St. Felicitas Catholic Church 1662 Manor Blvd. San Leandro Email: [email protected] Telephone Number (510) 351-5244 ● Fax (510) 351-5730 www.stfelicitassl.org Parish Staff Rev. Thomas Khue Parochial Administrator Ext. 286 Rev. Eddie Castañas Parochial Vicar Ext. 297 Deacon Timothy Myers [email protected] Mercey Zamora Pastoral Assoc./Spanish Ministry 347-1293 Sr. Mary Anh Cong (LHC) Liturgical Ministries Vietnamese Community Altar Servers 347-1283 Sr. Ancilla Marie Le (LHC) Pastoral Care 347-1287 Sharon Clancey Office Secretary 351-5244 Judi Lema Bulletin 351-5244 HOLY TRINITY SUNDAY — MAY 22, 2016 Mass Schedule Convent 351-5577 Sunday 7:30 am - 9:00 am - 10:30 am Parish School 357-2530 12:30 pm (Spanish) 4:30 pm (Vietnamese) 1650 Manor Blvd. Fax: 357-5358 Saturday 8:15 am - 4:30 pm (Vigil) Meghan Jorgensen Principal Daily (Monday to Friday) 7:00 am - 8:15 am Religious Education Office Holy Days 7:00 am 8:15 am 7:00 pm Sandi Walton Director of Religious Education 1st Friday Exposition – St. Joseph’s Chapel 347-1282 12:30 to 4:45 pm Fax: 510-351-5730 [email protected] Sacraments Geri Lara Youth Services Reconciliation—Saturday, 3:15 p.m.- 4:00 p.m. or 326-5693 by appointment. [email protected] Baptism—4th Sunday of every month at 2:30 p.m. St. Vincent de Paul 706-1972 Contact Parish Office for information Marriage—Arrangements to be made 6 months prior to the wedding. Parish Office Hours EMERGENCY NUMBER (510) 309-8097 Monday - Tuesday 9:00 am to 4:00 pm Wednesday - Thursday 9:00 am to 4:30 pm (During non-office hours) Friday 9:00 am to 12:30 pm The Most Holy Trinity May 22, 2016 [T]he love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. Filipinos likes fiestas. They are celebrated all-year round. All over the country, especially in the summer months, May is the merriest and the most beautiful month of the year. It is the season of colorful festivals and Flores de Mayo or Santacruzan is one such festival. Stop and smell the roses. During the month of May, in the tropical islands of the Philippines, we don't have to stop -- the fragrance of flowers floats in the air. When the rains begin to pour after a long dry spell, flowers magically bloom overnight. And being predominantly Catholic, the Filipinos celebrate the beneficial rains by giving praise to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The town folk gather the colorful flowers to decorate the Parish Church altars and aisles. They bundle the blooms in exotic arrangements for the many different festivities all together referred to as the "Flores De Mayo" (Flowers of May). Many towns celebrate Flores De Mayo with the community congregating in the afternoons to pray the rosary, offer flowers to the Virgin Mary, and share homemade delicacies and snacks. Children and adults wearing their Sunday best sing and dance to welcome the rains that will water the new crops. Santacruzan is held annually in the warm month of May and is considered to be the "Queen of Filipino Festivals". Beautiful town belles are selected to participate in this colorful pageant parade. The stars are selected not for their looks alone, but for their embodiment of traditional feminine qualities. It is a week-long street pageant in almost every town; from the dirt road barrio to the metropolis honoring beautiful Philippine maidens and their handsome escorts under the hand-carried bamboo arc’s decorated by fragrant native flowers. May is also the month dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of Christ. Filipinos turn each of the 31 days in May into a charming honor to the virginal virtues in Flores de Mayo, the flowers of May fiesta. Spiritual virtue searches to reach even the young. Every day in May, children, with cut flowers and baskets of petals in hand, march down the church center aisle. As the children march down the aisle they sprinkle the fragrant petals for Mama Mary. This custom is called alay sa Birhen. In Filipino, because it is an offering (alay) to the virgin (birhen), at the main altar, the youngsters sing hymns to Lady Immaculate, and leave their bouquet of flowers loose and dethroned. Flore de Mayo History Flores, from Spanish flores or "flowers," also known as Flores de Mayo (flowers of May), Flores de Maria (flowers of Mary) or alay (offering), may refer to the whole Flower Festival celebrated in the month of May in tribute to the Virgin Mary . The Santacruzan was a novena procession remembering St. Helena's mythical finding of the cross. St. Helena was the mother of Constantine the Great. According to legends, 300 years after the death of Christ, at the age of 75, she went to Calvary to conduct a search for the Cross. After some archeological diggings at the site of the Crucifixion, she unearthed three crosses. She tested each one by making a sick servant lie on all three. The cross where the servant recovered was identified as Christ's. St. Helena's feast day falls on August 8 but the anniversary of the finding of the Cross is on May 3rd, in the Philippines, this celebration took the form of the Mexican Santa Cruz de Mayo. As another legend puts it, Constantine the Great, facing a battle against the Mighty Roman Emperor, Maxentius in the year 312 A.D. turned hopeless to the new Christian God for help. Constantine cast his eyes heavenwards and saw in the night sky a glowing sign of the cross with the words "In hoc signia vincit", meaning "By this sign thou shalt conquer". He adopted the Cross as his battle insignia with the words and forthwith went to defeat the Roman Army and entered Rome a victory, pledging his faith in Christianity. This Filipino tradition of “Santacruzan and Flores de Mayo”, introduced by the Spanish conquerors, is more than 100 years old and lives on even in Europe and America. Filipino Communities and Associations all over the world rejoice the Santacruzan with the same pageantry and glamour as the townsfolk in their homeland. - Taken from http://www.philippinecountry.com/philippine_festivals/santacruzan.html. MOST HOLY TRINITY SUNDAY—May 22, 2016 Save the Date – Class of 2016 Baptisms—2:00 p.m.—Church June 5th at 9:00 a.m. Confirmation I—5:00 p.m.—Gym Confirmation II—6:30—Gym Are you a member of the graduating Class of 2016? We want to honor you and give you a Second Collection blessing as you begin the next chapter in your life. At This Week: Bishop's Annual Appeal Sunday Mass on June 5th at 9:00 a.m. we will be celebrating all of our graduates in the Parish. We will Events for the Week May 23rd, 2016 have all of our graduates process in, we will do a graduation blessing and send off, and take pictures Mon 6:00 pm St. Vincent de Paul AE Room afterward. Please wear your graduation gown. Please 5/23 come if you are graduating 8th grade, High School, Tues 7:00 pm Spanish Meeting AE Room College, Graduate School etc. Please contact the Parish 5/24 office if you will be attending the mass as a graduate. Thank you and God bless!!! Wed. 7:00 pm Family Choir Practice (10:30 am) SJC Chapel 5/25 Spanish Juvenile and Adult 7:00 pm AE Room Choir Practice Thurs 7:00 pm Spanish Youth Group Soc. Hall Jubilee Year of Mercy 5/26 May 22, 2016 7:00 pm Knights of Columbus AE Room Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity Fri 7:00 pm Spanish Children’s Choir Soc. Hall 5/27 The word mercy, Pope Francis declared in his announcement 7:30 pm Vietnamese Choir Practice AE Room of the Jubilee Y ear of Mercy, “reveals the very mystery of the Sat Pastoral Care Ministers Most Holy Trinity” (Misericordiae Vultus, 2). For mercy is how 9:00 am SJC Chapel 5/28 Retreat God comes to meet us; mercy is the fundamental law helping us recognize everyone as brothers and sisters; mercy is the bridge connecting God and humanity, opening our hearts to the hope of being loved forever despite our sinfulness. God’s self-revelation as a life-giving, love-sharing Trinity of Persons draws us closer to Pastoral Care Ministers God in friendship and communion. Both Judaism and Islam consider mercy one of God’s most important attributes. Israel Retreat and Meeting unceasingly proclaims God boundless in mercy. Islam addresses the Creator as “Merciful and Kind,” believing divine mercy When: Saturday, May 28th, 2016 limitless, its doors always open. May this Jubilee Y ear of Mercy, Time: 9:00 a.m. Pope Francis prays, open us to more fervent dialogue, deepen our Where: St. Joseph Center Chapel mutual understanding, eliminate all closed-minded disrespect, and drive out every form of violence and discrimination. —Peter Scagnelli, Copyright © J. S. Paluch Co., Inc. Papal quotes Copyright © 2015, Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used with permission. Remember a loved one, celebrate a birthday, or anniversary with a gift of flowers Say It With for the Sanctuary. Donations are $50. per arrangement. $200. for the entire Sanctuary. Donors, those honored or remembered will be noted in the bulletin. Flowers Yes, I would like to donate: (For example) ( ) $200 ( ) $150 ( ) $100 ( $50) Jan 31st to Feb 7, 2015 For flower arrangements in memory or honor (please circle) of: ________________________________________________________________ In Memory of Date requested: __________________ Alternate Date: ____________________ Annie Torres, Rose Lopez Donor Name: _____________________________________________________ and Pilar Delfino Phone #__________________ Email:__________________________________ Week of May 22nd, 2016 Lourdes Andtade Joyce Guaraglia Peter Purificacion Nestor Arana Mae Heasley Joel Rivera Sun.