O THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD MAY 16, 2021 Celebrating the Reopening of the Church We will be having an open house on Pentecost Sunday, May 23rd. To celebrate the reopening of the church and the restoration of our building, we will have gifts for all who join us for Mass and come into the Church. We will have an explanation of the refresh project and thank our contractors and contributors at 10:00AM in English and 2:00PM in Spanish in the Church. Please invite your family, neighbors and friends to stop in. Celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus We are so loved by God that he has opened for us the opportunity to encounter him through the Sacraments. We have begun our First Communion celebrations in May and will conclude on June 5th. On June 6th, 20 candidates from Youth Ministry will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. Jesus ascended into heaven so that he could send us the Holy Spirit which we celebrate at Pentecost. This sending of the Holy Spirit is to unite us with God and empower us to fulfill the mission of bringing the Good News to the world and making new disciples of Jesus through Baptism and the Sacramental life of the Church. Pray for all our children receiving the Sacraments that they may be empowered by the Love of God. Feast Days in May We celebrate the apparition of Our Lady of Fatima on May 13th when she first appeared to Francisco, Jacinto, and Lucia in Fatima with a message to bring peace and hope to the world through her Immaculate Heart. On May 20th, we celebrate the Franciscan Saint of St. Bernadine of Siena who promoted devotion to the Holy name of Jesus and used the IHS to mark the homes of believers, ending the political vengeance cycle in his home town.. He is attributed with composing part of the Hail Mary prayer. "Holy Mary Mother of God pray for us Sinners." Holy Names Societies pro- mote devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus which is a Latin Christogram IHS and was viewed as an acronym for the Latin Iesus Hominum Salvator, meaning "Jesus Savior of Mankind." St. Bernardine of Siena (1380-1444) and his student St. John of Capistrano (1386-1456) used the Christogram IHS to promote devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus. In their preaching missions throughout Italy, they carried wooden placards with the IHS surrounded by rays. St. Bernardine and St. John blessed the faithful with this monogram, invoking the name of Jesus, and many miracles were reported. On May 24th, we have the feast of Mary Help of Christians which commemorates the help of Mary to save the Christian nations from invasion. The tradition of this advocation goes back to 1571, when the whole of Christendom was saved by Mary Help of Christians when Catholics throughout Europe prayed the Rosary. The great battle of Lepanto occurred on Oc- tober 7th 1571. For this reason this date has been chosen as the feast of the Holy Rosary. In 1573 Pope Pius V instituted the feast in thanksgiving for the decisive victory of Christianity over the invading Moslem forces. On May 31st, we celebrate the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This feast is of medieval origin, was kept by the Fran- ciscan Order before 1263, and soon its observance spread throughout the entire Church. The present date of celebration was set in 1969, in order to follow the Annunciation of the Lord and precede the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist. The feast of the Visitation recalls to us the following great truths and events: The visit of the Blessed Virgin Mary to her cousin Elizabeth shortly after the Annunciation; the cleansing of John the Baptist from original sin in the womb of his mother at the words of Our Lady's greeting; Elizabeth's proclaiming of Mary—under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost—as Mother of God and "blessed among women"; Mary's singing of the sublime hymn, Magnificat ("My soul doth magnify the Lord") which has become a part of the daily official prayer of the Church. Peace & Love, Fr. Tom Gospel for Pentecost Sunday (May 23rd) John 20:19-23 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” 1 OUR LADY OF GRACE PARISH MAY 16, 2021 CELEBRATION OF BAPTISM Last weekend, we welcomed Elliana Dream Gomez Christian David Archuletta FIRST HOLY COMMUNION CELEBRATION into Our Lady of Grace Church by the SATURDAY, MAY 15TH AT 11:00AM Sacrament of Holy Baptism. God Bless you! Please join us in welcoming these young members of our community to the table for the first time. First Holy Communion Recipients WEEKEND MASS SCHEDULE Annabella Amaral Catharina Plankensteiner- Reservations Are Not Required Anton Cardenas Motta Rance Catap Aaiyah Prakash Saturday 5:00PM: Vigil Mass in the Church Eija Engel Johnson Colin Quintero Sunday 7:30AM: Mass in the Church Emmy Fernandez Ydris Raatib Cybelle Florea Maida Rider Sunday 9:00AM: Drive-In Mass with Livestream Mark Gong Sophia Samson Sunday 11:00AM: Mass in the Church Alani Guzman Colton Takemoto Vanessa Hernandez Zoey Willkom Sunday 1:00PM: Spanish Mass in the Church Zia Nguyen Our 8:15AM daily and 9:00AM Sunday Masses are FIRST HOLY EUCHARIST & CONFIRMATION Livestreamed at: https://www.facebook.com/olgcv/ Please continue to pray for our Sacrament students as they prepare to receive First Holy Eucharist on May 15th & June 5th and for our Confirmation candidates REBUILD MY CHURCH as they prepare for their Confirmation on June 6th at BISHOP’S APPEAL 2021 Our Lady of Grace Church. Many thanks to those parish- ioners who have already gener- ously contributed towards our DIOCESAN SPECIAL COLLECTIONS Annual Bishop’s Appeal. We are off to great start but Catholic Charities still have some room to go! Following is the status of This Weekend - May 15th & 16th our Annual Bishop’s Appeal through April 30th: Catholic Charities of the East Bay helps people fac- ing difficult circumstances including children facing $ 17,193.00—Actual Donations Received homelessness and people fleeing violence in their Our Goal for 2021: $29,000.00 homelands. # of Acknowledged Donors to date: 89 Catholic Communications Funds Raised (includes pledges) $24,345.00 May 22nd & 23rd We are currently at 84% of our goal for this year’s Your contribution helps spread the Good News of Bishop’s Appeal! We are looking for 100% partici- Gods mercy and love around the country and around pation from Our Lady of Grace parishioners! If the world. Your gift also benefits the local community you have not yet made your donation or pledge, please as half of your donation stays in the Diocese of Oak- consider doing so today. land to support their communication project. When making a donation to either of these causes, please use a plain envelope and designate on the out- CHURCH SAFETY PRECAUTIONS BE SAFE! side where the funds should be directed. Thank you for your generous donations to these worthy causes. Face masks are required, along with social distancing of 6 feet between others, when visiting the church. Please adhere to all safety precaution signs. 2 OUR LADY OF GRACE PARISH MAY 16, 2021 ALTAR CANDLE MEMORIALS SUNDAY COLLECTION We are looking to have 6 monthly Stewardship of treasure involves trust in God. You sponsors for our Altar Candles and ask have to really believe in God’s Providence and trust for a donation of $20 to cover the cost that if you give 10% of your income to the Church and of the candles for the month. Our donors will be rec- charity, for example, God will help you live on the ognized in the 1st bulletin of the month and there will rest. be a monthly Mass offered for the intention of our Offerings for the Month of APRIL: Candle Memorial. Many blessed thanks for those who Sunday Plate for the month: $ 34,760.00 have donated. For more information, please call the Month Budgeted Goal: $ 30,428.00 Parish Office. Over/[Shortfall] $ 4,332.00 Year-To-Date Over/[Shortfall] $ 7,903.00 FAMILY FAITH FORMATION May God bless your continuing generosity. 2021-2022 Registration for 1st Communion, Your Prayers Are Requested Confirmation and Whole Family Cat- Please lift up in your prayer those many echesis for Fall 2021 is now available. Classes begin among us who are ill and those who have in September/October. The registration form is asked for our prayerful remembrance: available in the Parish Office and on our website: http://www.olgcv.org. Scroll down the homepage and Pam Ahland Arcadio Morfin click on the Faith Formation box. Cost is $120 for the Glen Alcorn Diana Riley 1st child and $60 for each additional child in the same Elvira Arechiga Beth Snow household. There is an early bird discount if you reg- Peggy Burton Howard Songey ister by June 1st. All children are welcome! Virginia Cabardo James Van Wert Cristina Castellanos Concepcion Velasco Romana Cristobal Mary Lou Vincent FAITH FORMATION Nancy French Arthur Williams Please pray for the young members of our Church Grace Letteer Peggy Winkenbach Youth Ministry Next class: May 16th Please remember in your prayers the recently 3:30pm—Church deceased in our parish families and all who mourn the loss of a loved one.