May is traditionally dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God, in many cultures. Those of us raised from childhood in the Catholic Church have beautiful memories of Maran customs of our youth, the May Crowning, the May Altars, the May processions etc. Practically, each custom includes the offering of flowers to Our Blessed Mother. This practice goes way back in history to the earliest of times. Actually we could say that we adopted it from the Greeks and Romans and then tailored it to suit our Christian devotions.

The month of May was considered the season of new life and growth. In the Greek culture the month of May was dedicated to the “goddess of fecundity” Artemis. The Romans dedicated it to the “goddess of blossoms”, Flora. Both cultures celebrated by offering the fresh blossoms to their goddess asking that winter would be expelled and new life would prevail.

We, today, offer flowers to Mary the Mother of God, asking her to dispel evil and sorrow from our world and asking her to bless us with new growth in peace and love of our neighbor.

Mary, throughout history becomes the role model for the Mothers of each generation. She became in prayerful language the hope, the life and the sweetness of many who knew her as one to be reverenced and respected. Mary taught each generation of mothers the importance of having priorities—sound relationship with God, a sound relationship with family and a sound relationship with ones self.

Monday-May 8rd
Readings: Acts 11:1-18 - Jn 10:1-10

Tuesday-May 9th
Readings: Acts 1:19-26 - Jn 10:22-30

Wednesday-May 10th
Readings: Acts 12:24—13:5a - Jn 12:44-50

Thursday-May11th
Readings: Acts 13:13-25 - Jn 13:16-20

Friday-May 12th
Readings: Acts 13:26-33 - Jn 14:1-6

Saturday-May 13th
Readings: Acts 13:44-52 - Jn 14:7-14

We continue to ask each week that parishioners pray for the chronically ill of our parish. If you have a friend or loved one in need of our parish prayers please call the Rectory at 589-2800.

TIPPS is an acronym that stands for toddlers, infants, preschool parents social. It is a social group for parents with children from birth up to school age, and is primarily a way for parents with young children to get together with other parents in the parish community for fun and fellowship. Joining TIPPS is an excellent way for parents with young children to become more involved in the parish.

Our social events include potluck dinners approximately every other month during the school year. Babysitters and a play area are provided at the potluck meetings giving parents time to relax and socialize.

Twice a year TIPPS schedules offsite events for parents and kids. Offsite events include the annual spring picnic at Happy Hollow Park and Zoo in San Jose, this year scheduled for May 20, and a winter outing in January to such places as the Bay Area Discovery Museum.

During the summer, we have playgroups at Commodore Park on Cherry Avenue on the 1^st Saturday of each month.

To learn more about TIPPS or if you would like to sign up for the Happy Hollow outing, please visit our website: www.tipps.kimoto.us or contact:

Saint Roberts Church Library

Spiritual Reading will be available at St. Robert’s after the Masses on Sundays. Please take a few minutes either before or after Mass and check out a book or two that interest you. You may keep the books until you have them read. We have some books on the Library cart but we have many more in the Library/Reconciliation room.

MUSLIM PRAYER FOR PEACE

(In these times of war and international conflict we draw upon the inspiration of different religious traditions to provide prayers for peace for us.)

In the name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful. praise be to the Lord of the universe who has created us and made us into tribes and nations that we may know each other, not that we may despise each other. If the enemy incline towards peace, do thou also incline towards peace, and trust God, for the Lord is the one that heareth and knoweth all things. And the servants of God, most gracious are those who walk on the Earth in humility, and when we address them we say, “peace.”

The floral offerings and coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary will be held on Sunday, May 21st at 11:30 a.m. Mass.

What If…
This weekend is the Fourth Sunday in Easter, the first of our two May crowning, and dozens of our parish children have just come to the Lord’s table for the first time! Soon-to-be- graduates are counting the days and parents of little ones are eager for summer.

Having been a vocation director for 16 years, I can’t resist a few words about vocations on this Sunday with its readings on the Good Shepherd, considered Vocation Sunday for many years. So, here’s the pitch. [Forgive me please, deacons, lay ministers and brothers, for focusing just this once on only two of the vocations of service.] What if, in five years, there would be no priests or sisters here at St. Robert’s unless they came from families who worship here? Would we have any? If you could pick someone to serve you as a priest or sister, who would it be? In the early Church, you know, they did just that: they told some people from among their community that they had the qualifications necessary for leadership in the Church - good character, basic intelligence, unselfish desire to serve others - and they prayed with the persons and called them forth. We could do the same. We have the advantage in this parish of knowing each other pretty well; many of you are second generation parishioners and you know each other’s young adult children very well. Who would you call forth? Have you ever mentioned to any young adult that he or she would make a great priest or sister?

Of course, the old Irish and Italian tradition of every large family “giving” one of its members to the Church - almost in spite of the young person’s desire - isn’t what I’m proposing. It has to be a call, a sense of rightness, which the person himself or herself experiences. But often, the confirmation by someone else is just what the young person needs to express that call and to begin to explore it with someone who can help sort out if it’s truly from God. I realize that these past years of sex abuse scandals have tarnished the priesthood as an institution and the cover-ups have embarrassed us as Catholics. Hopefully, the Enron scandal didn’t make every accountant suspect of wrongdoing and hopefully, we can separate out the few abusers from the many wonderful, human and holy priests we know.

Every vocation is precious and equal in the eyes of God. Those to religious life and priesthood require celibacy and, therefore, are considered by fewer people. But I can’t believe that God isn’t calling anyone any more. Our prayers for vocations are important, but putting them into action is the next step. Might we be asked to assist the Lord by raising the question to those we feel might be experiencing a desire to help the Good Shepherd? After all, each of us who serves you here comes from a family and from a parish where someone believed we’d make a good priest or sister.

Dress Code: Full length black slacks, (jeans or spandex are not permitted), white shirt with collar, closed toe comfortable shoes (preferably black or white).

We will car pool from the rectory. For those working in San Francisco, you can meet the group at the gate.