ST. BRENDAN CHURCH

29 Rockaway Avenue San Francisco CA 94127 Tel. No. (415) 681-4225

www.stbrendanparish.org

Faith Evolves By Asking Questions

We begin a new three-week message series today called Faith Answering Questions. For some time, we’ve been asking you to submit your questions about the Catholic faith. So far, we have received many difficult, controversial, and interesting in-quiries that we’ll be addressing during the homi-lies at Mass and in the bulletin articles each week. Even as we explore specific aspects of Church teaching, we’ll also be learning some-thing about the general nature of faith itself from the stories in the gospel readings over this same three-week period. In par-ticular, we will discover that, in order to be healthy, faith must: • Evolve by asking questions; • Trust in the answers faith offers; and • Commit to our faith even in the face of some

lingering misgivings. Today’s gospel passage demonstrates the first of these propositions, namely, how faith evolves through a process of doubt and questioning. In the story, Jesus is embroiled in a conflict that ulti-mately helps the faith of his followers grow. The conflict began after Jesus had multiplied a few loaves of bread and fish to feed thousands of people. News of the miracle spread, and crowds began to follow him, looking for more free food. Jesus wanted their faith to mature and so provoked a controversy by telling them that he would give them “food that endures for eternal life” (John 6:27).

The people balked, claiming that Jesus could nev-er outdo the bread called “manna” given to their ancestors in the desert after they had been freed from slavery in Egypt. To help them take their first step in the development of their faith, Jesus compares himself to God’s wisdom in the Scrip-tures, which is like food and drink and greater

than the manna rained down from heaven (6:35). Even though they continue to grumble, Jesus doubles down and tells them that the true bread from heaven actually is his own flesh given “for the life of the world” (6:51). Still stuck in a “manna mindset,” however, the people then quarrel among

themselves over this teaching. The discourse cre-scendos in the unthinkable revelation that they must actually eat his flesh and drink his blood in order to remain with Jesus forever. With the Greek verb used in the passage, there is no mistak-ing the fact that Jesus intended his words to be taken literally. Through a rather painful process of questioning, doubt, and even outright rebellion, Jesus led his closest disciples to a new level of understanding. In the same way, our faith should evolve and grow. For that to happen, we must be open to ask-ing the deepest questions about what we believe and, even in our doubt, at least consider the tried and true answers provided by the ancient faith of the Church.

--Father Roger Gustafson, Pastor

August 19, 2018 Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Come aboard and navigate life with us. As a member, we ask that you take steps to grow in your disciple-ship. In fact, STEPS is an acronym for how to become a better disciple of Christ. As a member, we'll ask that you consider: S - Serving in a ministry T - Tithing & Giving E - Engaging in a small group P - Practicing prayer, including regular Sunday worship with us S - Sharing your faith by inviting your friends and neighbors to church If you think you're ready to become part of our church family, stop by our welcome desk at the entrance to the church before or after any Weekend Mass.

Making Church Matter

If this is your first time to Saint Brendan or your first time to church in a long time, we’re glad you’re here! We are a cozy community of believers who seek to find our way in life by following Jesus together, and we want you with us on the journey. Explore some possible next steps for you below. We’re here to help. If you have any questions, stop by our welcome desk located at the entrance to the church, check out our website at www.stbrendanparish.org, or just give us a call.

Become Part of Our Church Family

Welcome Aboard!

Serve in Ministry & Mission

We know many things compete for your attention. But we also know you’ll never really be happy until you begin serving others and putting your love to work. There are so many opportunities to make a differ-ence: • Help make Sundays an irresistible celebration by joining our Sunday Liturgy Support Ministry. • Help children, teens, and adults on their journey of faith by joining our Faith Formation Ministry. • Keep parishioners and visitors connected to one another by joining one of our Parish Life Ministries. • Take the love of Christ to people who are suffering by joining one of our Outreach Ministries. Whatever God is calling you to do, take that next bold step in faith. Explore our website for more infor-mation or just call us. We’re happy to get you connected!

News & Events Featured News & Events

PILGRIMAGE TO EASTERN EUROPE WITH FATHER ROGER SEPTEMBER 7-17, 2020

Information Meeting

Saturday, September 8, 10:00-11:00 a.m. Parish Hall

Join Father Roger and Father Bill McCain on a pil-grimage to Eastern Europe including the Once-A-

Decade Passion Play at Oberammergau!

REGISTRATION OPEN FOR FALL

FAITH FORMATION CLASSES

Classes begin Sunday, August 26

Registration is now open on our website,

www.stbrendanparish.org, or contact our Director of Evangelization and Faith Formation, Manolito Jal-

don at manolito@stbrendanparish.org.

SAINT BRENDAN WONDER WOMAN

By popular vote, our Director of Ministry and Member Care, Sister Angela Furia, has been nominated by the parish for the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Wom-en’s Woman of the Year Award. Congratulations, Sister Angela. We love you!

NEW! MESSAGE SERIES STARTING AUGUST 19

FAITH ANSWERING QUESTIONS

Answers to the questions you have about the Catholic faith. Fill out a card in the pews with your question or

submit a question online through our website, www.stbrendanparish.org, or email your

question to saintbrendanchurchsf@gmail.com.

Featured Article

FAQ Lighter Side During Mass, we’ve been addressing some of your more complex questions about the Catholic faith in our message series, Faith Answering Questions. Here are a few less weighty but still interesting questions we received. 1. What is the Church’s rule on fasting before communion? How has it changed? In 1983, Pope John Paul II laid down the law on fasting before communion: you must not eat or drink anything, except water or medicine, for at least one hour be-fore receiving communion. (This does not mean at least one hour before Mass — if you were going to attend the 9:30 a.m. Mass, you could probably eat up until 9:15 a.m. or so, assuming that commun-ion generally takes place at about 10:15 a.m. during that service.) Certain exceptions to this rule do apply — sick or elderly people and the people who care for them, such as nurses and doctors, do not have to fast before receiving the Blessed Sacrament. Traditionally, the Catholic Church was very strict about the Eucharistic fast, requiring that anyone who wanted to receive communion could not eat or drink from the midnight before Mass until after they had received the sacrament. Water and medi-cine were included in “eating and drinking,” and there were no exceptions for children, the sick, the elderly, or even clergy. If a priest was going to say four Masses in one morning, he might not be able to eat or drink until past noon! Catholics have fasted before taking the Eucharist for all time — in 240 A.D., the Christian writer Tertullian described the Eucharist as a bread which must be eaten before taking any other food. Likely, this tradition came from the Jewish cul-ture, which gives extreme importance to fasts and includes them in several sacred celebrations. The

rules for fasting have relaxed significantly since then, however, mostly for the sake of conven-ience, so they’re extremely easy to follow. 2. Does God love animals? How much does God love animals compared to human beings? The short answer is yes: God does love animals very much. We read in Genesis 1:20-25, “Let the earth bring forth every kind of living creature: tame animals, crawling things, and every kind of

wild animal...God made every kind of wild animal, every kind of tame animal, and every kind of thing that crawls on the ground. God saw that it was good.” God created all the animals on this Earth, and He loves them all dearly. When He made humans, he did give us supe-riority over the animal kingdom, but with the stipulation that we would always be kind to other liv-ing things. Being cruel to animals defiles God’s creation, and is in

direct contrast to anything God wants of us. Since human beings were created in God’s own image, we are responsible for showing the kindness and respect God shows to us, to all of creation. Additionally, God takes many opportunities to re-mind us of the wisdom of animals. In the Book of Job, chapter 12, Job chides those who say that he will stop believing in God when his fortunes fail. He tells those non-believers that even the animals know that everything, good and bad and terrible, comes from God in heaven. “But now ask the beasts, and let them teach you; and the birds of the heavens, and let them tell you. Or speak to the earth, and let it teach you; and let the fish of the sea declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this, in whose hand is the life of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind?” --Claire Kosewic, Parishioner

A Steward is Worshipful When I first converted to the Catholic faith in 1989, I couldn’t wait to go to church on Sundays. The litur-gy was captivating and brought me hope and strength for the coming week. The music and singing lifted me up, the homily edified me, and the communion I received with the Lord and other worshipers made me feel whole and part of something bigger than myself. The Mass was an irresistible experience for me, and I looked forward to it as each weekend approached. Indeed, the first and most fundamental purpose of the Church is worship. As Psalm 34:3 says, “O magni-fy the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together.” To worship God fulfills the first portion of the Great Commandment Jesus gave in Matthew 22:37-40: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all our soul and with all your mind.” In the second reading at Mass today, Saint Paul encourages his readers to cast off ignorance that leads to sin through worship. In-stead, “be filled with the Spirit,” he urges them, “addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and play-ing to the Lord in your hearts” (Ephesians 5:18-19). Throughout Scripture we’re commanded to celebrate God’s presence by adoring him in liturgy and common worship. Our fundamental identity as stewards for God can lead us to the incorrect conclusion that service to others should be our primary goal. Sometimes we get so busy serving God by trying to do good deeds that we forget to offer the first and best sacrifice of our time in prayer. However, the Bible says, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only” (Matthew 4:10). Notice that worship is prima-ry and comes before service. Saint Paul says that we are to “give[] thanks always and for every-thing” (Eph. 5:20). Indeed, Christian stewards are grateful for all of God’s blessings. The greatest of these, however, is the opportunity and ability to worship him. --Father Roger Gustafson, Pastor

Stewardship

“No one shall appear before the Lord empty-handed, but each of you with as much as he can give, in pro-portion to the blessings which the Lord, your God, has bestowed on you.” (Deuteronomy 16:16-17). Whatever blessings God has given you, we invite you to make a planned, proportionate, and sacrifi-cial financial commitment to this parish and to the poor that will en-dure.

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Stewardship is the grateful response of a Christian disciple who recognizes and receives God’s gifts and shares them generously in love of God and neighbor. Stewardship is not about money or fundraising. It is a spirituali-ty. It is a way of life.

A steward recognizes that God is the source of all life and every blessing and that all gifts of time, talent, and treasure come from God. A steward is grateful for those gifts. A steward takes care of and increases those gifts and freely gives back the first and best portion of those gifts to God.

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SAINT BRENDAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Church

29 Rockaway Avenue San Francisco CA 94127 Rectory Phone: (415) 681-4225 Mon - Thurs: 8:30 am - Noon, 1 p.m. - 4 p.m. Sun: 9:00 am - 1:00 pm www.stbrendanparish.org

School 940 Laguna Honda Blvd. San Francisco CA 94127 Tel. (415) 731-2665 www.stbrendansf.com

Convent Canossian Sisters 234 Ulloa Street San Francisco CA 94127 Tel. (415) 681-3465

STAFF

Pastor (415) 969-6788 Fr. Roger Gustafson FatherRogerGustafson@gmail.com Parochial Vicar (415) 681-4225 Fr. Celestine Tyowua Ext.214 oryina2000@gmail.com Member & Volunteer Care (415) 969-6813 Sr. Angela Furia, FdCC srangela@stbrendanparish.org Evangelization & Faith Formation Manolito Jaldon (415) 969-6814 manolito@stbrendanparish.org Music Ministry (415) 681-4225 Mario Balestrieri School Principal (415) 731-2665 Dianne Lakatta dlakatta@stbrendansf.com Parish Manager (415) 969-6815 Lisa Rosenlund lisa@stbrendanparish.org Financial Administrator (415) 969-6823 Maeve O’Reilly maeve@stbrendanparish.org

Administrative Assistant (415) 969-6824 Vera Gonzalez vera@stbrendanparish.org

MASSES

Sunday: 7:30, 9:30,11:30 AM Mon-Fri: 6:30 & 8:15 AM Saturday: 8:15 AM 5:00 PM Holy Days: 6:30 AM, 8:15 AM and 6:00 PM

CONFESSIONS Saturday: 4:15 - 4:45 PM Wednesday: 7:15 - 7:45 PM

EUCHARISTIC ADORATION Wednesday: 7:00 - 8:00 PM Saturday: 4:00 - 4:45 PM

BAPTISMS & WEDDINGS

For information, please see our website at www.stbrendanparish.org or call us at (415) 681-4225.

MASS INTENTIONS (August 20-26, 2018)

Weekend

SAT 8:15 a.m. Available

SAT 5 p.m.

Loretta Smith (D)

SUN 7:30 a.m. Diana Heafey (D)

SUN 9:30 a.m. People of St. Brendan Parish

SUN 11:30a.m. Edward & Helen Flynn (D)

6:30 a.m. 8:15 a.m.

Monday Available Available

Tuesday Available Available

Wednesday Available Walter Farrell (D)

Thursday Available

Rudolfo Villarta (D)

Friday Available Ann Kierrnan (D)

Weekday