ST. BRENDAN CHURCH

29 Rockaway Avenue San Francisco CA 94127 Tel. No. (415) 681-4225

www.stbrendanparish.org

Uncomfortable Religion: Moving Into Mission The teachings of Jesus towards the end of the Gospel of Matthew focus on events con-nected with the end of the age. They contain unsettling scenes of

judgment and distress, a temple in ruins, and a period of “great tribulation” before the coming of the Son of Man at an unknown day and hour (Matthew 24:1-44). The distressing series of events in this “eschatological discourse” culminates in a dramatic judgment scene in the gospel read-ing today when the Son of Man takes his seat on the throne and assembles “the na-tions” before him. Like “a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats,” the king will divide humanity into two camps. Those who have shown compassion for the hungry, the thirsty, the refu-gee, the prisoner, the sick, and the powerless will be placed on his right. To sit on a king’s right was a great honor in ancient near eastern culture. How-ever, those who have not shown mercy to such “least ones” will be seated on the king’s left, a place of dishonor and shame. Since most of us on occasion have overlooked the needs of the poor or ignored someone suffering in front of us, Jesus’ words, once again, are uncom-fortable. This Sunday marks the final installment of our eight-week message series, called More Than Lip Service: Living Out An Uncomfortable Religion. Over these weeks, Jesus’ teachings have packed a punch. We’ve been told that we must produce good fruit, show up to his party, repay all

to God, love authentically, live with integrity, per-form good works, invest everything into the mis-sion of God’s kingdom, and lift up the poor. The penalty for failure will be various forms of exclu-sion, including being replaced, evicted, humbled, locked out, divested and dispossessed, and segre-gated in a place of “eternal punishment.”

Jesus challenges us in these passages to help us grow spiritually. In the weeks leading up to his enthronement today on the Solemnity of Christ the King of the Universe, when God will “be all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:28), Jesus has been moving us into mis-sion and reminding us that, in the days, weeks, or years leading up to his return at the end of time, we must not act like consumers

but work for the kingdom as his disciples.

The Church has a specific mission to “make dis-ciples” (Matthew 28:19). It’s precisely why pro-ducing fruit, loving and serving others with integ-rity, using all the resources the Lord has given us to perform good works and reveal to the world the mysteries of the kingdom is so imperative. But the good news is that our shepherd will not leave us alone. In fact, there is a good argument that the “least brothers” of Christ in the parable of the sheep and the goats actually are his disciples, who in every age evangelize the world. To the ex-tent we are starved, depleted, displaced, con-demned, disabled or denuded by the world when we honestly try to live as his disciples, the Lord comforts us with his promise that he will “pasture his sheep” and “give them rest.” This Advent, how will you move into mission for the Lord?

Feast of Christ the King November 26, 2017

Fr. Roger Gustafson, Pastor

News & Events Featured Events

ST. VINCENT DE PAUL ADVENT GIVING TREE On Thanksgiving Day, a special Christmas tree, called

the “Giving Tree,” was placed in the church. Each orna-ment on the tree represents a gift for someone in need. We invite you to take an ornament, purchase the gift

listed on the ornament, and return the gift with the orna-ment on or before the weekend of December 9-10. Or-naments will be on the tree through the weekend of De-

cember 2-3. Thank you for your continued, generous support of the most vulnerable among us.

SCHOOL KINDERGARTEN TOURS

Tours for prospective kindergarten parents are now being held. Reservations for the tours must be made

in advance by calling (415) 731-2665.

St. Brendan School, mindful of its mission to be witness to the love of Christ for all, admits students of any race, color, and national and/or ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at this school. St. Brendan School does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, and national and/or ethnic origin, age, sex or disability in administration of educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs. Likewise, St. Brendan School does not unlawfully discriminate against any applicant for employment on the basis of age, sex, disability, race, color and national and/or ethnic origin.

ST. BRENDAN SCHOOL CHRISTMAS

BOUTIQUE & CARNIVAL November 30-December 3

All are invited to attend this year’s St. Brendan

School Christmas Boutique and Carnival! A weekend of fun for the entire family including:

tree lighting, delicious food, games and rides, bou-tique shopping, Bear Den (21+), Bingo, Under 5

activities and a Neon Dance Party!

YEAR OF PRAYER CONTINUES

December 13 at 7 p.m.

St. Brendan’s year of prayer continues next month with David Clayton speaking on Prayer in the Home. Learn new ways to pray with your family during the Christmas holidays and throughout the New Year. Praise & Wor-ship Music included and light refreshments following

presentation.

The Good News

Mary The Model Of Prayer By Ben Gerigk,

Saint Brendan Catechist & Aspirant to the Priesthood

Each week, we will summarize a specific style, form, or approach to prayer, using the highly-acclaimed book by Robert J. Wicks, Prayer in the Catholic Tradition: A Handbook of Practical Ap-proaches (Franciscan Media 2006). In this article, you will learn more about Marian prayer. Since early Christian times, Mary has been considered a model of prayer. By enter-ing into the mind and heart of the Mother of God and praying as she prays, we also can be grounded in a disposition of true and faith-filled prayer. When we take on the interior disposi-tion of Mary and her life of prayer, we can more easily let go of our fears and anxi-eties and begin to cultivate an attitude of attune-ment toward the Spirit. In particular, Mary is an extraordinary model of contemplative prayer because, as scripture says, she listened, pondered, believed, and responded with trust in God’s power and love for her. The Magnificat, for example, is Mary’s contemplative canticle when greeting her cousin, Elizabeth, after learning from the angel Gabriel that both were pregnant. “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,” Mary exclaims in the prayer, “and my spir-it rejoices in God my savior” (Luke 1:46-55). In praying Mary’s song, we do not pray alone but join our voices with the countless men and women throughout the ages who have praised God in these words. Another form of contemplative prayer rooted in the Marian tradition is the rosary. Indeed, Pope

Saint John Paul II wrote in his apostolic letter, The Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, that “[t]he Ro-sary is an exquisitely contemplative prayer.” A popular devotion to Mary widely prayed by many Catholics, the rosary enables us to recall the mys-teries of the life of Christ through Mary’s own ex-perience. Because she was closer to the Lord than anyone else, the recitation of the rosary helps us to meditate, through Mary’s eyes, on the birth, life,

death, resurrection, and as-cension of Jesus, as well as her assumption into heaven and coronation as the Queen of Heaven. Mary also serves as a mod-el of prayer in her role as mediatrix, intercessor, and protector. Indeed, there are many works of art around the world that depict Mary as a protector. In particular, her cloak or mantle is a powerful symbol of her motherly care. In addition,

many prayers request Mary’s intercessions, in-cluding the Hail Mary and the Memorare, which enable us to ask for her intercession and protection from danger or harm. Mary has been remembered and cherished from the earliest days of Christianity. We should ponder on her assent to God’s plan of salvation and call upon her as our spiritual mother and model of prayer, who walks beside us and intercedes for us, as we move towards our final end in transforming union with God for all eternity. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church (“CCC”) states, “When we pray to [Mary], we are adhering with her to the plan of the Father, who sends his Son to save all men” (CCC n. 2679).

The Good News

Gratitude: The Immunization Against Affluenza By Lisa Rosenlund,

Saint Brendan Parish Manager It’s flu season, which means that it’s time to get vaccinated against whatever strain(s) of flu are likely to strike this year. I’m a big believer in flu shots and always opt for the quadrivalent vaccine, which protects against four different flu viruses. Would that we could also get inoculated each year against another debilitating disease called “affluenza.” The term “affluenza,” which is a merging of the words “affluence” and “influenza,” is now a recognized word in the Merriam-Webster dic-tionary, which defines the syndrome as an “extreme materialism and consumerism asso-ciated with the pursuit of wealth and success and resulting in a life of chronic dissatisfaction, debt, overwork, stress, and impaired relation-ships.” The term originated as the title of a 1997 PBS documentary and 2001 follow-up book and became entrenched in the lexicon when teenager Ethan Couch asserted it as a defense in his 2013 drunk driving trial. If affluenza is a disease, all Americans have been exposed to it. Although the term “Black Friday” was not coined until the 1960s, the Friday after Thanksgiving has been known in the United States as the unofficial start to the Christmas shopping season, at least since the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade first began in 1924. As holiday shop-ping began to move online, marketers later created “Cyber Monday” in 2005. Whether we prefer to brave the crowds on Black Friday or shop from the comfort of our own homes on Cyber Monday, it has become a national tradition that much of the time during the weekend

after Thanksgiving will be spent purchasing the “must have” toys, electronics, and fashions of the season. The not-so-subtle cultural message we and our children receive from marketers is that, however much we have, we all need more. As Donna Bee-Gates explains in her book, I Want It Now, expo-sure to media images depicting lifestyles more lavish than our own, causes us to experience “relative deprivation.” As a result, we feel disad-vantaged compared to the fictional people we ob-serve in the advertisements, which then causes us

to take our own mate-rial blessings for granted. Fortunately, there’s an antidote to affluenza, and that is gratitude. When we are grateful, instead of looking at fictional people and

feeling deprived, we are able to look at real people and feel blessed. From that position of gratitude, we can focus on what others don’t have, instead of what we don’t have. In 2012, a global giving movement was started, called “Giving Tuesday,” which kicks off the holi-day and end-of-year charitable season after the excesses of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. In keeping with the spirit of this special day, I’ve set up a Giving Tuesday fund. Donations can be made through online giving or you can text (415) 767-1934, and enter the amount of the donation, a space and the code GIVINGTUESDAY. You can also drop off your donation at the church office with a notation that it is for the Giving Tuesday fund. Let’s spiritually inoculate ourselves against afflu-enza with gratitude and celebrate the season with a true spirit of Christmas!

In my first assignment at Saint Hilary Church in Tiburon, the parish maintained a community garden. School children tended to the gar-den with great care. Throughout the year, they would plant seeds, fertilize the soil, water the ground, and then watch with amazement as new life began to peek above the surface. When the crops had ripened, the children would harvest a bounty of carrots, onions, let-tuce, and other fresh vegetables. Before sending the produce to a local homeless shelter, the rectory inevitably would receive a gentle knock on the door with children delivering a tithe of the first fruits of the harvest for the priests. The Law of Moses commanded the ancient Israelites to offer “first fruits” to God, which consisted of the firstborn of the flocks and the first vegetables and grains to be gathered at harvest time. The first fruits were a sign and promise of the coming harvest. In acknowl-edgement of the fact that all the products of the land came from God and in thankfulness for his goodness, the Hebrew people thought of these as belonging to God in a special way. For this rea-son, they offered the first fruits to the Lord and brought them to the priests for their support. In the second reading, Paul refers to the raising of Christ from the dead as the “first fruits” of the future resurrection of all people and God’s ultimate victory over death (1 Corinthians 15:20, 23). The resurrection of Christ is God’s promise to all believers who have died that they, too, will be raised with Christ. As the Lord has been so generous in offering his first fruits to us, should we not also offer ours to the Lord. Stewardship is a way of life that seeks to return to the Lord the first and best portion of all that he has given us, including our time, talent, and treasure, as the first fruits of our lives. —Father Roger Gustafson, Pastor

Stewardship

The corporal works of mercy cost money. To feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, take in the refu-gee, and clothe the naked all require material resources. Yet, those of us who fail to provide this will be shamed at the Great Judgment, ac-cording to the gospel reading today. In the same way, spiritual works of mercy also cost money. To instruct the ignorant, counsel the doubtful, admonish the sinner, comfort the sorrowful, forgive injuries, bear wrongs patiently, and pray for the living and the dead also require ma-terial resources. Yet, this is what we proudly do every day at your parish. We invite you to make a planned, proportionate, and sacrificial finan-cial commitment to this parish and to poor. The biblical standard is a tenth of our income, before taxes or anything else is taken out, half to the Church and half to the poor. It’s a huge step and takes trust, but we can never out give God.

SECOND COLLECTION

NEXT WEEK: ST. BRENDAN SCHOOL

SUNDAY COLLECTION November 19, 2017

Collection totals unavailable due to early holiday publication deadline.

Stewardship is the grateful response of a Christian disciple who recognizes and receives God’s gifts and shares them generously in love of God and neighbor. Stewardship is not about money or fundraising. It is a spirituali-ty. It is a way of life. A steward recognizes that God is the source of all life and every blessing and that all gifts of time, talent, and treasure come from God. A steward is grateful for those gifts. A steward takes care of and increases those gifts, and

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SAINT BRENDAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Church

29 Rockaway Avenue San Francisco CA 94127 Rectory Phone: (415) 681-4225 Mon - Thurs: 8:30 am - Noon, 1 p.m. - 4 p.m. Sun: 9:00 am - 1:00 pm www.stbrendanparish.org

School 940 Laguna Honda Blvd. San Francisco CA 94127 Tel. (415) 731-2665 www.stbrendansf.com

Convent Canossian Sisters 234 Ulloa Street San Francisco CA 94127 Tel. (415) 681-3465

STAFF Pastor Fr. Roger Gustafson Ext.220 fatherrogergustafson@gmail.com Parochial Vicar Fr. Peterson Tieng Ext.214 frpete@stbrendanparish.org In Residence Fr. Paul Warren Ext. 208 Pastoral Associate Sr. Angela Furia, FdCC Ext. 201 srangela@stbrendanparish.org Director of Evangelization & Faith Formation Manolito Jaldon manolito@stbrendanparish.org Ext. 205 Music Director Mario Balestrieri (415) 218-1767 School Principal Dianne Lakatta (415) 731-2665 dlakatta@stbrendansf.com Parish Manager Lisa Rosenlund (415) 969-6815 lisa@stbrendanparish.org Finance Manager Venetia Hui Gatus Ext. 202 venetia@stbrendanparish.org Administrative Assistant Ext. 101 Maeve O’Reilly maeve@stbrendanparish.org

Religious Education & Sacramental Preparation

Infant Baptism & RCIA for Children Sr. Angela Furia (415) 681-4225, Ext. 201

Adult Faith Formation/Rite of Christian Initiation (RCIA): Manolito S. Jaldon, Jr. (415) 681-4225, Ext. 205

Sunday Children’s Liturgy: Marco & Karen Donaldson Preparation for Reconciliation & First Holy Communion Grade 2: Stephanie Stanko Faith Formation: Grade 3: Tara Donohue Grades 4 & 5: Christina Bui

Preparation for Confirmation: Grade 6: Manolito S. Jaldon, Jr. & Ben Gerigk Grade 7: Liza Bonpin Grade 8: Mary Zell Spellman

Youth of St. Brendan: A Life Teen Ministry (Post Confirmation & High School): Manolito S. Jaldon, Jr. & Ben Gericgk

Liturgical Ministries

Lectors: Richard Pinto Eucharistic Ministers: Charlotte Bautista Ushers: Mike Casazza Sacristan: Jack Mona Liturgy Committee: Anne Kearney Parish Life Welcome Committee Kathleen Bost Jeremy Straus (sbwelcomecommittee@gmail.com)

Hospitality Committee Maria Evangelista

Mothers’ Club Lori Doyle

Men’s Club Joshua Shaskan

Respect Life Mary Ann Schwab

Knitting Ministry Marie Jean Longa

Experienced Navigators: Tony Fernandez

Small Groups: https://stbrendanparish.groupvitals.com/groupFinder

Outreach Ministries Consolation Ministry Merry Jean Chan mjchanstb@gmail.com

Detention Ministry (San Dimas) Julio Escobar (415) 244-5594

Marian Servers Dr. Lou Scheerer

St. Vincent de Paul Society Tad Tassone (415) 587-3849

MASSES

Sunday: 7:00, 8:00, 9:30,11:30 AM Mon-Fri: 6:30 & 8:30 AM Saturday: 8:30 AM 5:00 PM Holy Days: 6:30 AM, 8:30 AM and 6:00 PM

CONFESSIONS Saturday: 4:15 - 4:45 PM Wednesday: 7:15 - 7:45 PM

EUCHARISTIC ADORATION Wednesday: 7:00 - 8:00 PM Saturday: 4:00 - 4:45 PM

BAPTISMS & WEDDINGS

For information, please see our website at www.stbrendanparish.org or call us at (415) 681-4225.

MASS INTENTIONS (November 27-December 3, 2017)

6:30 a.m. 8:30 a.m.

Monday Nate Brown (D) Anna O’Sullivan (D)

Tuesday Maura O’Dwyer (D)

Vicente Lee Barra-da (D)

Wednesday Saturnina Amora(D)

Sadie Cleary (D)

Thursday Ryan Aguirre (L)

David L. Alvers (D)

Friday Jesus Echanis (D) Jillian Costello (D)

Weekday

Weekend

SAT 8:30 a.m. Kenneth Lippi (D)

SUN 7 a.m. People of St. Brendan Parish

SUN 8 a.m. St. Brendan Tree of Life

SUN 9:30 a.m. Fe Tamporong (L) (Birthday)

SUN 11:30 a.m. Frank Schwab (D)

SAT 5 p.m. Loretta Smith (D)

Parish Leadership

Advisory Board : Mike Modesti Finance Committee : Eoin O’Connor

Children and Youth Under Five Ministry: Kendra Perlitz Devon Klinefelter Girl Scouts: Lisa Shaskan Kirstin McFarlane Boy Scouts: Boy Scouts: Maureen Hurley Cub Scouts: Robert Rees (rdrees@gmail.com) Youth Ministry: Stacey Simpson Gus Del Puerto