www.stmary-wc.org
MASS TIMES
925-891-8900
January 1, 2017 - Mary, the Holy Mother of God
Monday through Friday
6:30 a.m. & 12:05 p.m.
Saturday
8:30 a.m.
Saturday Vigil Mass
4:30 p.m.
Sundays
6:30 a.m. * 8:00 a.m.
9:30 a.m. * 11:00 a.m.
1:00 p.m. Spanish
6:00 p.m.
Sacrament of Penance
Saturdays 3:30 to 4:15 p.m.
DEVOTIONS
Eucharistic Adoration
Thursdays 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Fridays 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
(First Fridays all night)
Saturdays 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Fatima Devotion
First Saturday
9 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Our Lady of
Perpetual Help
Saturdays 9:00 a.m.
(at the end of 8:30 Mass)
©J.S. Paluch Co., Inc.
PARISH OFFICE
2051 Mt. Diablo Blvd.
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
OFFICE HOURS
8:30 A.M. TO 4:30 P.M.
Monday through Friday
ORGANIZATIONS
CYO, Jerry Florence
[email protected]
Charismatic Prayer Group, Jim Crowley
Catholic Divorced, Widowed & Separated, Char Buckman
Eucharistic Adoration, Mary Johnstone
Finance Council, Brian Mulligan
Gabriel Project-Hotline
Homebound Ministry, Helene Vizcarra
Hospital Ministry, Angeles Ron
Immaculata Guild, Arlene Verdugo
Knights of Columbus, Bill Clark
Respect Life Ministry, Jim Crowley
Rosary Makers, Ana Lau
St. Vincent de Paul, Brian Kavanagh
510-504-5954
944-0359
932-5054
954-7205
210-1031
800-910-0191
891-8936
640-8146
933-6215
932-1167
944-0359
256-4428
937-2817
THIS WEEK’S CALENDAR
January 2 - 8
MONDAY, JANUARY 2
TUESDAY, JANUARY 3
7:00 AM Men of St. Joseph/OS
9:30 AM Rosary Makers/FF-ST
6:30 PM Hispanic Prayer Group/SE
7:00 PM Lead Like Jesus/SJ
7:30 PM Choir Practice/Church
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 4
9:00 AM Scripture Study/FF
7:30 PM Charismatic Prayer/FF-SM
THURSDAY, JANUARY 5
7:00 AM Eucharistic Adoration/FF-SP
7:00 PM Hispanic Prayer Group/Church
7:00 PM Young Adults/OS
FRIDAY, JANUARY 6
7:00 AM Eucharistic Adoration/FF-SP
7:00 PM Hisp. Choir Practice/Church
SATURDAY, JANUARY 7
8:00 AM Men’s Prayer Group/OS
9:00 AM Eucharistic Adoration/FF-SP
Dear Friends,
A very Happy and Holy New Year to you and your families and friends!
Growing up (over these last 900,000 years !!!), it was always a treat to
stay up late on New Year’s Eve, to get to “see” midnight, to have a little
celebration with family or friends, and to welcome the New Year in prayer
and hope for peace and joy throughout the year.
Now that I’m SO MUCH older, I don’t stay up for midnight. If I celebrate
with anyone, we usually have dinner, do the dishes, and then I’m on my way
home to crawl into bed before 10:00 p.m. But the greeting of the new day
and the New Year is met with just as much hope and prayer, that God’s
blessing will come to each member of the earth, that world leaders will
keep us all safe, that the tensions and challenges of life will ease, and that
we might live Christ’s message of “comfort and joy” not just on Christmas,
but throughout the year.
Let this be our prayer this weekend, and every day of the year. May
2017 become the year that is remembered, not for its tragedies, but for the
many signs of God’s love that are evident in the ways people live their
lives.
Father Fred
God Bless Us, Everyone!
SUNDAY, JANUARY 8
9:15 AM Faith Formation K-3rd/FF
11:15 AM Hispanic Faith Form./FF
10:30 AM RCIA/FF-SJ
4:00 PM Band Practice/Church
FF = Faith Formation Center
SE = St. Elizabeth Hall (Conf. Rm.)
SJ = St. Joseph Room
SM= St. Michael Room
ST = St. Therese Room
SP = St. Peter Room
OS = Our Space
Second Collections:
January 1: Par ish Maintenance
January 8:
Upkeep of
Our Lady’s
Grotto
Thank you
for your generosity!
Join us for coffee, donuts and fellowship next Sunday, January 8,
after the 9:30 Mass.
NEW YEAR’S PRAYER
Thank you, Lord, for giving me
The brand new year ahead.
Help me live the way I should
As each new day I tread
Please give the leaders of our world
A courage born of peace
That they might lead us gently
And all the fighting cease.
Give me gentle wisdom
That I might help a friend;
Give me strength and courage
So a shoulder I might lend.
Please give to all upon this earth
A heart that’s filled with love,
A gentle, happy way to live
With your blessings from above.
The year ahead is empty;
Help me fill it with good things,
Each new day filled with joy
And the happiness it brings.
The New Year lies before you,
Like a spotless track of snow…
Be careful how you tread on it,
For every mark will show.
Charlotte Anselmo
MASS SCHEDULE
Staff and Administration
Parish Office
Fr. Fred Riccio,
Pastor
Fr. Ben Wonganant,
Parochial Vicar
Fr. John Blaker,
In residence
Ana Lau,
Office Manager
Aileen Baker,
Bookkeeper
891-8900 Fax 934-1358
[email protected]
891-8900
[email protected]
891-8900
891-8900
DATE
TIME
12/31
4:30 pm
The People of St. Mary Parish
01/01
6:30 am
The People of St. Mary Parish
8:00 am
The People of St. Mary Parish
9:30 am
Manuela Caneja & Mario Dianito
11:00 am
Norm Kelly
[email protected]
891-8908
[email protected]
891-8911
Faith Formation
Austin Pisciotto,
Administrative Assistant
Tim Mannix, RCIA &
Liturgy Coordinator
Doug Talmadge, Director of
Youth Ministries
Maureen Tiffany, Director of
Faith Formation
Heather Abraham,
Director of Middle School
Phil Battaglia,
Youth Music Coordinator
[email protected]
891-8939
[email protected]
891-8921
[email protected]
891-8939
[email protected]
962-5808
[email protected]
891-8934
Website:
Alumni:
Tracey Schmidt, Principal
Advisory Council
Karen Redwood, President
Parents Club
Jennifer Millette, Co-President
Lynne Kenny, Co-President
Kids Club
Vicki Schwartz
01/03
01/04
01/05
01/06
932-5504
01/07
School
Office
01/02
935-5054
[email protected]
www.st-mary.net
[email protected]
935-5054
408-332-6879
296-0117
954-7865
938-5114
Yolanda Rangel
PRAY
Pat Roland
FOR
Deacon James Pearce
THEM
Michael Lund
Christopher & Daniel Moradi
Mayah Pisciotto
Josephine Velasco
Harry Prudhomme
Mike Sterrett
Gail Case
Dorothy Langguth
Jacob & Katherine Pollnow
Ashley Ng
Carter Ankey
Mary Jean Alexander
Elizabeth Michenfelder
Colin Worster
Carmel Roubal
Carol Erikson
Rosalie Jacoby
Ann Hirsch
Lindsay Davis
Vidya Ramanan
Katie Gebler
Sheila Deignan
Bob Bussani
Jack Meinbress
MASS INTENTION
1:00 pm
Cristina Williams (L)
6:00 pm
Noel Ong (L) B’D’
6:30 am
Ruth Lee
12:05 pm
Luis Fernando Oliva
6:30 am
Carolina Sotomayor
12:05 pm
Ana Silva
6:30 am
Veena Pathiparampil (L)
12:05 pm
Lothar Schweigert
6:30 am
Wendy Hutchins (L)
12:05 pm
Lisa Sangiacomo
6:30 am
Mary Ann McGill (L)
8:15 am
St. Mary School Community
12:05 pm
Bianca Garibaldi
8:30 am
Jon Armstrong (L)
A Strange Blessing
When I was growing up, there was a custom that my
dad's family observed on New Year's Day. Each of the
three children in his family would kneel before my
grandfather and ask for his blessing for the year. I
remember as a little child watching my big strong father kneel before his own father and bow his head.
My grandfather, of French-Canadian descent, would
say a prayer in French and touch the head of each of
his children in a gesture of blessing. This all seemed so
strange and wonderful to me. The only catch was that
the last of three to ask for the blessing had to suck on
a dirty wet rag as a kind of punishment for being the
last to ask for the blessing. As I now reflect back on
this strange custom, it dawns on me that this little punishment was a signal that this blessing was not to be
taken lightly. Today, like my dad, my aunt, and my
uncle, we come before God to ask for blessings upon
this new year. We do this not only for ourselves, but
for our families and for a world in dire need of blessing. We, like the shepherds, make haste to visit the
Lord, made present in our churches through the celebration of word and sacrament. Saint Paul reminds us
today that when the Spirit of the Lord Jesus was sent
into our hearts, we became God's children. This is a
great way to begin this new year, reveling in the fact
that we are the adopted children of a loving God.
We also have a loving mother in the Blessed Virgin
Mary, who, as she did with the events surrounding her
Son's birth, reflects on our own lives in her heart. Let us
drink of the comfort and blessing that are God's free
gifts as this new year unfolds.
Copyright (c) 2007, World Library Publications. All rights reserved.
The Blessing We Receive
The blessing we experience in Christ
Jesus is proclaimed in Numbers as the
special blessing for the people of
Israel. They and we are to be blessed
by the invocation of God’s loving
kindness, the shining glory of God’s
face turned toward us in love, not
away from us in anger. We are
blessed by God’s own peace!
Our wish and our hope are fulfilled in this blessing, which is made
visible in the coming of Jesus. In Jesus,
the image of the invisible God, God’s
face is shown to us and God’s presence is made known to us in faithful
and loving kindness.
Copyright © J. S. Paluch Co.
TIME
Do not squander
time, for that is the
Adopt a Priest
with Prayer
This ministry, begun at
St. Mary parish in
1996, continues to pray
for the priests of the Oakland Diocese. Priests have a divine mission,
but they are also very human and
daily face the problems and struggles common to all of us. They have
a great need of our support in prayer, love and concern. If you would be
willing to pray each day during the
current year for an individual priest
of the Oakland Diocese, please send
your name and address to Alice Osterman, 10 Pueblo Court, Alamo, CA
94507, or phone 925-935-0461.
Alice will provide you the name of a
priest. No meetings, no dues, just
prayer!
stuff life is made of.
—
Be-
St. Mary School
Invites you to Visit our
Wonderful School
At St. Mary School, each child is given
the gift of a Catholic education rich in
FAITH, ACADEMICS and SERVICE. We
invite you to tour our campus, learn
about our programs, meet the principal, mingle with students, and talk to
our outstanding teachers. Visit us and
see what makes St. Mary School a
special and faith-filled community
where Christ’s light shines!
Informational Meetings
January 5 at 6:30 PM or
January 6 at 9:30 AM
Open House
January 29 at10:30 AM
RSVP: (925) 935-5054
or [email protected]
Second grade kept busy throughout
the season of Advent. The students
focused on the ideas of Peace,
Hope, Joy, and Love for each week
of Advent as they awaited the birth
of Christ. Students focused on gifts
from the heart, rather than material
gifts of the season. Each afternoon
prior to going home, the Second
grade class prayed hand in hand
around the Advent wreath. Each student shared a special intention and
all prayed together. To wrap up the
Advent season and welcome Christmas, the St. Mary student body
shared in a Christmas concert to sing
the sounds of the season! Second
grade continues to grow in love and
friendship everyday by learning new
things and practicing Christ-like
behavior.
Looking for a different way to become
a better man, father,
or grandfather in
2017? Check out the
Men of St Joseph. Like St Joseph, we keep Jesus
close by reading the
Sunday gospel and discussing. Simple, practical, and real. Give it a shot!
Tuesdays 7am in Our Space. Contact
[email protected]
with questions.
Thank and Support
our Advertisers
Our Sunday bulletin is
an important way to
communicate with you.
Producing it every
week could be very
costly, but through our arrangement
with the J. S. Paluch Company, the parish does not pay for the printing, saving thousands of dollars each year. The
Paluch Company arranges for the bulletin to be supported through the generosity of the businesses that you see
advertised here. Most of these advertisers are members of our local community, and some belong to our parish.
We urge you to support these advertisers with your patronage. Tell the
business owners that you appreciate
their support of our parish through
their advertisements in the bulletin. This
is one small way that we can work
within our own community to weather
the challenges that we face. A strong
and vibrant parish is good for our
community and a thriving business community is good for our parish.
NEW YEAR
The object of a new year is not that we
should have a new year, but rather that
we should have a new soul.
—G. K. Chesterton
Mass with Anointing
Saturday, January 7, 11:00 am
Anyone suffering from serious illness, their caregivers, and anyone who feels
they may benefit from receiving this sacrament, are welcome to join us.
Disciples in
Training
Faith Formation
Youth Ministry
LITTLE SAINTS
Kinder - 3rd
Sunday
9:15am - 10:45am
Catequesis
en espanol
Ages 6-13yrs
Sunday
11:15am - 12:45pm
ROCK
4th - 5th Grade
Thursday
4:00pm - 5:30pm
BLAST
6th Grade
Tuesday
7:00pm - 8:30pm
EDGE
7th - 8th Grade
Tuesday
7:00pm - 8:30pm
CONFIRMATION
Call for Info
THE VINEYARD
St. Mary Church
YOUTH MINISTRY (K-12)
Coming Soon!
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year
As you may or may not know, we are still in the season of
Christmas and will be until we celebrate the….
Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, when through the descent of
a dove, God made manifest that Jesus was his beloved Son,
sent for the salvation of the world. We will celebrate this
feast day on Monday, January 9.
Our Faith Formation / Youth Ministry departments will use this time to gear up and prepare
to joyfully reconnect with the children, teens
and adults in all our ministries K-12.
Below you will find dates when our ministries
resume:
YOUTH GROUP
9th - 12th Grade
Sunday
7:00pm - 9:00pm
Little Saints K-3 Resumes Sunday, January 8
Rock 4th-5th Grade Resumes Thursday, January 12
Blast 6th Grade Resumes Tuesday, January 10
EDGE 7th-8th Grade Resumes Tuesday, January 10
Quest 9th-12 Grade Resumes Sunday, January 15
Faith Formation &
Youth Ministry
Office
Please Note: Quest (High School Youth Ministry) requires
registration each semester. Even if you enrolled last semester,
you will need to register for this semester (January-April).
925-891-8939
Lifeteen.stmarywc@
gmail.com
Sunday– Thursday
8:30—5:30pm
La Bendición que Recibimos
La bendición que experimentamos en Cristo Jesús es proclamada en Números como una bendición especial para el
pueblo de Israel. Ellos y nosotros seremos bendecidos por
la invocación de la misericordia de Dios, la gloria resplandeciente de su rostro que nos mira con amor y no se aleja
de nosotros con ira. ¡Hemos sido bendecidos por la paz de
Dios!
Nuestro deseo y nuestra esperanza se cumplen en esta
bendición, que se hace visible en la venida de Jesús. En
Jesús, la imagen del Dios invisible, se nos muestra su rostro y su presencia se nos da a conocer en la bondad amorosa y fiel.
Copyright © J. S. Paluch Co.
Tradiciones de Nuestra Fe
En Nicaragua y otras naciones latinoamericanas se celebra
el final de un año con la “quema del año viejo”. Construyen
grandes muñecos con ropa vieja, pólvora y papel que se encienden a medianoche entre los dos años. Celebrar el comienzo de un año nuevo tiene una larga trayectoria en la
historia humana. Hace unos 4000 años el pueblo de Babilonia ya festejaba la llegada de un nuevo año con grandes fiestas de primavera. Los judíos, al igual que otros pueblos agrícolas, también celebraban su año nuevo durante la primavera, el primer día de Nisán (a principios de abril).
Fue Julio César quien nos dio la fecha del primero de
enero como el inicio de nuestro calendario. En 1582 el Papa
Gregorio XIII reformó el calendario para darnos el que actualmente está en uso. No obstante, los cristianos continuaron
celebrando el año nuevo en primavera para evitar los excesos
del “hombre viejo”. Hace 400 años la Iglesia comenzó a celebrar el día primero de enero buscando cristianizarlo lo mejor
posible. Por eso en el calendario litúrgico este día es dedicado
a María, Madre de Dios.
—Fray Gilberto Cavazos-Glz, OFM, Copyright © J. S. Paluch Co., Inc.
LECTURAS DE LA SEMANA
Lunes:
ORACIÓN DEL AÑO NUEVO
Gracias, Señor, por todo cuanto me diste en el año
que termina. Gracias por los días de sol y los
nublados tristes, por las tardes tranquilas y las noches oscuras. Gracias por lo que nos prestaste y
luego nos pediste. Gracias, Señor, por la sonrisa
amable y por la mano amiga, por el amor y todo lo
hermoso, por todo lo dulce, por las flores y las estrellas, por la existencia de los niños y de las personas buenas. Gracias por la soledad y por el trabajo, por las inquietudes y las dificultades, por las
lágrimas, por todo lo que nos acercó a ti. Gracias
por habernos conservado la vida, por habernos
dado techo, abrigo y sustento. ¿Qué nos traerá el
año que comienza? Lo que quieras, Señor, pero te
pedimos: FE para mirarte en todo. ESPERANZA
para no desfallecer. CARIDAD para amarte cada
vez más y hacerte amar por los que nos rodean.
Dadnos paciencia, humildad, desprendimiento y
generosidad. Dadnos, Señor, lo que Tú sabes que
nos conviene y no sabemos pedir. Que tengamos un
corazón alerta, el oído atento, las manos y la mente activas y que nos hallemos siempre dispuestos a
hacer tu voluntad. Derrama, Señor, tu gracia sobre todos los que amamos y concede tu paz al mundo entero. Así sea....
1 Jn 2:22-28; Sal 98 (97):1-4;
Jn 1:19-28
Martes:
1 Jn 2:29 — 3:6; Sal 98
(97):1, 3cd-6; Jn 1:29-34
Miércoles: 1 Jn 3:7-10; Sal 98 (97):1, 7-9; Jn 1:35-42
Jueves:
1 Jn 3:11-21; Sal 100 (99):1b-5; Lc 4:14-22a
Viernes:
1 Jn 5:5-13; Sal 147:12-15, 19-20;
Mc 1:7-11 o Lc 3:23-28 [23, 31-34, 36, 38]
Sábado:
1 Jn 5:14-21; Sal 149:1-6a, 9b; Jn 2:1-11
Domingo: Is 60:1-6; Sal 72 (71):1-2, 7-8, 10-13;
Ef 3:2-3a, 5-6; Mt 2:1-12
El día de Año Nuevo proporciona una oportunidad perfecta para preguntarnos a nosotros mismos: ¿Refleja mi vida mi gratitud
por todo lo que mi amado Padre
me ha dado?
Caminata por la Vida 2017
Unete a hermanos católicos y otras personas pro-vida de toda California y más
allá para apoyar a los más pequeños
entre nosotros en la 13 Caminata Anual
por la Vida en San Francisco el 21 de
enero de 2017. La manifestación comienza a las 12:30 pm en la Plaza de
Civic Center y la caminata por la Calle
Market comienza a la 1:30. El año pasado la Caminata atrajo a más de 50,000
personas. Este año tenemos el honor de
darle la bienvenida a Pam Tebow, activista pro-vida y
madre de Tim Tebow, ganador del trofeo Heisman, quien
será una de nuestras oradoras. Para obtener más información, llame al 415-658-1803 o visite
www.walkforlifewc.com/en-espanol