St. Perpetua Church

Celebrating our Faith Enriching our Community Sharing our Gifts

St. Perpetua School

Contact the school office for enrollment (TK-8) and After School Program.

Tours by appointment call 284-1640 or skozel@csdo.org.

Eucharist Daily Mass

Monday-Thursday, 8:30 am (Chapel)

Weekend Liturgies

Saturday 5:00 pm Sunday 8:00, 9:30 & 11:30 am

Holy Days 8:30 am, 7:00 pm

Reconciliation

Saturday 4:00-4:30 pm or by appointment

Baptism

Contact the Parish Office for Sacramental Preparation and

Baptismal date.

Marriage Contact the Parish Office at least six months prior

to anticipated wedding date for sacramental preparation.

Homebound, ill or Infirm

Contact the Parish Office if you, need to receive communion

or Anointing of the Sick at home or in the hospital.

Assisted listening devices

available

3454 Hamlin Road, Lafayette, CA 94549 Phone (925) 283-0272 Fax (925) 283-6534

www.stperpetua.org

Parish Office Hours Monday—Friday 7:30 am—4:00 pm

Parish Staff

Reverend John Kasper, OSFS Pastor jkasper@stperpetua.org, x202

Christoph Nauer Pastoral Associate chnauer@stperpetua.org, x203 Kristine Kvochak Director of Faith Formation kristine@stperpetua.org,x204 Gary Guerrero Director of Youth Ministry and Confirmation gguerrero@stperpetua.org, x208 Jan Stegner Middle School Faith Formation Coordinator jstegner@stperpetua.org, x206 Katherine Korsak Business Manager kkorsak@stperpetua.org, x207 Arlene Connors Secretary aconnors@stperpetua.org, x201 Sr. Laurel O’Neal, Er . Dio. Pastoral Assistant www.notesfromstillsong.blogspot.com Karen Goodshaw, School Principal kgoodshaw@csdo.org,284-1640 Suzanne Kozel School Office Manager skozel@csdo.org, 284-1640 David Ramirez Maintenance Manager dramirez@stperpetua.org, x214 Lorena Rojas, Housekeeping lrojas@stperpetua.org Knights of Columbus Ruben Galindo, galindo1jr@yahoo.com Fr. John’s Homilies Available Online Fr. John’s homilies are posted on our website at www.stperpetua.org/homilies

Dear Friends, Blessings on the Feast of Pentecost and the conclusion of the Great Fifty Days of the Easter Season. With the coming of the Holy Spirit the promises of the Risen Lord are fulfilled on our behalf. It’s important to keep in mind that the Spirit is not bestowed as a private possession. While Pentecost is called the “birthday of the Church,” the Spirit gives us our mission as followers of Jesus: to bring together people of “every race, language and way of life to share in the one eternal banquet with Christ the Lord.” That unity is illustrated in the following story. As participants in a cultural exchange program, Alan Abramowitz and his family in Midland, Texas, hosted a rabbi and his family from Russia. Eager to introduce their guests to as many interesting experiences as possible, the Abramowitz family invited the rabbi and his family to their favorite Chinese restaurant. Thoroughly enjoying himself, the rabbi spoke enthusiastically about the wonders of this new world when compared with the bleak conditions of his homeland. At the end of the meal, the waiter brought the customary fortune cookies and the check and, since it was near Christmas, he presented each of the dinner guests with a small brass tree ornament. Everyone laughed when Abramowitz pointed out that the ornaments were stamped “Made in India.” But the laughter soon subsided when they saw that the rabbi had tears running down his face. Concerned for his guest, Abramowitz inquired if the rabbi had been offended at being offered a gift for a Christian holy day. At that, he smiled, shook his head and said, “I am shedding tears of sheer joy to be in such a place in which a Buddhist gives a Jew a Christmas gift made by a Hindu!” In his account of the gift of the Spirit which we read in the Acts of the Apostles, it is obvious that Luke wished to inspire similar joy in his readers and to stir in them an appreciation for the universal nature of the church. Luke’s listing of the diverse nations represented in Jerusalem reads like a cavalcade of the then-known peoples from east to west and north to south. Distant from one another geographically, culturally and linguistically, all these diverse peoples shared in the same experience of the Spirit. That experience created a unity among them that would otherwise not have existed. May the power of the Holy Spirit enable us to be bearers of “good news,” harbingers of peace and people who strive to bring the spirit of community we share here at St. Perpetua’s to everyone we encounter. Father John Kasper, OSFS

Welcome into the Catholic Community Congratulations! This weekend we welcome the following children into our parish community through the waters of Baptism:

Thomas Joseph Reis son of Matthew & Melissa Reis

Maeve Ann Holmes daughter of Jason & Alexis Holmes

May our community embrace Thomas & Maeve and may our word and example be a reflection of God's love for them. Let us offer our joy-filled prayers and congratulations as a sign of our support and welcome!

Rite of Sending Forth Today at the 8:00 am Mass we celebrate the sending forth of our newly initiated. During these days of Easter they have completed the public Christian Initiation process. They have given witness to their faith in testimony and action and have become an integral part of this community. Their initiation is not an end, but rather a beginning, not a welcome home, but a sending forth. Congratulations to Kristen O’Brien and Ruben Haro.

Come Holy Spirit: A Reflec on by a Parishioner

I am a planner and I am a worrier. Can you imagine my worry when things don't go as planned? There is nothing like a cancer diagnosis, or a loved one's sudden death, to shake solid planning's foundation and ignite worry's explosive fire. So in these, I found myself crippled by worry, knowing that no amount of planning was now in my hands. A humbling lesson for many of us is that we are not in control. Worry takes us down a weary, lonely, self absorbed path. Worry leads us to fear -- the path worry puts us on directs us to a deep, dark cave of fear. It was only after being paralyzed in darkness that I realized something I heard Fr. Tom Allender once share, "if you worry too much, your faith isn't strong enough!" Then something clicked, a light went on. It wasn't worry's fire, but someone or something else's. It had to be stronger than worry and fear. It could lay a foundation that planning couldn't engineer. It wasn't that my reality changed, it was the realization I had to change how I was dealing with it. And once again, I was brought back to the power of prayer -- reminded by scripture to lay my burden at the Lord's feet. He would take up the yoke. I had to trust this... Come Holy Spirit. Veni Sancte Spiritus. I know the fire is yours.

2017 Bishop's Appeal

We are almost there! Through all of your generous donations we have been able to raise $33,069 we are only $3,476 short to make our $36,545 goal. Several parishes in our diocese have already met their goal and we are hoping to as well. Please help us make our target! Any money over our goal comes right back to St. Perpetua. Take an envelope, donate

through our website or go to the Diocese of Oakland's website at www.oakdiocese.org. Make sure to designate that you are from St. Perpetua. Thank you for your support in this effort.

Communica on 2017-2018

Teens, today we celebrate the great Feast of Pentecost, in which God’s Spirit descended upon the early disciples, giving them strength to

go forth and work for what they were commissioned to do by Jesus. By virtue of our Baptism, we have received the gift of the Holy Spirit, further strengthened by the sealing of the gift of the Holy Spirit in Confirmation. The Feast of Pentecost celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus’ first disciples. This same Holy Spirit is still with us. Just as Jesus sent his disciples to forgive the sins of others, so too we are sent to bring reconciliation to the world. We have also been given the gift of the Holy Spirit to help us with this task. This Gospel reminds us that the Church is called to be a reconciling presence in the world. This reconciling presence is also to be a way of life for Christians. In situations of conflict, we are to be agents of peace and harmony among people. Look for Youth Ministry (for teenagers) at St. Perpetua to help learn how to be agents of change and peace for the world. Youth Ministry starts up next September; registration starts in late July. Between now and then look for thoughts here on what Youth Ministry offers teens – in their own words. Gary

Homework Club Support:

We are looking for compassionate individuals to help in our after school Homework Club that goes from August through June. Sites we serve are Pleasant Hill, Concord and Pittsburg. You will provide academic and mentoring support to children

from extremely low-income homes in grades K-12. Commitment is one afternoon per week for the entire school year. Adults and high school sophomores through seniors are encouraged to apply at www.ccinterfaithhousing.org/volunteer. Gloria Bertolozzi, 925-448-2004, START DATE: AUGUST 28, 2017.

This Week at St. Perpetua

June 4, 2017—June 11, 2017

Second Collection Children/Youth Sunday Children’s Liturgy of the Word During the 9:30 am Mass Liturgical Potluck, 4 pm, Upper Pavilion Monday Centering Prayer, 7:15 pm, Chapel Tuesday Outreach Committee Meeting, 7:30 pm, Conference Room Wednesday Choir, 7 pm, Church Thursday Bible Study, 7:30 pm, Chapel Sunday Children’s Liturgy of the Word During the 9:30 am Mass

Second Collection Facilities Maintenance

Altar Care is Needed St. Perpetua is in need of someone to do Altar Care for the months of June and July. If you would like to participate in this ministry please contact Katherine Korsak at the Parish Office at 283-0272 or email kkorsak@stperpetua.org.

MASS INTENTIONS June 3, 2017—June 11, 2017

Saturday 5:00 pm Russ Bruzzone Sunday 8:00 am For the Community 9:30 am Maria Emy Lobo Monday 8:30 am Russ Bruzzone Tuesday 8:30 am Russ Bruzzone Wednesday 8:30 am Russ Bruzzone Thursday 8:30 am Russ Bruzzone Saturday 5:00 pm Russ Bruzzone Sunday 8:00 am For the Community 9:30 am John McGhee 11:30 am Marina Mascarenha

TOGETHER WE PRAY FOR THE SICK: Marie Saroyan, Chris Fliflet, Elizabeth Cox, Jennifer Rosko, Giselle Contreras, Juanita Estrellas, Elisabeth Nauer, Dennis Callahan, George Buonocore, Caroline Bancroft, Charlotte Cairney, Ron Olowin, Judy Russell, Karen Zapotowski, Orlando Portillo, Jenny & Norma Carosella, Alex McLin, Fabricio Mendoza, Anne Lagache, Karl Smida, Roger Gregory, Bruce Wood, Pat McGinnis, Betty Magnoli, Mary Beth Mettz, Steve Luna & Chris Bruzzone.

Pentecost Sequence, 2017

At first we understood them not at all. What were these utterances― This glossolalia pouring off their tongues And into the street And into the world? In time, though, our clogged ears opened. We saw enemies begin to speak to one another And those who were estranged Join hands in friendship. We saw hospitals built, and the sick healed. We saw Francis and Clare, Vincent and Louise, Francis de Sales and Jane de Chantal, Benedict and Dominic and Ignatius, Catherine and Jeanne and Elizabeth, The contemplative Johns and the powerful Teresas, And ourselves―yes, ourselves! ―Radically forgiving Radically listening Radically understanding Those who don’t see things the way we do. And then, like a mighty wind, a new heaven and earth began to take shape. And from then on there were no “foreign” languages. From then on we all spoke just one language The Holy Spirit’s language The first language, the only language The language of Love.

Kathy McGovern ©2017 www.thestoryandyou.com

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