We are all becoming more conscious that the number of priests is becoming smaller in the United States and the average age is now in the late fifties. The cause for the decline are numerous and reflect changes within society as well as within the Church.

Recently, Cardinal Mahony, the Archbishop of Los Angeles, wrote a pastoral letter on Ministry. Over the next few weeks, I would like to share a few of his insights with you. I hope that you will take the time to read them and give them some thought.

"It has taken the shortage of priestly and religious vocations to awaken in us an appreciation of a broadly based shared ministry and a realization that it is in the nature of the church as the body of Christ to be endowed with many gifts, ministries and offices. What some refer to as a ‘vocations crisis’ is, rather, one of the many fruits of the Second Vatican Council, a sign of God’s deep love for the church and an invitation to a more creative and effective ordering of gifts and energy in the body of Christ. This is a time of great challenge and opportunity in the church, not least of all because the gifts of the lay faithful have been flourishing in unprecedented numbers and in uforeseen ways."

"Following the Second Vatican Council there has been a rediscovery in Catholic theology of baptism as the foundational sacrament of ministry and a clearer recognition that ministry is not just for the ordained. The council related the baptismal call, the ministry of the baptized and the office of the ordained to the mystery of Christ and found in each a reflection of the threefold office of Christ as prophet, priest and king. Every vocation in the church and every ministry are rooted in the same reality of Christ and his presence by the Spirit in the church. The Christian vocation is rooted in the church as a sacrament of Christ in the communion of the Holy Spirit. All ministry, be it the ministry of the baptized or of the ordained, is to be understood in relation to the community of the church, which expresses and receives its identity as the body of Chirst in word and sacrament. All ministry is for the service of the church and the wider world, a participation in the ministry of Christ the servant who, after washing the feet of his disciples urges them and us, one and all: ‘As I have done for you, you should do also’ (Jn. 13:15)."

As part of our parish observance of this Jubilee Year, a pilgrimage has been planned for Saturday, July 1st (two weeks from now) to St. Patrick's Seminary in Menlo Park. The seminary, which has prepared many of our priests for the past one hundred years, has been designated by Archbishop Levada as one of five official pilgrimage sites in the archdiocese.

St. Robert's Parish will have a Mass in the chapel of St. Patrick's Seminary at 4:30pm, followed by a pot-luck dinner in the picnic area outside the building. There will also be an opportunity to tour the seminary grounds. We will have directions for drivers, but parishioners will either provide their own transportation or car-pool.

READINGS FOR NEXT SUNDAY, THE MOST HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST
Exodus 24:3-8; Hebrews 9:11-15; Mark 14:12-26

JUBILEE BLESSINGS THIS WEEK TO:
FATHERS

IN OUR HOUSE

This is part of the vision of the Second Vatican Council regarding liturgy:

"Mother Church earnestly desires that all the faithful should be led to that full, conscious, and active participation in liturgical celebrations which is demanded by the very nature of the liturgy, and to which the Christian people, "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a redeemed people" (1 Pet 2:9, 4-5) have a right and obligation by reason of their baptism." (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, #14, italics not original.) - Pat Kelly

We welcome into the family of god: Megan Campbell, who what baptized in Christ.

We pray for the ill: Marlyn Arancibia, Bastiaan Blumenthal, Marcia Bourne, Ann Burns, Sister Cabrini, Arthur Candia, Peter Capodonicco, Ana Cosgaya, Imelda Daly, William & Sandra Dill, Adela Florez, Rita Gomez, Randall Guerro, Denise Hawald, Koret Koelman, Muriel Krause, Marky, Rosemary McHale, Jeanne McHugh, Terry McLeod, Walter Moniz, Richard Quintana, Cyndy Smerdel, Ann Steinerd, Margarita Velez, Elsie Grech, Bill Strehl & Don Vickery.

Your nation was built as an experiment in ordered freedom, an experiment in which the exercise of individual freedom would contribute to the common good. The American separation of Church and State as institutions was accompanied from the beginning of your Republic by the conviction that strong religious faith, and the public expression of religiously-informed judgments, contribute significantly to the moral health of the body politic.

Father Brian Costello, our former Deacon, will celebrate Mass on Sunday, June 25th, at the 9:00 AM Mass at St. Robert’s.

TUESDAY, JUNE 20TH
6:30-8PM, Legion of Mary.....Library

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21ST
7-9PM, Youth Group.....Hall

THURSDAY, JUNE 22ND
7-9PM, RCIA.....Chapel
7:30-9PM, School Board.....TBA

FRIDAY, JUNE 23RD
6-11PM, In-Betweener’s.....Hall

SATURDAY, JUNE 24TH
10-1PM, Teen Club.....Hall