Dear Parishioners:

In the name of Father Ring and Parish Staff, I wish you and your families a very happy Thanksgiving Celebration. The feast gives us a nice interruption from life’s busy schedules. This year, I think that the feast invites us to pray and reflect on God’s continued goodness to us as a people and as a nation. What better way to express our gratitude than to start the day by attending the 9:00 a.m Mass at the Parish on Thanksgiving morning. At this time the reality of our troubled, insecure world with its chaos, violence, and war is very present to us. We can only continue to pray that, in time, justice and peace will prevail.

The Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is this Wednesday, Nov. 21st. This is our Congregation Feast, and every year in solidarity with our sisters worldwide, we renew our Vows and our commitment in the Congregation. This year we are very mindful of the plight of our sisters in Pakistan. We have twelve convents there. Four of the convents are located on the borders of Afghanistan, where we run two high schools. The government has provided members of the army to keep guard and provide protection on a daily basis. Please pray for the Sisters, their co-workers, and students for courage and strength during this very difficult time.

On Sunday, December 2nd, we will begin the Season of Advent. Advent is another kind of interruption. It interrupts, hopefully, our frantic race to Christmas. The Advent message is very simple--it asks us to stop, look and ask:

What are we all about?

After consulting with the Parish Staff, the Parish Council, and the Finance and Building committees, I have decided to proceed in the year 2002 with the building of an educational center for the Parish. The Campaign will be called BUILDING FOR A NEW CENTURY. The center will be built behind the convent where the present large garage is located. It will consist of a computer room, a large multi-purpose classroom that can be used by the school, Religious Education program, and for Parish meetings, and a new Kindergarten room. The present Kindergarten room will be remodeled for a large Religious Education Office and a teachers’ lunch/work room. The present Religious Education Office will become a reading center, and the present teachers’ room will become the Counselor’s office. This is an exciting project, one that is very much needed for our Parish. In the coming weeks, I will give you more information. At the moment, the fund raising campaign for over a million dollars will begin in February. If the campaign is a sucess, the ground will be broken in June of 2002. At this time, begin praying for the success of the project. Also, if you would like to make a donation of stock to the campaign, you might want to get maximum tax advantage by making the donation before the end of this calendar year.

Update on the New GIRM

In this column, we’ve spent a good part of the last three months with teachings about the Eucharist—about the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist and about the Eucharist and social justice. We must continually reflect upon our celebration of the Eucharist because it is, as the Second Vatican Council has taught, "the summit toward which the activity of the church is directed" and "the fount from which all the Church’s power flows." It’s a tremendous gift of God’s own Self to us.

I want to bring you up to date on a few things the Liturgy Committee has been working on. First, we are in the midst of study regarding the new General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM), the guidebook for the celebration of the Mass. The U.S. bishops have not yet received final approval from the Holy See for the English translation of the GIRM nor for their adaptations for the U.S.A. While we are waiting for that approval and for Archbishop Levada’s implementation of the GIRM, the Liturgy Committee is studying a working translation of the GIRM and identifying our current practices which might need to be adjusted to conform to the new Instruction. At Fr. Ring’s direction, our intent is to wait for Archbishop Levada’s instructions on the new rubrics so that we can make any changes with certainty. It could be a year or more before we come to the point of implementing the new GIRM here at St. Robert’s.

Alas! I am long winded and short of space! Updates on Advent next week! Happy Thanksgiving!

As a Parish Community, we Pray...

We pray for the ill: Sharon Aiello, Marilyn Arancibia, Ilaria Belluomini, Bastiaan Blumenthal, Marcia Bourne, Ann Burns, Joseph Calleja, Arthur Candia, Josie Clarke, Nan Connolly, Ana Cosgaya, Imelda Daly, Walton & June Dickhoff, Sandra & William Dill, Ray Driscoll, Carl Edwards, Adela Florez, Elsie Grech, Denise Hawald, Joanne Johnson, Koret Koelman, Muriel Krause, Josephine Lavoie, Marky, Daniel McHale, Rosemary McHale, Jeanne McHugh, Terry McLeod, Sal Milizio, Catherine Okulove, Leo Pieretti, Richard Quintana, Lee Shick, Pauline Speranza, Kari Stellino, Don Vickery, & Bernie Voight.

the death of a loved one
loss of a friend
loss of a job
loss of health
divorce

St. Robert’s Children’s Choir has begun a new season. All St. Robert’s youth from 2nd grade up are invited to participate in the Children’s Choir. For more information, call Ms. Baldomero at 583-5065 or Mr. Kelly at 589-2800.

"Do this as a remembrance of Me."

52 Reasons to Come to Mass Every Sunday.

26. Because it says in the first surviving Christian catechism, the Didache: "And on the Lord’s Day, after you have come together, break bread and offer the Eucharist, having first confessed your sins so that your sacrifice may be pure".

27. Because each Mass is "a foretaste of that heavenly liturgy which is celebrated in the Holy City of Jerusalem toward which we journey as pilgrims".

28. Because Jesus was "made known to (the apostles) in the breaking of bread". (Luke 24:35)

29. Because the first Christians "devoted themselves...to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers". (Acts 2:42)

30. Because as Blessed Matt Talbot asked: "How can anyone be lonely with Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament?"

31. Because, as St. Hilary of Poitiers said in the fourth century,"We believe that the Word became flesh and that we receive His flesh in the Lord’s Supper".

32. Because, "By the mystery of this water and wine, may we come to share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share in our humanity".

33. Because, in the Prayer of the Faithful we can bring our own intentions out loud or silently, to the altar.

34. Because singing hymns of praise to God is said to be praying twice. Only in the Mass do most of us ever have this chance to "pray twice".

35. Because we need to thank God for all He has given us.

36. Because "the more we share the life of Christ and progress in His friendship, the more difficult it is to break away from Him by mortal sin" (CCC, no. 1395).

Dinner-Dance Raffle winners are:

$500 Cash - Elena Gerona
Horizon Casino Resort Stay - Hubert L. Lee
Disneyland Tickets - Kristine Ortiz
Great America Tickets - Tess Aljentera
Marine World Tickets - Sonia Tadena
Sugar Bowl Ski Lift Tickets - Norma Artates
Antique Clock - Lita Lee
Gift Baskets - Father Ring, Mary Rose Valdez and Rose Jardin

Notre Dame High School Open House, Sunday, Nov. 18th, from 10 am to 1 pm. Students, faculty, parents, and alumnae will be available to answer questions about the unique benefits of an education at Notre Dame High School, Belmont. For more information, visit www.ndhsb.org or call the Admissions Department at (650) 595-1913, Ext. 320.

We welcome you into our parish!

Adam & Wendy McGraw and family
Wayne & Diana Miller and family
Sean & Claudia Rodriguez and family
Edgar & Socorro Tablante and family

Did you know St. Robert Church and School participates in the eScrip program? This is a very easy way for us to earn money to benefit our Church and School. Here’s how it works:

You register your Safeway Club Card, Visa, Master Card, ATM, Debit, Chevron Gas Card with escrip and every time you shop at a participating store e.g. Mollie Stones, Lunardi’s, Pak-n-Save and more we receive 2-5% of your purchase. It is a very safe program. No information is sold or given out. There is an annual fee of $10. We receive an average of $1,900 a month with our current 183 members.

EL RETIRO
300 Manresa Way
Los Altos, Ca 94022-4646
(650) 948-4491

Gratitude Means Service
Recovery Retreat for Men/Women Nov. 23-25
Fr. Thomas Weston, S.J.

The Mall or the Manger?
A Day on the Real Meaning of Christmas Dec. 5
Fr. James Hanley, S.J. (repeated Dec 8 or 9)

The Journey of Surrendering to God’s Love Dec. 14-16
Recovery Retreat for Men
Fr. Thomas Allender, S.J.

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

AA Recovery Retreat Nov 23-25
Gratitude and Beyond
Gavin Griffith, OFM

ACDF Recovery Retreat Nov 30-Dec. 2
The Freedom of Forgiveness
Carol Mitchell, Ph.D and Peter Coster, MFT, MDiv.

MERCY CENTER
2300 Adeline Drive
Burlingame, Ca 94010-5540
340-7474

   
MONDAY, November 19th
1 - 3 pm, Priests’ Choir Practice.....Church
1:30 - 3 pm, 8th Grade Cheerleading.....Hall

TUESDAY, November 20th
6:30 - 8 pm, Legion of Mary.....Library
7:30 - 9 pm, Youth.....Kitchen

WEDNESDAY, November 21st
7:30 - 9 pm, Bible Study....Convent Chapel
4:30 - 6 pm, 7th Gr. Cheerleading.....Hall