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Blessings from the Pastor
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Forgiveness: The Journey from Hurt to Freedom
A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. That old adage is true about every aspect of our lives but even more so when it comes to forgiveness. The end of the journey is not the beginning. We must take the first step of desiring to forgive before we can take that last step of forgiveness. Most people think of forgiveness as an event, but it is more a process to which we commit. I believe it is a journey of the heart.
Hurt, anger and unforgiveness are some of the most common issues we deal with as humans. Most of us seem to have someone whom we have not, or cannot, forgive. Sometimes they are workplace colleagues, neighbors, spouses or other family members. Sometimes the issues are trivial but persistent, sometimes they are serious and occasional, but all seem to cause us an obstacle to freedom to live our lives to the fullest.
On Tuesday, February 23 at 7:00 pm, I invite you to start a journey of forgiveness for yourself. We will first explore the dynamics of hurt and anger and how easily we get there. Then we will move through the dynamics of unforgiveness and why we choose it. Finally, we will learn simple steps to take in order to practice forgiveness each day and set ourselves free.
This new Lenten series on Forgiveness will take place every Tuesday at 7:00 pm, from February 23 to March 23 on YouTube. Each Wednesday at 7:00 pm from February 24 to March 24, I will host a Zoom call for Questions and Answers. Lent is about going on a journey of renewal and healing. Come join us on a journey of the heart and set yourself free!
God Bless,
Fr. Brendan McGuire
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Thank you to the members of St. Simon Parish who have given so generously to make the Journey Together in Hope with your church family through the 2021 Annual Diocesan Appeal. Over 220 families have provided gifts of $170,000 toward our goal of $263,000 so far. Your prayers and your pledges are making a tremendous difference in the strength of our Diocese and will make a direct impact on families in need. How strong and vibrant is our Diocese? Here is just a glimpse from the past year:
Your gifts help build the foundation for this strength. Additionally, every dollar between $213,000 and $263,000, along with a 100% match from one of our generous parishioners, will go to bring hope directly to help families in need with rental assistance in this challenging time. Won’t you be the next one to take the Journey Together in Hope with the members of your church family?
You may make your gifts online at www.dsj.org/ada, use the QR code above, or text ADA to 408-317-0990. You can also mail your pledge cards to the Parish Office or put them in the offertory basket at Masses.
Thank you for your continued prayers and your financial support of the 2021 ADA! |
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St. Simon Parish Prepares for the 40 Days of Lent
Through Prayer . . . Almsgiving . . . and . . . Fasting
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Prayer
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Lenten Daily Mass Schedule: 8:30am in person outdoor on M, W, F and indoor on Tu, Th, Sa.; or live streamed.
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Adult Faith Formation
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Tuesdays 7:00 p.m. live streamed. Fr. Brendan will talk on the Forgiveness: The Journey from Hurt to Freedom on YouTube or Facebook.
Thursdays 9:15--10:30 a.m. Aramaic Beatitudes with Sr. Rebecca via Zoom. rebecca@stsimon.org
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Sacrament of Reconciliation
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Perfect Contrition on Tuesday, March 30 at 7:00pm on YouTube.
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Friday Night Stations of the Cross
https://www.youtube.com/c/StSimonPresentations
or
https://www.facebook.com/SaintSimonLosAltos/
You are invited to join us at 6:00 pm for a beautiful virtual presentation of the Stations of The Cross on Friday.
Then hop on a Zoom to have soup with our Priests who are hosting the virtual Soup Night.
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February 26 at 6:00 p.m. Led by Jonathan Verceles, Ceci Montgomery-Eder
March 5 at 6:00 p.m. Led by Terri & Jim Chapman
March 12 at 6:00 p.m. Led by S. Rebecca.
Zoom link Passcode: 7MCwa8
March 19 at 6:00 p.m. Led by Saint Simon School
March 26 at 6:00 p.m. Led by Doris DeFranco, Julie McKellar
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Fasting
Join Zoom gathering at 6:30 p.m.
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Friday Night Soup in our own Kitchens
Join us on Zoom for Soup & Friendship
Our Priests are hosting!
Lenten Soup Recipes - Google Docs
Irish Bread: Fr. Brendan - Google Docs
Lenten Soup- Choices from Restaurants! - Google Sheets
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Almsgiving
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Catholic Relief Services’ Operation Rice Bowl
During Lent, our St. Simon community will participate in CRS Rice Bowl, a faith-in-action program that invites us to reflect on the challenges of global hunger—and our Gospel call to care for our global human family.
We will collect donations from the rice bowls the week of Palm Sunday. Please make donations directly to CRS ORB OR via your St. Simon online giving account “Catholic Relief Services” OR write a check to “St. Simon” and memo “CRS Rice Bowl.” Thank you for helping Catholic Relief Service relieve hunger world-wide. Visit crsricebowl.org for more information.
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Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults
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February 21 Rite of Sending 10:15 a.m. Mass
February 28 Penitential Rite 10:15 a.m. Mass
March 7, 14 & 21 Scrutinies 10:15 a.m. Mass
March 31 Chrism Mass 7:30 p.m. Cathedral Basilica S.J.
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Our beautiful community at St. Simon came together at three different Masses on Ash Wednesday.
Thank you to Fr. Brendan, Fr. Thuc and Fr. Chris for presiding and preparing such touching homilies.
Loads of gratitude to our cantors, musicians, Mass Coordinators, lectors, ushers and environment committee. Our appreciation of your stepping up to share your time and talents cannot be measured.
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Please enjoy a few photos of the day:
Ash Wednesday Photos
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Palms – Please do not bring palms to the church/rectory this year. We are not burning them. Please burn them or bury them at home. If you have any questions, please email Fr. Thuc Si Ho, tho@stsimon.org
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 St. Simon Parish will be offering virtual Stations of the Cross on Fridays during Lent. Stations of the Cross will start at 6:00 p.m. and may be viewed via either Facebook or YouTube and will be followed by a soup fellowship on Zoom. This mini pilgrimage will include responses on screen so that individuals will participate from home. Each week a different version of the Stations will be presented, and a different parish group will host the Zoom soup gathering. Please join us for this traditional Lenten devotion that commemorates Jesus’ Passion on our regular YouTube and Facebook pages:
St Simon Presentations - YouTube
Saint Simon Catholic Church | Facebook
One of the traditions we enjoy at St. Simon is sharing a bowl of soup together after the Stations of the Cross during Lent, our "Friday Soup Suppers". Our hope is to recreate that “community” gathering during COVID19 by gathering our families at our own dining tables and joining our St. Simon family on Zoom. After the Stations of the Cross, please join the Zoom where a different group will be hosting each week. Make that pot of soup ahead of time and have it simmering on the stove as you watch the Stations of the Cross and hop on Zoom to break bread together virtually.
Kicking us off as hosts for Soup Supper on Friday, February 19 will be our St. Simon Priests.
Soup Night Zoom Link |
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Ushers/Greeters Ministry Appeal
St. Simon Parish is establishing a more formal ministry of Usher/Greeter and we invite you to consider participating. Our goal is to have a number of parishioners in this ministry who would be assigned to minister at the Masses on weekends and for the occasional extraordinary liturgies. Assignments and frequency will be matched to the times in line with the Masses you would normally attend.
Every liturgical ministry serves the parish community that has gathered for worship, and among them are our ushers/greeters. Ushers/greeters welcome people as they come to church, assist in seating people in the church, take up the collection, and generally see that good order is maintained before and during the liturgy. They are an integral part of our hospitality and in the forming of memorable impressions, especially of our first-time visitors.
For the coming New Year and with the on-going changes to the liturgies in coping with COVID19, those in this ministry will be integral to making the transition easy and enjoyable for our parishioners. For those interested, all ages 15 and above are welcome. It is a good opportunity to meet many of our parishioners and help provide a welcoming atmosphere and positive start to each liturgical celebration. If you are interested, contact Bill Becker at 650-339-8005 (call or text) or wpbecker@att.net
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Reserve Your Seat for Mass
Daily: 8:30 AM Monday through Saturday - No reservation required.
Monday, Wednesday, Friday outdoor;
Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday indoor.
Weekend Schedule: 5:00 PM Saturday outdoor;
7:30 AM indoor, 9:00 AM (live streamed), 10:15 AM outdoor, 11:15 AM outdoor, 5:00 PM Sunday indoor for the time being.
Make your Mass reservation and read the guidelines for attending HERE
Live Stream Mass Schedule
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 February 21 - First Sunday of Lent: In today’s Gospel, Jesus overcomes the temptations to wealth, power and esteem. As we begin Lent, may we open our hearts to the grace of prayer, fasting and alms giving? This month, through your gifts, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul was able to assist 18 families, by providing funds for utilities, rent and other bills. God Bless You!
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Summit – High School Youth Ministry
Squad UP - a two part series on Friendship: Part 2
Sunday, February 21 3:30 - 4:45 p.m.
Sign up: Summit High School Youth Ministry (google.com)
Please join us on February 21st for our second part in the series as we learn to Squad Up! We will learn to be part of God's family and because we are God's family we can do for others what God has done for us. We will have fun together, grow together, learn to stand together and celebrate the month of love building stronger friendships.
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Adult Faith Formation Upcoming Activities
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 Spiritual Direction with S. Rebecca
If you are yearning to grow into a more spiritual outlook with respect to your current world view, family and personal relationships, career, retirement, mid-life, journey, aging in grace and wisdom, loss of loved ones, health, hopes and dreams, or any other transitional challenges in your life, at this time, and would like someone just to listen and support you on your journey, I am happy to meet with you. email: rebecca@stsimon.org |
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Our grateful thanks for all who have been keeping up their offertory giving during the shutdown. Your gift of treasure is critical to our community and is deeply appreciated. We hope to continue to make online giving a bigger percentage. We will be upgrading our Online Giving system in the next months. Thank you again for your on-going support of the St. Simon Parish Community.
Upcoming Special/Second Collections:
February 21 (First Sunday in Lent) Black and Indian Missions
You may use this QR code to go directly to our online giving portal from your phone. Just hover your camera/scanner over this image and the portal URL will appear for you to access in your Smartphone browser.
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Banner Birthdays: Phyllis Garcia, Jane Phipps, Sophie Gutierrez, Irene Andrada, Duncan Curry, Carmen Attard, Becca Behrens, Ofelia Seymour
Sick: Bernie Bayer, William and Christine Brugnoli, Myoung Hwan Kim, Rosa Kim, Veronica Koenig, Mary Mancuso, Lisa McBride, Dee McCarthy, Joan Mibach, Victor Neciosup, Jim Nolan, Cathy Christie Orgain, Larry Thompson
Deaths: Edward Clark, Helen Freitas (grandmother of Tanya Schmidt)
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