LUMEN CHRISTI Issue 3 • January 2020 THE NEWSLETTER OF THE CATHEDRAL OF CHRIST THE LIGHT Celebrating the New Year with the Mother of God 5 New Communications Manager 8 Cathedral Concerts 9 Lux Vera 22 Walk for Life West Coast In This Issue 4 Staff Voices 21 Around the Bay 4 From Our Clergy 21 Dominicans & 5 New Communications Lay Evangelization Manager 22 Walk For Life West Coast 2020 6 Cathedral Events 6 Organ Recital 7 Pilgrimage to Poland & Conference of Cathedral Musicians 8 Choral Concert 5 9 Lux Vera 10 Mary, Mother of God 11 Epiphany 6 13 Baptism of the Lord 15 Saint Agnes of Rome 17 Conversion of Paul 19 Saint Thomas Aquinas 2 9 13 19 21 22 LUMEN CHRISTI THE NEWSLETTER OF THE CATHEDRAL OF CHRIST THE LIGHT Patron Cathedral Rector Communications Manager The Most Reverend The Very Reverend Joey Belleza Michael C. Barber, SJ Brandon E. Macadaeg [email protected] Bishop of Oakland [email protected] Editor, Lumen Christi CATHEDRAL STAFF Vice Rector Parochial Vicar Director of Cathedral Operations Director of Music Rev. Bich Nguyen Rev. Francisco Javier Diaz Diaz, SJ John Renke Dr. Rudy de Vos [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] (510) 496-7212 (510) 496-7227 Permanent Deacon Cathedral Events Manager Director of Faith Formation RCIA Coordinator Dcn. Peter Ta Denise Kogler Adrian Mison Fulay Dcn. Timothy Roberto [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] (510) 271-1935 (510) 598-7408 Bookkeeper Receptionist Nilda Flores Eloise Pereda [email protected] [email protected] (510) 496-7203 (510) 496-7201 3 Staff Voices From the Rector guests fell twenty feet into the cellar below. Despite the dangerous fall, Blessed Pope Pius IX Dear Friends, and those present were unharmed by the catastrophe. The Holy Father attributed their safety Happy New Year! I to Mary, as he cried out during the traumatic event pray that 2020 will be “Vergine Immacolata, aiutaci!” (Immaculate Virgin, filled with abundant help us!). graces for you and your Consequently, my seminary adopted the loved ones. practice of calling upon the help of the Blessed I write this letter Mother by praying the same words, “Vergine during the second week Immacolata, aiutateci!” We would say those words of Advent 2019, having whenever we concluded our grace before meals. celebrated two great Though I am far removed from my seminary days, I Marian Feast Days: the Solemnity of the have found myself again praying those same words Immaculate Conception and the Feast of Our Lady today, “Vergine Immacolata, aiutaci! Immaculate of Guadalupe. Similarly, I am mindful that the Virgin, help us!” Church celebrates the first day of 2020 with the The truth is that Mary does help us. When Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God. Having trials or confusion arise, she hastens to our aid. witnessed the tremendous devotion of the faithful She comes as a tender mother who intercedes for to the Blessed Mother here at the Cathedral, I us and points us to her Son, Jesus Christ. thought I would take a moment to reflect upon the Entering this new year brings both excitement importance of a having a true devotion to Our and trepidation, hope and fear, calm and Lady and that such a devotion can keep us restlessness, but I know that we can move forward spiritually grounded in this new year. When I was a seminarian in Rome, the confidently under Mary’s protection, confident that faculty of my seminary made it a top priority to will she will give us Jesus, the true Light of all the help us deepen our love for Mary. In fact, we had a nations! very interesting custom in our seminary that was May God bless you in this brand new year! inspired by an incident in the life of Pope Pius IX in 1855. The story goes like this. One day while the Holy Father was greeting assembled guests in a convent adjacent to the Basilica of St. Agnes on the Via Nomentana in Rome, the main beam The Very Rev. Brandon E. Macadaeg supporting the floor gave way. With a loud crash, the floor caved in, and the Holy Father and several From the RCIA Coordinator Happy New Year! What blessings a new year brings! We begin the year with hope and anticipation of things to come, but often find discouragement if things don’t quite go the way we expect. Let us this year make a commitment to persevere in faith. Allow our faith in Christ Jesus to be our hope and anticipation. Let us make a commitment to grow in faith this year by challenging ourselves. Let us think of an area of growth and make a commitment to stick with it. Maybe we can come to a daily Mass once a week, maybe we can commit to reconciliation once a month, maybe we can spend time in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel before or after Mass, maybe we can volunteer at Saint Vincent de Paul, or maybe we can read the Gospels this year. It is time for us to try something new, it is time to grow in our faith. May God continue to bless you and your family in 2020. Deacon Tim Roberto 4 Staff Voices From the New Cathedral like a magazine that Communications Manager not only features key aspects of our vibrant parish life, but also Dear Members of the Cathedral Community, serves as a vehicle for My name is Joey Belleza, and I am happy evangelization and to join the Parish Staff as the new Communications transmission of our Manager. I thank the Rector, Fr. Brandon, for this Catholic faith. To that exciting opportunity to work in the Mother Church end, you will notice of the Diocese of Oakland, and I also thank the that this issue of Lumen rest of the Staff for making me welcome as I settle Christi has a revamped into the new job. look and as well as a new feature called Lux Vera A little about myself: I graduated from De (meaning “true light”). Lux Vera presents a few La Salle High School in Concord, California in extended reflections on faith-based topics. These 2007 and from the University of San Francisco in may take the form of commentaries on saints and 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts with honors in feasts celebrated in the coming month, or Theology & Religious Studies. After graduation something topical in current events, whether in the from USF, I entered active service in the United Church, in our country, or in our community. The States Army as a commissioned officer from 2010 intent is to present an opportunity for engagement to 2017, with tours across the United States and between faith and daily life, as well as to provide Germany, an operational deployment to the simple opportunities for study or meditation Republic of Korea, and a combat deployment to throughout the month. I hope this and other future Afghanistan. In 2017, I completed my service at efforts in Lumen Christi and in Cathedral the rank of Captain and returned to academic communications at large will continue to support studies at the Dominican School of Philosophy & the parish community. Theology (DSPT) in Berkeley, California. In If you have event to promote or any news September 2019, I completed DSPT’s rigorous that would be useful to the parish as a whole, dual Master of Arts in Theology-Master of Arts in please do not hesitate to visit me in the Parish Philosophy program with honors, defending a Office,during business hours or to email me at thesis entitled “Lex Loquendi, Lex Orandi: [email protected]. It’s my pleasure to be Catherine Pickstock & Thomas Aquinas on the here, and I wish you all God’s abundant blessings Reform of the Roman Offertoria.” I hope to in this New Year. strengthen and contribute to the Cathedral’s evangelization efforts through the philosophical, Yours in the Lord, theological, and leadership skills which I have honed through military service and graduate studies. As Communications Manager, I have responsibility for the public promotion of the Cathedral’s mission through social media, the Cathedral website, the production of posters and Jose Isidro (“Joey”) Belleza advertisements for Cathedral events, and the Communications Manager monthly Lumen Christi newsletter. Fr. Brandon has Editor, Lumen Christi asked me to transform the newsletter from a standard parish bulletin format to something more 5 Cathedral Events Our Cathedral’s Conroy Memorial Organ turns 10 years old this January! We will celebrate this milestone with a concertsin January, featuring the organist and composer David Briggs, Artist-in-Residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. January 7, 2020 ❖ 7:30pm 10TH ANNIVERSARY ORGAN RECITAL David Briggs, Concert Organist David Briggs is an internationally renowned organist whose performances are acclaimed for their musicality, virtuosity, and ability to excite and engage audiences of all ages. With an extensive repertoire spanning five centuries, he is known across the globe for his brilliant organ transcriptions of symphonic music by composers such as Mahler, Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Elgar, Bruckner, Ravel, and Bach. Fascinated by the art of Improvisation since a child, David also frequently performs improvisations to silent films such as Phantom of the Opera, Hunchback of Notre-Dame, Nosferatu, Jeanne d'Arc, Metropolis, as well as a variety of Charlie Chaplin films. At the age of 17, David obtained his FRCO (Fellow of the Royal College of Organists) diploma, winning all the prizes and the Silver Medal of the Worshipful Company of Musicians.