He, Yahweh, is merciful, tenderhearted,
Slow to anger, very loving,
And universally kind: Yahweh’s tenderness
Embraces all his creatures. Ps. 147

As we move through the season, Autumn or Fall, we should keep in mind that though the seasons change, our God-Yahweh never changes. He remains tenderhearted, kind, loving and forgiving to all of us - His children. This psalm is an invitation to us to put God first in our lives and to communicate with Him daily through prayer and good deeds. Prayer is powerful and we should never neglect or underestimate its power.

Most of you probably remember from your school days how our prayer should spell out the word ALTAR:

A=Adoration
L=Love
T=Thanksgiving
A=Asking
R=Reparation

Our prayer should not always be a “give-me” type of prayer, though Our Lord Jesus did encourage to ask His Heavenly Father for all our wants and for the needs of our fellow brothers and sisters. Today’s Gospel reminds us of the necessity of giving thanks and not be like the nine lepers who never returned to “give thanks” to Jesus for healing them.

Presently, we are in the process of making preparations for All Soul's Day This is a time when we pray for our departed loved ones. Our parishioners will join as a family in praying for all those who passed away during the past year (and years) and for those left behind to grieve for them.

We have many sick and homebound in our parish who are in need of your prayers. Should you know of a neighbor or a relative who is sick or homebound and can not come to Mass, we ask you to inscribe their names in the Prayer Book (near Mary’s Chapel) in the church or ask that one of us to take Holy Communion to them. This way we can bring their pain and suffering to the Lord. Miracles still happen but only through Prayer. Let us prepare for All Saints and All Souls by renewing our efforts to pray daily for those among us who are suffering because of pain or because of grief caused by the death of a loved one.

Sister Patricia

As a Parish Community we pray …for children of our country, especially those who are forgotten or neglected, that their presence might remind us of the infinite value of human life.

WE CONGRATULATE THE NEWLY BAPTIZED

Thomas Daniel Baird
Kawaiola Christian Sliger

Our sincere sympathy to the families of
Rafael Garbin,
Joseph Debono and
John Wargo
who died recently.

TIPPS
Toddlers, Infants, Preschoolers and Parents Social

Join TIPPS for our Halloween get-together!!
Friday, October 19, 2007, 6:30 PM in Hennessy Hall.
This is a Potluck event so bring an item to share with six people, and a toy for your child to play with.

We would love to see the kids in costume! (Bring your camera/camcorder)

Feel free to invite new TIPPSters! See you then!!
For more information, contact Andrew or Ana Kimoto

CONSOLATION MINISTRY

Saint Robert’s Grief Support Group will hold a meeting on October 27th in the Convent Chapel from 3:15 p.m. (before the 4:30 p.m. Mass). Anyone who is suffering from the loss of a loved one-spouse, sibling, child, parent, friend or relative is invited to come and pray share, comfort and be comforted. You are invited to bring a companion as for support and strength. God bless and comfort you in your sorrow. Call, Sister Patricia 589-0104 or any of the consolation Ministry Committee.

Consolation Ministry Committee meets after the 8:30 a.m. Mass in Mary’s Chapel on the first Wednesday of every month. If you are interested, you are welcome to join us.

FIL-AM RENO TRIP
November 10th and 11th

Come and enjoy a trip sponsored by the Fil-Am Group. A scenic drive to Reno on November 10-11. For more information please call Adelaida (Dada) Gallagher or Encar Sanchez or Rady Peredo.

CHORAL CONCERT
Sunday, November 4th, at 2p.m. In Our Churchb

The choirs of St. Roberts and St. Matthews are getting together again to present a concert of sacred choral music. This is a concert, featuring the choirs of our two parishes as well as soloists and small groups. There will be music of different styles and seasons. Those of you who attended the Lenten program on Palm Sunday heard some beautiful and uplifting music. This program will feature music that could be sung throughout the year, including Pentecost and Easter.

The concert date is Sunday, November 4^th, at 2:00 PM, here at St. Robert’s Church. I hope that you will be able to attend, not only to hear a wonderful program, but also to support choral music in the church. These choir members have worked hard attending extra rehearsals on Sunday afternoons in order to present this concert. An offering will be taken to help with the cost of music for this program.

The choir and I look forward to presenting this beautiful music, and hope that you will enjoy it as well.

Kevin Imbimbo

GETTING READY FOR ALL SOULS
November 2nd

November is traditionally the month set aside by our church to commemorate and celebrate the memories of our departed loved ones. This year we will have a special Mass on the feast of All Souls, November 2ndat 7:30 p.m. All are invited to this liturgy.

The names of those buried from St. Robert’s and relatives of parishioners buried from other churches will be read aloud by members of the Consolation Ministry and a special candle will be lit and placed on the altar in their memory.

We will have a special shrine erected in Our Lady’s alcove (in the church) with their names inscribed in a Memorial Book. Please, bring pictures, memorial cards or flowers to place in this shrine all during November. We will also, post their names around the walls of the church, so that the faithful will be reminded of our departed loved ones each time they enter the church.

We are asking a special favor from you, the parishioners. We have recorded all those buried from Saint Robert’s but would like to remember all of your departed loved ones that are buried /cremated from any other church or Funeral Home during the past year. Call, email or fax their names and the date of burial to the Rectory or to Sister Patricia by October 26th or a.s.a.p.

“It is a Holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead.”

Religion classes have started for the 2007-2008 school year. If you have not yet registered your child, please call the Religious Education office at 588-0477.

The last day to register is Tuesday, October 23rd.

ST. VINCENT DE PAUL
Thanksgiving Food Drive

St. Vincent de Paul will make the annual Thanksgiving deliveries on November 17th to our needy neighbors. Your past generosity has enabled us to help many families. Please help with the following items:

Cranberry sauce, stuffing mix, yams & instant potatoes, canned pumpkin and chicken broth. Gift cards are also welcomed.

The Word of God
The readings for today focus on the word: Naaman, the Syrian, plunges into the Jordan, at Elisha’s word; Paul goes to prison for the word; and Jesus’ words send the lepers to the priests and they are healed en route. Naaman at first dismisses Elisha the prophet’s command that he wash in the Jordan: “What’s wrong with washing in one of the rivers of my home country?” he protests. Paul preaches the gospel (the word for “good news”), though it constantly gets him in trouble. And Jesus’ word to the lepers not only heals them, but also reconnects them with their community through the acknowledgement of their healing by the priests.

And what about our relationship with the Word of God? Granted, those of us who are older didn’t grow up with the scriptures. But there are resources for us today. You’ll find an excellent website for weekly and daily commentaries on the readings used at Mass at www.preacherexchange.com. It is by Jude Siliciano, a Dominican friar, who gives the context for the readings with great insight. If you have a bible, you can read over the scripture passages, listed in the previous week’s bulletin, so that when you hear them on Sunday, you can really listen. Perhaps, you need to set the alarm just a few minutes earlier so that you (and the kids) are settled when we sing the opening song. And speaking of singing, might you try to join in the singing, since often the words of the songs are scriptural themselves or an application of the gospel to our daily lives? All of these practices will make a difference, I promise.

Last week’s reading from Habbakuk lamented the violence, destruction, ruin and misery he witnessed. We might have been relating his words to our own times as well. What can we do about the awful state of our world? One very practical action we might take is to participate in the .7Now Action Conference, Saturday, Oct. 27 at St. Mary’s Cathedral from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. The title refers to the promise made by the developed countries to the poorest developing countries to give .7% of our gross national product by 2015 to forgiveness of debt and establishment of the infrastructure necessary for a society to prosper: education, health care, roads, microloans for small businesses, favorable trade status. Our country has given only .25% thus far. Sponsored by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Archdiocese of San Francisco, the University of San Francisco, the Episcopal Diocese of California and Catholic Relief Services, the day will include prayer, talks by the Archbishop of Capetown, South Africa, two CRS workers from India and Zambia, and two representatives of the Catholic and Episcopal justice and peace offices; practical workshops and a legislative town hall with our elected representatives will round out the day. If you have questions or you’d like to attend, please call me tomorrow, so I can include you in our registration. The parish will gladly cover the cost.

May we be so attentive to the word of God this week that we become instruments of his healing for our wounded world.

Peace, S. Sheral

   
MERCY CENTER
2300 Adeline Drive, Burlingame, CA94010
Tel:650.340.7474, Fax:650.340.1299
mc@mercyburl.org

November 7-11
Meditation Intensive (East West Meditation)

November 18th
Seasonal Celebrations of the Spirit Through Art

JESUIT RETREAT CENTER OF LOS ALTOS
300 Manresa Way, Los Altos, Ca 94022-4659
(650) 948-4491
www.jrclosaltos.org

November 9-11
A Gratitude Retreat for Men & Women

November 10-12
A Moment’s Pause for Gratitude

November 30-December 2
Walking on Water
A Retreat by and for Young Adults, ages 20-40

SAN DAMIANO RETREAT CENTER
P.O. Box 767, Danville, Ca 94526
(925) 837-9141

 November 9
Memoirs Recalling & Feeling Memories

November 16-18
Men’s Retreat Awakening to a deeper calling

November 30-December 2
Grief Retreat-The Long Goodbye
A retreat on Grief and Loss

MARRIED COUPLES

You can celebrate your Marriage by attending a Worldwide Marriage Encounter Weekend,

November 9th-11th, in Burlingame. It’s a positive, simple, common sense, private experience between husband and wife that revitalizes marriage. For more information, go to sf.lovemoredeeply.org. or call Paul and Yvonne at (650) 366-7093.

If you are new to St. Robert’s, we ask that you complete a registration form found in the vestibule of the church. Drop it either in the collection basket, the mail, or at the parish office. We will send you a New Parishioner Packet with information about the parish, its organizations and groups. If you chose, you can register online at: www.saintroberts.org.

SUNDAY COLLECTION

Thank you for your generous donation of $2,477.58
to our School, CCD and Confirmation Programs.

    
SIGN UP FOR E-CONTRIBUTIONS

Go to www.saintroberts.org and click on the e-contributions button. The first page explains the details. There is a button to take you to the e-paluch registration page. You can register online using either your checking account or credit card.

There is no cost to you for this service.

     
THIS WEEKEND
October 13th and 14th

The 2nd collection isfor St. Anne's Home Little Sisters of the Poor in San Francisco. Sister Clare and Sister Joan will speak to us about the needs of today's elderly and their work at Saint Anne's Home.

2007 CENTERPLATE SIGN UP

Saturday, 4:30 p.m. Mass

Sunday, 7:30 a.m. Mass

Sunday, 5:00 p.m. Mass