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ST. BRENDAN CHURCH
29 Rockaway Avenue San Francisco CA 94127 Tel. No. (415) 681-4225
www.stbrendanparish.org
June 2, 2019 Ascension Sunday
FAQ: Divorce & Remarriage I have been reading a book by an evangelical, megachurch pastor on the topic of church growth and reaching out to the unchurched. “Once every few years, I preach on Jesus’ view of divorce and remarriage,” he writes in one place. “I remind all the remarried people that they committed adultery when they remarried. People get upset.” No doubt. The topic is upsetting. Both the gospels of Matthew and Mark record Jesus saying exactly that. On one occasion, the Pharisees tested Jesus by asking: “Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?” (Mark 10:2; Matthew 19:3). It was an open question at the time, much debated by the rabbis. Jesus avoided the trap with broad lan-guage, but once alone with his dis-ciples, he said unambiguously, “whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) and mar-ries another commits adul-tery” (Matthew 19:9; Mark 10:11). Some scholars explain the harsh-ness of Jesus’ teaching as disap-proval aimed at the inequity of the rabbinic inter-pretation of the Mosaic Law on divorce. Men could hand a “bill of divorce” to their wives at any time for virtually any reason, but women unhappy in their marriages could not do likewise. But the fact remains that the ostensible words of Jesus on this topic are printed in black and white, even red letters in some versions of the Bible. To make matters worse, there is no help from most Christian traditions. The pastor I mentioned earlier seems to offer no assistance other than to remind divorced and remarried people that they have sinned. In fact, no denomination does any-
thing to accompany hurting people through this difficult journey in a systematic way, except the Roman Catholic Church. I write about this because we received again this year many questions from you on divorce and re-marriage as part of our current message series, Faith Answering Questions. Some of your submis-sions were heartbreaking. However, there is much hope in this area. While formal and legalistic in many ways, the an-nulment process offered by the Church, at its core, is really a healing ministry. It gives reassurance and clarity to those who feel broken by divorce.
Although Jesus by his words seems to have not permitted divorce, he did leave a broad exception for mar-riages that are “unlawful.” Through the authority given to it by God, the Church has interpreted this as grounds for granting annulments. Whereas a divorce is a dissolution of an otherwise lawful marriage, an
annulment is a declaration that the marriage was not valid from the start because “the two [never became] one flesh” for a variety of possible rea-sons (Mark 10:8; Matthew 19:5). If you’re divorced, talk to your local parish priest. He can help you start the annulment and walk with you through the whole process. If you’re hurting because of divorce, we also invite you to check out our divorce support group on the small groups page of our website. We love you and are here to help.
—Father Roger Gustafson, Pastor
Share these articles with your friends online at www.stbrendanparish.org.
Come aboard and navigate life with us. As a member, we ask that you take steps to grow in your disciple-ship. In fact, STEPS is an acronym for how to become a better disciple of Christ. As a member, we'll ask that you consider: S - Serving in a ministry T - Tithing & Giving E - Engaging in a small group P - Practicing prayer, including regular Sunday worship with us S - Sharing your faith by inviting your friends and neighbors to church If you think you're ready to become part of our church family, stop by our welcome desk at the entrance to the church before or after any Weekend Mass.
Making Church Matter
If this is your first time to Saint Brendan or your first time to church in a long time, we’re glad you’re here! We are a cozy community of believers who seek to find our way in life by following Jesus together, and we want you with us on the journey. Explore some possible next steps for you below. We’re here to help. If you have any questions, stop by our welcome desk located at the entrance to the church, check out our website at www.stbrendanparish.org, or just give us a call.
Become Part of Our Church Family
Welcome Aboard!
Serve in Ministry & Mission
We know many things compete for your attention. But we also know you’ll never really be happy until you begin serving others and putting your love to work. There are so many opportunities to make a differ-ence: • Help make Sundays an irresistible celebration by joining our Sunday Liturgy Support Ministry. • Help children, teens, and adults on their journey of faith by joining our Faith Formation Ministry. • Keep parishioners and visitors connected to one another by joining one of our Parish Life Ministries. • Take the love of Christ to people who are suffering by joining one of our Outreach Ministries. Whatever God is calling you to do, take that next bold step in faith. Explore our website for more infor-mation or just call us. We’re happy to get you connected!
News & Events Featured News & Events
JOIN A SMALL GROUP TODAY!
Life is better done together with others. During this Easter when we celebrate new life in Christ, consider
resurrecting your own spiritual journey by sharing your faith with other people in a small St. Brendan
group. There’s no long-term commitment or obliga-tion, only the possibility of new friends. Visit
www.stbrendanparish.org/small groups or call Sister Angela at (415) 681-4225, to learn more.
YEAR OF PRAYER BOOKLETS AVAILABLE AT WELCOME DESK
As many of you may remember, the theme for last
year’s Year of Prayer was “Pray Together, Stay Together.” Throughout the Year of Prayer, the
bulletin each week contained an article addressing some aspect of prayer. We have compiled these
articles into an attractive booklet for you to use as a reference in your prayer life. Pick up your copy at
the Welcome Desk after Mass!
IF YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY, PLEASE SIGN UP FOR ONLINE GIVING
Will your summer travel plans cause you to miss Mass at St. Brendan? Your consistent support is vital to our church, especially during the summer months. If you haven’t already, please consider
signing up for Online Giving before you go away. Online Giving is a fast, easy, and convenient way
to support the good works of our parish. www.stbrendanparish.org/giving
EXPERIENCED NAVIGATORS’ DINNER Monday, June 3, 6:00 p.m.
Villa D’Este Restaurant 2623 Ocean Avenue
Join the Experienced Navigators, our age 55 and over
group, for an evening of dinner and cabaret performances at Villa D’Este Restaurant.
Dinner includes salad, choice of three entrees, and dessert for $36 (including meal, tax, and tip). For more information, call Tony Fernandez
(415) 586-6992 or Barbara Casey (415) 285-2943.
Featured Article
FAQ: Reproductive Technologies
Many of the complicated questions we have about faith come from how the Church teachings fit into the larger conversations in areas like public poli-cy, news, and scientific advances. This week’s question is a great example: “I’d like to know a little more about the Catholic Church’s stand or thoughts on reproductive technology and families seeking the help of technology in conceiving.” It’s a big question, and it seems as though popular discourse on reproductive technology is always changing, so it’s helpful to look at official Church policy to answer in cases like this. In 1987, a group of cardinals, bishops, priests, lay theologi-ans, and canon lawyers came together to issue a document called the Donum Vitae (“the Gift of Life”), which addressed the ethics of modern fertility treatments. It had two important conclusions: first, it is not wrong to seek the help of tech-nology to overcome fertility; and second, only some of the available fertility treatments are moral. A treatment is immoral if it violates the dignity of the human person or the institution of marriage. One popular reproductive technology is in vitro fertilization (IVF). In IVF, the woman takes a medication to cause several of her eggs to mature simultaneously while the man provides sperm; these materials are then cultured in a Petri dish in a lab to allow embryos to form. Thus, the life created through IVF is not created by a deeply personal act between a man and a woman, but through a laboratory procedure done by a third party, an act violating the dignity of one of the acts of marriage. Additionally, in order to increase the chances of the procedure’s success rate, several embryos are formed at once. Many of these embryos never go on to be used in the implantation procedure
(where the embryos are transferred back to the woman’s uterus in the hope that at least one will implant), instead being frozen, used for scientific research, or labeled as medical waste. Because the Church teaches that life begins at the moment of conception, the disrespect for the embryos throughout the process violates the dignity of the human person. It is critical to note that any children conceived through IVF are still children of God to be loved, cherished, looked after, and nurtured always. Al-so, if parents conceived via IVF not knowing that the Church views it to be immoral, they are not subjectively guilty of sin.
However, other methods of repro-ductive technology, such as the tracking of one’s natural cycles, the use of fertility drugs, lower tubal ovum transfer (LTOT), and gamete intra-fallopian transfer (GIFT) are all deemed morally acceptable by the Church. Like many applications of Church teaching to the wider world, every-one seems to have a different view
and the conversations are so multifaceted. In eve-rything, remember that our greatest commandment requires us to act wholly and completely from love, of ourselves, of our friends, and of those who are not yet friends. Any learning or discus-sion that comes from love will be the right kind, and we will all be better for it. Note: the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has some excellent resources for answers to “faith application questions,” with scriptural and canonical reference, for further ex-ploration. —Claire Kosewic, Parishioner
Stewardship Is Love Evangelization is challenging, but we can feel confident when we remember it’s about telling and sharing with others, not imposing or influencing. Stewardship is a form of evangelization, because it’s an expression or message of love we send outward. Love is the greatest expression we have for God, one another, and everyone we hold dear, whether human or animal. While Jesus spoke many times about heaven, hell, and money in the Scriptures, he also spoke a great deal about love, and gave his greatest com-mandment, that is, for us to love one another as ourselves, during the Sermon on the Mount, and at the Last Supper. Stewardship is a wonderful form of love, when we share our time, talent, and treasure in so many different ways with others. In a most beautiful gospel passage, Jesus tells us there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. Most likely we won’t have to do that literally, but we can share all that we have to help others, which are forms of sacrifice. We can help others just by encourag-ing them. Encouraging others helps us support and strengthen them. It can be considered as a kind of laying one’s life down for another because when we do, we open ourselves up to them, taking risks and acting outside of our own established comfort zones to help. We can show what we believe to others by our actions, and gain a great deal of peace. So let us encourage others as much as we can. Let us love one an-other, and those we encounter on a daily basis, even those we don’t even know. In this way we continue on in our role to evangelize others through our own efforts and by example. Our loving efforts will lift us up, as Jesus was lifted up to heaven before the eyes of the apostles.
—Jim Wollak, Parishioner
Stewardship
Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you (John 6:27). Whatever blessings God has given you, we invite you to make a planned, proportionate, sacrificial, and enduring financial commitment to this parish and to the poor.
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 freely gives back the first and best portion of those gifts to God.
2019 Archdiocesan Annual Appeal
100%Goal $125,274
Amount Pledged or Paid $125,486 WE HAVE REACHED OUR GOAL! Additional AAA donations will all come back to our parish!Thank you for your generous support!
Offertory figures not included because collection count was not completed in time for pub-lishing deadline due Memorial
Day Holiday
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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 (415) 969-6788 Fr. Roger Gustafson [email protected] Parochial Vicar (415) 681-4225 Fr. Celestine Tyowua Ext.214 [email protected] Member & Volunteer Care (415) 969-6813 Sr. Angela Furia, FdCC [email protected] Children’s Faith Formation Carol Grewal (415) 969-6814 [email protected] Music Ministry (415) 218-1767 Mario Balestrieri School Principal (415) 731-2665 Dianne Lakatta [email protected] Parish Manager (415) 969-6815 Lisa Rosenlund [email protected] Financial Administrator (415) 969-6823 Maeve O’Reilly [email protected]
Administrative Assistant (415) 969-6824 Elizabeth Gamarra [email protected]
MASSES
Sunday: 7:30, 9:30,11:30 AM, 5:00 PM Mon-Fri: 6:30 & 8:15 AM Saturday: 8:15 AM 5:00 PM Holy Days: 6:30 AM, 8:15 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
Please call us at (415) 681-4225 or visit our website at www.stbrendanparish.org.
MASS INTENTIONS (June 3-June 9, 2019)
Weekend
SAT 8:15 a.m. Walt Farrell (D)
SAT 5:00 p.m.
Angelo & Mario Ordano (D)
SUN 7:30 a.m. Loretta Tribulato (D)
SUN 9:30 a.m. Francisco Cervera (D)
SUN 11:30a.m.
People of St. Brendan
SUN 5:00 p.m. Brendan O’Sullivan (D)
6:30 a.m. 8:15 a.m.
Monday Available Available
Tuesday
Maria Cortes (L) Available
Wednesday Available Available
Thursday Available Available
Friday Available Barbara Dollard (D)
Weekday
