tvc.dsj.org | April 16, 2019
COMMUNITY
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Diocese of San Jose Easter Message
“If Jesus has not been raised, then
our preaching is in vain and your faith
is in vain” (1 Cor 15:14). The resurrection
of Jesus from the dead is the key to the
hope promised by God. God is a God
of promises. God promised Abraham a
great nation, He promised Moses a land
flowing with milk and honey. Through
the prophets He promised justice and
mercy. Jesus promised a Kingdom of life
everlasting, of peace, of eternal glory.
However, in order to arrive at the resur-
rection, Jesus had to endure his passion
and death. This is the Paschal mystery
– Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection
which liberates us from sin and opens
for us eternal life.
What does this mean for us? Because
Jesus became human while also remain-
ing divine, he had the power in his own
person to lift up humanity from the
darkness of sin into the light of life. Saint
Augustine famously wrote, “God created
us without us; but he did not will to save
us without us.” Thus, while the Paschal
mystery opens for us forgiveness of sins
and everlasting life, in order to benefit
from it, we must “walk by faith” and
follow Christ. And if we follow him, he
says, “take up your cross.”
We each carry our crosses in life.
Daily crosses, heavy crosses. Many
carry the burden of illness, of caring
for a loved one, of being overworked in
order to provide for the family, and so
many other crosses, small and large. Yet,
we do not carry it alone. Jesus promised
that he will be with us until the end of
the world. Mary, Saint Joseph, Saint
Clare, the angels and saints assist us, as
well. The Christian community assists
in loving action and prayer.
This Easter, let us walk by faith, fol-
low Jesus, and enjoy the wonder of His
promise fulfilled, the resurrection!
Bishop Patrick J. McGrath
Coadjutor Bishop Oscar Cantú
Diocese of San Jose Celebrates the Blessing of the Holy Oils during Chrism Mass
By Liz Sullivan
From across the Diocese of San Jose,
they came. From every parish, the faith-
ful were present to celebrate the Bless-
ing of the Holy Oils for use during the
Easter season and the entire year.
On April 9, at the Cathedral Basilica
of Saint Joseph, Bishop Patrick J. Mc-
Grath, along with Coadjutor Bishop Os-
car Cantú, celebrated the Chrism Mass.
During the Mass, Bishop McGrath
blessed and consecrated the oils to be
used throughout the Diocese in the
coming year. These oils are: the Oil of
Catechumens, the Oil of the Sick, and
Holy Chrism, which will be used in
the administration of the sacraments
throughout the Diocese’s 54 parishes.
“The sacramental life of the Church,
and these soon-to-be-blessed oils and
consecrated Chrism, are both a sign of
our unity in Christ and a sharing in his
very life, as you and I strive to live that
life here, in San Jose and Santa Clara
County, and now, in this twenty-first
century,” said Bishop McGrath during
the homily.
This tradition is noted in the early
Church as found in the Gelasian Sacra-
mentary (named after Pope Gelasius I,
d. 496) but was later absorbed into the
Photos courtesy of Jen Vazquez.
Holy Thursday evening Mass. Pope Pius
XII issued a new order for Holy Week,
which reinstituted a special Mass of the
Chrism, distinct from the evening Mass.
Reflecting the population of the Dio-
cese, the Mass was celebrated in four
languages: English, Spanish, Vietnam-
ese and Tagalog.
In addition to the blessing of the oils,
the numerous priests who were in atten-
dance renewed the promises they made
at their ordination. The Diocese also
welcomed two priests to its presbyter-
ate: Father Rolando Santoianni, formerly
of the Institute of the Incarnate Word,
and Father Athanasius Kikoba, of the
Archdiocese of Tororo in Uganda. Both
were accepted into permanent ministry
as priests of the Diocese of San Jose.
“From their earliest years until the
twilight of their ministry, our priests
have renewed these promises each
Detention Ministry Training Session
The next training session for Detention Ministry in the Santa Clara County
Correctional Facilities will be held on May 18 from 9-11 a.m. at the Chancery, 1150
North First Street, San Jose.
This training will be primarily for brand new volunteers.
You are needed to direct prayer services and bible studies and possibly to ac-
company individual inmates through the RCIA process.
If you would like to step into one of our jails to serve incarcerated persons and
want to register for this training session and/or further information, contact Sister
Maryann Cantlon at (408) 983-0131 or at [email protected].
More information regarding the Diocese of San Jose
can be found at www.dsj.org.
day, as they recommitted themselves to
unite themselves more closely to Christ,
to celebrate the Church’s liturgy with
sincere devotion, and to have as their
own the heart of the Good Shepherd,”
said Bishop McGrath. “Each in his own
way has continued to sing the goodness
of the Lord by the ways he touches the
lives of his people and, at the same time,
touching the mysteries by which we
have been made the Lord’s own.
For Bishop McGrath, this was his
20th Chrism Mass as shepherd of the
flock in San Jose, and his last. The Bishop
is awaiting confirmation from the Holy
Father in Rome when he can retire.
“Truly, the years have flown by, even
as some days seemed to be without
end,” said Bishop McGrath during the
homily. “I am so grateful to each of you,
to the religious sisters and brothers, to
your vibrant witness and that of parish-
ioners throughout the Diocese, to our
deacons and their wives and our priests,
to my brother bishops, Bishop Pierre
(DuMaine), my predecessor. Please
keep him in your prayers. and Bishop
Oscar, my soon-to-be successor. Thank
you, all of you, for giving me hope, for
instilling in me the joy of serving the
Lord and His people, and for imparting
to me the spirit of gratitude that should
distinguish our lives.”
Before the final blessing Bishop
McGrath acknowledged those priests
celebrating the jubilees of the ordina-
tion or who those had announced their
retirement.
Among those celebrating jubilees
were: Father John Hester, 60 years;
Father J. Terence Davis, 50 years; Mon-
signor Francis Cilia, 40 years; Father
Robert Fambrini, SJ, 40 years; Father
Richard Hilliard, 40 years; Bishop
Cantú, 25 years; Father Saju Joseph, 25
years and Father Paolo Gobbo, 25 years.
Bishop McGrath also recognized
Father Jose Rubio and Father Oscar
Tabujara who are retiring. Father John
Hurley, CSP, Vicar for Evangelization
for the Diocese, is also retiring the end
of June.
For more photos from the Mass, visit
www.dsj.org/evangelization/liturgy/
photos.