Posted on: August 22, 2019

2020 Pilgrimage With Father Wayne

Warsaw, Krakow, Prague, Vienna, Budapest

Registration for next year’s pilgrimage to Eastern European holy sites is now open for St. Joseph’s parishioners. Contact 206 Tours at: 1-800-206-TOUR (8687) or Email: Liz@206tours.com or Natasha@206tours.com or book online at www.pilgrimages.com/frdawson.

Father Wayne Dawson selected Poland as a launching point for the pilgrimage because of its rich Catholic heritage and also to walk in the footsteps of St. John Paul II. Highlights will include where he was he was born, baptized, where he was ordained as a priest, where he was installed as a bishop and where he was installed as a cardinal. Landmarks in Poland where John Paul II visited are also on the itinerary.

The tour has been timed so that pilgrims can visit Divine Mercy in Lagiewniki on August 15th, the day that The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is observed. The Poland leg of the tour will also include a tour of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp.

The itinerary includes one night in Warsaw, one night in Czestochowa, three nights in Krakow, two nights in Prague, Czech Republic, two nights in Vienna, Austria, and two nights in Budapest, Hungary. Popular sights will be the Wieliczka Salt Mine in the Czech Republic, as well as the Schönbrunn Royal Palace in Vienna, and Martyas Church in Budapest.

Click below for Printable Brochure...

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Posted on: May 23, 2019

Celebrating the Sacrament of Confirmation

St. Joseph's Confirmation Year in Review

 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses… to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8

The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, was released onto the apostles in a powerful way at Pentecost.  The spirit came to rest upon them, and filled with this spirit, the apostles went out, changed men, and began to change the world.

The Holy Spirit it still alive and well—working in our Church and in our lives, when we are open to the Spirit. On Tuesday, May 14th, at 6:30 p.m., we celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation for twenty-three of our parish teens.

The year leading up to the Sacrament of Confirmation was dynamic and lively, with many meaningful opportunities to grow spiritually and in service with one another, in addition to participating in our beautiful liturgies.

Forgiveness and Reconciliation – Father Wayne led us in a 3-week lesson on Forgiveness and Reconciliation – with God and others, which are values foundational to our faith. Father Wayne drew parallels with his life experiences and those of Nelson Mandela, who after becoming president of South Africa, rejected revenge, forgave his oppressors who jailed him 27 years for his fight against apartheid and found hope of national unity.

Inspiration L.A. Retreat – The Confirmation class traveled to Six Flags Magic Mountain last November where faith and fun converged. They discovered that fun can be found in our faith and faith can be found in our fun. After a day of thrilling roller coaster rides, our parish teens gathered together with 2,500 other teens at one of the theme park's amphitheaters for Mass and an hour of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

RISE for Youth Retreat – Our parish teens participated with hundreds of other teens for an inspirational one-day Theology of the Body retreat, held at Our Lady of Peace Church in Santa Clara. It featured dynamic speakers, workshops, and prayer, along with Confession and Mass, and addressed how to live out our Catholic faith and values in the midst of our surrounding culture.

Walk for Life San Francisco – For the Church, there is no distinction between defending human life and promoting the dignity of the human person. Human life is a gift from God and is sacred from conception to death. The right to life is the most crucial foundation of human rights that leads us to actively work for a world that upholds the sanctity of human life. St. Joseph’s Confirmation teens walked together, with over 50,000 other participants, affirming the value and dignity of every human being and were witnesses to the Good News of Jesus Christ. The event began with Mass at St. Mary's Cathedral, followed by a rally at the Civic Center Plaza to hear effective and moving motivational speakers, before beginning the walk of 1.8 miles down Market Street. Events like this one helped our teens to develop courage for the times they may be called to defend our faith.

Spring Retreat– At an all-day retreat held at our parish, Father Wayne opened the retreat with an inspirational talk, giving our Confirmation teens the time to reflect on the words React, Respond, and Unique, before engaging in some fun and games to build community and connection with each other. There was also a time of worship and contemplation in our Church, followed by a time of journaling about their experience, before praying the Rosary at the First Saturday Devotion in our Church. The retreat concluded with Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in the Adoration Chapel, followed by Mass.

Stations of the Cross - Our teens lead us in a beautiful meditation of the Stations of the Cross during Lent. The Stations of the Cross commemorates Jesus Christ's last day on Earth as a man. The 14 stations focus on specific events of His last day, beginning with His condemnation. The stations were like a mini pilgrimage as the teens moved from station to station. At each station, the teens read about the station, so we were all able to recall and meditate on a specific event from Christ's last day.

Crowning of Queen of May – Our Confirmation class concluded with a very special end-of-the-year activity, Crowing the Queen of May. During Class, we gathered in front of our Mary Statue, in front of the Adoration Chapel, and crowned our Blessed Mother with flowers. We were then led by Michael Doherty in reflecting on and praying the Rosary together.

Mary teaches us what it means to pray and ponder over the events that we need to sort out. Mary always points us to Jesus, her son, Lord and the source of her strength.

 Works of Mercy – Service Projects:

St. Vincent de Paul – Our Confirmation Teens teamed up with the Middle School Youth Group to distribute and collect 300 bags of non-perishable food items from our surrounding neighborhood for our St. Vincent de Paul food pantry. That was over 3 truck-beds full of food! This was a wonderful way for our parish youth to bring to light the needs of our community, as well as bring awareness of who we are as a parish to our neighbors.

STARS ministry – The Saint Joseph’s STARS Ministry for those with Disabilities teamed up with local community groups to provide 70-80 of those in our community, who may find it difficult to participate in a typical environment, with a fun, joyful parties. Every three months, the Confirmation teens had the opportunity to serve at the St. Joseph's STARS parties and model how we should treat others, based on the teachings of Jesus. All people are made in the image of God and deserve the opportunity to access life-giving celebrations. And, the teens had so much fun serving at the same time!

Please join us in continuing to pray for our teens, as they have received the Holy Spirit in a new and life-changing way.

Come Holy Spirit, come. Change our hearts. Change our lives. Help us to be witnesses.

Posted on: May 8, 2019

Sacrament of First Eucharist

Sacrament of First Eucharist Mass

Our First Eucharist Mass will take place on Saturday, May 11th at 11:00 a.m. in our Church. Forty-six of our parish children will be receiving the Sacrament of First Eucharist this Easter season. 

First Holy Communion is an important event in their life as Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith -- it is the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Pope Francis has called this sacrament the "Sacrament of Love."

Our First Eucharist children have been preparing this past year to receive the gift of Jesus in their lives through the Eucharist. One of our children said it best at our last preparation class: "The Love of Jesus is blooming in us."

Please join us and share in this joyous occasion in the life of our parish children by praying for our First Communicants. Also, join us in our Church at this liturgy to witness for the first time the union between Jesus and our children. This is a significant sacrament as they have committed to a lifetime of service and communion that will change them forever.

Posted on: May 3, 2019

Sacrament of Confirmation Mass

Our Sacrament of Confirmation will take place Tuesday, May 14^th, at 6:30 p.m. in our Church. Twenty-three of our parish teens will be receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation this Easter season.

What is the Sacrament of Confirmation?

Baptism, Eucharist, and Confirmation are called the Sacraments of Initiation. Through these Sacraments we become members of the Catholic Church, a community of Spirit-filled people who have been saved by Christ and who witness Christ’s love in the world.

By means of the Sacrament of Baptism, persons are made sons and daughters of God, their sins are forgiven, and they are welcomed as members of the Church.

The Eucharist unites the people of God as a family of Christ, whose body and blood they share.

As one of the Sacraments of Initiation, Confirmation strengthens the life by the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is about strengthening what God has given, and continues to give, to his sons and daughters.

And what is God doing? Strengthening the divine life which He gave at Baptism, nourishing us in the Eucharist, and reconciling with us in Penance. Why? So that the individual can better defend and witness to the faith through the gifts and workings of the Holy Spirit. And there are—and will be—many situations where we are called upon to defend and witness to our faith. And we need all the help we can get!

By means of this Sacrament of Christian initiation, the faithful receive in increasing measure, the treasures of divine life and grow toward the perfection of charity.

Twenty-three teens are ready, and they have been preparing for two years to receive this powerful Sacrament. One teen summed it up as, "Confirmation is what seals the door of our faith."

Please join us in our Church for this powerful liturgy and be witnesses to the outpouring of the Holy Spirt, as our teens accept the challenge given by Jesus to the disciples to go forth and be witnesses of our faith. We invite you to pray for our Confirmation Candidates and share in this very important faith-moment in the life of our teens and parish.

Posted on: April 26, 2019

Don't Miss Welcoming the New Bishop for 1st Time at St. Joseph's This Weekend at the 11am Mass

On Divine Mercy Sunday, April 28, 2019 Bishop Daniel will celebrate the 11:00 am Mass at our parish. Please join Bishop Daniel and Father Wayne for this special Mass as we give a St. Joseph’s welcome to Bishop Daniel, as well as reflecting on the “path of mercy which, while re-establishing the relationship of each person with God, also creates new relations of fraternal solidarity among human beings.” Pope John Paul II. 
Everyone is invited to join us at the 11:00 am Mass, as well as the reception in the hall following mass. Please bring a plated appetizer to share afterward to the hall.