St. Robert's Catholic Church

1380 Crystal Springs Road, San Bruno, CA 94066

Tel: (650) 589-2800

PARISH BULLETIN
May 6, 2007
Fifth Sunday of Easter

I still have the bible my godparents, Aunt Catherine and Uncle Joe, gave me for my Confirmation. I had just turned fifteen. Mother suggested that I begin with the Gospel of Matthew. I was captivated by the story. After that I chose passages at random. When I came across the Book of Revelation I realized I didn’t have a clue.

Many years later when I had just turned fifty I was studying the Book of Revelation in scripture class in my second year of theology. I learned that our lesson today is one of the few places in scripture where the shape and content of heaven is discussed. John describes heaven as a place free from suffering and pain and death. It is a new reality and a new existence. The old ways, the old world, the old rules have passed away. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Except for one strange phrase . . . “and there will be no more sea.” For those of us who find the ocean to be a place of wonder, of majestic sunsets sizzling into the smooth horizon, of reflective walks along the surf, this doesn’t sound heavenly at all.

The following summer a friend and I traveled for a month across Turkey and Greece. I lingered for two days on the island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea off the coast of modern Turkey. John wrote the Book of Revelation while imprisoned there. Just across the waters was the place of freedom, of civilization, of Christian community, of continued ministry. It was so close he could see it, and when the wind was just right, he was so close he could hear it. Like prisoners on Alcatraz in San Francisco Bay he was close enough to see and hear freedom every day. Such an island was pure torture.

And so, for John, what was heaven? It was a place where “there was no more sea.” I finally understood it. Over the years I have described heaven as a place where there are no barriers between God and creation. In the Gospel today Jesus gives us to one another and so remains with us always. The Gospel today prompts me to describe heaven as a place where even the unloveable are loved and Jesus is recognized within them. How do you describe it?

God love you; I do!
Father Joe

Monday - May 7
Readings: Acts 14:5     Jn 14:21-26

Tuesday - May 8
Readings: Acts 14:19-28     Jn 14:27-31a

Wednesday - May 9
Readings: Acts 15:1-6     Jn 15:1-8

Thursday - May 10
Readings: Acts 15:7-21     Jn 15:9-11

Friday - May 11
Readings: Acts 15:22-31     Jn 15:12-17

Saturday - May 12
Readings: Acts 16:1-10     Jn 15:18-21

Sunday - May 13
Readings: Acts 15:1-2,22-29-27
Rv 21:10-14,22-23     Jn 14:23-29

As a spiritual gift to your mother, you will find cards in the vestibule of the Church to have her remembered in the Holy Sacrament of the Mass offered at St. Robert’s in observance of Mother's Day, May 13th.
No donation is required.

As a Parish Community we pray …....for the children who came to the Lord’s table for the first time; for their parents and for their teachers. May they be filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.

WE CONGRATULATE THE NEWLY BAPTIZED

Lilianna Andrea Brovelli
Jospeph Donald Kayser
Justine Sara Rose Chetcuti

Our sincere sympathy to the families of
Carmen Pineda,
Marie Giusti,
Christopher Soto and
Claudine Barbero
who died recently.

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.

This week we pray for:
Anna Delucchi

CAREGIVER WORKSHOP
May 18th

Sr. Patricia and Sr. Sheral will be offering a Caregivers’ Workshop in the convent chapel Saturday, May 18 from 8:30 am to 1 pm. Anyone caring for a parent, special needs child, relative or friend is welcome! We’ll have time for prayer, sharing, practical suggestions and lunch together. Please call Sr. Patricia at 589-0104 or Sr. Sheral 589-2800 or pick up a flier at the church entrance.

AIDS LUNCH
May 9th

We are scheduled for the 2nd Wednesday of each month. If you can prepare a favorite cookie, snack or lunch item for 10 to 12 people, please drop it off at the Children's Chapel, in the back of Church, by 9 a.m. on May 9th. Please pack the items in a non-returnable container. Frozen items are ok!

Thanks to all who contributed their time and energy.

MEN'S CLUB

Men's Club monthly meeting will be held on Monday May 7th in Hennessy Hall, doors open at 6:15 for the Cinco de Mayo celebration, all men of the parish are invited come enjoy good food and drinks.

WOMEN'S GUILD

Women's Guild monthly meeting will be held on Thursday, May 10th, with the installation of the new officers, the doors open at 6:15 in Hennessey Hall, all women of the parish are invited to attend.

BRIDGING THE MIDDLE EAST DIVIDE

The Bay Area Jewish-Palestinian Living Room Dialogue groups are offering an evening with two professors, Palestinian and Israeli, who have created a high school history-teaching textbook presenting the stories of both communities. It will be held at St. Ignatius High School, in San Francisco, on Thursday, May 10 at 7 pm. Reservations are requested by this Tuesday if possible to LTraubman@earthlink.net or 650-574-8303. Admission is free; donations appreciated. Please see Sr. Sheral for a flier or e-mail her. She can offer a ride to three others.

GOT FLOWERS?????

If anyone has flowers, we'd welcome them for the altar. We're continuing the celebration of the Easter season for 50 days, as the Church asks us to. If you'd like to help arrange the flowers on Friday afternoons, please contact me. Thank you in advance

“By virtue of the Creation,
and still more,
of the Incarnation,
NOTHING
here below is profane
for those who know
how to see.”
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, The Divine Milieu

    
The reading from the Book of Revelation reminds us that when God’s reign comes to this earth, God will “wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, for the old order has passed away. Behold, I make all things new.” There are surely enough people still suffering with him on the cross of war, hunger and oppression. As the Holy Father said in his Easter address, “United to him and ready to offer our lives for our brothers and sisters, let us become apostles of peace, messengers of a joy that does not fear pain – the joy of the Resurrection.”

During this Easter season especially, it is helpful to look for and remember all the signs of Christ’s resurrected life in our world, places where his grace is already making “all things new.” The example of so many committed people is a cause of great hope. Danielle Katches, one of our parishioners who works here at the rectory, is going with her teacher and six other Capuchino students to Tanzania to teach English for three weeks. Pat and Theresa Vallez-Kelly and some friends are hosting a fundraiser dinner dance and auction Saturday, May 12 at Notre Dame High School for a Guatemalan man who has taken in shoeshine boys to live in his house which needs a new roof, thus the name of their event, “Raise the Roof.” If you’d like tickets or to make a donation, go on line to www.interchange.org for more information. My niece in Missoula belongs to a service club which is raising money for the Ugandan young people who must walk each night to a safe place where they are protected from the Lord’s Resistance Army which kidnaps children and brutalizes them to fight the government. The high schoolers are also walking 5 miles to bring attention to this tragedy, the distance the Ugandans walk nightly. The organizers at www.savedarfur.org continue to call for our government to pressure the Sudanese government to allow African Union peacekeepers in to protect the innocent villagers from the janjaweed.

Who do you know who is bringing the light of Christ’s compassion to those who need it? Can you support those folks with a donation or your daily prayers and sacrifices? Being Christian, we have the luxury of knowing God’s love for us in Christ. The only measuring rod for the depth of our faith is our love. How shall we express it this week?
Peace, S. Sheral

If you're new to St. Robert's, we ask that you complete a registration form found in the vestibule of the church. Drop it either in the collection basket, the mail, or at the parish office. We will send you a New Parishioner Packet with information about the parish, its organizations and groups. If you chose, you can register online at: www.saintroberts.org.

     
St. Robert’s School is collecting Box Tops for Education coupons and Labels for Education UPC codes. Send your collection to the school or rectory. Visit the websites below for product information. Any questions please call Christine Peterson.

www.boxtops4educaiton.com
www.labelsforeducation.com

SUNDAY COLLECTION

    
SIGN UP FOR E-CONTRIBUTIONS

Go to www.saintroberts.org and click on the e-contributions button. The first page explains the details. There is a button to take you to the e-paluch registration page. You can register online using either your checking account or credit card.

There is no cost to you for this service.

ANNUAL APPEAL

2007 CENTERPLATE SIGN UP

More people are needed for the following games:
May 8th, and May 9th
Please sign up today!!!

Saturday, 4:30 p.m. Mass

Sunday, 7:30 a.m. Mass

Sunday, 5:00 p.m. Mass