This Sunday prepares us for the solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. Jesus’ Ascension signals the beginning of the time of the Church that is guided by the Holy Spirit. At the Last Supper, Jesus bids his disciples goodbye. The disciples naturally are saddened by Jesus saying goodbye to them. He knows that his departure conjures the sense of absence and sorrow. Jesus feels for the disciples that they need comforting. Thus, as He bids them goodbye He talks about the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will continue to make Jesus’ presence felt to them, defending His disciples against their detractors, and inspiring them and strengthening them when they feel down and discouraged. In a way Jesus’ departure will not really leave them orphaned. While the disciples will no longer feel Jesus’ presence as a rabbi of Nazareth, they will continue to feel His presence fully alive through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will continue Jesus’ work. This is how we experience Church today. Guided by the Holy Spirit, we journey together as Church to discern on how we are to continue proclaiming the gospel in this time and age. The Holy Spirit teaches us the way we must go and how we are to pursue it. We do not lead ourselves. We create a space in our hearts to let the Holy Spirit lead us in navigating to make the gospel relevant in today’s challenges and issues. As Church, may we continue to walk together as members of Christ’s Church and participate in the work of Christ to bring all souls to Christ and attain eternal salvation.
Our Stewardship Report for the week of May 15 is:
Sunday Collection: $5,428
Online: $2,129.00
Total Collection: $7,557.00
Collection Weekly Goal: $10,921.88
Difference: ($3,364.88) (30.80% short of collection goal)
I want to thank all who have been turning in their contributions. Let's continue to help the Parish. Contribution can be done either online, mail into the Parish Office, or by dropping off in the drop box by the Parish Office.
St. Joseph of Cupertino, have mercy on us.
There is this story about a soldier and his friend in World War I. The young soldier’s friend was left out near the enemy’s line. So, the young soldier asked permission from his superior officer to rescue his friend. The officer thinks it may not be worth it as the young soldier’s friend is probably dead and it might cost him his life. But because the young soldier persisted, the officer relented. Despite the danger, the young soldier went out and found his friend badly wounded. He brought his friend back to their trench, but by then he was dead. The officer told the young soldier: “I told you it’s not worth it. Your friend is dead.” The young soldier replied: “Sir, it was worth it because when I reached for him he was still alive and he said, ‘Jim, I knew you would come.’” “Greater love no one has than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” Jesus laid down His life for us though we were dead to sin, He took us back to the trench of heaven. That is who Jesus is. That’s the mark of anyone who follows Jesus. Being a Christian is more than just believing in Christ. Jesus makes it plainly clear that others will know that people are his disciples by the way they love one another. This type of love is certainly not that of a feeling like a romantic love, but a self-donating love, a love that wills to set aside one’s interest for the sake of the other. In a little while, we will receive the body and blood of Christ and be one with Christ whom we believe. What acts of love can you do to others to remind them that Jesus died for them? May we be not only believers, but also disciples of Christ.
Two weeks ago, we had more than 20 kids who received the Sacrament of Confirmation and their First Communion. It was a joy to see these children excited to complete their Sacraments of Initiation. It reminds us way back when we ourselves completed our sacraments of initiation. Joining these kids, we are not merely believers in Christ when we received the Sacrament of Baptism; we have become also committed followers (disciples) of Christ when we were sealed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit in Confirmation, and made one with Him in Holy Communion. Our being a Christian comes with a mission that the joy of the gospel may be felt by anyone who encounters the love of Christ in us in the many facets of life. May we persevere in walking the path of Christ who willingly laid down his life for the sake of others.
I thank all those who participated in the offering of flowers to our Blessed Mother during the 9:30 am Mass. I am grateful as well to the family who crowned our Lady with flowers. May is one of Marian months. We honor her as our Mother whom Jesus entrusted to us. We can ask her to share her grace with us and intercede for us that we may truly be, like her, not only believers of Christ, but disciples of Christ as well.
St. Joseph of Cupertino, pray for us.
Today is also known as the Good Shepherd. What makes a good shepherd?
In the Gospel, Jesus allows us to understand what a good shepherd is. He says that a good shepherd is such that he knows his sheep and they follow him; and that he gives them life that they may never perish. He adds that a good shepherd makes sure no one can take them away from him. For a shepherd to know his sheep and his sheep know him there has to be a some kind of a relationship btween them. shepherd and the sheep. That relationship is a deep one so much so that if a sheep goes astray, the shepherd senses is and looks for that sheep. When he finds it, he calls that sheep back to the fold. When a sheep is being threatened, the shepherd protects it that it may not perish. Only a shepherd who cares for his sheep in a deep and personal ways can do this. In many ways Jesus calls us to also be a good shepherd to others. Before we find an excuse to say that only Jesus can be a good shepherd, we have here among us who have faithfully heed that call. These are the mothers in our midst. As we here the description of a good shepherd, we remember that mothers in so many ways exhibit those characteristics. A mother does not only play a role. She develops a very deep and personal relationship with her child so much so that she makes all sacrifices to give life to her child. When her child is in trouble, she senses it and calls her child back. When her child is threatened, she protects her child. Being a good shepherd like Jesus is possible. Our mothers have done that. We only need to establish a relationship with the one whom God invites us to be a good a shepherd. This may be a friend, a sibling, a student, a client, a neighbor, or someone we still do not know that personally. By virtue of baptism we are all called to be like Jesus, a good shepherd. As we prepare ourselves to be made one with Christ the Good Shepherd in the Eucharist, we can ask ourselves: With whom is Jesus calling me to be a good shepherd?
“To see is to believe.” This spells pretty much what science demands. Empirical evidence. Unless it is seen, heard, touched, smelled, or tasted, that “it” remains untrue. And this was the case of doubting Thomas. Unless he sees the mark of the nails in Jesus’ hands and puts his finger into the nail marks and puts his hand into Jesus’ side, he will not believe. In many cases, we are like Thomas. When we are undergoing some struggles in life, we go down on our knees for God to rescue us; but, when we are not seeing any tangible result in our prayer, we begin to doubt. “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” That is what we call faith. Faith does not require to see to believe. It requires the opposite—to believe is to see. For Jesus, proofs are not necessary to believe, because not everything can be verified by our senses. There are things in life that can only be accessed by the grace of faith that God grants. It is up to us to accept it. We experience this with the mystery of divine mercy. When we come to ask God’s forgiveness, we approach God believing in his love and mercy no matter how our reason tells us that our sins are unforgiveable. We know by the grace of faith that God will grant us absolution because he is compassionate and merciful. It is faith that God grants us that brings peace to our conscience that after confession God has taken away guilt from our heart. When Jesus appeared to the apostles, they started with fear. They were full of shame and guilt that they abandoned Jesus at a time He needed them most. For them, what they did to Jesus was unforgiveable. In the midst of that fear, shame and guilt, however, Jesus says: “Peace be with you.” He granted them the grace to believe in his divine mercy. Jesus wants us to also believe in his divine mercy. And so, as recipients of his divine mercy the apostles were given the authority by Jesus Christ to forgive by instituting the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It is for this reason that on Sunday we celebrate the Divine Mercy.
It is the providence of divine mercy that Thomas transitioned from unbelief to belief, so that we who hear about it may be disposed to believe in the Sacrament of Reconciliation through which God channels his grace of Divine of Mercy.
In today’s gospel, Mary, Peter and John find themselves in an empty tomb. They are not expecting it. So, they do not know what to make of it. What do you do with an empty tomb? The same question faces us today. What do you do with an empty tomb?
If you think about it, it would not make sense that grave robbers stole the body of Christ since grave robbers did not strike so quickly, especially when there was a contingent of Roman soldiers guarding the tomb. The fact that Jesus might have risen from the dead provided the best explanation of the empty tomb. This had not happened before. God, therefore, was up to something new. An empty tomb means something new is happening. What might that be? Jesus lives. He has conquered death. He has paid the ransom for us so that we will forever live! In other words, with the empty tomb Christ makes all things new! We have a new relationship with God. We are new people forgiven by God. This means we have a new reason for living!
Life is full of twists and turns. We often find ourselves in unexpected paths. The empty tomb therefore provides the hope that in life when we find ourselves in an empty tomb God is into something new. God is leading us to unexpected paths. He is giving us a new reason to hope and live. Wherever we travel in life, therefore, we can do so with the comfort and assurance knowing that Jesus who has overcome the grave, can overcome anything else, too. With life inundated with risks and challenges, even tragedies and sadness, our Redeemer who lives, promises that He will always give us a new hope, a new reason for living. That is the assurance of the empty tomb! Mary, Peter and John who found themselves in an empty tomb did not end in tragedy. Rather the empty tomb made a difference in their lives. And so with us. The empty tomb will also make a difference in our life today. The good news that Jesus is risen provides us with great expectation that God is always making something new for us. Jesus Christ is risen! Alleluia!
It is with a heavy heart to see Mr. Michael Lee, the Principal of our School leave us effective the end of June this year. His selfless service, impeccable leadership, and his strong dedication to the School community is worthy of one’s emulation. Hence, there will be a leadership transition at St. Joseph of Cupertino School at the end of the 2021 – 2022 school year. I will work closely with Caroline Sliney, Associate Superintendent in the Diocese of San Jose, during the leadership transition. Our immediate goal is to engage in gathering the School’s community voice to inform the hiring process. In the coming days the School community will participate in a survey and listening session to gather feedback on the desired characteristics and priorities for the next school leader. The results will be used when screening applications, interviewing candidates and selecting the next principal. We are all focused on what is best for the students at St. Joseph of Cupertino School in providing quality Catholic education for many years to come. We will keep the community updated as we move through the hiring process.
Recently, I, together with Fr. Mendie, met with the core team of young adults of our Parish to begin the Planning process of reviving the young adult group in our Parish. The goal of the initial planning process was to clarify the vision for our young adults group, identify characteristics of what this young adults group will look like in relation to the vision, and to identify strategic partners of organizations that cater to young adults that can help make all these a reality. With that initial planning goal achieved, the core team is now in the process of developing objectives for 2022-2023. We all look forward to having a dynamic young adults group back in our Parish. I am proud of this core of dedicated people who are passionate about ministering to young adults.
This week begins the Holy Week with Palm Sunday. I invite you to participate in the celebration of the Sacred Triduum liturgy which begins on Holy Thursday, April 14 at 7:00 pm, continuing to Good Friday service at 1:30 pm, until the Easter Vigil which will be at 8:00 pm. I am also inviting you to come and join us in reflecting on the Seven Last Words of Jesus Christ on Good Friday, April 15, at 12:30 pm. Deacon Ron Hansen will lead us in the reflection. Easter Sunday Masses will be at 8:30 am, 11:00 am, and 5:00 pm. in the church. There will also an 11:00 am Outdoor Mass at the School’s field. I encourage families, who still may feel uncomfortable coming to indoor masses, to bring their whole family to this Outdoor Mass and celebrate Easter with us. The Mass will be followed by the Easter Egg Hunt. Come and join the fun!
St. Joseph of Cupertino, pray for us.
The first time I was served with artichoke, I did not like it at first. I was told that I had to work hard to get to the heart of it. As I peel off each leaf, I wonder about whether it would be worth the wait. I was surprised that after working hard to get to the heart of it, I find out how mild the heart is. It tends to have a very light and delicious taste. It was worth the work. Many times in life, we do not understand why things happen until we get to the heart of it when we begin to see the deeper meaning of it all. In the Gospel we have this Sunday (taken from Year A, from the Gospel according to John), when Jesus heard that the one He loves (Lazarus) was ill, he decided to stay where He was for two more days before He went to him. John writes that the reason Jesus stays longer is because he loves him. It’s a bit strange for Jesus to do that. How can Jesus both love Lazarus and yet allow him to suffer and even to die? The heart of the matter is for Jesus it was more important to conquer death than to merely heal the illness, that all may believe in the power and glory of God through Christ’s glory. Jesus allowed Lazarus to die because there is a greater glory to be revealed. Jesus says: “This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” That is the heart of it all. And so for Lazarus, it was worth the suffering. And so for us. When God allows us to go through some pain in life, it is not as if He does not care or love us. The truth is He does just as he loves Lazarus. He allows certain things to happen because there is a greater glory to be revealed. When God allows setbacks to happen to us, He is setting us up for something greater. I do not know why God allowed suffering to befall the people of Ukraine. It defies all reason. It is indeed a tragic setback. But, holding on to our faith in Jesus Christ and the wisdom of God, we can hope that this whole horror of war is not to end in tragedy, but is for the greater glory of God, that the power of God may be revealed. It should, therefore, be worth the wait and the work. For as Christians, we walk by faith not by sight.
St. Josepj of Cupertino, pray for us.
In the movie the Lion King, there is this cub named Simba who feels a lot of guilt about the death of his father, Mufasa, the Lion King. He believes that his disobedience to his father’s order led to his father’s demise. Living with a lot of guilt, Simba has forgotten that he is the one true king, the successor of his Father’s throne. Simba wanders off in the jungle alone until he is found by Rafiki, the large baboon who serves as a shaman to the kingdom of Simba’s father. Rafiki tells Simba that his father is alive! He then leads Simba to a lake to prove his point. There he asks Simba to look down there at the water. Simba looks down at the water and says: “That’s not my father. It’s just my reflection.” Rafiki responds, “No! Look harder.” Then Simba begins to see the image of his Father in him.” Rafiki then says: “You see, he lives in you!” Immediately after, Mufasa, his father, shows himself in the clouds and tells his son: ”You have forgotten me.” Simba objects, but his Father continues: You have forgotten who you are, and so you have forgotten me. Remember who you are.” Many times we forget who we really are and behave exactly the opposite of our true identity. St. Paul says in the Second Reading: “For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness…” How often have we behaved not as children of light, but darkness? Somehow, we have forgotten who we are. When we live our life opposite of our identity as Christians, we have forgotten that God lives in us. By virtue of baptism, Christ has already made us a new creation just like Christ has made the blind man a new creation by restoring his sight. Yet, often we do not live like we have been redeemed. The tragedy of it all is often we do not even see that, because we just go on with our busy life. Jesus makes a point in the Gospel that spiritual blindness is far worse than physical blindness.Today, Jesus invites us to take an inventory of ourselves: What are those in my life that do not reflect who I really am—an image of God? Lent is the time to retreat from our busy life to remember who we are, so we can reconcile ourselves with our true identity. God will restore our sight if we come before him with humility acknowledging our spiritual blindness. Mufasa tells his Son, Simba, “Remember who you are.” Right here, right now, Christ tells us: “Remember who you are.”
A question a priest asks a couple in a wedding is “Do you take this woman (or man) to be your lawfully wedded husband (or wife)?” And more often than not I see a smile with a convincing “I do.” After a period of getting to know you, they have come to a conclusion that they are ready to take each other for life for better or for worse, in sickness or in health, for richer or for poorer. In other words, they are in for a long haul. Their relationship as married couple is not dependent on certain conditions. Christ is also asking us to enter into a nuptial relationship with Him, a spiritual one that is. He offers Himself to us as a divine bridegroom asking us to enter into an everlasting relationship with Him. He wants us to have that intimate and permanent relationship with Him. That’s the significance of our Gospel today. When Jesus promises the Samaritan woman the living water, He is inviting her to be his spiritual bride. But, it is not just her that He is inviting. He is inviting the whole of humanity. The Samaritan woman is just a representative of humanity. In the same way, Jesus continues to invite anyone, including us to be His spiritual “bride”. For Christ, it does not matter how checkered our past might be. He wants everyone to accept His proposal to enter into an intimate everlasting relationship with Him. Our sins do not pose as obstacles at all for Christ to enter into that relationship. Our sins are more of an obstacle for us to fully respond to Christ’s invitation. This Lent, we can examine our life and ask ourselves: If today, Christ asks me, “Do you take me to enter into an intimate covenantal relationship with you,” what would my answer be? Will I be able to look at Jesus with a smile and answer Him with a convincing “I do”? Today is the day of salvation. Christ is asking us to remove all impediments in our life that prevent us from giving Him our convincing I do.
Our total ADA pledges and contributions to date are about $182,246.00. This is 153% of our goal. Kudos to all the 223 families who made this possible! All pledges and contributions that we will receive over and above our goal come back to us as rebates. We can now say that our potential rebate is over $63,000! It’s still not too late to participate if you have not yet done so and be part of this success! Any amount you give does make an impact on helping our Parish in its expenses and in pursuing opportunities to continue in its mission to spread the Gospel and form disciples. Never undervalue the power of one.
Please continue to support the Gift of Reading Lenten project of the Social Justice Ministry. If you have any old reading books that your children no longer need but are still in good condition, please drop these off in any of drop boxes available in the church. These books will go a long way in helping children in need to accelerate in their literacy development. The books will go to the CORAL After School Program of the Catholic Charities. The Program focuses on improving academic achievement through literacy and homework support. Bring a smile to these kids with the books you donate!