St. Mary Catholic Church

www.stmary-wc.org 925-891-8900

Dear Friends, In the second reading today from St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, we hear about the wonders that “God has promised to those who love him.” Indeed the greatest gift of God is Jesus, who gives us his Body and Blood to nourish and strengthen us in our journey in Faith. The promises of God are even greater if we turn away from sin and temptation, if we live our lives as disciples of Jesus, and if we follow him and live our lives in ser-vice and love to one another. We continue this week to prepare ourselves for the Annual Bishop’s Ap-peal which will begin next weekend with sign-ups and commitments. We are able to share in the wider ministries of the Diocese of Oakland – sup-porting our seminarians in their training, caring for our retired priests, as-sisting parishes and schools that need additional financial support, further developing the pastoral ministries of the parishes and the diocese, and supporting religious education on all levels. And remember, the money col-lected goes only to these restricted causes and is not used for any other purpose, including debt payment or legal fees and obligations. So please pray carefully about your contribution this year, either in the form of a single gift or in a pledge that is paid off over the next ten months. Our parish goal remains the same as last year: $60,900. Let’s make every effort to meet and even exceed this goal! Have a blessed and peace-filled week. Father Fred

Parish offices will be closed on

Monday, February 17, in observance of Presidents’ Day.

CHOICE.- “If you choose you can keep the commandments,” Sirach tells us. God “has set before you fire and water; to whichever you choose, stretch forth your hand” (Sirach 15:15, 16). This is a great mystery: God does not control us so completely that we cannot choose our own path. We have certain boundaries, of course, but no one but we can choose our way within those boundaries. In today’s reading from Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus reminds us of our free-dom and our responsibility for our lives. He calls us to look beyond the words of the commandments, all the way to their meaning. Look beyond the adultery to the selfishness that poisons our love. Look beyond the mur-der to the anger that eats away at our compassion. Look beyond the per-jured testimony to the lies and deception that drive our behavior. Our vocation is to choose life for ourselves, and to choose a path through our part of the world that helps make life possible and more abundant for others as well. Copyright © J. S. Paluch Co.

ORGANIZATIONS CYO, Jerry Florence stmarycyo.wc@gmail.com 510-504-5954 Charismatic Prayer Group, Jim Crowley 944-0359 Eucharistic Adoration, Mary Johnstone 954-7205 Filipino-American (Fil-Am) Ministry, Elena Gaoiran 525-7089 Homebound Ministry, Helene Vizcarra 891-8936 Hospital Ministry, Angeles Ron 856-8780 Knights of Columbus, John Cuddihy 286-4515 Respect Life Ministry, Jim Crowley 944-0359 St. Vincent de Paul, Barb Erickson 937-2817 Walking with Purpose, Laura Lencioni 997-4379

MASS TIMES Monday through Friday 6:30 a.m. & 12:05 p.m.

Saturday 8:30 a.m.

Saturday Vigil Mass 4:30 p.m.

Sundays 6:30 a.m. * 8:00 a.m.

9:30 a.m. * 11:00 a.m. 1:00 p.m. Spanish

6:00 p.m.

Sacrament of Penance Saturdays 3:30 to 4:15 p.m.

DEVOTIONS

Eucharistic Adoration Mon-Fri 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

First Fridays: all night Saturdays 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Saturdays 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Fatima Devotion: First Saturday Hispanic Holy Hour: Other Saturdays

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Saturdays 9:00 a.m.

(at the end of 8:30 Mass)

PARISH OFFICE

2051 Mt. Diablo Blvd. Walnut Creek, CA 94596

OFFICE HOURS

8:30 A.M. TO 4:30 P.M. Monday through Friday

Please remember: Our Sunday Mass schedule changes on March 1

The new schedule is: Sat. 4:30

Sun. 7:00, 9:00, 11:00, 1:00pm (Spanish) & 6:00pm

Sign up for adoration hours at

adorationpro.org/maryca

DATE TIME MASS INTENTION

02/15 4:30 pm Manuel & Prudencia Rodrigues

02/16 6:30 am The People of St. Mary Parish

8:00 am Maura Murphy

9:30 am Perpetuo Diaz

11:00 am Souls in Purgatory

1:00 pm Maria Castro (L)

6:00 pm Jennifer Koskelin Gibbons (L)

02/17 6:30 am Bonnie & Jon Armstrong (L)

12:05 pm Henry Bodurka

02/18 6:30 am Che Garcia (L)

12:05 pm Yvonne Kelly

02/19 6:30 am Milagros Campos

12:05 pm Salgado Family

02/20 6:30 am Martin & Sarah Tapay (L)

12:05 pm Darío Isea

02/21 6:30 am Carolina Sotomayor

8:15 am St. Mary School Community

12:05 pm Tammy Brandt Brown

02/22 8:30 am Pierce Davison

MASS SCHEDULE

PRAY FOR THE SICK

Staff and Administration Website: www.stmary-wc.org

Parish Office 891-8900 Fax 934-1358 Fr. Fred Riccio, friccio@stmary-wc.org Pastor 891-8900 Fr. John Blaker, 891-8900 In residence Ana Lau, alau@stmary-wc.org Office Manager 891-8908 Aileen Baker, abaker@stmary-wc.org Bookkeeper 891-8911

Faith Formation

Mary Kerfs, lifeteen@stmary-wc.org Administrative Assistant 891-8939 Tim Mannix, RCIA & tmannix@stmary-wc.org Liturgy Coordinator 891-8921 Austin Pisciotto apisciotto@stmary-wc.org Grades 4-8 891-8944 Maureen Tiffany mtiffany@stmary-wc.org Grades K-3 891-8942 Heather Abraham, habraham@stmary-wc.org Confirmation 891-8934

School

Office 935-5054 stmary@st-mary.net Website: www.st-mary.net Alumni: stmaryalumni@st-mary.net Garrett Padia, Principal 935-5054 Advisory Council Joel Williams, President 768-6711 Parents Club Shannon Crvarich, Co-President 949-973-8046 Lisa Kavanagh, Co-President 768-9890

Allison Flamez Margarita Caracas Elsa de Rossi Monica Jara Ana Alvarez Isabel Castillo Susana Jaime Maria Vargas Anthony De Cristoforo Rosalinda Reyes Annabelle Semira Joseph Suta Jeanine Gordon Christine Pollnow Jake Johnston Bill Clark Diane Hewson Clarissa Gutierrez Julia Rodriguez Fred & Emilia Sohn Raul Gonzalez

Helen Budde Raquel Zittel

Dominador Hontucan Quinn Gurnett

Oralee Floria Henry Escano

Mary McLoughlin Angela Regan

Beverly Regan Josefina Zabat

Audry Robinson Loretta Holmes

Nancie Campi Bob Bussani Betty Baker

Victor Miguel Barrios Carol Erikson

Nydia Pajarillo Danyel Sheets

Beth Wainwright Ron Giglio

Jesus’ Invitation to Eucharistic Adoration “This is what I want of you: time “wasted,” spent in My presence. Time given to Me for My sake. I do not ask of you anything burdensome or difficult to achieve. I ask you to offer Me the companionship of a loving friend and the affection of your heart. I ask you to remain in My presence, content to be before My Eucharistic Face, close to My Eucharistic Heart. Spend less time at the computer and more time in My presence. I wait for you here. I long to see you before Me. I want to give you all the signs of My friendship that My Heart has destined for you and for no other, but for this you must come to Me. Follow the promptings of My grace. Make My Eucharistic presence the very heart of your life and the center to which you return for warmth, for healing, for comfort, and for light. Seek My Eu-charistic Face, and invite others to do the same.” (Excerpts from In Sinu Jesu)

THIS WEEK’S CALENDAR February 17-23

FF = Faith Formation Center SA = St. Anthony Rm. (near parish hall) SE = St. Elizabeth Hall (Conf. Rm.) SJ = St. Joseph Room SM= St. Michael Room SP = St. Peter Room

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 17 7:00 AM Eucharistic Adoration/Chapel

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18 7:00 AM Eucharistic Adoration/Chapel 7:00 AM Men of St. Joseph/SA 7:00 PM Hispanic Prayer Group/SA 7:00 PM Faith Form. 6th-7th-8th Gr/FF 7:30 PM Choir Practice/Church WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19 7:00 AM Eucharistic Adoration/Chapel 6:45 PM Encounter Youth Group/SE 7:00 PM Charismatic Prayer/FF-SM

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20 7:00 AM Eucharistic Adoration/Chapel 4:00 PM Faith Formation 4th-5th Gr/SE 7:00 PM Hispanic Prayer Group/Church 7:00 PM Young Adults/FF-SP

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21 7:00 AM Eucharistic Adoration/Chapel 7:00 PM Hisp. Choir Practice/SA

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22 8:00 AM Men’s Prayer Group/FF-SM 9:00 AM Eucharistic Adoration/Chapel

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23 9:30 AM Faith Formation K-3rd/FF 10:30 AM RCIA/FF-SJ 4:00 PM Band Practice/Church

UPCOMING SPECIAL/ SECOND COLLECTIONS

Mar 1 Parish Maintenance Mar 22 Catholic Relief Services Mar 29 St. Vincent de Paul Apr 5 Easter Flowers Apr 9 Holy Thursday Apr 10 Holy Land May 3 Parish Maintenance May 17 Catholic Charities May 24 Catholic Communications May 31 St. Vincent de Paul

EVERYDAY STEWARDSHIP

Don’t Live a Lie One day, my son was explaining to his mother that he felt she had lied to him. It was nothing very important, but he wanted to take this opportunity to share how im-portant telling the truth is to him. He explained that he simply tells it like it is in all aspects of his life. But an hour later, we caught him in a lie! Again, it was not about a matter of life and death, but it was a lie. When confronted with his own previous words on how important telling the truth was to him, he just smiled. Yes, the guilty often have no words of defense. Jesus said it best in Matthew 5: “Let your ‘yes’ mean ‘yes’ and your ‘no’ mean ‘no.’” He was warning his disciples about false oaths and then instructing them on the fullness of the Hebrew laws. We may try to do what we say and say what we mean, but it can be all too easy to fall short. We call ourselves disciples yet pro-vide evidence to the contrary by our actions (or lack of them). Even if we feel that we have lied to no one, we may have lied to ourselves. We portray our-selves as generous, thankful, and loving people, yet fail to answer God’s call in a situation because we perceive the cost to be too great. Jesus did not simply mean for his message to be about two words. He also meant that when you say you are a disciple, make sure you are a disciple as well. — Tracy Earl Welliver, MTS ©LPi

THE CHAIR OF ST. PETER THE APOSTLE February 22

In brushing up for “Catholic Jeop-ardy,” it might help to know that there is only one feast on the cal-endar for a thing, rather than a person or mystery. It’s for a chair: Saint Peter’s chair in fact After the Resurrection, there can be no doubt that the disciples re-served a special place for Simon Peter in the upper room. Later, Pe-ter became the bishop of Antioch in today’s Syria, the place where we were first called Christians. From there, he went to Rome, the center of the Empire, where it is said that Peter sat in a chair in the house of Priscilla and Aquila to instruct his flock. Jesus, in entrusting the keys of the Kingdom to Peter and his successors, entrusted his compassion and mercy to them, and charged them with pointing to the Kingdom of God. Compassion and mercy are to resonate through their teaching. Since the ancient sign of a teacher is the chair (“disciple” literally means one who sits at the feet of a teacher), Peter’s chair has long been treasured. Today there is a symbolic shrine of Peter’s chair above the main altar of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. This monument is the last work of Bernini, a huge bronze throne supported by four doctors of the Church: Augustine and Ambrose from the Western Church, and Chrysostom and Atha-nasius from the East. High above it is the alabaster window of the de-scent of the Holy Spirit. —Rev. James Field, Copyright © J. S. Paluch Co.

Dear parishioners: Our Sunday bulletin is an important way for us to communicate with you. Producing it very week could be very costly, but through our ar-rangement with the J. S. Paluch Company, the parish does not pay for the printing, saving thousands of dollars each year. The Paluch Company arranges for the bulletin to be sup-ported through the generosity of the businesses that you see advertised on the back cover. Most of these advertisers are members of our local community, and some belong to our parish. We urge you to support these advertisers with your patronage. Tell the business owners that you appreciate their support of our parish through their advertisements in the bulletin. This is one small way that we can work within our community to weather the challenges we face. A strong and vibrant parish is good for our community and a thriving business community is good for our parish.

Join us to pray peacefully for the sanctity of life and the dignity of the unborn, offering women in a crisis pregnancy resources and options. Our prayer vigil takes place in front of Planned Parenthood, 1357 Oakland Blvd., in Walnut Creek. We are there from 7 am-7 pm every day ex-cept Sundays, from Ash Wednesday (Feb. 26) until April 4 before Holy Week. To join our prayer vigil or find out more about it, please contact friendsforlifetrivalley@gmail.com or Carolyn Regan: 935-683-0431.

JOIN US! SPRING CAMPAIGN KICK-OFF

Sunday, February 23, 7:00 PM, St. Mary Gym FEATURED SPEAKER: FR. JAMES MOORE, OP

HELP SAVE LIVES IN WALNUT CREEK!

To sign up for prayer hours, please go to:

40daysforlife.com/walnutcreek Vigil hours: 7 am to 7 pm, Mon-Sat, February 26-April 4

Retrouvaille February 21 - 23

Retrouvaille... A lifeline for mar-riages. Do you feel lost, frustrated, hurt, or angry with your spouse? Retrouvaille helps married couples heal and renew their marriages. The next Week-end Program begins Feb 21-23. For more information or to register, visit our website at HelpOurMar-riage.com or contact Gus & Edda Rivera at (510) 709-6063. Our Weekends transform marriages.

Newman Grads Sunday, February 23, 5:00 PM

Newman Grads is a community of young professionals, graduate stu-dents, and people in their 20's and 30's who seek to grow in their re-lationship with Christ. We have large group Bible studies, men's and women's small groups, and prayer groups. A few fun things we do are drinks & discussion, movie nights, hiking, potlucks, and service. Contact grads@calnewman.org or find us on Facebook and Instagram: @NewmanHallGrads

Calling all Catholic homeschoolers! Our East Bay Catholic Schoolhouse co-op is open to new members. Please call Alice at (805) 234-3322 or email capoppy23@aol.com for more info. We'd love to meet you! WHEN: Monday, March 2 TIME: Gather at 7:00 pm for conversation; program begins at 7:30 WHERE: Email for home address in Pleasant Hill RSVP to: Jennifer: eastbayca@catholicschoolhouse.com

Ash Wednesday Day of Renewal Presented by

Fr. Rusty Shaughnessy, OFM Wed., February 26, 9 am to 3 pm Lunch included. Mass and distribu-

tion of ashes at 2:00. To make a reservation, send a

check for $40 to San Damiano Re-treat, 710 Highland Dr., Danville.

925-837-914.

LITTLE SAINTS Kinder - 3rd Sunday 9:30am - 11:00am

ROCK 4th - 5th Grade Thursday 4:00pm - 5:30pm

BLAST 6th Grade Tuesday 7:00pm - 8:30pm

EDGE 7th - 8th Grade Tuesday 7:00pm - 8:30pm

CONFIRMATION Call for info

YOUTH GROUP 9th - 12th Grade Wednesday 6:50pm - 8:30pm

Faith Formation & Youth Ministry Office 925-891-8939 Lifeteen@stmary-wc.org Sunday– Thursday 8:30—5:30pm

Catequesis en español Ages 6-13yrs Sunday 11:15am - 12:45pm

Disciples in Training

Faith Formation

Youth Ministry

THE VINEYARD St. Mary Church

YOUTH MINISTRY (K-12) Sunday, February 16, 2020

Students got to learn about Jesus as The Good Shephard and make their own sheep at

the First Reconciliation Retreat!

† CALLING ALL ADULT VOLUNTEERS †

Contact our office to find out how YOU can put your faith into action! We are always in need of YOUR help!

SAVE THE DATES June 22-26

The 4th & 5th Grade Rock students are studying the Sacraments this

Semester! As part of our Sacrament-of- the-Sick session, students made cards for the Eucharistic Ministers to take to

the sick and the homebound

LOS GOBERNANTES DE ESTE TIEMPO San Pablo habla tanto de la “sabiduría de este tiem-po” como de “aquellos que dominan al mundo”. Él se refiere específicamente a los sabios y las instituciones responsables de condenar injustamente a muerte a Jesús. Aunque lamentamos el pecado humano que mató a Jesús hace dos mil años, también considera-mos errores y males actuales que hieren el cuerpo de Cristo en nuestro tiempo. Fácilmente reconocemos los crímenes de nuestros líderes. Religiosos, instituciones empresariales y gubernamentales han causado su-frimiento a incontables almas inocentes. La profun-didad de nuestros fracasos actuales nos amenaza con el desánimo. Pero Jesús nos llama a una fidelidad y esperanza renovadas. Jesús nos dice que “superemos” a nuestros líderes en la justicia. Él nos instruye a simplificar nuestras propias vidas. “Deja que tu ‘sí’ sea un ‘sí’ y tu ‘no’ sea un ‘no’. Cualquier otra cosa viene del mal.” Estamos en lo correcto cuan-do trabajamos en contra de los pecados de nuestros líderes, pero también debemos analizar nuestras pro-pias vidas y hacer las paces con nuestras familias, vecinos y compañeros de trabajo.

AL FALLECER Hay algo de urgencia en la invitación de Cristo a la santidad. Todo muere a su tiempo. La llamada de Jesús es oportuna y radical, una súplica para que de-jemos otros asuntos y hagamos una prioridad de la reconciliación. El Señor de hecho dice: “deja tu ofren-da en el altar” y regresa a la alabanza después de que hagas las paces con tus adversarios. Jesús toma muy en serio la necesidad de reconciliación y justicia, insistiendo que nada, ni siquiera nuestros ojos y brazos, valen más que el amor. Todas las lecturas de hoy muestran la profunda conexión entre la ley de Dios y un amor saludable y pacífico. Como dice san Pablo en Romanos 13:10, “el amor es la plenitud de la ley”. Aquí en el siglo XXI, nosotros, discípulos modernos de Cristo, podemos cultivar ese misterio profundo en nuestros corazones, alimentando los enormes dones gemelos del amor de Dios y su ley, ofrecidos a nosotros libremente para ayudarnos a mantener un cuerpo de Cristo santo y saludable. Copyright © J. S. Paluch Co., Inc.

FECHAS IMPORTANTES

Febrero 16, Clase 11:15am REUNION DE PADRES

Febrero 23, NO HAY CLASE

Marzo 1, NO HAY CLASE

(925) 357-3048 jcain@stmary-wc.org

Retiro Formación de Discípulo

"Venid a mí todos los que estáis fatigados y sobrecargados, y yo os daré descanso" Mateo 11:28

Febrero 20-23,2020

YOUTH RETREAT CENTER 1977 Reliez Valley Road Lafayette, CA 94549

Padre Rafael Chávez

Para más información: Ángeles, 925-856-8780

AYUDA A SALVAR

VIDAS EN WALNUT CREEK!

Ven a celebrar la apertura de esta campaña Domingo 23 de febrero, 7:00 pm

En el gimanasio de St. Mary Orador invitado: Padre James Moore, OP

¡Forma parte de la campaña de 40 Días por la Vida!

• Ubicación de la vigilia de oración: Planned Parenthood, 1357 Oakland Blvd., Walnut Creek

• Horas de la vigilia: 7 am a 7 pm a diario, excepto los domingos

• Contacto para anotarse para horas de oración: friendsforlifetrivalley@gmail.com 40daysforlife.com/walnutcreek

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BULLETIN NUMBER: 913092 CHURCH NAME AND ADDRESS St. Mary 2051 Mt. Diablo Blvd. Walnut Creek, CA 94596 TELEPHONE: (925) 891-8908 CONTACT PERSON: Ana Lau After hours: (925) 788-4216 (925) 256-4428 EMAIL: alau@stmary-wc.org SOFTWARE MSPublisher 2016 Adobe Acrobat X Standard Windows 10 PRINTER Cannon MG5420 TRANSMISSION TIME Tuesday 4:00 pm BULLETIN FOR SUNDAY: 02/16/20 NUMBER OF PAGES SENT 1 through 8 SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: