Sunday and Daily Mass are now Live Streamed
on our Website s t m a r y s l g . o r g / l i v e‐s t ream‐mass
Daily Mass: 9:30 am Sunday Mass:
9:00am
Live‐Stream & In Person Mass 3:00 pm
In Person Mass
Sign‐up for Mass in Church stmaryslg.org/sign‐up‐for‐mass
Sunday Dona ons are best made online at this me
s t m aryslg.org/donate Envelopes can be mailed or dropped in the mail slot at the
rectory
Adora on is Live Streamed
Thursdays at 7 pm s t m a r y s l g . o r g/ l i v e - s t ream-mass
February 14, 2021 SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Keep Up‐To‐Date with St.Mary’s and our community
through our eNewsletter. Sign-up or view recent eNewsletters
on our website at:
s t m a r y s l g . o rg / e n e w s l e t t e r
NOTE: At this me the parish office is s ll not open for in‐person mee ngs and assistance per the Diocesan & county health protocols. Please go to our website for forms, dona ons, Mass inten ons and all other up‐to‐date informa on. You may also email or leave a message on staff voicemail which is checked regularly.
219 Bean Avenue • Los Gatos, California 95030 • 408.354.3726 • fax 408.354.9302 • www.stmaryslg.org
ASH WEDNESDAY
Ash Wednesday has a special place in the hearts of those who follow the times and seasons of the liturgical year. Even at early age we understood what the ashes signify and what the priest meant when he said, “remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.” Still, we did not hesitate to receive ashes because we wanted to participate with others in acknowledging our need to do penance marked by a ritual display of ash in the form of a cross on our foreheads. It felt like we were demonstrating for our faith and were proud to be known as Roman Catholics.
Communal ritual and prayer are important to many people and receiving ashes on Ash Wednesday is an outward sign of our tradition and faith. It marks the beginning of our journey of 40 days as we become more mindful of penance through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Ironically, the Gospel for Ash Wednesday tells us to avoid public displays of fasting, almsgiving, and prayer. Our practice of receiving ashes this coming Wednesday will have real meaning if we remain mindful of our love for God and neighbor vis-à-vis our personal prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. It’s not something we do for show, instead we take the opportunity of this time at the beginning of Lent to gain insight from the rituals and prayers we observe as individuals and community. With that in mind, next Wednesday February 17, I invite you to join us by reserving your seats online for the 9:30am Mass, 12 Noon and 4pm Liturgy of the Word with distribution of ashes indoors. Seating is limited and please be ready to follow all customs and health measures we continue to observe during this time of pandemic. As with all things Covid, Ash Wednesday will be unlike any we have known. As we are obliged to observe health prescriptions, we will not minister ashes as we have in past years. Instead of a mark on the forehead, this year we will lightly sprinkle a small amount of ash on the top of the head for those who wish to receive ashes. Incidentally, as you will read in Michael Lomas’ article, heaping ash on your head is the proper way to symbolize a need to repent.
Ash Wednesday is not a holy day of obligation, but it might as well be since many Catholics treat it as if it were. Celebrating the times of the seasons, it’s important to make sacramental signs that symbolize of our way of life. Knowing our need for repentance and our poverty of spirit may we seek to reconcile our broken relationship and find new ways of acknowledging the power of God’s love in all of us.
Parish Office 408.354.3726
Fr. Rick Rodoni, Pastor
[email protected] x139
Fr. Biju Daniel Varghese, Parochial Vicar
[email protected] x138
Michael Lomas, Pastoral Associate &
Director of Faith Forma on
[email protected] x123
Jane Najour, Pastoral Ministries
[email protected] x121
Youth Ministry x129
Percival Perlas, Music Director
[email protected] x122
Sharon Aeria, Business Manager
[email protected] x137 parish.offi[email protected] x110 Coco, Church Cat & Mouser Faith Forma on x123 Confirma on x129 Bap sm x123
RCIA (Ini a on) x123
Youth Ministry x129
Marriage x121
Sacrament of the Sick x121
Funerals x121
Pastoral Care x121
Outreach/Social Ministries x121
Music Ministry x122
If it is an EMERGENCY and you need to reach a priest call 408.482.8021
St. Mary School 408.354.3944 30 Lyndon Avenue
Los Gatos, CA 95030 smslg.org
Monica Hernandez, Principal
[email protected] x119
Kathy Rosendin, Admin. Assistant
[email protected] x118
Pൺඋංඌඁ Dංඋൾർඍඈඋඒ
Parish Office CLOSED
Per the SCC Health Dept ‐ 7/13/20 We are unable to open again. We con nue to respond to your emails and voice messages as soon
as possible.
Ash Wednesday
Inspired by Sophia from the show The Golden Girls, I begin this story: Picture it! Assisi, the summer of 1226. St. Clare and her sisters have gathered in the chapel of their small convent to listen to a sermon from St. Francis. Francis enters wearing his customary sackcloth and cord carrying a small bowl. He stands before the sister, raises his eyes towards heaven, says a silent prayer and then sprinkles a circle of ashes on the ground. The holy man then sits in the circle and proceeds to dump the remaining contents of the bowl on his head and then… he just sits there. The silence is deafening, but the act of penitence is loud and clear. After what seems like eternity, the poor man of Assisi stands, he recites the words of Psalm 51, and then leaves. The sisters are moved to tears of joy as they
contemplate the meaning of this gesture.
Francis was beloved by his Franciscan brothers and sisters. He acted like a fool, wearing torn clothes and singing French troubadour songs to the Blessed Mother, rather than the Lady Fair. However, when he preached and when he ministered all could see, without a doubt, that he had a profound affinity for Christ. The poor Christ who reveals the humility of God through the Incarnation and the breadth of God’s love perfected on the Cross. And so, this is how Francis wished to follow Jesus: humbly and lovingly. Thus, the use of the ashes in his “sermon” to the sisters was a reminder that even he, who was beloved by his followers, was no more than ash and dust.
Likewise, this Ash Wednesday, the Bishops of the United States have decided that we will be returning to this ancient act of penitence being sprinkled with ashes rather than receiving the cross of ashes on our foreheads. I know this custom has become the traditional symbol of Ash Wednesday, but in these
untraditional times I invite you to internalize the symbol of the ashes. Let them not be a reminder to others that “We are Catholic” but a reminder to ourselves that Jesus was poor and humble. Let us follow in His footprints, acknowledge the poor Christ within ourselves in order to recognize that same poor Christ in our brothers and sisters in the world.
And so, as we begin out Lenten journey this Ash Wednesday, I invite us all to reflect on our relationship with Jesus, and how it informs our relationships with others. To close, I leave you with the daily prayer of St. Theresa of Calcutta, “Dear Jesus, help me to spread Thy fragrance everywhere I go. Flood my soul with Thy spirit and love. Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly that all my life may only be a radiance of Thine. Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel Thy presence in my soul. Let them look up and see no longer me but only Jesus. Stay with me and then I shall begin to shine as you shine, so to shine as to be a light to others. Amen.”
Michael Lomas
Pastoral Associate & Director of Faith Formation
9:30 am - Mass & distribution of ashes
12:00 noon & 4:00 pm - Liturgy of the Word & distribution of ashes Distribution of Ashes in Time of Pandemic
We will be administering the blessed ashes following the ancient practice of sprinkling the ashes on the head as directed by Pope Francis and the Confer-ence of Bishops in the United States (USCCB).
Please sign up to attend these services - stmaryslg.org/sign-up-for-mass
Mo 2/15 9:30a Maria De La Riva +
Tu 2/16 9:30a Ermine Thielmann +
We 2/17 9:30a Brian Brager +
Th 2/18 9:30a Sue Kupka
Fr 2/19 9:30a Olivia Gray +
Sa 9:30a Domenic Norcia + 3:00p Frank Griffin +
Su 2/21 9:30a
Sr. Maria Lourdes Cleto & Gloria Sual + Sean Quinn +
3:00p David Zamboni +
2/20 2/14 Sun: Lv 13:1-2, 44-46/Ps 32:1-2, 5, 11 [7]/1 Cor 10:31- 11:1/Mk 1:40-45
2/15 Mon: Gn 4:1-15, 25; Ps 50:1, 8, 16bc-17, 20-21; Mk 8:11-13 2/16 Tues: Gn 6:5-8; 7:1-5, 10; Ps 29:1a, 2, 3ac-4, 3b, 9c-10; Mk 8:14-21 2/17 Wed: Jl 2:12-18; Ps 51:3-6ab, 12-14, 17; 2 Cor 5:20 - 6:2; Mt 6:1-6, 16-18 2/18 Thurs: Dt 30:15-20; Ps 1:1-4, 6; Lk 9:22-25
2/19 Fri: Is 58:1-9a; Ps 51:3-6ab, 18-19; Mt 9:14-15 2/20 Sat: Is 58:9b-14; Ps 86:1-6; Lk 5:27-32
2/21 Sun: Gn 9:8-15; Ps 25:4-9; 1 Pt 3:18-22; Mk 1:12-15
Oൻඌൾඋඏൺඇർൾඌ ൿඈඋ ඍඁൾ Wൾൾ ඈൿ Fൾൻඋඎൺඋඒ 14, 2021
Sunday: 6th Sunday in O rdinary Tim e; W orld M arriage Day; Valentine’s D ayM onday: Presidents’ Day - Parish O ce is closed
W ednesday: Ash W ednesday
Next Sunday: 1st Sunday of Lent
Lංඏൾ ඍඁൾ Lංඍඎඋඒ - Iඇඌඉංඋൺඍංඈඇ ൿඈඋ ඍඁൾ Wൾൾ
Everybody has a place at the table, and nobody deserves to feel inferior, unworthy, unwanted, or marginalized. It is not part of God’s vision. Jesus came to heal, make things whole, set things right, and restore relationships. No one is to feelunwelcome or alienated from the community. Whether we like it or not, this message is at the core of the Gospel. It makes a lot of sense when you think about it. Perhaps this is why people kept coming from everywhere to listen to Jesus speak and to be in his presence. He made perfect sense. Most of us have no issue buying into this vision. We run into trouble, however, when we fall into the trap of privilege and power. We diverge from God’s vision when the powerful begin to control who is entitled to wholeness and inclusion, and greed becomes a driving force. Prejudice and entitlement have no place in the kingdom of God, and even the most needy and hurting among us are worthy of the compassion Jesus desires to offer. There are no easy solutions to the world’s dilemmas. But one thing is for certain, no one can be singled out, excluded or mistreated. Everyone matters.
Mൺඌඌ Iඇඍൾඇඍංඈඇඌ
Aർඍ ඈൿ Sඉංඋංඍඎൺඅ
Cඈආආඎඇංඈඇ
My Jesus, I believe you are really here in the Blessed Sacrament. I love you more than anything
in the world, and I hunger to receive you. But since I cannot receive
Communion at this time, Feed my soul spiritually. I unite myself to you now, as I do when I actually receive You in Holy Communion. Amen.
Rൾൺൽංඇඌ ൿඈඋ ඍඁൾ Wൾൾ
STATIONS OF THE CROSS
EVERY FRIDAY IN LENT: 6:00 PM
STEWARDSHIP OF PRAYER
For those who are ill:
For those who have recently died:
Mary Jane Lucid, Geno Castello, James Dean, Al Van Dalen Eugene Premo
Members of our Parish Family who are in the military, hospitals, nursing homes, shut-ins and all who have no one to pray for them.
F
A
STEWARDSHIP OF TREASURE
Our Goal for February is $58,824.00
THANK YOU FOR YOUR GIFT OF TREASURE!Your continued ONLINE support of
St. Mary is greatly appreciated.
https://stmaryslg.org/online-givingHඈඐ ඍඈ ඌൾඍ ඎඉ Oඇඅංඇൾ Gංඏංඇ
stmaryslg.org/ge ng‐started‐with‐online‐giving If you are already using Online Giving and would like to make changes or update your payment informa on please go to:How to Change your Account Details for Online Giving
stmaryslg.org/how‐to‐change‐online‐giving‐details
How to Edit a Recurring Gi
stmaryslg.org/edit‐a‐recurring‐gi ‐online‐giving
Stock Transfer
stmaryslg.org/stock‐transfers
Lent Starts: Ash Wednesday ‐ Wednesday, February 17, 2021 Final Collec on End Date: Wednesday, March 31, 2021
Our Catholic community in the United States does something amazing each Lent. We come together to practice prayer, fasting and alms-giving - and by doing so we help lift families and com-munities out of poverty. Rice Bowl helps us to be in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in need.
Remember 100% of CRS Rice Bowl contributions support pro-jects for the poor both overseas and here in the Diocese of San Jose. Our own St. Mary’s Parish, St. Vincent de Paul Conference, applies for a Rice Bowl grant each year and deliver 50 pack backs filled with supplies to the San Jose Day Workers Center.
VIRTUAL CRS RICE BOWL CONTRIBUTIONS: “Empty” your Rice Bowl online! This year you can EMPTY YOUR CRS RICE BOWL - AND GIVE ONLINE!
Don’t worry if you cannot return your Rice Bowl to your parish or school. We have another way you can give!
To donate to our 2021 Rice Bowl Ministry go to: stmaryslg.org/CRS‐rice‐bowl
Thank you!
Jane Najour ‐ [email protected]
Cඐඍඋඓ ඝග ගඐඍ ඖඍඟ Sග. Mඉකඡ ADA ඞඑඌඍ.
https://bit.ly/2LI8LRb
TO MAKE YOUR PLEDGE ONLINE
Scan the QR code and follow
instruc ons on your phone or
We are so excited to announce that Katrina Azucena and Kelly
Vincele e are the co‐chairs for the 2021 Country Fair! Let's
keep fingers crossed that by October we are able to bring back
this school and community favorite! You'll soon start seeing
opportuni es for enthusias c individuals to get involved, so
stay tuned.
"Kelly and I are so excited to be suppor ng the 2021 Country
Fair! We look forward to hopefully being able to come together
again and connect our community in person safely. We hope
you will join us in signing up to get involved so our children,
friends, family and neighbors can share again in this annual
tradi on." Katrina Azucena and Kelly Vincele e.
SAVE THE DATE ‐ October 8 ‐ 10
ST. MARY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
2021 LENTEN BABY LAYETTE MINISTRY PROGRAM
Since 2003, St. Mary’s has celebrated new life by preparing baby layettes for newborns during the Easter Season. The purpose of the collection is to provide items for newborn babies who otherwise would leave the hospital without basic necessities such as blankets, clothing and diapers.
This year we have gone virtual. Please donate online, or drop off a check in the Rectory door, mail slot during Lent.
Questions: Please email [email protected] or (408) 354-3726 x121
