Candlemas - First Saturday Mass for February

Please join us for Candlemas, which will also fortunately be our First Saturday Mass, on February 2nd. at 12:00 noon. All are welcome and encouraged to bring candles 10 minutes before Mass to be blessed.
Also know as the Purification of the Blessed Virgin or the Feast of the Presentation, Candlemas commemorates the purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the presentation of Christ in the temple, which occurred 40 days after his birth as prescribed by Mosaic law.
St. Luke, quoting Exodus 13:2,12, writes that Mary and Joseph took Jesus to Jerusalem because every firstborn child was to be dedicated to the Lord. They also went to sacrifice a pair of doves or two young pigeons, signifying that Mary and Joseph were poor. Once in the temple, Jesus was purified by the prayer of Simeon, in the presence of Anna the prophetess. Simeon, upon seeing the Messiah, gave thanks to the Lord, singing a hymn now called the Nunc Dimittis:

Nunc dimittis servum tuum, Domine
Secundum verbum tuum in pace:
Quia viderunt oculi mei salutare tuum
Quod parasti ante faciem omnium populorum:
Lumen ad revelationem gentium,
Et gloriam plebis tuae Israel.

Lord, now you let your servant go in peace,
your word has been fulfilled:
My own eyes have seen the salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of every people:
a light to reveal you to the nations
and the glory of your people Israel.

Simeon told Mary, "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against, (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed." Simeon thus foreshadowed the crucifixion and the sorrows of Mary.

Walk For Life West Coast Rally in San Francisco

All are invited to join the 9th Annual Walk for Life West Coast Rally in San Francisco on January 26, 2013. Founded in 2005, the Walk for Life West Coast’s mission is to change the perceptions of a society that thinks abortion is an answer.

Walk participants will include Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the papal nuncio to the United States, 14 Catholic bishops including San Francisco’s new Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, and thousands of other pro-life supporters from throughout the Bay Area and across the United States and Canada.

More details and the most up-to-date information about the walk is available at:
www.walkforlifewc.com
Phone: (239) 867-4180
Email: media@walkforlifewc.com
For those needing transportation, visit http://www.walkforlifewc.com/register/need-a-ride/
for local ride information.

There will be a Solemn High Mass in the Extraordinary Form, following the Walk for Life West Coast. The Mass will be at the National Shrine of Saint Francis of Assisi, 610 Vallejo St, San Francisco, at 5:00 p.m. after Walk For Life. The Shrine is only about a mile from Justin Herman Plaza, the end of the walk.
The celebrant will be Fr. Francisco Nahoe, OFM Conv, Rector of the Saint Thomas Aquinas Cathedral in Reno, NV. Saint Ann's Schola of Palo Alto, CA, conducted by Professor William Mahrt of Stanford University, will accompany.

Potluck after Mass on the Feast of the Epiphany

In the spirit of the Christmas season, please join us for potluck brunch after Mass on Epiphany, January 6th. It will be our annual "protein food" feed for all of us who are fatiguing of Christmas sweets. There will be electrical outlets for those who want to keep dishes hot.  All are welcome and encouraged to come, there will plenty of food for everyone~
Due to bad weather, the potluck has been postponed until next Sunday, January 13th.