The first of a planned series of St. Thomas Aquinas parishioner art exhibitions has been hung in the St. Albert the Great Hospitality Center. The artists contributing to this first show are Fran Adams, Louise Gibler, and Carol Pulliam. If you would like to participate in this activity—or know of someone who may be interested—please contact Neil Barrett at 650-330-1762 or, by email, at [email protected]

One of the important changes that flowed from the Council was the expansion of the Scripture readings at Mass from a one-year set of readings to a three-year cycle of readings for Sundays. This development necessitated a beginning and end of each cycle of readings which became identified as the beginning and end of the liturgical year. The establishment of the feast of Christ the King in the early 20th century also contributed to this development.

It’s good to recycle your junk mail (OK, “unsolicited bulk mail”) . It’s even better to stop getting it.  Stopping junk mail is a form of waste reduction (better than recycling). By stopping the mail you don’t want, you can conserve natural resources and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Ever wish you could get our weekly church bulletin delivered to your email inbox or right to your phone or tablet? Well now you can -- for free -- if your parish publishes its bulletin with the J.S. Palace Company (and St. Thomas Aquinas Parish does!).

The Catholic Church in England and Wales has launched an app designed to help users deepen their faith and discover their vocations. The “God Calls” app was commissioned by the National Office for Vocation of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales as a “spiritual toolkit.” The app includes daily prayers and meditations on the Gospel and the lives of the saints, as well as a news section and Twitter feed to connect users to the life of the church.

The Thursday Morning Scripture and Faith Sharing group has been meeting for over 9 years. It is a “drop-in”, friendly, mixed age group. They use the following Sunday’s liturgy readings from the Breaking Bread Missal as a source for study and lively discussions. They also review, very briefly, salient points from the previous Sunday's homilies. Sondra Dingman is the moderator. These seekers meet from 10-11:30 am at St. Albert Hospitality Room and are always looking for new members to join them. Contact Sondra for more information.

A highly controversial bill that would encourage California public colleges to provide abortion-inducing medicationA highly controversial bill that would encourage California public colleges to provide abortion-inducing medication to students is returning to the Legislature in 2018.

My sisters and brothers, the glory of the Lord Jesus has been made manifest and will continue to be revealed in our midst until he comes again. In the rhythms and alternations of time, let us recall and live the mysteries of our salvation.

Pope Francis has spoken out against the “liberalization of drug use.” “Drug problems already ravage the lives of young people, and society should not multiply this problem exponentially. Instead of sowing the seeds of suffering and death, we should educate young people in the values that build up life in society.”

The other day I was speaking with someone who was dreading the holidays with her ‘dysfunctional family’ (her words). It got me thinking about that word, dysfunctional, and how it implies that there is an opposite, functional, family, out there, somewhere. Of course, nowadays, we have blended families; non-traditional families; single-parent families; grandparent families; sister-wives’ families, and nuclear dyad families (I had to look that one up: it’s a husband and wife with no children).