Welcome to the first issue of our new monthly parish newsletter!

As our parish community continues to grow and develop stewardship as a way of life, we recognize the need for increased communication. Through this newsletter, we hope to share stories that will help us all to better understand who we are as Catholics and what we are doing as individual members of Christ’s family. In upcoming issues, we will focus on what’s going on in the St. Hilary community, and how those ac-tivities and events are changing hearts and minds and helping parishioners grow closer to Christ and each other. Each article will ultimately focus on Christ at work within our community through the stewardship way of life.

Our hope is that this newsletter will be a successful means for ongoing education and formation in our faith,

and I pray it will be a vehicle through which you are informed and inspired to become more actively involved in the life of Christ and the parish.

Another way I hope to improve our par-ish’s communication efforts is through a comprehensive parish survey that will be conducted this coming spring. Through the survey, I want to hear from you regarding our parish and its future. A survey will be mailed to each home, and then I will ask you to take the time to fill it out and return it as soon as possible. Your input will be very import-ant, and it will give the Pastoral Council and me a better understanding of your

thoughts about our parish.

This fall, we will conduct our Annual Stewardship Renew-al. The Renewal is the time each year when we ask each other to re-prioritize the way we use God’s gifts in the

Welcome TO OuR NEw PARISH NEwSlETTER!

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March 2016Monthly Newsletter

Dear Parishioners,

A Letter From Our Pastor

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What comes to mind when you hear the word “stewardship”?

Do you think of it as just another way to talk about money? Do you quickly dismiss it as a notion that has noth-ing to do with being Catholic?

Stewardship is actually a concept that is Scripturally based, and is ab-solutely vital to our life as Catholics. God tells us, in the very first book of the Old Testament, “Be fertile and multiply. Fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air and all the living things that move on the earth” (Gen 1:28).

what does that mean to us today? It simply means that God is telling us, “This is yours, so take care of it.” One of the first things God tells us to do is to be good stewards of the gifts He has entrusted to us!

The Old Testament is not the only place where we can find refer-ences to stewardship. Indeed, of the 36 parables in the New Testa-ment, more than half of them deal with time, talent, possessions, or money. Therefore, if Jesus spoke of

stewardship that much, it should be a very important part of our lives!

As Catholics, we refer to the three facets of stewardship as “time, talent and treasure.” Although these are three concrete ways to express and measure stewardship, the unit-ed States Conference of Catholic Bishops tells us that stewardship is part of discipleship. Stewardship is a way of responding to God’s call in every aspect of our lives.

The Scriptures and Church traditions teach us one important point that cannot be overstated — that stew-ardship is primarily based on our need to give in gratitude, not on the Church’s need to receive. Of course, both the Catholic Church and our particular parish will always need money. However, we are not asked to give simply to defray costs and fund charitable programs. we are instead asked to remember our need to gratefully return a portion of our time, talent and treasure to God, rec-ognizing all that He has given to us.

It is important to remember that stewardship is a way of life, and

not a program. True Catholic stew-ardship involves an ongoing call to live as followers of Christ. It takes time to find and define personal goals. You can begin by examining your personal commitments to the parish. How do you live your faith in your daily life with your family and friends? How much time do you spend in daily prayer, going to Mass or being involved in parish ministries and activities? what percentage of your income should you give back to God every week? what talents do you have that could be used to strengthen our parish family?

The coming months will see us increasing and intensifying our education and communication on stewardship. we will be developing a better understanding of how steward-ship is a way of responding to God’s call to discipleship. And with God’s help, changes will occur in each of our hearts as we devote ourselves to a stewardship renewal within our par-ish. Examine how you are currently responding to God’s call to steward-ship. If God called you home tomor-row, would He proclaim, “well done, my good and faithful servant”?

What Does Stewardship Mean?

The Old Testament is not the only place where we can find references to stewardship. Indeed, of the 36 parables in the New Testament, more than half of them deal with time, talent, possessions, or money. Therefore, if Jesus spoke of stewardship that much, it should be a very important part of our lives!

STEWAR

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Furthering Our Community of Faith THROuGH THE GREETERS MINISTRY

Hospitality is one of the essential ingredients for cre-ating a thriving faith family. we are called to serve

and provide — both for strangers in need and for those we know, love and trust.

longtime parishioner Steve Sears puts it simply by say-ing, “As people feel more welcome, they become more involved in parish life.”

As such, an important part of stewardship involves cre-ating a parish environment that is warm and welcoming to all members, new and old. This is why Fr. Roger Gus-tafson, Parochial Vicar, recently began the new Greet-ers Ministry here at St. Hilary.

“It was Fr. Roger’s observation that a lot of people who came to church on Sundays didn’t feel welcome in the parish,” Steve says. “Even if they were local or regular parishioners, they would just come, listen to the homily, take communion and then leave without really talking to anyone — the same thing with visitors.”

Seeking to create a more hospitable environment that would not only welcome but also better engage parish-ioners, Fr. Roger soon enlisted Steve’s help to gather volunteers who would commit to greeting individuals and families as they entered church each Sunday.

“The idea was that we could have greeters at all the doors, welcoming people as they entered, saying ‘hi’

and having a small conversation with them in order to make them feel more welcome,” Steve says.

To ensure greeters are present when people begin arriving for the Sunday Mass, volunteers arrive at least 15 minutes prior to their assigned liturgy. Though still new to the parish himself, Steve has already witnessed many fruits from this ministry.

“I think it gets people to know who their fellow parish-ioners are — to communicate with them and help them get together outside of church,” he says. “It helps make church more a part of their lives, encompassing ev-eryone into the church community and not strictly the people who are involved.”

Besides helping our faith community at large, the Greeters Ministry is also a great way for individuals to become more involved in the parish without requir-ing too big of a time commitment. Steve explains that volunteers have the freedom to serve as frequently as they want, whether it is every week or monthly. Anoth-er benefit of the ministry is that it is one in which the entire family can participate.

“Quite often when I’m scheduled as a greeter, I do it with my grandchildren,” Steve says. “They really enjoy doing it with me. It’s a learning experience for them to be greeting people and learning how to talk politely to strangers at a young age.”

Steve adds that the Greeters Ministry has been a per-sonal blessing, enabling him to meet and get to know better his fellow parishioners.

“I would encourage everyone who is interested in this ministry to try it,” Steve says. “I’ve been so blessed just to get to know people better. It helps create a culture of faith that goes beyond Sunday morning.”

If you are seeking a way to become more involved here at St. Hilary, please consider becoming a part of the Greeters

Ministry. For more information, please contact Steve Sears at 415-601-7442 or Diana Rittenhouse at 415-435-1122.

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Although Ms. Marie Bordeleau grew up attending Catholic school, from

kindergarten through graduate school, her teaching career originally led her to public schools. It wasn’t until she earned her administrative credentials that she began working in Catholic schools. Today, she is enjoying her second year serving as our Principal at St. Hilary’s.

“I really like the blend of Catholic values with high academic rigor,” Ms. Bordeleau says. “Catholic schools have a stereotype of being very traditional — ‘innovative’ is not usually a word to describe a Catholic school. we like to show that ‘Catholic’ and ‘innovation’ can go hand in hand.”

And this combination of innovation and Catholic values serves to impact how our school community interacts and functions on a day-to-day basis. Betsy little, a local education expert, noted in particular how she enjoyed a warm and welcoming experience during a visit to St. Hilary’s.

“She came to one of our open houses and one of the things that she noted, that sets us apart, is a sense of joy, from the kids and the teachers and the parents,” Ms. Bordeleau says. “There’s a joy about being here, there’s a happi-ness, there’s a warmth that you expe-rience when you’re here. I absolutely agree with that.”

And through this sense of joy, Ms. Bordeleau is passionate about creat-ing an educational environment that honors the past, while looking toward the future.

“we do a phenomenal job of blending the traditions, the long history of the

Catholic Church, with the 21st century world,” she says.

There are several ways that Ms. Bordeleau and her staff work to ensure the success of St. Hilary School. One of the ways is through their partnership with Stan-ford university’s Challenge Success Program, which works to provide students with an emotionally, physi-cally and socially healthy school. St. Hilary’s is also an Apple distinguished school, focusing on integrating technology within the curriculum and pursuing ground-breaking learning techniques.

These programs are benefiting our school family in a number of ways, from providing our middle school stu-dents more choices for enrichment classes, to focusing on Christian leadership development within Student Council, to fostering stewardship through the class ser-vice projects, which allow all the children an opportuni-ty to give back to the parish and community.

“we are a very dynamic school and we offer a tremen-dous number of (extracurricular) programs, in hopes that we can continue to address the whole child,” Ms. Bordeleau says.

Catholic and Innovative:A lOOk AT ST. HIlARY’S SCHOOl

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Catholic and Innovative:A lOOk AT ST. HIlARY’S SCHOOl

After having worked for years in public schools, Ms. Bor-deleau is grateful for the gifts that set St. Hilary’s apart.

“In a Catholic school, (the faith) is part of your daily experience,” she says, “There’s daily prayer, multiple times a day. we have symbols throughout the school that remind people of our Catholic faith. Through reli-gion classes, you learn about the teachings of Jesus and what they really are about. we offer a Christian leadership class, where kids are taught to be a leader and also to honor their Catholic values. we do commu-nity service projects — not just within the community, but also globally. Through all of that, [students] learn the doctrine and symbols of the faith, and also how to put it into action.”

Ms. Bordeleau is grateful for the support of the parish community, and hopes to remind both parishioners and students alike of their common mission.

“The foundation and the habits that are created and the expectations that are set, early on, in Catholic school, will dictate the history of the Church and its success or not in the future,” she says. “That’s why it’s so critical to remember that when you see the kids in the school, that’s going to be our future. we need to take care of it.

“You hear a lot these days about the focus on the ‘I’ instead of the ‘we,’” she continues, “I think by starting to have these conversations right when they start kin-dergarten, then they have habits of mind to understand what it means to be part of a ‘we,’ rather than just about the ‘I.’ It is about taking your faith and honoring the gifts God has given us. By appreciating the ripple effect (of our actions), we honor Jesus’ law of love.”

Ms. Bordeleau invites all parishioners to use their gifts to serve our school — whether by helping students understand math, working in the school garden, or bringing bagels and reading to first-graders, everyone is welcome to volunteer. Financial assistance is also welcome, and Ms. Bordeleau invites those who are able to donate to the scholarship funds, helping families in need of tuition assistance.

“The joyful community and the blending of innovation and Catholic faith are the two pieces that I think really set us apart,” Ms. Bordeleau says.

Doesn’t that sound like something you would like to be a part of?

If you are interested in learning more about the school, volunteering or making a financial donation, please contact our Principal, Ms. Marie Bordeleau at 415-435-2224 or mbordeleau@sainthilaryschool.org.

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Each year, three days merge liturgically into one. This is the single event or prayer that commemorates the

heart of the Gospel message — “by dying He destroyed our death; by rising He restored our life.”

Though Advent marks the beginning of the liturgical cal-endar, the culmination of this calendar is in the Easter or Paschal Triduum, which is its own liturgical season. Around the world, the communion of the faithful are united in celebration of the Triduum with liturgies for Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil rich with tradition and symbolism.

Both the word “Passover” and the word “Paschal” have roots in the Hebrew pesach meaning a “passing over.” In the Jewish tradition, Passover recalls when the Is-raelites were saved from slavery as the angel of death “passed over” the chosen people. In gathering for the Feast of Passover, Christ and the apostles celebrated the last Supper, the beginning of the Paschal Triduum when Christ “passed through” His passion, death and resurrection.

The Triduum, from the latin for “three days,” begins at dusk on Holy Thursday with the Mass of Our lord’s Supper. As the apostles and Christ gathered to cele-brate the Passover, we gather on Holy Thursday and commemorate the institution of the Eucharist, the in-stitution of the priesthood and the new commandment to “love one another…as I have loved you” (John 13:34-35). In many churches, in imitation of Christ’s action of humility and service, the celebrant washes the feet of several of the faithful.

Christ and His disciples went from the last Supper to the Garden of Gethsemane. In a similar tradition, Holy Thursday concludes with a solemn procession to a place set aside for the repose of the Eucharist. Here, we adore the Blessed Sacrament as Christ asked His disciples to “stay and keep watch” with Him when His soul was “overwhelmed with sorrow” (Matthew 26: 38).

The liturgy ends without a closing rite, and the altar is stripped.

Beginning without an introductory rite, the Good Fri-day service commemorates Christ’s passion from His condemnation to His crucifixion and death. Though the Mass itself is not celebrated, we read from John of the lord’s passion, death and burial. we offer prayers of petition and venerate the cross before receiving Com-munion. Again, the liturgy ends without a closing rite as the celebrant departs in silence.

At this time around the world, the doors of the taberna-cle are left open as we mourn the death of Christ.

without an introductory rite, the Easter Vigil — the Feast of Feasts — on Holy Saturday evening begins in darkness and continues the same holy event or prayer begun on Holy Thursday.

This is the night when we celebrate Christ’s triumph over death! This is the night when the Alleluia is sung for the first time since the beginning of lent. This is the night when we welcome new members into full commu-nion with the Church.

After the procession of the Paschal Candle, represent-ing Christ Himself as the light of the world, we hear the story of our salvation history from Genesis to the Res-urrection. we then welcome the Elect into the Church, and together with our brothers and sisters in Christ, we celebrate the liturgy of the Eucharist and conclude Mass with the triumphant double Alleluia.

while three days are set aside annually to celebrate the Paschal Mystery, we, the communion of the faith-ful, continue meditating on the salvific passion, death and resurrection of Christ throughout all our lives. For Christ, as we hear in the Easter Proclamation, “has ransomed us with His blood, and paid for us the price of Adam’s sin to our eternal Father!”

The Easter Triduum:THE GREAT wEEk AND THE FEAST OF FEASTS

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Andrew and Kim (Vu) GasserTHE GIFT OF FAITH

When parishioner kim (Vu) Gasser was a little girl in

her native Vietnam, her mother took her to Mass every morning. She taught kim how to pray the Rosary and showed her how to make faith a part of everyday life. But what kim remembers the most is her mother taking her to adoration where, kneeling quietly before the monstrance, she would whisper lessons about faith, forgiveness, mercy, and most importantly, God’s abiding love.

“She would tell me that Jesus was so powerful and mighty that He was able to hide in the little host,” kim says. “She would tell me that the tabernacle was His house, and that Mary was our real mother and that Jesus was our real father. She said the Church was my real home, and that whenever I had a problem, I should always go home to Jesus and Mary. And she showed me how to embrace the faith and make it a central part of my life.”

The Church has long recognized parents as the first heralds of our faith, for the home is the first place where children learn about love, forgiveness, charity, and prayerful worship. And for parents, teaching our children the Catholic faith is a legacy that is passed down through the generations since parents teach the faith to their children who, in turn, pass it along once they become parents. For kim, while her mother’s lessons on faith may have been simplified so that a little girl could under-stand, those words whispered from mother to daughter were the first seeds of faith — seeds that are still bearing fruit to this day as kim passes on the gift of faith to her own two daughters, Therese and Bernadette.

“As a family, we pray together every night,” kim says. “My hus-band and I pray the Rosary, and we have taught our kids to pray it, too. we talk about God, and we have a lot of books on saints for the kids to read at home. we lis-ten to our kids’ questions about faith and we go to Mass together. I think it is important to teach by word and example — parents can be living models and living lessons of faith at home.”

And what begins at home can be reinforced in the parish com-munity. when kim and her hus-

band, Andrew, first moved to the area last August, their first priority was to find both a church and a Catholic school that they could call home. They immediately felt welcomed here at St. Hilary, and from the very first time they attended Mass, they were impressed with the number of families that were present. Admittedly, a transition to a new parish is never easy, and it takes time to learn about the various ministries and de-termine which ones are best suited for your family. kim notes that her daughter, Therese, is in the children’s choir, and that has been a starting point.

Finally, one of kim’s favorite things about the parish is the Adoration Cha-

pel, where she can still hear the echoes of her mother’s whispers from long ago — a reminder of how lessons on faith passed on to our children will, one day, be passed further along. So whether it’s attending Mass together (sitting up close so the children can see everything that is taking place), praying the Rosary as a family, attending adoration or volunteering in a ministry, faith taught by word and example is a gift that keeps on giving.

Therese and Bernadette dressed up as St. Therese of the Child Jesus and

St. Jean d’Arc during an All Saints Mass at their old school

Parishioners Andrew and Kim (Vu) Gasser with their daughters, (from left) Bernadette (5) and Therese (8).

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LITURGY SCHEDULEWeekday Mass: 8:30 a.m.

Saturday: 9:00 a.m., 5:00 p.m. Sunday: 7:30 a.m. 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. & 5:00 p.m.

Confessions:Friday: 9:00 a.m.Saturday: 4 - 4:30 p.m.

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Church. It is the time we write down how we will become more devoted to Christ over the next year with our commitments of time (using my time on earth wisely; making time for personal prayer, family prayer, and quality time with friends and loved ones); talent (using God-given gifts to strengthen the Church through service to parish ministries and other activities), and treasure (the wise and just management of my financial resources; giving a proportionate amount of my income to the parish).

As we strive to develop stewardship as a way of life at St. Hilary, the support and involvement of each individual parishioner is necessary to sustain the life of our parish. All of you have a place here, and all of you have a role to fill in the life of the parish as we live our lives as disciples of Christ.

May the Holy Spirit renew and refresh all of us as we work together to build our parish family through the use of our time, talent and treasure.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr. william E. BrownPastor

Welcome continued from front cover