September 30, 2012

Announcements

FEAST DAY OF ST. FRANCIS – BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS As is our custom each year, we will celebrate the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi. This is an opportunity to bring your pets, live or plush, to Mass next week, Sunday, Oct. 7th to the 9:30 a.m. service. They must be on a leash or in a pet carrier. Dogs and cats, serpents and mice, birds of the air and fish of the sea, were blessed by Jesus, by making use of them in His Teachings. Faith Formation classes will not meet on this day.

NEWMAN HALL YOUNG ADULT GROUP (YAGGIES) Welcome back to Berkeley! The Newman Hall Young Adult Group is excited to begin another year of social, spiritual, and service events. Whether you have been involved with the Yaggies for years, or you are new to the area and interested in meeting new people, we hope you can join us for as many events as possible! Saturday, Oct 6th, 7:30 p.m.: Catholic Underground. Yaggies will be joining young adults from around the Bay Area and beyond for an evening of prayer, adoration, socializing, and music. Catholic Underground, a cultural apostolate of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, will once again be held at St Mary Magdalen parish in north Berkeley (2005 Berryman St). This free event begins with adoration and prayer, and continues with a social hour and concert by Ike Ndolo. If you are planning to attend, send us an email at newman.yaggies@gmail.com so we can arrange where to meet.

NEWMAN FICTION GROUP We will meet on Tuesday, Oct. 2nd, at 7:00 p.m. at Newman to discuss Anthills of the Savannah by Chinua Achebe. In November, on Thursday, Nov 8th, we will discuss How it all Began by Penelope Lively and in December we will discuss The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. For further information or to receive e-mail notices of our meetings, email Michael at michael@donahue.com.

LGBT CATHOLICS “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.” (Matthew 5:9). Please join the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Catholics for an evening of reflection and faith sharing on the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. We meet Thursday, Oct. 4th from 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in the lounge upstairs. For more information on the group or to get on our email list, contact Antonio Salas at (510) 663-6302 or LGBT_Newman@yahoo.com. All are welcome!

CELEBRATING MYSTERY Parishioner Dan Cawthon, professor emeritus at Saint Mary's College, will lead a morning of reflection for Eucharistic Ministers, Lectors, Musicians, and all Liturgical Ministers, on Saturday morning, October 13, 9:30 to 11:45 in the Hecker Room. The theme of his reflections will be "Celebrating Mystery--in the Liturgy and in our Lives." All parishioners are welcome to attend.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS Please remember Tuesday, Oct. 16th Joseph Komonchak, formerly professor of theology at Catholic University, and an expert on Vatican II will speak here at Newman at 7:30 pm.

GETTING MARRIED? The Church requires couples to go through a Marriage Preparation program, and Newman's is coming up. Two Saturdays: Oct 13th and 27th, from 9 a.m.—3 p.m. It's led by a few parish couples, and it's a great opportunity for engaged couples to discuss how their married life can grow. More info: Fr. Bernie or Howard/Katherine, 510-525-5231.

WE APOLIZE The Memorial Prayer Service planned for Saturday Sept. 22 has been moved to Jan. 26th of 2013, when families and students will have returned from the year-end break. This will give us more time to enlist the help and suggestions of the Newman community in planning for it.

REGISTER TO VOTE Starting Sunday Sept. 23 and continuing on 9/30, 10/7 and 10/14 at the 9:30 a.m., 5:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. masses we will be focusing on registering students to vote after mass. All unregistered Newmanites are welcome to register. If you have any questions contact Alan Roselius 510-881-2879 or Francisco Antonio 951-231-8982.

INTERESTED IN DEEPENING YOUR PRAYER LIFE? Have you ever wanted to make the 30-day Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius but simply could not get away for that long? The 19th Annotation Retreat of the Spiritual Exercises is another way to experience this gift of St. Ignatius. This is mainly a journey, through prayer, in which a deeper, more intimate relationship with God is experienced. Please contact Antoinette (Toni) Betschart at 510 502-1256 if you wish to learn more about the 19th Annotation or have questions.

SMCHS GOLF INVITATION Saint Mary's College High School, Berkeley, will hold its 28th Golf Invitational at the recently restored Mira Vista Country Club in El Cerrito on Monday, Oct. 15th, 2012. Benefits the school’s tuition assistance program. For information and reservations, contact Joanne Marchetti Howe in Saint Mary's Advancement Office, at (510) 559-6227 or jhowe@stmchs.org. The event is part of the school’s Sesquicentennial Year celebration.

ROSARY MAKERS GROUP October is the Month of the Holy Rosary. The Sisters of the Holy Family’s Guild have begun a rosary-making group at the Motherhouse. We make World Rosaries, to be given away free. Sessions are at the Motherhouse, 159 Washington Blvd. Friday mornings, 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. We provide the materials, teach you how to make the rosaries free of charge. We make rosary beads to share with others in their various ministries: parish hospital ministers, those in prison ministries, and Faith Formation Classes. Please join us, we have a good time and provide a service to neighboring parishes.

ADDITIONAL ANNOUNCEMENTS NOT IN THIS WEEK'S PRINT EDITION:
FLOWER MINISTRY A practical way we can all participate in enhancing our unique worship space as well as perhaps sharing special events in our lives with the community, is by contribution to the Flower Ministry. Donation envelopes are available at the Reception Desk. All contributions will be acknowledged in the bulletin unless otherwise requested. If you have any questions, please leave a message for Colleen.

WELCOME TO NEWMAN HALL LITURGICAL MINISTRIES! If you feel called to join any of these ministries: Music, Communion Ministry, Lector Ministry, Chapel Cleaning Ministry, Sacristan, etc, you will find the information at http://calnewman.org/liturgical-ministries/ or on the information sheets on the Hospitality Table near the Front desk. Colleen would be happy to talk further with you, email her at colleenlenord@gmail.com.

SEEKING VOLUNTEERS FOR 2013 CORAZON Corazon is a non-profit organization that helps build community in impoverished areas of Northern Mexico, with the building of homes, education, and training. The 2012 Corazon mission trip was a resounding success with the high school, college, and adult parishioners from Newman Holy Spirit and St. Augustine’s. A home for the Salas-Gomez family was built on Saturday, April 28th. Those who participated with their labor and financial donations received heartfelt thanks from the Salas-Gomez family. Please visit the YouTube video that one of our Newman parishioners made during the build: We are seeking volunteers early for the 2013 Corazon mission set for April 26-28th. Hopefully this will allow more time to set the date in your calendar, complete the paperwork, and fundraise for this rewarding event. There are already 30 volunteers from St. Augustine parish committed for Corazon 2013! Please contact Robert Englund at 510-910-1620 or Robskyi@aol.com if you have questions or an interest in coming on the Corazon 2013 mission build. I hope you will consider this transformative work.

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A LITTLE SELF SACRIFICE…Jesus says in the Gospel today, “If any of you put a stumbling block before one these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea.”

Who are the little ones that Jesus speaks of? Maybe they are somebody, rich or poor, old or young that has a tenuous hold on their faith in Jesus. By our actions and words we might help strengthen or weaken that faith. Sometimes we have to sacrifice that choice critique of the Church or God we’d like to make, and rather encourage the fledgling faith of the “little one.”

What is the stumbling block that we might put before one of the little ones? Maybe it’s our cynicism towards love, faith, the Christian community, and God. Cynicism may come from a life of disappointments and unanswered prayers. Being aware of our cynicism and not letting it poison the well for others may actually lead to a healing in our own life. What is the millstone? Maybe it is the weight of our own loneliness that drowns us in a sea of unhappiness.

SOMETIMES YOU JUST HAVE TO BE THERE…Cal–Newman students have been tabling on campus every day since the beginning of the semester. I am very proud of the students for making this commitment. Jesus said “where your heart is, there is your treasure also.” It is clear that for many students, their heart is at Newman. They come multiple times during the week for worship, fellowship, and prayer. This is good because Newman is a place of holiness and hospitality. But, it’s a limiting factor, too.

Newman is 6 blocks from the heart of campus. Many Catholic students will never walk by Newman. But they may walk by our tent. We have a canopy with signs facing in all four directions that say “Catholics at Cal.” By being on Sproul Plaza, right by Sather Gate, many people come by and say hi, or ask about mass times, or sign up to receive notices of Newman activities. It has become a gathering place. Students come between classes to meet and greet. And non-Catholics come by to challenge us or to grouse, or express their surprise that we are there. It is a great training ground for the students who sit at the table, to articulate their Catholic faith. Following the advice of St. Peter, they strive to “give a reason for the hope that they have.”

ANOTHER BENEFIT…Being on Sproul Plaza exposes you to other Christian groups that are tabling there. How do we treat them? As friends, or competitors, or enemies? As Jesus reminds us, “No one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us.”

-Fr. Bill Edens, CSP