Don't miss this great opportunity happening in the Bay Area at Our Lady of Peace Parish in Santa Clara . The event is free but please pre-register. Website for schedule and to pre-register: www.riseba.org
The Sacrament of Confirmation marks the completion of baptismal grace. Are you an adult who has not yet received this important sacrament? It’s time to step forward and complete your initiation into the Catholic Church. We will begin a series of preparation sessions for this sacrament on Wednesdays in October. If you are interested in participating or have questions, contact Susan in the Faith Formation Office (suolsen@dsj.org).
A wonderful evening was had by all at our recent Seton School’s Authors Event. Ron Hansen and Tobias Wolff donated their time and gave a delightful presentation to support our fundraising efforts. Together we raised close to $7,000 for our on-site Food Program - terrific! Best of all, we had a lovely community gathering with all of you, and an opportunity to thank you for all that you do to support our school. We are very blessed to have continued help from our local church communities..... Next... ....Tamales at Christmas :) Carmel Caligaris - St. Elizabeth Seton School
Pope Francis declared October 11 that the death penalty is “contrary to the Gospel.” He said that “however grave the crime that may be committed, the death penalty is inadmissible because it attacks the inviolability and the dignity of the person.”
Jesus has a special compassion for the sick and suffering. He wants us to look out for them. If you are ill or homebound, or in a retirement home or a care facility or if you know a parishioner who needs pastoral care, please contact the Pastoral Home Ministry. We will visit them, bring them Holy Communion and, if needed, offer them the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick by one of our priests.
Facts about Human Trafficking: There are an estimated 21 million victims of human trafficking worldwide, with the majority trapped in situations of labor trafficking. Each year, an estimated 17,500 men, women, and children are trafficked across U.S. borders and forced into slavery. Unfortunately, stakeholders have increasingly found that individuals in situations of forced migration, such as refugees and unaccompanied children, are particularly vulnerable to labor and sex traffickers.
The St. Thomas Aquinas team was one of several teams that attended the CROP Hunger Walk on Sunday, October 8, at Nealon Park in Menlo Park. The purpose of the event is to raise money for the Church World Service for the alleviation of world hunger. Our group combined to donate $1,150 for the cause.
On August 30, 2016, the Catholic Community Foundation announced a $1 Million Match for Parish Endowments. This equals a $20,000 gift to each parish endowment that raises $20,000 in new funds before September 30, 2017. With the generous gifts of several parishioners, St. Thomas Aquinas Parish received this matching gift of $20,000 and funded a new endowment which todays stands at $47, 382. It is our hope that other parishioners will be inspired to make a lasting gift to our parish as part of their legacy. A gift to an endowment is a gift of hope for future generations. If you would like to contribute to our parish endowment, or if you have questions, please contact Chuck Tully at the Pastoral Center or visit www.cfoscc.org
The Santa Clara County Housing Authority (SCCHA) has finalized the purchase of the Buena Vista Mobile Home Park in Palo Alto, California, paving the way for the Housing Authority and the park's new operator, Caritas Corporation, to begin the design and permitting of infrastructure and other needed improvements to the site. The sale brings to completion the more than two-year effort to preserve the park as affordable housing, while enabling 400 low-income residents to remain in their homes.
To Live Each Day with Dignity: A Statement on Physician-Assisted Suicide To live in a manner worthy of our human dignity, and to spend our final days on this earth in peace and comfort, surrounded by loved ones - that is the hope of each of us. Christian hope sees these final days as a time to prepare for our eternal destiny. Today, however, many people fear the dying process. They are afraid of being kept alive past life’s natural limits by burdensome medical technology.
As a Catholic faith community we value the dignity and rights of all persons and we endeavor to educate, to influence public policy, and to engage our community for the purpose of eradicating human trafficking in all its forms. We work in collaboration with other faith communities, law enforcement, and established organizations addressing the
A heartfelt thank you for your tremendous support of the untold thousands who suffer from the impact of floods, hurricanes and earthquakes in our own country, the Caribbean and Mexico. Our parish will be sending a check for over $20,000 to Catholic Charities USA. CCUSA is the official domestic relief agency of the U.S. Catholic Church.
Racism is an attack on the image of God that has been given to every one of us by the Creator (Gen. 5:1-3). Because each person has been created by God, we are all united together with the Lord and with each other. Racism rejects what God has done by refusing to acknowledge the image of God in the other, the stranger and the one who is different