thirsts for physical health but, even more so, for companionship and love.

While we commonly see the miracle of this story as Jesus healing leprosy, just as extraordinary is the man’s willingness to approach Jesus, to risk even more censure, punishment, or even his life, to receive the love and healing touch of the Lord. This was possible, of course, because Jesus made himself available.

We may not have the ability to heal in a physical way as Jesus did, but we can allow our hearts to be overcome with compassion for others. We can follow Jesus to the people on the outskirts of society and make ourselves available to those experiencing poverty; those who are sick, mentally ill, or disabled; those who are homebound or in nursing homes. With the aid of God’s grace, we can love them and perhaps even offer a gentle touch or embrace. These acts are mini-miracles, healing the hearts of those who, like the leper, may have been stigmatized or ostracized.

Grace and prayer certainly are needed for this work, for it is natural to fear such journeys to the periphery. Only through union with Christ do we desire to help shoulder the burdens of others – trading our safety, health, or comfort for compassion and sacrificial love of others.

As we turn to the sacrament to come, we remember Pope Francis’ teaching that the Eucharist does not end with our reception of holy Communion. The Eucharist must be brought outside the doors of the church through our very lives – the body of Christ in action. If we are going to embody Jesus in our world today, we must go where he went, to the peripheries.



Blessings,

Fr. Tad

Ash Wednesday Masses

8:00 AM Mass followed by Eucharistic Adoration

6:30 PM Mass

On Ash Wednesday, Feb 14, the second collection is for the Church in Central and Eastern Europe.

CONFESSION TIMES DURING LENT

During Lent Season, Reconciliation service will be offered on 1st Fridays after evening Mass from 7-8 PM and during the mid-month Adoration from 11:30 AM – 12 PM and upon request by appointment.

MASS ETIQUETTE

• Remember to silence, turn off, and put away your cell phones, tablets, and gaming devices prior the start of Mass. This includes chewing gum.

• Keep in mind the Communion fast – we are to fast from food and drink (water and medicine excluded) one hour before receiving Holy Communion. Let us prepare our body and soul to worthily receive our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.

• When we are in the church (specifically in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament), we should keep our volume to a reverential whisper, if conversation is necessary. This is to promote prayer with Christ in the Eucharist and to prepare our hearts and minds for Mass. Community time is best for after Mass in the vestibule or outside the church. Thank you for your mindfulness.

DAYTIME EUCHARISTIC ADORATION

February 14, 2024

"This is the wonderful truth, my dear friends: the Word, which became flesh two thousand years ago, is present today in the Eucharist,"- Pope John Paul II 

Please join us Wednesday, February 14, at 8:00 AM Mass. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament will begin immediately after Mass, and it will end at 12:00 PM with praying of the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy and the Benediction. There will be Reconciliation Service from 11:30 AM to 12:00 PM.

Discover the Beauty and Riches of the Mass this Lent

Our parish’s fall sessions on Jesus and the Eucharist were well received, and many participants indicated interest in taking part in another, similar experience. This Lent, as we continue the “parish” year of the National Eucharistic Revival, please consider joining other St. Anthony parishioners as we view and discuss the 30-minute videos from A Biblical Walk Through the Mass.

The Mass is nothing short of amazing. Through it, we encounter God in the most intimate way possible as we hear him speak to us in the Liturgy of the Word and as we receive him Body and Blood, Soul, and Divinity in the Holy Eucharist.

The words, the gestures, and the rituals of the Mass are rich in meaning. Everything we say and do in the Liturgy is steeped in biblical language. A Biblical Walk Through the Mass explores the extraordinary biblical roots of the Liturgy and reveals what it all means and why it all matters. This fascinating tour of the Mass will renew your faith and deepen your love for and devotion to the Holy Eucharist.

The sessions will be held over five Wednesdays beginning on February 21 and ending on March 20, and you may choose to attend at 3 or 7 pm. All sessions will last no longer than 90 minutes. There will be no homework and no cost to participate. Please sign up after Mass this weekend or the next. Save the dates and invite a friend!

Have you ever tried to “Sing the Hours”? 

The Liturgy of the Hours, also known as the Divine Office or Breviary, is the daily prayer of the universal church, with prayers dispersed at intervals throughout the day to sanctify time and work. The Office is organized around the Psalms, which train our voices speak and sing along with the voice of Christ.

Now, there is a new and easy way to learn the Liturgy of the Hours, by listening to the twice-daily podcast “Sing the Hours” with Paul Rose.  Visit SingTheHours.org to get started! After a few weeks of listening and praying and singing along, you will find the timeless prayers of Jesus and His Church becoming your own prayers as well!

Goal: $92,582

Week 1: $26,425

Thank you for the FANTASTIC response to the first 30 families from our St. Anthony Parish who answered the call to participate and support our Annual Diocesan Appeal.



The programs, services, and ministries supported by the Annual Diocesan Appeal are intended to meet the needs of Catholics here in the Diocese of San José. The Church serves each of us, and our financial support is needed to continue God’s work here in Santa Clara County across 54 parishes and missions. 100% of all funds collected over an individual parish’s goal are returned directly to the parish. 

Please, remember to bring your envelopes (there are some envelopes to be found in the vestibule – just in case you have not received them) with your pledges to Mass next week if you have not already mailed it in! For more information on the work of the Diocese of San José or to make a gift online, visit www.dsj.org/ADA. 

2024 Lenten Virtual Pilgrimage of Prayer

Join us as Kathleen Nichols unveils the timeless beauty of Christian prayer in Jerusalem, where believers follow the footsteps of the Lord and his disciples. Enjoy a daily brief and enriching spiritual exploration of the holiest city on Earth.

To receive daily videos in your mailbox, please click on the ‘subscribe’ button link below:

https://www.magdala.org/pilgrimage-of-prayer-confirmation/

Wedding Anniversary Mass

Saturday, February 17 2024, at 10:00 AM

Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph

Couples celebrating their Wedding Anniversaries (1st – 5th, 25th, 40th, 50th, and greater) this year are invited to attend the celebration mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Joseph in downtown San Jose.

The couples will renew their wedding vow and receive a blessing at the celebration by the Bishop. Wedding Anniversary certificates will be mailed.

For more information or to register, visit: dsj.org/wedding-anniversary

February 7, 2024

Dear Fathers, Deacons, Religious, Principals, and Diocesan Synod Delegates, Commissioners, and Action Team Members:

In 2021, Pope Francis called Catholics worldwide to engage in the Universal Synod, a significant two-year journey of listening and discernment. Themed “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission,” the process invited deep reflection and meaningful dialogue across the Church globally.

Our diocese actively participated in this transformative initiative. We held various listening sessions, welcoming voices from all walks of life, including those on the margins. These gatherings culminated in the diocesan universal synthesis report (available on our website: DSJ Universal Synthesis Report 06.2022). Informed by this report and embodying Pope Francis' call to be a "listening synod," we held a local diocesan synod assembly in January 2023, where delegates from all over the Diocese of San Jose listened and discerned how to renew our mission locally as One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church to live and proclaim the Gospel. This led to the development of our new pastoral plan, "Renewed in Christ, Together in Mission," which was promulgated on December 6, 2023. This pastoral plan represents a remarkable opportunity to renew our faith in Christ and participate actively in the life and mission of the Diocese of San Jose through the new pastoral plan.

While we begin to implement our diocesan pastoral plan, Pope Francis is once again asking for our collaboration for the Interim Phase of the Universal Synod. He is asking us to conduct local listening sessions (spiritual conversations) and synthesizing these conversations into a report, which will assist and contribute to the Synod Gathering of the Bishops of the United States (USCCB) of this year and the October 2024 Universal Synod General Assembly in Rome.

I therefore invite all the diocesan delegates as well as interested laity, religious, priests, and deacons to participate in one of two listening sessions to be held in our diocese. These sessions are an opportunity to reflect on how the synodal experience, both globally and locally, has transformed us and deepened our understanding of synodality.

We will contemplate two key questions during these sessions:

• How has our synodal experience influenced our commitment to proclaiming the Gospel and living as a community of love and mercy in Christ?
• How does this synodal experience align with and enhance our ability to fulfill our mission and ministry, especially in relation to the universal synod and our local pastoral plan?

We have scheduled the listening sessions for early March and hope that you will find the time and space to attend one of them:

• March 5, 2024, from 6-8 pm at the Chancery offices (refreshments will be provided)
• March 14, 2024, from 6-8 pm at the Chancery offices (refreshments will be provided)

Please register for one of the sessions here: forms.office.com/r/7AE6EAqtkr. Please indicate in your registration form if you are willing to be a small group facilitator. We will be providing an online training session.

I have appointed Sister Ellen Hess ([email protected]) as the lead for these listening sessions and communications. If you have any questions about the listening sessions or the facilitator training, don't hesitate to contact Sr. Ellen. 

Thank you to all who have participated in this synodal process. The insights from these sessions will inform our upcoming US Bishop’s meeting and our own pastoral plan implementation as we seek to spiritually renew our local church at all levels. I look forward to seeing you at one of our listening sessions in early March.

Let us pray together that through this synodal process of listening and engaging in the life of the church, we may achieve full communion, openness, and participation in our mission to evangelize the world.

DONATIONS INFO

It is easier now more than ever to make your stewardship and second collection contributions online. A "Donate" button has been added to the upper right corner of the parish website home page and an "Online Giving" button to the end of each week's parish email. Clicking these buttons will take you directly to our online giving app. 

Father Tad encourages you to praise and pray by singing at Mass. Here’s a chance to familiarize yourself with the songs planned for Sunday, February 11.

Click. Listen. Sing along. We look forward to hearing you!

8:30 MASS

ENTRANCE

Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee

OFFERTORY

In Every Age (Whitaker)

COMMUNION

O Word of Christ

RECESSIONAL

Grateful

10:30 MASS

ENTRANCE

Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee

OFFERTORY

In Every Age (Whitaker)

COMMUNION

O Word of Christ

RECESSIONAL

Grateful

St. Anthony Parish

20101 McKean Rd

San Jose, CA 95120

(408) 997- 4800