These past three weeks have been eye opening for me. When I saw my primary care doctor (who is also my cousin) this past week, I said to him “I was pretty sick that Sunday morning when I met you at St. Mary’s Emergency Room.” He started to laugh and told me it was a good thing I came in when I did. During nine days in the hospital, half of which in intensive care, I met wonderful people who cared for me. There were nurses from Saint Roberts, Epiphany and Saint Cecilia’s. One nurse in the ICU worked with me at CYO Camp in the 1970’s. One of the Emergency Room Doctors is a Saint Robert’s graduate.

I felt when I left the hospital last week that the worse was behind me and in reality I believe that is true. However the six to eight weeks of recovery are also proving to be a challenge. As you know, I’m not the type to just sit around and watch the grass grow. But my body tells me I must. Ordinary things tire me out. A friend of mine sent me a card. The picture is a bear lying in a stream with its head on a rock. The inscription: “Sit back…relax.” And that is what I must do.

Thanks to all of you for your cards, prayers and phone calls. You are all very special people. To all the children thanks for your cards, pictures and messages of love. Father Harry came to visit last Sunday after celebrating the 9:30 a.m. Mass. He told me the church was packed with young families and lots of children. I said welcome to the best parish in the Archdiocese. Thanks also to our wonderful staff who have picked up the pieces and carry on the excellent ministry. I’ve also learned that I am not indispensable. They even had a staff meeting without me! Who knows what will be next!

I will be back, hopefully in time for Holy Week and Easter. Continue to pray for me and Father Joe as we are also praying for you. I really look forward to getting back in April.

Continue your good work, love the Lord and each other.

Monday-March 6th
Readings: Lv 19:1-2,11-18 - Mt 25:31-46

Tuesday-March 7th
Readings: Is 55:10-11 - Mt 6:7-15

Wednesday-March 8th
Readings: Jon 3:1-10 - Lk 11:29-32

Thursday-March 9th
Readings: Est C:12,14-16,23-25 - Mt 7:7-12

Friday-March 10th
Readings: Ez 18:21-28 - Mt 5:20-26

Saturday-March 11th
Readings: Dt 26:16-19 - Mt 5:43-48

The Grownup’s Annual Soup Supper and General Meeting will be held in Hennessy Hall on Wednesday, March 8th, at 6 pm. The meeting will follow the supper. We will have a guest speaker.

It’s been a long time, since our parish has had a mission. We have one planned for March 13-15 with two representatives of Catholic Relief Services, Joseph Hastings from Seattle and Thomas Awiapo from Uganda. Their sharing on the scriptures and our everyday lives will definitely help us enter into the Lenten season. They will speak at the Masses the weekend before, so you’ll have an opportunity to meet them. The actual parish mission Monday through Wednesday will consist of presentations after the 8:30 am Mass and evening presentations at 7:30 pm in the church. (They will also be speaking to the confirmation classes and the students at St. Robert’s School, as well as at some of the high schools in the area.) Please put the dates on your calendar, so that you have an opportunity to be inspired by these two good men!

Also, we’re looking for hospitality – a place to stay for Thomas – preferably nearby, from Saturday evening through Wednesday evening. If someone has a mother-in-law apartment or similar arrangement to offer for those nights, please contact Sister Sheral at 589-2800.

Spiritual Reading will be available at St. Robert’s after the Masses on Sundays. Please take a few minutes either before or after Mass and check out a book or two that interest you. You may keep the books until you have them read. We have some books on the Library cart but we have many more in the Library/Reconciliation room.

We continue to ask each week that parishioners pray for the chronically ill of our parish. If you have a friend or loved one in need of our parish prayers please call the Rectory at 589-2800.

TOMORROW, Monday, March 6th in Hennessy Hall.

We are a group of parishioners some of us married, some widowed, some divorced, and some single.

• Do you think you are middle aged? (double your age, and tell us how many people you know that age)
• Do your joints hurt when you wake up?
• Do you experience hot and cold when nobody else does?
• Do you need to hold the menu across the table to read it?
• Do your kids suddenly talk too fast for you to understand?

You get the picture if you answered yes to any of the above you definitely should belong to this group.

We meet about 6 times a year usually on a Friday evening. Some of our past activities have included annual events like our Christmas Party, a Pedro Tournament, Crab dinner, St. Patrick’s Dinner Dance, the Fun Train to Reno, Mystery trips, and this year a Giants game and a Disneyland trip.

All of our events and meetings are open to all members of the parish. Come try a meeting you are all welcome. We are extremely friendly. Our meetings include dinner and sometimes a small activity is planned afterward. The meetings are in the Parish Hall, cocktails are from 6:30 to 7:30, dinner about 7:30 and a short meeting usually after dinner.

Welcome to Lent!

Though many of us may have grown up with a negative sense of the season because it meant giving up something we enjoyed as children, the word “lent” actually means “springtime.” And none of us dreads the coming of spring with its longer days and temperate nights and its flowers, except possibly allergy sufferers!

Some of us recall what used to be said as we received the ashes, “Remember, man, that you are dust and unto dust you shall return.” I read a lovely explanation by scripture scholar Walter Brueggemann, S.J. of the true meaning of this formula. He refers to Psalm 103, v. 14 from which this line is taken: “As tenderly as a father treats his children, so Yahweh treats those who fear him; he knows what we are made of, he remembers we are dust.” In verse 17, we read, “Yahweh’s love lasts from all eternity and forever, like his goodness to their children’s children.” In Fr. Brueggemann’s understanding, the blessing with ashes doesn’t refer to our sinfulness or guilt, but to the fact that being of the earth, our very life breath depends upon God‘s graciousness which is poured out upon us at every moment. We need to remember that we are creatures, that we are dependent, which we tend to forget. We need to re-think our boundaries and not try to be like God. We are invited to remember what God remembers in Psalm 103. Our creatureliness doesn’t cause God to reject us, but to be faithful to us.

As our Lenten liturgies begin each weekend, you’ll hear the call to worship sounded three times, summoning us to prayerfully bring with us the everyday “stuff” of our lives in order to offer those people and situations to God during the Eucharist. Liturgy means “the work of the people” and this is when we are most fully the Church. As God’s own beloved people, this is what we do best: sing and pray and receive the Body and Blood of the Lord, then go out to share the love we experience with our broken world which needs it so badly. Listen deeply to the songs you’ll be singing and let the words sink in. Change our hearts, we pray, so that we may grow and blossom into a people of deeper hope, more active love and living faith.

May we open ourselves this Lent so that the Spirit may do wonders in us and, through us, transform our neighborhoods and our world.