August 5, 2012

Announcements

MONDAY NIGHT MOVIES Our movie this week is Waking Ned Devine–a wacky Irish movie. When Ned Devine dies from the shock of winning the lottery, his long time friends discover the body and agree Ned would want them to benefit from his good luck. They have to get the whole town to go along with their plot. Join us here at Newman Monday, August 6th at 7:30 p.m.

AVAILABLE FOR YOUR USE We have a nice selection of DVD's and CD's that are available for your use. Many of them deal with various themes of spirituality with a number of presentations by Richard Rohr and the remarkable Trappist, Thomas Keating. There are also some conferences with the eminent Scripture scholar Raymond Brown on the themes of The Death of Jesus and The Resurrection. In addition there are some wonderful presentations from Michael Himes on the Mystery of Faith. The latter are on 3 discs with each presentation running about 18 minutes. Himes, as the others, is a gifted teacher with many fruits to offer. Please stop by the front desk to borrow any two discs at a time. Three weeks to review/ share and return.

MISSION SUNDAY August 11th and 12th Newman will welcome Sister Marie Manning, SND, a representative of Notre Dame Global Missions. Sister Marie will share how Notre Dame missionaries accompany the poor in India, Africa, and Nicaragua—empowering people through spiritual care, education, medical services, job training, work with the handicapped, and social action. Your generous gift to the Missions will support the good works through which the Sisters bring the Good News of the Gospel to our sisters and brothers in need. Please make checks payable to our parish.

NEWMAN FICTION GROUP will meet on Tuesday, August 7th at 7:00 p.m. at Newman to discuss "Regeneration" by Pat Barker. For further information or to receive e-mail notices of our meetings, email Michael at michael@donahue.com.

MAGNIFICAT PRAYER BREAKFAST All Catholic Women of the Oakland Diocese are invited to the Magnificat Prayer Breakfast September 8th, 2012 at the Concord Crowne Plaza. $25/$35 after Sept. 1st. Join us for prayer, praise and inspiration! Our guest speaker is Dr. Carol Razza, a Psychotherapist who has worked in private practice for over twenty-five years and is on the faculty at St. Vincent de Paul Seminary. She is an author and a national and international speaker and workshop presenter. Dr. Razza is on the Advisory Board for the International Magnificat. For more information go to our website: www.magnificatsoti.org or call Erin at (925) 899-8087.

GROW & STRENGTHEN all of your relationships! The Diocese of Oakland is offering a FREE Communication Skills Seminar. This seminar is offered to married, couples, singles, and solos and focuses on teaching effective listening, speaking, and dialogue skills. Courses take place at the Cathedral of Christ the Light from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Preregistration is required and classes take place August 18th (with an August 13 registration deadline). To register or for more information please email Ed Hopfner, ehopfner@oakdiocese.org.

50TH ANNIVERSARY SYMPOSIUM ON THE HISTORY OF THE DIOCESE Bishop Salvatore Cordileone has announced a Symposium Honoring Bishop Emeritus John Cummins: “The Diocese of Oakland, Born from the Second Vatican Council.” A panel of distinguished lecturers with Diocesan experience will examine the direction of pastoral and devotional life embedded in the diocese from the Second Vatican Council. Sunday, September 9th, 4:00-6:00 pm, reception following. Cathedral Event Center, 2121 Harrison Street, Oakland. There is no charge for admission; however, RSVPs are appreciated to 510-267-8350. For more information please contact the office of Father George Alengadan, (510) 267-8362, galengadan@oakdiocese.org.

YOUNG ADULT WEEKEND RETREAT San Damiano is planning the annual weekend retreat for Young Adults from Friday, August 24th to Sunday, August 26th. Our topic is "Letting Life Pray Through Us." Through presentations, prayer, and reflection, come spend a weekend with other young adults, in their 20’s and 30’s, to explore faith and relationship to God, ourselves, and others. Paula, Fr. Rusty and the serene grounds of San Damiano will facilitate these days. Registration can be done by calling San Damiano at 925-837-9141 or visiting the website at www.sandamiano.org. Or you can reach us by email at: sdyoungadults@sbcglobal.net

EXPERIENCE THE HEALING If you or someone you love is hurting after abortion, hope, help, and healing are available through a wonderful interdenominational Rachel's Vineyard Retreat. Signups are happening now for our September 7-9 retreat in Menlo Park. Contact Christine at (415) 260-4406 or christinew@firstresort.net. See www.rachelsvineyard.org. All inquiries are confidential.

A WORD FROM ISAAC THOMAS HECKER: “Christ came to introduce that pure excitement which should become permanent in humanity and place us in rapport with the unseen to us as we naturally are. The Church is the means by which we are put in rapport with Christ, God, the Holy Ghost.” (Diary, July 27, 1844)

ADDITIONAL ANNOUNCEMENTS NOT IN THIS WEEK'S PRINT EDITION:
ELECTRONIC GIVING There are three options for contributing electronically:
1. Contributions can be made directly from a checking account by adding Newman Hall – Holy Spirit Parish as a payee (online bill paying).
2. One-time and recurring (weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc.) donations from checking accounts can be made from the calnewman.org website or by contacting Peg McGowan in the Finance Office.
3. One-time credit card donations can be made from the calnewman.org website or by contacting Peg McGowan in the Finance Office. Recurring (monthly) credit card donations can be made ONLY by contacting Peg McGowan in the Finance Office.
Additional information and donation forms are available on the Welcome Table in the lobby. Questions? Please contact Peg McGowan in the Finance Office.

COMPANIONS IN IGNATIAN SERVICE AND SPIRITUALITY is a unique program, affiliated with Santa Clara University and the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley. We respond to the thirst of many Catholics to deepen their spiritual life while giving of their time and talent in service to those in need. Our mission is to enrich the experience of people over 50, through a 10-month program of prayer, service to the poor, and Ignatian spiritual reflection. We are currently recruiting for new participants for our 2012-2013 Program beginning in September. For more information, visit www.ignatiancompanions.org or contact Jenny Girard Malley, Program Director at 415-503-1310 or ignatiancompanions@gmail.com.

ONLINE SURVEY PARTICIPATION NEEDED One of our student parishioners, Josephine Juanamarga, needs your help. She is participating in a research project and needs help from non-student participants (i.e. non college students, non high-school students) of any age (expected above 30 years old) who are currently working full time. The online survey takes about 40-45 minutes and can be done from anywhere. Although there is no benefit for participating in our survey, your participation would be very helpful toward helping one of our students here at Newman and is greatly appreciated. Your participation will definitely contribute to greater psychological research. The survey can be found here. If you would like to know more about the study, please do not hesitate to email us, arounducberkeley.psych.culture@gmail.com, for more information. Thank you for your participation and please spread the word!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are only two war movies that I have ever seen—I don’t like violence. I own them both and have thought about showing one of them for a Monday Night Movie. But the language in the one I would like to share is pretty rough, and would be offensive to some.

The one I have thought of sharing is about a place where I was at the time depicted in the movie. It was in the Ardennes Forest in Belgium on Christmas Eve, 1944—the Battle of the Bulge.

The Germans who had broken through the American lines–the 105th Division that had landed at Le Havre right next to us was spread over a 125 mile line. They–the Germans–surrounded the Belgian city of Bastogne and demanded the American surrender. According to news reports the American commander of the forces in Bastogne responded “Nuts!” (I’ve always suspected that it might have been a different expression).

We were involved in relieving the siege of Bastogne, and were ultimately successful. It was bitter cold with a lot of snow, and I actually froze my feet. (Luckily, my boss was a doctor and told me to stay off my feet and keep them cool(!) for a week, so I didn’t have to go to the hospital).

A Midnight Clear is the movie about that night–Christmas Eve, 1944. It’s very real and conveys the feel of the time and place. There is a burst of violence at the end, but it’s mostly about the soldiers and their feelings and relationships.

Al Moser, C.S.P