The Valley Catholic
in the diocese
May 27, 2014
5
Women and Men Religious celebrate anniversaries at special Mass
By Roberta Ward
Bishop Patrick J. McGrath celebrated a
special Mass, May 10, in honor of women
and men Religious from local communities in the Diocese of San Jose who are
celebrating special anniversaries. The
Celebration of Consecrated Life was held
at Bellarmine College Preparatory Leontyne Chapel, followed by a reception at
Liccardo Center.
Especially honored were those celebrating special jubilees marking 25, 50,
60 and 70 years of their commitment in
Religious Life.
Father George Wanser, SJ, member
of the DSJ Commission of Religious Life
who serves at Most Holy Trinity Parish,
San Jose, gave the homily at the Mass,
noting the “nearly three millennia of Religious life” represented by the jubilarians.
“What exactly are we celebrating? It’s
what God has accomplished through
us,” he said. “We have allowed God to
use us to mainstream a poor immigrant
population through an excellent system
of education, to establish a first class
health care system, to work with the poor,
the downtrodden, the alien, the widow
and the orphan.
“Our Catholic social teaching has allowed us to work the triangle of justice
in direct service, advocacy and empowerment of the poor,” he said.
Father Wanser noted his neck surgery
saying that there had been doubt about
his future ability to sing again due to the
stretching of his vocal cords to allow for
the quadruple fusion.
“While I still could, I began singing
Dan Schutte’s (composer) Suscipe: ‘When
the darkness falls on my final days, take
the very breath that sang your praise.
Give me nothing more than your love and
grace. These alone, O God, are enough for me.”
“A wave of consolation came over
me. God has blessed me with love and
grace,” he said, telling of the time in 1979
when he was working as a community
organizer for PICO in San Diego, when,
having 100 miles to go, his car died. He
had $20 cash and no credit card.
He is forever grateful for the gas station mechanic, a Greek immigrant, who
spent six hours getting the car to run and
charged him only $20. “I am convinced
he was an angel from God,” Father
Wanser said.
He expressed gratitude for his careers
in schools, community organizing, in the
missions, and for the people in his life
– “parents, teachers, spiritual guides…
Christ’s poor, folks who are suffering…
the gift of music…God, and fellow
Religious” who have supported him
“through it all.”
Sister Rosalie Pizzo, SNDdeN, the
Bishop’s Delegate to Religious, congratulated those celebrating special anniversaries and expressed appreciation for the
quality of pastoral leadership of Bishop
McGrath.
She said, “He is not unlike our Pope
Francis who believes strongly that people
come before tasks. We are grateful, as
Religious, to do our part to collaborate
with him in building up the local Church
of San Jose.”
Religious jubilarians gathered with Bishop McGrath in Leontyne Chapel at Bellarmine following special Mass.
Lay ecclesial
ministers gather for
prayer, welcome new
members
By Roberta Ward
The Council of Lay Ecclesial Ministers (CLEM) of the Diocese of San Jose
provides a forum to discuss ongoing
formation of laypersons who provide
ministry, with the ordained, in local
parishes.
According to its Mission Statement,
CLEM is committed to help implement
the teachings of Vatican II concerning
the laity and lay leadership formation,
in the context of the diversity of the
Local Church (DSJ). Lay ministry, in
fact, is a priority in the DSJ’s Pastoral
Plan.
On May 6, CLEM convened a Morning of Prayer, hosted at Sacred Heart
Church, Saratoga, presided by Auxiliary Bishop Thomas A. Daly, during
which both new and retiring LEMs
were welcomed and honored.
Dorothy Carlson, retiring Minister
of Parish Life at St. Justin Parish, Santa
Clara, gave the Reflection, focusing on
“The Joy of Lay Ecclesial Ministry,”
noting, “The joy of the Gospel is a
prominent theme of Francis’ papacy.”
She recalled that several years ago
she had spoken to a CLEM gathering,
“talking about the challenges we lay
ecclesial ministers face as we try to
share our gifts with the community.
I said that what we do now, and how
well we model a collaborative, Christcenterd vision, will set a benchmark
for the future Church of San Jose.”
When she became Minister of Parish Life at St. Justin where she had already been serving, Dorothy said she
New LEMs were welcomed at CLEM Morning of Prayer (l-r) Leah Harris of Holy Spirit Parish, San Jose; Hung Pham of Sacred Heart, Saratoga; and Jacquelyn Alderete of Church
of the Transfiguration, San Jose.
had worried about how parishioners
and clergy would respond to her role.
“From the beginning, they all
showed commitment and support,” she
said. “I received cards from 80-yearold members of the Ladies Guild who
wrote, “You go, girl…it’s about time!”
The Stablemates men’s group “stopped
cooking a meal to bless me as I left to
go to a chancery meeting.”
She emphasized, “This was possible
only because St. Justin lay staff and parishioners were setting the standard for
a collaborative community of believers
by their words and deeds, proclaiming
the Good News.”
She said, “The clergy, too, have been
supportive. I’ve felt accepted, but most
of the priests already knew me. I taught
20 of them in the seminary; nine of
them pastors now.”
Practically speaking, Dorothy said
the joy of ecclesial ministry can give
way to day-to-day frustrations – financial and personnel issues, smaller staffs
and less diocesan support. She urged
the ministers to focus on joy, quoting
Pope Francis, that “we are infinitely
loved. Therefore, we have hope.”
She said, “Through prayer we need
to keep that hope and joy alive for ourselves and our communities. We must
truly work at modeling the joy of