Perfect imperfections
“A popular television show several years ago featured ordinary people who decided that their physical appearance was so lacking, it was negatively affecting their entire life. So they left their family and friends and jobs for a number of months. They had extensive plastic surgery. Their teeth and smile were reconstructed. They got makeup lessons and new haircuts. They were put on diets and exercise regimes. They were dressed in a new wardrobe.
And once the transformation was deemed complete, they went home and made a grand entrance to waiting family and friends who gathered nervously to see the results. The crying and hugging gave us the message that we really are only as good as we look. While there is nothing wrong with looking better, society has set an unacceptably and unrealistically high standard of perfection that few of us will ever reach. Throughout the show, just the external person was dealt with. And we are much more than our appearance.
We need to admit that we are imperfect and “unclean,” the “least of the apostles,” “sinful”—all as scripture points out. It is when we’re honest with ourselves that God will reshape us. Our very imperfections could be the instruments used to bring us to God. If we obsess about ourselves, we leave no room for God to work. After all, we are all made in God’s image. We smudge up that image with our sinfulness, for sure. But God will always work with us so that we can reflect God’s being with us.” (Fr. Dominic Grassi)
What is Happening This Week? Total ADA Pledges this week is $18,425.00. This is 15% of our goal of $123,633.00. If you have not yet participated, please prayerfully consider giving a one-time contribution or a pledge that you can pay over 10 months. Free Ballroom Dancing Class is on Wednesday, February 12, from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Parish Hall.
What is Forthcoming? An Evening of Adoration and Healing will be held on Thursday, March 6, from 5:30 p.m.—9:00 p.m. in the Church. Fr. Thomas Vendetti, a Legionary of Christ priest, will lead a team of healing ministers. If you feel discouraged that your life isn’t changing despite all your efforts, or you feel stuck in destructive patterns of behavior and wonder whether you will ever grow, come to A Weekend Healing Retreat, which will happen from April 4 –6. The Healing Retreat allows you to invite Jesus to heal your brokenness so he can set you free and restore you into a fully integrated person in mind, body, and spirit. Fr. Brian Shininger from the Legionary of Christ will facilitate the retreat. Visit our website for more information. Women’s Evening of Reflection will be every first Wednesday of the month, beginning April 2, 2025.
“Most people have endured what feels like interminable waiting. Maybe it’s for a desperately needed job or a serious health test result. The struggle to keep hope alive in the face of uncertainty, while your life hangs in the balance, can be excruciating. I witnessed an overwhelming example of this recently at the U.S.-Mexico border.
I had the opportunity to spend time in Juárez, meeting migrants who were fleeing violence. Once in Juárez, though, they had to wait. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol has an app through which migrants apply for asylum. The appointment system is a random lottery. Migrants go on the app every day, hoping to be chosen. They might wait a week—or a year. In the meantime, in the basement of the cathedral, Catholic groups help them with basic needs, healthcare, and legal aid.
While I waited in line at the Border Patrol facility to return to El Paso, I saw about 30 migrants emerge from a room after processing. They were being allowed to enter the United States while they awaited their asylum hearing. As they sailed through the turnstile to freedom, I noted that about a handful of them were exuberant little girls dragging pink suitcases. The sight made my heart soar. I might have an inkling of what Simeon and Anna felt when beholding the fulfillment of hope.” (Jennifer Tomshack)
What is Happening This Week? Appeal Weekend is here. Today is the day that Bishop Cantú and your parish ask for your support for the ministries and services of the Diocese through the Annual Diocesan Appeal. The Annual Diocesan Appeal supports the Diocese of San José’s common services and programs to our 53 Catholic parishes and missions. These services ensure the vitality and growth of our Church. As Disciples of Christ, we are called to share our many blessings with others. The ADA supports these programs and offices, including the Office for Evangelization, Vocations and Seminarian Education, The Institute for Leadership in Ministry, Parish Services, Stewardship and Development, Communications Services, and the Tribunal. The ADA appeal provides over 50% of all diocesan revenues. This is your once-a-year opportunity to share your gifts with our local Church and help our parish meet its goal of $ 123,633.00. Please be as generous as you can. The free Bible Study class is on Saturday, February 8, from 10:00 a.m.—11:00 a.m. in the Fr. Greg Ng Kimm Community Center. Fr. Sebastian Carnazzo, a bible scholar, leads the class. The Lunar New Year Celebration will be on Sunday, February 9, at 11:00 a.m. Mass. A simple reception follows at the St. Joseph of Cupertino Square or, if the weather does not permit, at the Fr. Greg Ng Kimm Community Center.
What is Forthcoming? An Evening of Adoration and Healing will be held on Thursday, March 6, from 5:30 p.m.—9:00 p.m. in the Church. Fr. Thomas Vendetti, a Legionary of Christ priest, will lead a team of healing ministers. Finally, if you feel discouraged that your life isn’t changing despite all your efforts, or you feel stuck in destructive patterns of behavior and wonder whether you will ever grow, come to A Weekend Healing Retreat, which will happen from April 4 –6. The Healing Retreat allows you to invite Jesus to heal your brokenness so he can set you free and restore you into a fully integrated person in mind, body, and spirit. Fr. Brian Shininger from the Legionary of Christ will facilitate the retreat. Visit our website for more information. Women's Evening of Reflection will be every first Wednesday of the month beginning March 5. Grow in your identity as beloved daughter of God, authentic sisterhood, and learn to uplift one another. Mass begins at 6:00 p.m. in the church followed by a talk at 7:00 p.m. The evening culminates in fellowship at 8:00 p.m. in the Fr. Greg Ng Kimm Community Center.
“It was my sixth or seventh surgical treatment, I lost count, one every three or four months. It always ends with an ultrasound assuring everything is working before being sent home. I was lying there looking at the nurse administering it to me. She had a very prominent baby bump. Always the comedian, I remarked that she must have had similar tests the past few months. She responded affirmatively and then added it wasn’t in the same place I was having mine. We both laughed. She checked the results with the doctor and secured my release.
When she returned to dismiss me, I told her I was a Catholic priest and that if she would allow me to, I would like to bless the baby she was carrying. She started to cry. She was Catholic and welcomed the blessing. Four months passed and I was there again. The nurse performing the ultrasound was wearing a mask. I told her about what happened at my last surgery. She stopped and took off her mask. She was that nurse, now the proud mother of a three-month-old son. This time it was my turn to shed a tear. We all have our role in the Body of Christ. I shared mine and she in turn shared hers. In a simple way we had graced each other. I had shared my priesthood and when I returned, she shared her joy.” (Father Dominic Grassi)
What is Forthcoming? The following free Bible Study class will be on Saturday, February 8, from 10:00 a.m.—11:00 a.m. in the Fr. Greg Ng Kimm Community Center. Fr. Sebastian Carnazzo, a bible scholar, leads the class. An Evening of Adoration and Healing will be held on Thursday, March 6, from 5:30 p.m.—9:00 p.m. in the Church. Fr. Thomas Vendetti, a Legionary of Christ priest, will lead a team of healing ministers. Finally, if you feel discouraged that your life isn’t changing despite all your efforts, or you feel stuck in destructive patterns of behavior and wonder whether you will ever grow, come to A Weekend Healing Retreat, which will happen from April 4 –6. We all have wounds from the past that can block our ability to grow and harm our health and well-being spiritually. The Healing Retreat allows you to invite Jesus to heal your brokenness so he can set you free and restore you into a fully integrated person in mind, body, and spirit. Fr. Brian Shininger from the Legionary of Christ will facilitate the retreat. Visit our website for more information.
Have you ever felt short-changed before? You asked for the best and were given a second-best instead. We don’t want to be short-changed. We do not want to get the second best. We want the best. In prayer, we do the same. You ask God to give us this and that, believing it will be in your best interest. Instead, God gives you something else. You feel disappointed and begin to feel that God did not give you the best. But, if you think about it, God always gives us the best because He knows what is best for us more than we know. In today’s Gospel, Mary models how to pray to God for our needs. She did not tell Jesus what to do; she simply told Him what the situation was and trusted that her Son would know the best course of action. “Do whatever He tells you to do, Mary tells the servants. Our attitude should be the same because we do not always know what is best for us. Instead of telling God what He needs to give us, we tell God our situation, let God be God, and trust that we have a loving Father in heaven who knows what is best for us. Let me end my reflection with a prayer that I am quoting from Hazrat Khan: “I asked for strength, and God gave me difficulties to make me strong. I asked for wisdom, and God gave me problems to learn to solve. I asked for prosperity, and God gave me a brain and brawn to work. I asked for courage, and God gave me dangers to overcome. I asked for love, and God gave me people to help. I asked for favors, and God gave me opportunities. I received nothing I wanted. I received everything I needed.”
What’s Happening This Week? The free Ballroom Dancing class is on Wednesday, January 22, from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Parish Hall.Have you ever experienced a situation when the thing you were desperately searching for was right before you? I remember I was looking for my cellphone one day. I searched my place all over and could not find it, only to realize it was just staring at me straight in the face on my table! We think we’re observant, but many suffer from a blind spot. It is the inability of our visual system to detect something that is staring us straight in the face. Part of the problem is our selective attention. We pick and choose the things in view that matter, basically tuning out what goes on elsewhere. In the gospel today, people were filled with expectations and asked in their hearts whether John the Baptist might be Christ. Unknown to them, the one they had been waiting for was already among them that day. Our selective attention or blind spots often occur also in our spiritual lives. We seek for God, yet He is just in our midst. In fact, God is always around us and within us. We often miss him because we pick and choose what we want to see. We tune out the rest of what happens around us. Part of the problem is that we are surrounded by noise. Our gadgets, anxieties, worries, and attachments make up most of those noises, so much that we fail to recognize God’s presence in our midst. Today, Jesus invites us to sharpen our spiritual senses through silence and prayer. It’s time to make our daily connection with God and allow Him to assure us that we are his beloved child.
What’s forthcoming? The following free Ballroom Dancing class will be on Wednesday, January 22, from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Parish Hall. The following free Bible Study class will be on Saturday, February 8, from 10:00 a.m.—11:00 a.m. in the Fr. Greg Ng Kimm Community Center. Fr. Sebastian Carnazzo, a bible scholar, leads the class. An Evening of Adoration and Healing will be held on Thursday, March 6, from 5:30 p.m.—9:00 p.m. in the Church. Fr. Thomas Vendetti, a Legionary of Christ priest, will lead a team of healing ministers. Finally, if you feel discouraged that your life isn’t changing despite all your efforts, or you feel stuck in destructive patterns of behavior and wonder whether you will ever grow, come to A Weekend Healing Retreat, which will happen from April 4 –6. We all have wounds from the past that can block our ability to grow and harm our health and well-being spiritually. The Healing Retreat allows you to invite Jesus to heal your brokenness so he can set you free and restore you into a fully integrated person in mind, body, and spirit. Fr. Brian Shininger from the Legionary of Christ will facilitate the retreat. Visit our website, stjosephcupertino.org, for more information.
A family recipe worth passing down
“’Careful, you’re scaring the normals,’ Michael Berzatto’s cousin warns him when he throws a fork across the table at Christmas Eve dinner in the ‘Fishes’ episode of the hit show The Bear. The family’s emotional excesses, addictions, and dysfunctions are on full display as they share in a traditional Italian-American feast of the seven fishes. The family dynamics are heartbreaking, funny, and in many ways very relatable, which makes it compelling TV.
Families are messy bundles of congealed emotions. When the heat of bodies gathered for a family meal is applied, resentments bubble to the surface and tempers flare. Saint Paul has the perfect recipe for just such occasions: ‘Put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another.’ Wow, what family couldn’t use a reminder to be forbearing with the conspiracy theorists in our midst; patient with the embellishments and meanderings of some of our storytellers; forgiving of all the barbs and digs that invariably get tossed, some in good fun, some not. Then in a final step, Paul’s recipe requires that we fold in all the drama and lay love on top of it. Ah yes, love, the essential ingredient that makes a family holy.” (Patrice J. Tuohy)
What’s happening this week? The second group of participants for 40 Weeks: Ignatian Path to Christ with Sacred Story Prayer meets on Sunday, December 29, from 3:00 p.m. through 4:00 p.m. in the Community Center. The Parish has partnered with Direction for Your Soul, a team of lay ministers that offers spiritual direction, inner healing, and life coaching. For more details, visit the parish website at stjosephcupertino.org. All Things Women, is now available for our parishioners. This program helps you discover your unique identity within the secure love of Christ. Join to learn about wholeness of mind, body, and soul and take steps towards becoming a confident, mature woman who can uplift others in true sisterhood.
What’s forthcoming? The free Ballroom Dancing Class will be on Wednesday, January 8, 2025, from 7:30 p.m. through 8:30 p.m. in the Parish Hall. The free Bible Study class will be on Saturday, January 11, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. in the Fr. Greg Ng Kimm Community Center. An Evening of Adoration and Healing will be on March 6, 2025 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Weekend Healing Retreat will be from April 4 to 6, 2025. Encounter Jesus and courageously ask him for healing. His simple presence transforms our darkness into light; the lies we believe about ourselves into truth; and the coldness of our isolation into the warmth of his love. Set free from lies, resentment, and self-reliance we can live in freedom to love God and other people. Visit the parish website, stjosephcupertino.org, for more information.
The Incarnation of our Lord, the Word made flesh, always affords us all hope as His birth made it possible again for us to be reconciled with God. God created us all out of His love, for and in love. He does not need us; nothing about us adds to His greatness. But He made us anyway for one reason—to allow us to share in His divine life. That has always been His plan. That plan was disrupted by the introduction of sin committed by our first parents, Adam and Eve. That destroyed all hope to share in God's glory and His divine life. But God will not let that happen. That is why He sent us His only Son to take on flesh and be like us except for sin to reconcile humanity with God so that we may again look forward to that promise of eternal life with God sharing in His divine life. As the Catholic Church looks toward the Jubilee Year 2025, which is the 2,025th anniversary of the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ, we join Pope Francis in his desire: “We must fan the flame of hope that has been given us and help everyone to gain new strength and certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trus ng heart, and far-sighted vision.” With everything happening in the world, the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ restores the climate of home in all creation. That is why our mantra should be, “Always hope!” Every day should always be a day of hope. Let us celebrate Christmas always with hope! I want to thank all of you for supporting our Parish community. As we enter the Jubilee Year of Hope, may we always open our hearts to allow Jesus Christ to bring that spirit of hope into our hearts! A very Merry Christmas to all of you!
What’s forthcoming? Wednesday, January 1, 2025, is the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, and is a holy day of obligation. Masses will be at 9:30 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and 5:00 p.m. Evening of Adora on and Healing: Thursday, March 6, 2025, 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Weekend Healing Retreat: April 4-6, 2025. See posters or visit stjosephcupertino.org for more details. Free Ballroom Dancing Class: January 8 and 22, 2025, 7:30 p.m.—8:30 p.m., Parish Hall. Free Bible Study: Saturday, January 11, 2025, 10:00 a.m.—11:00 a.m.
“New jobs, job promotions, acceptance at your first-choice school, straight A’s, getting engaged, the mortgage approved, the account you were vying for, front-row tickets to the game of the century—these are all extremely exciting moments in the course of any life, but they pale in comparison to giving birth—at least for most people, under even the worst circumstances. Human beings can’t help themselves: New life is irresistible, even if only for a brief moment before the worries and responsibilities of caring for this new life push their way into the nursery.
What is often not so joyful is discovering that you or someone you love is pregnant under not the best of circumstances—too old, too young, unmarried, unhappy, unhealthy, or, worse yet, carrying a baby that is far from perfect. The wait can seem painfully long and each day filled with the agony of uncertainty about what the future holds. Today’s gospel addresses that anguish. Mary and Elizabeth are kindred spirits to all those facing difficult pregnancies. They had their questions and doubts, but they held out hope for the strength to handle whatever came their way.
They were determined and faithful women. They are witnesses to the power of love and commitment, but most of all, their actions demonstrate the need for support and solidarity during difficult times. Offer yourself this day in service to another in need.” (Patrice J. Tuohy)
What’s happening this week? The second group of participants for 40 Weeks: Ignatian Path to Christ with Sacred Story Prayer meets on Sunday, December 22, from 3:00 p.m. through 4:00 p.m. in the Community Center. The Simbang Gabi, a Filipino tradition of Advent Novena leading to Christmas continues this week every day from 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and ends on Tuesday, December 24. After Mass, there will be a reception at the Fr. Greg Ng Kimm Community Center. The Christmas Eve Masses on Tuesday, December 24, at 4:00 p.m.; 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. The Christmas Day Masses on Wednesday, December 25, are at 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.
What’s forthcoming? Wednesday, January 1, 2025, is the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, is a holy day of obligation. Masses will be at 9:30 a.m., 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
“Have no anxiety at all,” Saint Paul tells us in today’s reading. Sorry, Paul, but at Christmastime, your plea falls on deaf ears. And that prayer at Mass for God to “protect us from all anxiety”—that doesn’t seem to be working either, at least not for anyone I know.
It’s impossible not to feel anxious when you try to cram 20 parties, 10 shopping trips, five concerts, three festivals, two cookie bakes, and very possibly finding a place to put a partridge in a pear tree all in the space of four weeks. Not to mention trying to sort through every family relationship, childhood memory, personal hope and dream, all with the knowledge that another year is over, never to be relived.
Anxiety thy name is Christmas, or so it would seem. But Paul and John say, no, Christmas thy name is joyful hope. Both sentiments convey the sense of unfulfilled wishes. But anxiety implies doubt; whereas hope implies confidence, and joyful hope carries with it a faith-filled certainty that all will be well, that our sins will be forgiven, that no one will go hungry, that our debts will be satisfied honestly, that God will gather us in and spread a banquet before us, and that no one will be mad if we forgot a present or two.” (Patrice J. Tuohy)
What’s happening this week? The second group of participants for 40 Weeks: Ignatian Path to Christ with Sacred Story Prayer meets on Sunday, December 15, from 3:00 p.m. through 4:00 p.m. in the Community Center. The free Ballroom Dancing Class is on Wednesday, December 18, from 7:30 p.m. through 8:30 p.m. in the Parish Hall. The Advent Reconciliation Service is on Friday, December 20, 2024 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The first day of Simbang Gabi starts on Monday, December 16, at 8:30 a.m.
What’s forthcoming? The free Bible Study will be on Saturday, January 11, from 10:00 a.m. through 11:00 a.m.
“She was at an awkward age, no longer a child but not yet mature. And so she didn’t quite know how to play Christmas any more. She used to love the presents and the “secret Santa” rituals and the prospect of dolls and games and toys. But she’d put all that behind her recently and constantly told her parents, “I’m not a baby anymore.”
Yet when St. Nicholas Day came around she secretly felt so stung that there was no candy tucked into her bedroom slippers and no stickers or colored pens hiding in her shoes like there’d been all those other years. And when she got to breakfast and saw that her mother had placed a book, wrapped and waiting, at her spot at the table, she found it small comfort. But it was a good book. No, a great book. A book that took her seriously and talked about things that mattered to her. It would be a book she treasured her whole life.
Saint Paul prayed that the Christians of his day would learn to “discern what is of value.” What a great prayer this is as we decide how we will spend our time and our money preparing for Christmas. Before you throw yourself into your busy schedule this week, spend a moment asking God to help you discern what is of value and then shape your days accordingly. “ (Tim McGrath)
What’s happening this week? The second group of participants for 40 Weeks: Ignatian Path to Christ with Sacred Story Prayer meets on Sunday, December 8, from 3:00 p.m. through 4:00 p.m. in the Community Center. The Father-Son Advent retreat will be on Saturday, December 14, from 9:00 a.m. through 100 p.m. in the church. The Christmas Concert, Always Hope, will be performed by Saringhimig, a Filipino American chamber choir that has done many European tours and has won many international competitions. Special guests are Bytes and Notes. It is this Friday, December 13, from 6:30 p.m. through 9:00 p.m. in the church. Tickets may be purchased at the parish website. $25.00 donation. While waiting for the doors to open for the Christmas concert, spend some time visiting the various stalls, from jewelry, and clothes to food, at the Christmas Night Market on December 13, 5:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m., and on December 14, 3:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.
What’s forthcoming? The free Ballroom Dancing Class will be on Wednesday, December 18, from 7:30 p.m. through 8:30 p.m. in the Parish Hall. The free Bible Study will be on Saturday, January 11, from 10:00 a.m. through 11:00 a.m.