You can now submit your Mass Intentions online! Simply follow the link and fill out the information, and it will be processed weekly!

New or returning sacristans are needed at Our Lady of the Rosary. No experience required, and training will be provided. We could use a sacristan 1-2 times a month, and/or as a substitute. Contact Will McDougal for more details or to sign up. [email protected]

The rhythm of the liturgical seasons reflects the rhythm of life — with its celebrations of anniversaries and its seasons of quiet growth and maturing. Ordinary Time, meaning ordered or numbered time, is celebrated in two segments: from the Monday following the Baptism of Our Lord up to Ash Wednesday; and from Pentecost Monday to the First Sunday of Advent. This makes it the largest season of the Liturgical Year.

Over the next three weekends, the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Sundays of Lent at the 10:30 am Mass at Our Lady of the Rosary, we will celebrate the rites of penance and purification with our elect who are preparing to receive the sacraments of initiation at the Easter Vigil. The purpose of these rites is to uncover all that would lead them away from Christ, so that they might be able to come to a full Christian life. The support of a parish community is vital to this process. At the same time, these brief rites call us, the baptized, to uproot the sin in our lives to be more faithful to our own baptism.

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.

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.

The County Public Health Officer has requested that we make some temporary adaption to our celebrations of the Eucharist, so as to foster the health of our worshipping communities. For the duration of the Flu and Cold season, Bishop McGrath has asked all parishes to adapt the following temporary liturgical adaptations.

This Sunday, December 3, the Church enters into a new season. Advent is a winter feast celebrated for the four darkest weeks of the year. The sun rises later and later and sets long before the day is complete. Christmas comes during the darkest of this dark time. It is the Feast of Light, the celebration of Him who is the Light of the World.

The current rules on fasting before holy Communion are simple and clearly expressed in the Code of Canon Law. They provide that one must abstain for one hour from all food and drink, with the exception of water or medicine, prior to receiving the Eucharist (Canon 919).

Continuing with the catecheses on the Mass, we can ask ourselves: What is the Mass essentially? The Mass is the memorial of Christ’s Paschal Mystery. It makes us participants in His victory over sin and death and gives full meaning to our life. Therefore, to understand the value of the Mass we must then understand, first of all, the biblical meaning of the “memorial.” It is “not merely the recollection of past events, but in a certain sense renders them present and real.

At church, Catholics should spend their time in silence before Mass, preparing "to meet with Jesus" instead of engaging in "chitchat," the pope said Nov. 15 during his weekly general audience. "Silence is so important," he said. "Remember what I told you last time: we are not going to a show. Silence prepares us and accompanies us."

Now that the interior of St. Thomas Aquinas church is renewed, it is time to focus on replacing the wooden altar table, the ambo (where lectors stand to read the Word of God and from which the priest delivers his homily), and the presider's chair. The STA Interior Committee has been considering options for designs of altar furniture that echo the architectural style of the church.

Can’t hear the sermon or parts of the Mass? As part of the renovations at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, technology was installed to help our parishioners who do have various forms of hearing loss. People with hearing aids can now turn on the T-Coil built into their hearing aids and key into the sound system.

Overview for August 30, 2017 to September 13, 2017

Why do we sing at Mass, or to make the question more basic: why do we sing at all, ever? Why has the human animal developed this particular art-form? Animals have their cries and birds chirp, but why do we humans sing? What is found in the act of singing that makes this a unique property of the human species? Yes, it is said that whales and dolphins “sing,” but maybe that’s because their brains are larger than our own! (Does this imply that the “smarter” a creature is … ?) 

Altar servers are greatly needed for both the 5:00 p.m. Saturday and 9:00 a.m. Sunday Masses at St. Albert the Great Church. Please call Nora Lundin at 650-494-2496 ext. 14 or [email protected] org to find out how you can be a part of this enjoyable ministry.

Four parishioners at St. Albert the Great take turns every three months to launder and press the linens we use for Mass. They are looking for another person to help out. Please call Nora at 650-494-2496, ext. 14 if you can assist this dedicated team.

Overview for February 08, 2017 to February 22, 2017