New Mass in Spanish on Sunday and Fundraiser Help Request

 New Mass in Spanish: 10:30 a.m. on Sundays

Father Rafael is delighted to announced that he will celebrate Mass in Spanish every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. at Sacred Heart Church.  The new Mass begins this Sunday, February 14 and will be in addition to the existing Mass in Spanish at 7 p.m. on Saturday.  Everyone is welcome.

 Wanted: Sweet Treats and Gift Items 
for Sacred Heart Fundraiser on March 20

The bakers and candy makers of Sacred Heart Parish have a well-deserved reputation for whipping up terrific treats for our famous Bake Sales. 

And now we need to rally the troops. Sacred Heart is hosting a "Mother Ireland" fundraiser on March 20 with an amazing storyteller who will keep you enthralled and Irish coffee, music and dance to keep your lights heart.  "It's going to be a great event," says Ken Eichsteadt who is asking for support in two areas.

The Bake Sale table is in need of lr fabulous fudge,  choice cookies and  cupcakes, beautiful breads, and pretty pies.  If you have even modest talent in the kitchen,  please share your specialty at the Bake Sale. 

We also need really wonderful gift items for the Silent Auction table.  Have any lovely items to share or know an item you can get donated?  There's an eager silent auction table waiting for them at the fundraiser.

  Please call or email him as soon as you can to let him know what you can bring.

415.515.9423 

 ken.eichstaedt@aecom.com

This week's Lenten reflection  

"Lent stimulates us to let the Word of God penetrate our life and in this way to know the fundamental truth: who we are, where we come from, where we must go, what path we must take in life..."
-- Pope Benedict XVI

2016 - Celebrating The Extraordinary Jubliee Year of Mercy

THE EXTRAORDINARY JUBILEE OF MERCY

This December, Pope Francis declared 2016 as “The Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy”.  

He intends it to be a wonderful year of mercy toward others and for each of us through diligent labor for the Church and wants us to live it intensely in our Church. 

The Pope further declared that seven churches in the Vatican and Italy, the ones that traditionally constitute the pilgrimage of the Seven Church Walk, would be considered “Jubilee Churches”. 

In conjunction with this announcement and the Pope's wishes, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone announced that four Bay Area churches, including St. Raphael in San Rafael, will also serve as "holy doors of mercy". 

According to the Catholic Monitor, "passing through the doors of any of the four pilgrimage sites is a ritual act symbolizing one's desire for reconciliation with God for which  one's desire for reconciliation with God for which pilgrims may receive a plenary indulgence".  It must also be accompanied by the Sacrament of Confession, the Sacrament of the Eucharist and prayer for the intention of the Sovereign Pontiff.

(The forgiveness of sins is separate from punishment for the sins. As defined by Catholic Online, a  plenary indulgence removes all of the temporal punishment of sin.)

The Catholic Monitor notes that if one cannot make the pilgrimage to St. Raphael, the Pope allows Catholics to fulfill another Papal condition such as carrying out a work of mercy, in person,  such as caring for the sick or the imprisoned and saying a prayer for the intentions of the Pope and, at the minimum, an “Our Father”, concluding  the time of prayer with “Merciful Jesus, I trust in You.”

St. Raphael Church is located at 1104 Fifth Avenue in San Rafael.  Call 454.8141 or go to www.saintraphael.com for hours.  

ASH WEDNESDAY

Ash Wednesday, February 10, marks the first day of Lent, a season of fasting and prayer.  Mass will be celebrated at 9 a.m. at Sacred Heart Church in Olema.

According to Catholic Online, Lent is derived from the ancient Jewish tradition of penance and fasting.  

As we are reminded us during the application of ashes - "Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return -  the dust symbolizes the dust from which we were made. It also symbolized penance and the grief that we have sinned and caused division from God.

Ash Wednesday is a great opportunity to consider what you will want to give up for Lent.

Did you know? Ashes are made from the burnt palm fronds from the previous year's Palm Sunday Masses, christened with holy water and scented with incense. 

Did you know? Lent marks 46 days before Easter Sunday.

Daily Mass Readings 

Can't make daily Mass? You can keep up with the Readings, at home or away, with this calendar:

Feb 8. Monday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

1KGS 8:1-7, 9-13 and PS132:6-7, 8-10 and SEE MT 4:23 and MK 6:53-5

Feb 9. Tuesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

1KGS 8:22-23, 27-30 and PS 84:3, 4, & 10 and PS 119:36, 29 b and MK 7:1-13

Feb 10. Wednesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Ash Wednesday JI 2:12-18 and PS 1:3-4, 6 ab, 12-14, 17 and 2 COR 5:20 to 6:2 and SEE PS 95:8 and MT 6:1-, 16-18

Feb 11 Thursday after Ash Wednesday

DT 30:15-20 and PS 1:1-2, 3, 4, 6 and MT 4:17 an LK 9:22-25

Feb 12 Friday after Ash Wednesday

IS 58:1-9a and PS 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 18-19 and SEE AM 5:14 and MT 9:14-15

Feb 13 Saturday after Ash Wednesday

IS 58:9b-14 and PS 86:1-2, 3-4, 5-6 and EZ 33:11 and LK 5:27-32

October Events

October is here and Sacred Heart parishioners are invited to participate in these various opportunities throughout the Archdiocese.  Happy autumn!

Cafe Cantante

Enjoy local musicians and talented parishioners, a mariachi band, delicious food and more

Saturday, October 3

6 to 10 p.m.
St. Raphael Church
1104 5th Avenue, San Rafael
415.454.8141 or www.straphael.com

$15 per person

Blessing of the Animals

 Bring your pets - from dogs and cats to mice and birds and snakes -   for a "Blessing of the Animals" celebration in observance of the Solemnity of St. Francis of Assisi.  Pet can't come? Bring his photograph.

Saturday, October 3 at 9:30 a.m.
St. Sebastian Church

373 Bon Air Road at Sir Francis Drake Blvd. Greenbrae

415.461.0704 or www.sebastian94904.com

or
Sunday, October 4  at 2 p.m.
Church of St. Isabella
1 Trinity Way, San Rafael
415.479.1560 or www.stisabellasparish.org
or
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel
Sunday October 4 at 4 p.m.
3 Oakdale Ave., Mill Valley (Church parking lot)
415.388.4190 or www.mountcarmelmv.org

or 
Sunday, October 4 at 2 p.m.  
St. Raphael Church
1104 5th Avenue, San Rafael
415.454.8141 or www.straphael.com

 Friends of the Poor Walk / Run
Saturday, October 10 at 9 to 10 a.m.
St. Raphael
1104 - 5th Ave., San Rafael
415.454.8141 or www.saintraphael.com

2015 Public Square Rosary Crusade in Novato

St. Anthony of Padua invites you to join parishioners for a Mass and Rosary for our nation.

Saturday, October 10 

Rosary at noon

Mass to follow

or

St. Anthony of Padua 

1000 Cambridge St., Novato
415.883.2177 or www.saint-anthonys.com

Save the Date - St. Vincent de Paul Auxiliary Annual Fashion Show and Luncheon
Wednesday, October 14
1000 Cambridge St., Novato
415.883.2177 or www.saint-anthonys.com

Rosary Rally 2015: A Call to Prayer

Keynote speakers:

Most Reverend Salvatore J. Cordileone, Archbishop of San Francisco

Deacon Robert F. Ellis, National Coordinator, World Apostolate of Fatima, USA

Reverend Arturo Albano, Rector, Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption

Saturday, October 10 

10 a.m. 

Mass at St. Mary's Cathedral

11:15 a.m. 

Procession to  UN Plaza at Market and 7th Streets, San Francisco

12 noon

Rally with the presence of the National Pilgrim Virgin Statue of World Apostolate of Fatima

12:50 

Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament 

 415.272.5380 or www.rosaryrallysf.com

 

The Archdiocese of San Francisco's Inaugural Retreat for Adults 

A daylong event for adults 18 to 40 (single, married, with or without children) from Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo to discover and share their gifts with each other.  

• Mass with Archbishop Cordileone

• Opening Talk by Bishop Robert McElroy

* Interactive Workshops

* Concert featuring the Scythian band with Irish, gypsy, dancing music

Saturday, October 24

9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

St. Mary's Cathedral Conference Center, San Francisco

Register at www.sfarchdiocese.org/yamcon2015

 Let There Be Light: Dinner and Auction

A Benefit Campaign for St. Raphael Church to improve lighting at the St. Raphael Church and Mission with a gourmet dinner, raffle prizes, live auction

November 14 from 6 to 10 p.m.
$125 per person
St. Raphael
1104 - 5th Ave., San Rafael
415.454.8141 or www.saintraphael.com

Tour the Holy Land: an 11-day Pilgrimage

offered by Catholic San Francisco

Join Fr. Dennis Day of Spokane as he leads visits to Caesarea •  Capernaum • Cana • Dead Sea •Jericho • Jerusalem •  Mt. Carmel • Nazareth • Sea of Galilee and more...

November 8 - 18, 2015

 $3,199. + $729 per person

415.614.5640


St. Isabella invites you to Reboot! Live!
 with
Chris Stefanick, internationally-renowned speaker
and
Jon Niven, Catholic recording artist

Learn how to rediscover God and the life for which you were made at a fun, inspiring, and practical experience for anyone 12 years and older.  Apply the beauty and genius of the Gospel to every aspect of your life, from prayer and spirituality, to work, dating, marriage, parenting, heath and more.

 Thursday November 19 from 7 to 9:30 p.m.

Church of St. Isabella

1 Trinity Way, San Rafael 

$19 

Preregister at www.stisabellasparish.org

Know a musician who wants a paid part-time job?

St. Anselm Catholic Church in Ross is seeking a part-time Music Director who will engage the congregation and enhance the church services with a good music program. Requirements include proficiency in organ, piano, voice, voice directing  and a broad knowledge of Catholic Church music. 

Salary commensurate with experience. 

Send resume and cover letter to:

Pastor, PO Box 1061, Ross, 94957 or email to 

fr.shaji@saintanselmo.org

September 2015 Events

As we usher out Summer, Sacred Heart parishioners are invited to participate in these local autumn events. 

 

Dinner and Raffle Fundraiser at St. Hilary Church

Have fun at a sit-down dinner, catered by Insalata's, while helping to raise funds for Marin people in need at the annual "Pennies From Heaven" gala fundraiser on September 12 at St. Hilary Church in Tiburon.  The evening benefits the St. Vincent de Paul Society. 

An optional raffle will be held.  Prizes are $1000 cash, an iPad mini or a Go Pro Hero. Tickets cost $20 each or $100 for ten.

September 12 at St. Hilary Church in Tiburon.

 Mass begins at 5 p.m.; the fundraiser is at 6 p.m.  

Cost: $175 per person

 415.454.3303 or swalker@vinnies.org 

A Morning of Prayer

Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone encourages parishioners to join him as he celebrates Mass in memory of babies who have died before, during or after birth.  A light lunch will follow.

September 19 at 11 a.m. 

Holy Cross Mausoleum at Holy Cross Cemetery, 1500 Mission Road, Colma

Enter main gate then look for signs to the Rachel Mourning Shrine

415.614.5570 or 415.717.7428

Dine Under the Stars and Help With the Formation of New Priests

St. Patrick's Seminary is hosting a gala in honor of the Greater Bay Area Serra Clubs in anticipation of Father Junipero Serra's canonization.  Proceeds benefit the formation of the next generation of priests. Raffle prize includes $25,000 or a Lexus Is250.

September 19

Vespers at 5 p.m.  in the Main Hall,

followed by tours of the Seminary, 

appetizers and cocktails, 

catered dinner under the stars 

and a concluding hymn, Salve Regina, sung by the Seminarians 
St. Patrick's Seminary, 320 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park

Cost: $125 

650.289.3320 or advancement@stpsu.org 

 

Other Announcements from the Diocese:

 - A volunteer choir director is needed for San Quentin State Prison Catholic Chaplaincy for four to six hours a week during Sunday morning Masses.  Contact: Fr. George Williams at George.Williams@cdcr.ca.gov

 - Have a degree in Accounting or Business with five to seven years of experience? The San Francisco Archdiocese is looking for a manager of Parish and Dept. of Catholic Schools Financial Support. Full time with excellent benefits. Send resume and cover letter to Archdiocese of San Francisco, Office of Human Resources, Attn. Patrick Schmidt, One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco, CA 94109 or email to careers@sfarch.org.

- Free Suicide Prevention and Community Counseling

415.499.1100 - crisis hotline or 415.499.1195 - grieving hotline

Spotlight: Father Rafael in the news

Father Rafael's conversation with Beau Evans was published last week in the Point Reyes Light newspaper. Below is the story.

 

 

 

Father Rafael in the parlor of the Old Rectory at Sacred Heart Parish in Olema as photographed in July 2015 by Point Reyes Light photographer, Peter Briggs.

By Beau Evans

07/23/2015

 

This month, Father Rafael Antonio de Avila y Romero began a six-year post at Sacred Heart Church in Olema. He is the church’s first Mexican pastor in its more-than 100-year history, and he joins a community where over half of school-aged children are Latino.

Soft-spoken, though conveying an intense conviction, Father Rafael was born in Aguascalientes in 1946, the second of four siblings. A self-described “city person,” he was inspired to lead a religious life by a priest who was a dear friend of the family.

“He was a really nice guy,” said Father Rafael on Monday, speaking from his office in the church’s Old Rectory. “I liked what he was doing, and I wanted to be like him.”

At 12 years old, his father died, and Rafael Antonio enrolled in the minor seminary of Misioneros de Guadalupe, on the outskirts of Guadalajara. He remained there for five years before attending a major seminary at the University of Mexico, in Mexico City, where he studied philosophy and theology.

At 21, he left Mexico to study in Rome. There, he learned French and Italian, earned a master’s degree in spirituality and was ordained in 1974. He returned to Mexico City that year, and for several years after taught at the seminary where he had been a student.

Then, in 1980, Cardinal Agnelo Rossi sent Father Rafael to Jerusalem, where he was placed in charge of a “Biblical house” that was under the supervision of Rome’s Propaganda Fide—an organization founded in 1622 to oversee the Catholic Church’s missionary activities throughout the world. He taught theology and language to missionary priests coming to Jerusalem from Africa and Asia until 1982.

That year, on Easter Sunday, an American-born Israeli soldier opened fire inside Al-Aqsa Mosque, one of Islam’s holiest shrines, killing two Palestinians and sparking violent protests that lasted for many weeks.

“Many people were killed,” Father Rafael said. “It was not very safe to live there.” The Propaganda Fide decided to close the center.

Father Rafael again returned to Mexico City. He served for three years as dean of the city’s Universidad Intercontinental before his supervisor at Misioneros de Guadalupe sent him to Hong Kong, where he lived from 1985 to 1993 and learned Cantonese.

Since then, he has earned a master’s in counseling at Santa Clara University, spent two years serving in a Los Angeles parish and worked with Chinese speakers through the Archdiocese in San Francisco. Most recently, he served at St. Veronica Parish in South San Francisco. Then he received a call from the city’s bishop, Salvatore Cordileone, asking him to go to Olema.

“It’s a very beautiful area, really,” he said of the hamlet. “It’s very peaceful. People are nicer here than in my previous parishes.”

At Sacred Heart, Father Rafael succeeds two pastors, Honesto Gile and Manuel Igrobay, who served two-year stints. Before them, pastor Jack O’Neill served from 2002 to 2011. Many members of the Sacred Heart congregation have praised the work done by the parish’s former pastors and are eager to see how their new leader will contribute to West Marin.

“People have been happy to know that he’s here to stay for six years, minimum,” said Ismael Gutierrez, a Point Reyes Station resident who has attended the church for 24 years. “He came with a lot of energy to bring people together—Latinos and Anglos. He has a lot of ideas he wants to put together to get the community excited.”

Since holding his first mass on July 1, Father Rafael has been seeing around 50 people come for English mass on Sunday mornings, and a similar number for Saturday night Spanish mass (unless someone’s having a party and far fewer people show up, which he said “is understandable”).

For his part, Father Rafael hopes he will help fulfill both the spiritual and social needs of his parish and, along the way, inspire them through deeds that express his faith.

“What is my purpose?” he asked. “To make this community stronger. To reach their hearts, by being a human being.”

Before officially becoming a parish in West Marin in 1940, Sacred Heart Church and the neighboring Old Rectory long served as a resting place for missionaries working on a leper colony in Molokai, in Hawaii.

For many years, the church in Olema stood alongside a second church in Point Reyes, before the Olema church was decommissioned in 1923. Services were held in the Point Reyes church until 1987, when it was decommissioned and sold to the Dance Palace. Today’s Sacred Heart Church in Olema was dedicated in 1968.

Mass at Sacred Heart takes place in English at 9 a.m. on Wednesdays and at 8:30 a.m. on Sundays. A Spanish mass takes place at 7 p.m. on Saturdays.

News and Announcements - Week of June 22

Congratulations to Marin natives Cameron Faller and Patrick Summerhays for their vocations.

The newspaper Catholic San Francisco reports that Cameron Faller and Patrick Summerhays were ordained as priests on June 6 at St. Mary's Cathedral in San Francisco.  In attendance were friends, family and 100 priests.

Both men grew up in Our Lady of Loretto Parish in Novato.

Father Faller, 27, attended Marin Catholic High School, Gonzaga University, and Bishop White Seminary in Spokane.  He will be the parochial vicar at Church of the Epiphany and part-time ministry at Archbishop Riordan High School, both in San Francisco.

Father Summerhays, 42, attended St. Vincent High School in Petaluma, University of San Francisco and spent 10 years in finance.  He will be the new parochial vicar at St. Cecilia Parish in San Francisco.

We congratulate them and their families and wish them all the best in their new vocations.


An Evening of Prayer for Archbishop Cordileone, priests and religious

Join Marin Catholics in an evening of prayer for Salvatore Cordileone, priests and religious, and an increase in vocations.   Father Roger Gustafson will be the principal celebrant and homilist of the Mass with music by Singers of Schola Sancta of the San Francisco bay area.  Buffet supper follows. 

 

• Sunday, June 28   •   5 p.m. 

• St. Sebastian Church •  373 Bon Air Rd., Greenbrae •  461.0704

Evening Concert

Coeur d'Enfants d'Ile de France will perform Bach, Mendelssohn and others in a concert at St. Mary's Cathedral.  A $10 donation is requested.

Wednesday, July 8 •  7 p.m. 

• St. Mary's Cathedral • Gough St. at Geary Blvd. • San Francisco •  567.2020

Marriage Prep

Prepare for marriage with a two-day weekend retreat with San Francisco Engaged Encounter. Applications and information can be found at www.sfcee.org.

Have a church or archdiocese announcement or spiritual need request to share in the blog?  Please send an email to sacredheart@horizoncable.com.

A Greeting from Father Rafael de Avila

This is a greeting from Father Rafael de Avila who will celebrate his first Mass at Sacred Heart on July 1, 2015.  We look forward to his arrival!

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Dear Parishioners:

I would like to introduce myself. My full name is Rafael Antonio de Avila y Romero according to my birth certificate, but when I came to the United States and went to the Social Security Office my name was shorten to Rafael de Avila because it was too long to fit in the computer. 

I was born in Aguascalientes, Ags. Mexico. My parents are Aurelio de Avila y Enriquez and Bertha Romero Marquez. 

I am the third among four siblings: Virginia, Aurelio, Rafael and Daniel. My father died when I was 12 years old and my mother passed away 20 days before my priestly ordination in 1974. My youngest brother, Daniel, died several years ago. 

At the age of 12,  I went to the Minor seminary of Misioneros de Guadalupe located in Lopez Cotilla at the outskirts of Guadalajara. 

After five years in Guadalajara,  I went to Mexico City to have a new experience in the Major Seminary of Misioneros de Guadalupe.

I wanted to be a missionary. Since the very first day,  the seminary formation was awesome. It was a different life style of which I have no complaints. I had to learn different languages because I wanted to preach the Gospel to people of different cultures. 

I studied in Rome for four years and got my degree in Spirituality. I was ordained in 1974. For several years I taught in the Major Seminary. 

From 1980 to 1982 I worked in Jerusalem as Rector of the Propagation of Faith College. 

From 1982 to 1985 I was Dean at a private University in Mexico City, Universidad Intercontinental. 

From 1985 to 1993 I worked in Hong Kong. I spent the first two years just learning the language, Cantonese. 

Most recently, I have been at St. Veronica's in South San Francisco.

Thanks to all of you for welcoming me into your spiritual lives. In the near future I will share more about my priestly life.

 - Father Rafael de Avila