Notes From Fr. Mark

December 8, 2019

Advent is a many faceted season. Hope, joyful anticipation, prayer, preparation and waiting all play a prominent role and help shape these few weeks before Christmas. However, I also believe a lesser acknowledged aspect of the season is “lament”. Why would I drop a somewhat negative word like “lament” into the joy of the season? I actually believe an experience of lament at this time of year enhances the joy of Christmas.

During these weeks we prepare for the coming of our Savior because, quite honestly, we need one! While we may not like to spend much time on the topic, we all know we fall far from perfect. This does not mean we are evil people, or intrinsically bad people, just that we are real people, and real people trying to live as God invites us to always fall short in one way or another. Despite our best intentions and efforts, eventually we miss the mark and fail to live as God’s chosen and holy people. We do not live the Christian life as well or fully as we should. We do not love as well as God commands us to. So, we have a need for a savior. So, we prepare and wait for the advent of our Savior. 

Without a sense of lament for our sinfulness, without a sense of our need for our Savior, our sense of joy at His coming will be lessened. If we avoid, or are unaware of, or hide from our sin; we avoid, and are unaware of and hide from the experience of the saving love Christ was born to bring us. If we are unaware of our real need for Jesus in our life, then He is reduced to a person of interest, someone whose teachings we might admire and perhaps try to emulate from time to time. He is no longer someone we need, long for, desire, rejoice in, and love. Subsequently, we miss out on the strengthening grace He offers us as real people who struggle to live as He asks. 

This week and next, we will have the opportunity to celebrate in a profound way the healing grace and mercy of God in preparation for Christmas. Here at the Catholic Community of Pleasanton, there will be two opportunities to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation communally. Our first will be this coming Wednesday, December 11 at 7:00 PM, and then again, the following week on Thursday, December 19 at 7:00 PM, both at St. Augustine Church. If you are unable to attend our services, our neighboring parishes will be holding reconciliation services as well: St. Joan of Arc on Tuesday, December 10 at 7:00 PM, St. Charles on December 16 at 7:00 PM, and St. Raymond on December 17 at 7:00 PM. These services include Scripture, music, prayer and the chance to celebrate confession individually with one of the several priests present. If you have not celebrated the Sacrament of Reconciliation in a while, a communal service is the perfect way to welcome it back into your life. 

During this season, we are always busy preparing our homes for Christmas. While we are at it, let us not forget to prepare our souls as well. We need to make our hearts ready for the birth of Christ in our lives. There may be no better way to do so than to celebrate the compassionate forgiveness of God and experience the joy of salvation that Christ was born to bring us. 

Advent blessings to you and yours in the coming week. Let us keep each other in prayer.

- Fr. Mark
December 1, 2019

​This weekend we begin a new Church year as we welcome the holy and grace-filled season of Advent. Every year, the church gives us this lovely and peaceful winter season. Every year, most of us make the effort to use it as a time of true spiritual preparation for Christmas, but every year we find ourselves overwhelmed by the shopping, decorating, parties and more. Before we know it, Advent is over and Christmas will be a distant memory. This is especially true this year as Thanksgiving came late and the Fourth “week” of Advent is only three days long! 

To begin embracing for this beautiful season that flies by so quickly, we might spend some time this week asking ourselves, “How can I possibly keep Advent as Advent is meant to be kept when there is so much to accomplish?” As if the holidays were not enough to prepare for, we are coming to the end of another year and all the “end of year” wrap up activities at work and in other organizations we are associated with are taking place. Additionally, planning is under way for 2020, which fast approaches. How can we possibly embrace the peace and stillness Advent offers us in such a whirlwind of things that “must” be accomplished? How can we be present to the season as the season invites us to be? How do we embrace the present moment and not let upcoming moments rob this season of its beauty? 

I suppose the first step in keeping some sense of Advent is simply to recognize the real priority in our lives during the season. Will we be preparing for Christmas? Or will we be preparing for Christ? Preparing for Christ gives us a different focus than the world offers us in preparing for secular Christmas. A spiritual focus can put all the hustle of the season in proper context and place our preparations in the service of what is truly important. The demands of preparing for Christmas will not go away. The trappings of the holiday that take so much of our time, energy, thought and resources during Advent will never bring us the peace, joy and hope Advent promises. However, our relationship with Christ can and will. It is always in relationship that deepest meaning is found. Be attentive to your relationship with Christ in a deliberate way this Advent season. Through the practice of personal prayer, the reading of Scripture, attendance at Mass, celebrating our Communal Reconciliation Service, and keeping other spiritual practices you will find the season more peaceful and your celebration of Christmas deepened. 
Prayer for Advent

God of All Creation, send Your spirit upon us as we prepare for Christmas.
​
Keep us mindful that we are about to celebrate your coming among us in the person of Jesus.

May we be more aware of the ways You come to us in our daily lives.

Strengthen our relationship with You and with each other.

May we be grateful in these busy days for the blessings we have received, and for Your presence with us in each Advent moment.

Amen.
Have a blessed week. Let us keep each other in prayer. 

- Fr. Mark ​
November 17, 2019

If you were around the St. Augustine campus this week, you likely heard bolts being driven into the hall. In September, a section of the eaves on the hall fell. It fell not because of water damage, or termites, or dry rot. The nails simply let go and it fell. Upon further investigation, it was discovered all the eaves on the hall were of the same construction and could fall as well. To prevent that from happening, not only are we replacing the section that fell, but securing all the eaves. This should take about three weeks and will cost us around $60,000.00.

Next year, we will need to replace the entire skylight in the church at St. Elizabeth Seton. There is obviously a story as to why the skylight is failing after only 20 years, but the bottom line is it needs replacing. We expect the cost to accomplish this to fall between $300,000.00 and $500,000.00.

Whenever questions about our facilities come up, invariably I am asked about the “Arise and Build” capital campaign. Indeed, it’s possible I have been asked more times about “Arise and Build” than I have anything else since arriving here as pastor!

Last week, I met with the “Arise and Build” capital campaign committee. “Arise and Build” is the most recent in a series of capital campaigns the parish has held over the last two decades. Begun in 2015, “Arise and Build” was promoted as “Our campaign to Revitalize St. Augustine and St. Elizabeth Seton, Complete St. John Paul II Activity Center, and Support the Diocesan Campaign.” Its
goal was to raise 10 million dollars. 

I am happy to report that the third goal of the campaign, to support the Diocesan capital campaign, has been accomplished.

As of September 30, 2019, we have $4,852.950.00 available in our “Arise and Build” accounts.

If all outstanding pledges are met, and promised gifts received, we estimate that by the end of 2020 we will have a total of $6,211,296.00.

Thank you to everyone who has been so generous and given so faithfully to the “Arise and Build” campaign.

As a community, we now have some interesting questions to consider. As time has gone by, the cost of construction and materials has continued to climb. Objectively speaking, it is not likely we can revitalize both the St. Augustine and St. Elizabeth Seton campuses, and complete the St. John Paul II Activity Center (even in its scaled back form) for $6.2 million.

Once we make it past the busyness of the holidays, the Pastoral Council and Capital Campaign Committee will start to wrestle with
how we can best use the money you have entrusted to our care. We will need to consider carefully, with a decreasing active Catholic population, does the vision set out for the parish years ago still fit the parish today? Do we need the same resources we once thought we would? With buildings literally falling down around us, what “revitalizing” takes priority? With a weekly Mass attendance lower than when Seton opened in 2000, do we need, and how can we afford to maintain, two large and aging sites? We need to discern where God is leading us and what we need to do to accomplish His plan.

As I expressed to the Capital Campaign Committee, I have no answers at this time. Nothing is set in stone. What I want is to
determine what will best serve, renew and revitalize our community. Obviously, this process will take a lot of prayer, imagination and listening. As the parish leadership bodies put together visions and ideas, we will have town hall meetings to solicit your thoughts and feedback. However, in the meantime, if you have some initial ideas you would like to share, please feel
free to email the Pastoral Council at pastoralcouncil@catholicsofpleasanton.org.

Have a blessed week. Let us keep each other in prayer.

Fr. Mark
November 10, 2019
 
​As you might expect, after my note last week that mentioned I had no responses to the questions “Why have you chosen the Catholic Community of Pleasanton as your faith home?” and “Why are you Catholic?”, my email lit up this week! Thank you to all of you who took the time and made an effort to respond. 

The responses I received were very interesting to read. Unlike the responses to my earlier question about where we as a church have challenges, the responses as to why people are here at the Catholic Community of Pleasanton and why they are Catholic are not easily categorized. For the most part people told stories; stories about being raised Catholic and then how somehow the faith came alive for them. Many have been parishioners for decades, others are relatively new to the community. Some recognized they were Catholic because they have always been Catholic, were raised Catholic and Catholicism is what they know. To explain why they are Catholic (beyond habit) was a question that caused reflection on something they had never really thought about before. Some mentioned they appreciate the rituals or traditions of the Church, the deep history, the fact that we are universal and can attend Mass anywhere in the world and know what is happening. Others mentioned the Saints, Novenas, cultural celebrations or the sense of connectedness and community.

If there was any category that I could put several responses in, it would be: The Sacraments. Eucharist and Reconciliation were specifically mentioned. Those who mentioned the Sacraments recognized how they had been given to us by Christ, and genuinely value the grace made available to them in our Sacramental celebrations. For one individual, with all the challenges and issues in the Church, the Sacraments are the only reason they remain. Another mentioned that Christ clearly founded the Catholic Church, so even with the challenges we face, he would not bail on us.

Many of the responses I received also continued the conversation about what we might do to increase attendance at Mass. Among the ideas sent: some felt we should preach more about specific issues like abortion or women’s ordination. There was a suggestion that Mass be shorter, or that we should have popular guest presiders and preachers come. Of course, there was more conversation around the abuse of minors by clergy. 

I truly appreciate all that has been shared over the last month with me. Even if I am unable to respond to each email personally, rest assured they are all being read and should make for rich conversation with the pastoral council and staff. 

One thought I have that I will share with you at this point is this: many of the suggestions about how we need to change may lead to an increase in Sunday attendance by causing Catholics from other parishes to travel to ours. While everyone is always welcome to join us, my personal interest is not so much in “poaching” from other parishes, but in forming new Catholics and helping those who have fallen away find their way back. While there are some things we could do very quickly and painlessly to make people feel even more welcome, the sad truth is that throughout the Catholic Church, for every two people we baptize, 13 walk away. If that was happening in a secular business, alarms would be ringing and people would be losing their jobs. To change those types of trends will take a major shift in Catholic culture, and how we understand / practice what God calls us to do. 

Have a blessed week. Let us keep each other in prayer.

- Fr. Mark
November 3, 2019

​Last month I wrote a column for this bulletin entitled “Something is Wrong” in which I shared information regarding our average attendance at Mass on any given Sunday. Taken from a count of all people attending all Masses every weekend in the month of October, the “October count” is one annual indicator of the health of a parish. I reported to you that last year, 2018, we had our lowest attendance since 1993. Our count was 2799. We now have our October Count number for 2019. Last month on an average Sunday, 2777 people attended Mass at the Catholic Community of Pleasanton; a decrease of 22 people over the previous year. While not a large decrease, it does fit the current seven-year trend of our community. 

Our highest attended Masses are the 11:00 AM (463 people on an average weekend) and 6:30 PM (456 people on an average weekend), at St. Elizabeth Seton. 

Our lowest attended Mass is the 8:00 AM (221 people on an average weekend) at St. Augustine. 

After I wrote the “Something is Wrong” column, I received feedback from active parishioners, ex-parishioners, people of other denominations, and people of no faith at all. I received feedback through my email, on my phone, by handwritten letters, personal appointments and social media. It remains a source of encouragement to me that so many people are interested enough in the parish and the Church to provide their feedback regarding challenges we face and how we might go about addressing them. 

A few weeks later I wrote a column entitled “Something is Right”. While we, as well as all other parishes, have challenges to face, we also have a lot of wonderful things happening. In that column, I noted that while we must address our challenges, we could also leverage what we are doing well. I posed the questions, “Why have you chosen the Catholic Community of Pleasanton to be your faith home?” and “Why are you Catholic?” 

So far in my email, on my phone, by handwritten letter, personal appointment and social media, I have received no response to those questions at all. 

In all honesty, I had expected fewer responses to these questions, but no responses at all surprised me. 

If we have a hard time sharing why we have chosen the Catholic Community of Pleasanton as our Faith home, is it any wonder we have over 600 children in Faith Formation, and over 100 youth preparing for confirmation, but rarely see any of them or their families at Mass? 

If we cannot give voice to why we are Catholic, should we be surprised fewer people are joining our church and more are leaving? 

So, a member of the staff asked me, “What do you see that is good here in the Catholic Community of Pleasanton?” A fair question. As a priest, pastor and homilist here, my perspective is a bit unique. After a moment I was able to answer that I am encouraged by what I see as a genuine hunger to hear the Word of God and have it applicable to life. In the four months I have been here, many have expressed to me a true desire to know the Scriptures better and to understand their faith more deeply. Also, I have never been in a parish where so many have expressed to me a desire to do whatever needs to be done to renew and reinvigorate their church. I find great hope in that. 

Have a blessed week. Let us keep each other in prayer.

- Fr. Mark 
October 13, 2019

Something is right!

Last week I shared with some of the many responses I had from people sharing their thoughts about why Mass attendance, and over all participation in most of our ministries, is down. Everything from happenings in Rome, to changing demographics in Pleasanton, to the Arise and Build Campaign, and all kinds of things in between, were mentioned. Dozens and dozens of people have contacted me, many asking what they can do to help, to support the work of the staff and various parish councils, and to address the issues we have identified.

Something is right!

Although we have experienced a decline in attendance, still thousands of you have chosen to make the Catholic Community of Pleasanton your faith home and choose to come every weekend, even weekday, to celebrate the mysteries of our faith at Mass. Hundreds upon hundreds of you still make the effort to bring your children to Faith Formation, Middle School and Youth ministry so that your children have the opportunity to learn our faith and build community. Still more have signed up to participate in the ministries our parish offers. Every weekend hundreds of families make a sacrifice of their treasure to support the parish and the ministry we do.

Something is right!

While it is important that we know and address the challenges we face, it is also important we are aware of what we are doing right. While we cannot be afraid of our weaknesses (and the need to work on them) we can also play to our strengths and leverage what we do well. So, I would ask this week: Why are you Catholic? Why do you come to the Catholic Community of Pleasanton? Why is this your faith, and this the place you practice it? Clearly, we have many challenges ahead of us, but even so, it is clear…

Something is right!
​
In other news…the month of October is going to be a little different when it comes to the priests. Earlier this year, Fr. Luke, Fr. Fili and I were all assigned to different parishes. While in different parishes, we all made plans to travel in October for various events. Then the Diocese assigned us all to the same parish and we discovered some of our travel dates conflict. We adjusted our travel as best we could, but even so, there were conflicts we could not avoid. There is never a weekend when we are all gone, but those who come to daily Mass will notice during the week of October 21-25 there will be communion services. (Fr. Luke will be around for much of that week, but he has potential jury duty, is entitled to his day off, and also has contracted ministerial responsibilities at Santa Rita jail). I am grateful to Deacon Joe Gourley for his willingness to preside at the communion services for us. I am confident that, except for when the Bishop calls all the priests away for our biennial convocation, this is unlikely to happen again. I thank you for your understanding.

- Fr. Mark
October 6, 2019

As you might imagine, since my bulletin column last week highlighting that “something is not right” and the declining attendance at Mass here at CCOP, I have received all kinds of feedback. On social media, in my email and in one on one conversations I have received kind and honest input, links to websites / talks, and articles to read from members of the parish, former members of the parish, members of other parishes, members of other faiths, and even from people of no particular faith background.
​
It’s not possible to share every response I have had, but I can summarize some of the overall themes and topics that have been mentioned. Some of them are far reaching concerns over which we here at the local level have little or no control. With others, there is the possibility we can address them.

Naturally people cited the clergy abuse crisis, and the mishandling of it by the Church hierarchy, as one reason they or family members have left the church. There is no denying the truth to that. The inexcusable behavior by some priests, and the lack of strong action on the part of the Church, continues to be a cause pain for many of us.

Others cited the church’s teaching and / or positions on current issues. Whether speaking about the role of women in the church, ordaining women, ordaining married individuals as priests, gay marriage, birth control, abortion, or other issues, some have left because of what the church holds. Others feel church positions keep people from taking the church seriously, or that the church is not speaking loudly enough on other issues such as climate change, immigration, homelessness or the immoral behavior of world leaders. At the same time, others struggle with the church being too political. Some feel our church is not traditional enough, others feel we are not contemporary enough.

Some feel the church has not been responsive to the needs of millennials and the next generation; that we do what we have always done because it is what we do and are not willing to change what we do to meet the needs of younger people. From daily Mass times that do not work for those who commute to ministries that are not of interest or do not meet the needs of young adults, we need to adjust to better serve the young families and individuals of the Tri-Valley.

One friend noted attendance was higher when the economy was more difficult, and that attendance has dropped as the economy recovered.

Another asked the next logical question: Those who left, where did they go? To another denomination? Have they abandoned faith completely?

Unfortunately, and sadly, I also heard from people who in the past have received unkind treatment by the priests and members of the staff at CCOP. Some have struggled with homilies that do not connect to real life, liturgies that do not feed them spiritually, priests who have strong accents, volume in the church that is too loud, or the unpleasant, cold and unwelcoming attitudes of other parishioners. Some find our physical buildings unattractive, outdated and in need of renovation and beautification.

As I mentioned last weekend, there are no easy answers and no easy solutions to the challenges and opportunities we face as a community. I will share with you what our attendance is when we complete the October count for this year. Once again, I ask for your prayer as the parish leadership bodies consider and discern who God calls us to be as Catholics in the Tri-Valley Area.

Have a blessed week.

- Fr. Mark
September 29, 2019

Something’s not right.

​Last week, when I returned from my time away, I received a handwritten note from a visitor to our community, who wrote: 

“I was recently visiting Pleasanton to see my daughter and spent quite a bit of time at St. Augustine’s. The parish is great – music was great on Sunday, homilies were great, Fr. Chris was great in confession. I was amazed that at 10:00 a.m. Mass that church wasn’t full. I pray for the church every day.” 

Something’s not right.

Next month is October (already!). Every year the Diocese has every parish in the diocese count attendance at all weekend Masses. This is one important indicator of the health of the Church in the Diocese of Oakland, as well as in our local parish. The October count numbers for our parish are both interesting and concerning. 

Something’s not right.

In 2000, the year the church at St. Elizabeth Seton opened, our October count was 3371. That means on average 3371 people attended Mass on the weekend. 

Our October count reached was at its highest in 2012, with a count of 4492. 

Since then, every year has shown a decline in attendance. 

In October of 2015, our count was 4030.
In October of 2016, one year later, our attendance plummeted to 2868.
In October of 2018, last year, we had our lowest attendance since 1993. Our count was 2799. 

As you might expect, along with the drop-in attendance, participation in other aspects of parish life (the number of baptisms, first communions, confirmations and children in Faith Formation among others) has declined as well. 

While it is true most churches in our Diocese and the country are experiencing a decline in attendance, ours is particularly pronounced and disturbing. 

I have shared most of this information with Pastoral Council, Finance Council and the Parish Staff. We have begun preliminary discussions regarding causes of this decline and how we might address it. There will be no easy fixes and no easy answers. I have found myself saying to many people that the next three to five years here at CCOP will be very interesting and very determinative of what our future as the Catholic church in Pleasanton will be like. 

Something’s not right. 

At this time, I ask for nothing but your earnest and genuine prayer for the leadership bodies of our parish as we study the issues at hand, set goals for our future and strategies to accomplish them. Currently we are reading a book entitled “Divine Renovation” by Fr. John Mallon. Last October, Bishop Barber brought Fr. Mallon to our Diocese to speak with parish staffs about the very issues we are facing. However, eventually any resolution will involve every one of us who calls CCOP home. 

Something’s not right…. but by our faith filled action and the power of God, new life will be found.

- Fr. Mark
September 1, 2019

A week has passed since my installation as Pastor of our parish and I still find myself living in the glow of what was truly a wonderful celebration. So many guests, friends and parishioners have told me how touching, beautiful, moving, and joyful they found last Sunday to be. I couldn’t agree more! 

Many people worked long and hard to make last Sunday such a memorable day. I am grateful to so many – and I am sure I will forget to mention someone. Even so, I need to express my thanks to Fr. Lawrence, Pastor of St. Raymond, and our Dean, for joining us and installing me as Pastor. I am grateful to Fr. Filiberto, Fr. Luke and Deacon Joe for vesting and their presence. Thank you to Deacon Gary, who scripted the entire liturgy, arranged for the various ministers, and who I could see moving about the church throughout the Mass keeping everything on track! Thank you to our Director of Music Ministry, Ira Stein, for creating such a wonderful worship aid and assisting me in choosing music for the day. I am grateful to all who ministered; the lectors, our adult choir and musicians (what a beautiful and joyful sound you made!), our eucharistic ministers, acolytes, and ministers of hospitality, those who handled sound, JC & Paul Calderon and Adelina Ferreira who prepared the stunning flower arrangements, and our maintenance staff. 

The reception that followed the liturgy was absolutely amazing. Such a great way to keep our Feast day, literally! There will never be enough words of thanks to offer Michael Harmon and Paulette Callahan. Thank you so much. I am also grateful to Jom Sicat, this year’s Grand Knight, and the Knights of Columbus for their decades of support as well as their presence with us last weekend. The Knights arrived bright and early last Sunday to set-up for the reception and set about barbecuing and prepping food for 500 people. 

I am grateful for the presence and leadership provided by three very important bodies of people: Our gifted and committed parish staff: in addition to those already mentioned, Olga Morineau, Matt Gray, Ale Fonseca, Bronco Hinek, Hector Morineau, Manuel Morales, Sharon Hanson, Kathy Works, Lien-Thi de la Pena, Kim Schnall, Lori Piper, Kat Miller, Shella Soby, Lorraine Callahan and Christine Cardullo; our Parish Finance Council; Bob Robichaud (chair), Theresa Kotch, Marcia Berardi, Glorian Crosslin, Margaret Go-Yu, Carl Michelotti, Jim Pease and Scott Pietro; and our Pastoral Council: Charissa McDonald (chair), Gerald Nalagan, Carina Harold, Paula Parisi, Lucia Chacon, Maryann James, Phil Maser and Tim Tuttle. I look forward to working closely with these talented and dedicated individuals to move CCOP forward in exciting new ways. 

I am sure that I have forgotten someone along the way. Please know it is not my intention to slight anyone. A reflection of the kindness and greatness of this community is that there were simply too many people involved to remember and name them all. But rest assured of my gratitude to you all. 

Of course, I am very grateful to God for giving me the opportunity to journey with you as your Pastor. For as long as God allows, we will work together to grow in knowledge and love of Christ, and to continue the work of building His kingdom in this place and time. In the meantime, long before I knew I would be coming here to CCOP as Pastor, I had planned and paid for a vacation to visit friends in Scotland. As you read this, I am in the lovely little town of Dunoon on the Firth of Clyde enjoying the Cowal Highland Scottish games. After the games, I will be traveling with my friends to visit, explore and relax on the island of Malta. I will be back in a few weeks and look forward to seeing you all again soon. 

May God bless you all for the kind welcome you have given me back to the Catholic Community of Pleasanton! 

- Fr. Mark
August 25, 2019

This weekend we will be celebrating my official installation as pastor of CCOP. I know I have mentioned to several of you this date of August 25 was chosen because it is the nearest Sunday to the Feast of the patron of our original church, St. Augustine. St. Augustine’s Feast is August 28. 

St. Augustine of Hippo is the patron of brewers because of his conversion from a former life of loose living, which included parties, entertainment, and worldly ambitions. His complete turnaround and conversion has been an inspiration to many who struggle with a particular vice or habit they long to break. 

This famous son of St. Monica was born in modern Algeria on November 13, 354. He read the pagan classics, studied rhetoric at Carthage, but rejected the Scriptures, thinking them too demanding and uncultured. While in Carthage he got into the habit of a disordered and dissolute life. For many years he lived with a companion who was not his wife with whom he had a son. Though he was one of the most intelligent men who ever lived and had been brought up a Christian, his sins of impurity and his pride darkened his mind so much that he could not see or understand the Divine Truth anymore. Through the prayers of his holy mother and the marvelous preaching of St. Ambrose in Milan, Augustine finally became convinced that Christianity was the one true religion. Yet he did not become a Christian then, because he thought he could never live a pure life. One day, however, he heard about two men who had been converted on reading the life of St. Antony, and he felt terrible ashamed of himself. "What are we doing?" he cried to his friend Alipius. "Unlearned people are taking Heaven by force, while we, with all our knowledge, are so cowardly that we keep rolling around in the mud of our sins!" 

Full of bitter sorrow, Augustine flung himself out into the garden and cried out to God, "How long more, O Lord? Why does not this hour put an end to my sins?" Just then he heard a child singing, "Take up and read!" Thinking that God intended him to hear those words, he picked up the book of the Letters of St. Paul, and read the first passage his gaze fell on. It read, “Let us live honorably as in daylight; not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual excess and lust, not in quarrelling and jealousy. Rather put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provisions for the desires of the flesh.” (Romans 13:13-14.) It was just what Augustine needed. From then on, he began a new life. 

He was baptized by St. Ambrose at the Easter Vigil on April 24-25, 387 at the age of 33. He became a priest at 36, a bishop at 41, a prolific and famous Catholic writer, founder of a religious order, one of the most influential theologians in the Western Church and one of the greatest doctors of the Latin Church; not to mention one of the greatest saints that ever lived. He became very devout and charitable. On the wall of his room, he had written in large letters: "Here we do not speak evil of anyone." St. Augustine overcame strong heresies, practiced great poverty, supported the poor, preached very often and prayed with great fervor right up until he died at the age of 76 on August 28, 430. 

In his most famous book, Confessions, Augustine cries out to God: “Too late have I loved you, O Beauty of ancient days, yet ever new! Too late I loved you!” and famously wrote, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” 

On my own part today, I would simply like to add a word of thanks to all who have joined me today for the installation. I am grateful for the presence of each of you; family, friends, and parishioners from CCOP, those from my home parish of St. Francis of Assisi, Concord and my previous parishes of All Saints, Hayward, Assumption Parish, San Leandro, St. Augustine, Oakland and of course, St. Charles in Livermore. I ask that you keep me in prayer not only this day, but in the days ahead. Rest assured of my ongoing prayer and affection for you all. Thank you for your presence today. 

St. Augustine, pray for us!

​- Fr. Mark 
August 18, 2019

Gilroy. El Paso. Dayton. Over the last few weeks our country has been shocked again and again with news of mass shootings and acts of unspeakable violence. The innocent have been killed and wounded. Once again conversations and debates are being had with arguments, we have all heard before being repeated once again. While it’s important we be active in our society to help shape just public policy, we also need to be certain to consider how we, as people of faith, respond in these difficult moments.  

Clearly one of the first responses we are called to make is to reach out and help in any way we possibly can. The central mystery of our faith, the Resurrection of Christ, demonstrates that life and love overcome evil and death. We bear witness to this truth every time we reach out in compassion to another. We may reach out to those in Gilroy, El Paso or Dayton monetarily or with a note, or we may reach out to calm the fears of someone right next to us. Perhaps the help we can offer is to constantly hold in prayer those who died, were injured, their family, friends and all those who responded to the crises. In actions both great and small we live our belief that goodness ultimately overwhelms evil. In all things we strive for our guiding principle to be love – love that brings hope and healing. 

A more difficult response is as followers of Jesus we forgive. The persons who committed theses atrocities must be caught and dealt with in a moral way, but we need to forgive the perpetrator(s) so that our actions and decision making are not informed by an emotional need for revenge or retribution. Revenge and retribution are not Gospel values. Forgiveness does not mean we forget or pretend what has happened never happened. Forgiveness allows us to deal with what has happened free from unjust anger and the need to “even the score.” Forgiveness allows us take actions and make decisions based on wisdom and justice. I often wonder what has happened in a person’s life, what have they experienced or what has been done to them or what have they not had which they needed, that would lead them to commit so horrendous an act. In all things we strive for our guiding principle to be love – with a concern toward the salvation of all, even our enemies. 

Perhaps the most difficult response though is to not be afraid. Who has not in the last few weeks wondered if something similar could happen right here where we live, play, pray and work? While not specifically labeled as a “command”, the Scriptures recount God frequently encouraging His people to not fear (e.g.: Do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God (Isaiah 10:41) and Do not fear, only believe (Mark 5:36)). Even last week, our Gospel began with Jesus telling his disciples, “Do not be afraid any longer....” (Luke 12:32) Our challenge is to be a people who act on faith, not fear. With our hopes and eyes firmly fixed on God, we believe that God can bring good even out of the horrific occurrences we have experienced. In all things we strive for our guiding principle to be love – to let the love of God guide our life rather than fear. 

I am going to bring recovery and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them abundance of prosperity and security.
- Jeremiah 33:6  

May God bless us all with a peaceful week.

- Fr. Mark 

August 11, 2019

Last week I shared with you the elements of Liturgy that I believe can make or break our experience of Sunday worship. Those elements are preaching, music and hospitality. These elements are what often lead people to return to and join a parish community. These are all elements that to one degree or another I as pastor, and the staff at CCOP, have some ability to influence, change and improve. These are all realities we experience when we come together for Mass to join our hearts and minds in prayer. 

While the staff and I can carefully plan our Masses and times of communal prayer, there is one aspect of our prayer that we have almost no control over at all; your personal prayer life. If we come together to join our hearts and minds in prayer, then the spiritual condition of each individual heart and mind has an impact on our communal worship. Ultimately our faith, our Church, our worship, our ministries and all we do as a faith flows from and is supposed to connect back to our relationship with Christ. All too often, we lose sight of that reality. We end up doing all our church work and churchy things without consciously working to deepen our relationship with God in Christ. The most certain way to make sure we stay connected with Christ in all we do throughout our very busy days is to take time for prayer. As St. Frances De Sales once noted, “If we’re too busy to pray for a half hour, then we need to pray for an hour.” 

Developing and maintaining a prayer life can at first glance seem an arduous task. Often people feel lost and do not know how to begin. Even those who do have a regular prayer life bump into times when things seem dry. 

There is a lot I could share about prayer. However, for today, I simply want to share with you four simple steps for prayer that, even after having a prayer life for more than 30 years, helped refocus how I pray. These guidelines for prayer were given to me by Fr. Jack Koeger, who has served as my spiritual director on retreat for the last several years. I hope you find these guidelines as helpful to you as they have been to me.

  1. Show Up: It is difficult to pray if you do not take the time for it. The wonderful part is that if you show up for prayer, it is guaranteed that God is there. Often “showing up” will take discipline on our part – requiring us to give up time we might spend on less important endeavors. Many find it useful to schedule time in their calendar for prayer. Make an appointment with Jesus and keep it just as you would any other appointment.
  2. Be Attentive: Pay attention to what you are feeling and experiencing within you. Often these are indicators of where your heart is, and what you can most easily bring to your prayer. Pay attention to your surroundings and what catches your attention. Often what catches your senses can lead you into God’s presence affectively.
  3. Be Honest: Prayer is not a “dress up” affair. It is a “come as you are” occasion. Be honest with God about what you are thinking or feeling – no matter how holy or profane it may seem to you. In any real and valuable relationship, honesty is key; so it is in our relationship with God. Anything you are thinking or feeling, God is large enough to handle, and has probably dealt with before!
  4. Don’t Gear For Results: This last step is likely the most difficult. We are used to evaluating how we spend our time, measuring our productivity, and looking for results. In prayer, don’t expect any specific insight, feeling or answer. Prayer time is not problem-solving time, although problems may be solved. Recognize that it is enough to have spent time with God. To “waste” time with God is a beautiful thing – after all, He is the one who gave the time to us! As St. Theresa of Avila once said, “He who possesses God lacks nothing. God alone suffices.” 

- Fr. Mark
August 4, 2019

Last week in my bulletin, note I mentioned that even though I have not yet been at CCOP long enough to develop a full vision for our community, I hope worship together will be the best it possibly can be. Over the years, I have come to understand that good liturgy does not just appear. Rather, it takes deliberate effort and work to celebrate the mysteries of our faith well. It should not be surprising that to celebrate well we need to prepare well. 

Survey after survey has revealed that there are three things that can make or break the experience of worship; preaching, music and hospitality. Each, if tended to well, can deeply enrich our experience of communal prayer. Each, no matter how well we do them, can always be improved.

Preaching: In one of my moral theology classes in the Seminary, professor and Father Rich Gula, S.S., once looked at all of us preparing for ordination and said, “Remember gentleman, you have a moral responsibility to preach the Word as well as you can.” Those words still resonate within me. I honestly believe that when someone stands up to preach, the assembly wants them to hit it out of the ballpark. However, the assembly, through experience, has learned not to expect much either. Feedback from Catholics around the globe is irrefutable; the homily matters tremendously. That is encouraging. People have a hunger to hear the Word of the Lord proclaimed and preached well. Of course, there is a cost involved as well. To preach well means the preacher needs to put in hours of prayer and reflection with the Scriptures, and do the work of researching, writing, re-writing and practicing the homily. This can become a huge and difficult task; especially in a parish where the tasks of administration, personnel, facilities and endless meetings clamor for attention. It can be difficult to give priority to preparing a homily. But if priority isn’t given, worship suffers. 

Music: I have long believed that music can make or break our experience of worship. Music can speak to us in ways that words never may. Music done well and at appropriate times and seasons, whether it is Gregorian chant, a four-square Gospel hymn, contemporary Christian music, or a mariachi band, can deeply enhance our experience of prayer. The cost to this is that there is a financial cost. I have never known a music program to be exceptional except where serious and continued funding is provided. In many parishes the Music Ministry budget receives more funding than any other ministry. In those parishes people return regularly because of the spiritual experience provided by the Music Ministry.

Hospitality: Even more than preaching and music, hospitality is coming to the fore as the single most important reason people chose to return and join a Church, Catholic or other. All people like to feel they belong somewhere, and that when they are absent, they are missed. Hospitality addresses this very human need; the need for community. If there is a cost to hospitality, it is this: hospitality means we cannot dash out the door when Mass is over and rush off into the rest of our day. It means taking time to be present to the community and one another. It means stepping outside of our comfort zones and stepping up to someone we do not recognize or know and say, “Hi. I don’t think I have met you. Are you new here? Welcome.” Hospitality is not the ministry of just a few, like preaching or music may be. Hospitality is a ministry that is entrusted to every single member of the community. Communities for which hospitality is a prominent characteristic tend to be communities that are vibrant and growing. 

There are, of course, many other elements that can both positively and negatively impact our worship together. However, if we are attentive to preaching, music and hospitality we can continue to make CCOP a community that truly reflects the praise of heaven in our liturgy on earth. Have a joyful and blessed week! 

- Fr. Mark
July 28, 2019

I continue to be deeply touched by all of you who continue to express your good wishes to me as your new pastor. Your excitement and hopefulness are contagious. I am also appreciative of those who have written to me with your thoughts about the community and some of the work / ministry that could be undertaken here at CCOP. As I spoke briefly about in my homily at St. Augustine last week, “hospitality” is essential to being a disciple of Christ, and one of the characteristics that encourages people to make a church their faith home. I very much appreciate the enthusiasm with which you have made me feel at home.

Actually, my welcome to CCOP began weeks before I arrived as I received emails from the heads of various ministries as well as several parishioners. I was gratified by everyone expressing their desire to support me in my vision for the parish. The only problem was that having been away from the parish for 18 years (and now having been here only three weeks), I do not yet have a vision particular to CCOP! I am aware of the direction our Bishop wishes to take the Diocese and the sort of work he believes parishes should be doing to make the church relevant in today’s society, but exactly how that might play out in the particulars of CCOP is unclear. Next month, I will meet with the Pastoral Council and the Finance Council for the first time. Much of the staff has been on vacation this month, so as we move toward the Fall, I will get to know them and their expertise better. As I come to understand CCOP in 2019, I am sure a vision will appear.

However, it is safe for me to say that I want our worship together to be the best it possibly can. As you are aware, the Second Vatican Council taught that the source and summit of all we do as Church flows from the liturgy. If our prayer is true, faithful and genuine, it will empower all we do, give us an effective witness in the world, and provide a vision for us of its own.

Practically speaking, I am aware that since 2015 there has been the “Arise and Build” campaign intended for the renovation of the buildings we have at both the St. Augustine site and the St. Elizabeth Seton site, as well as for the construction of a new building. As soon as I have my head wrapped around this whole major undertaking, I will update everyone on where we stand with our efforts. 

As I continue to settle in, I ask for your continued prayer. I am back at CCOP and it has become my conviction that God called me to return here. At this moment, I do not know specifically why He has brought me here, but I come in faith certain that He has something up His sleeve. In the end though, God is always at work for our growth in holiness, working all things out for our good (Romans 8:28) so that each of us may come to share eternal life with Him. Have a blessed, peaceful and holy week! 

- Fr. Mark
July 14, 2019

I want to extend my sincere thanks to all of you who welcomed me as your new pastor at CCOP last weekend at St. Augustine. Being one priest with two locations, I was unable to be at both churches last weekend, but in time I am sure we will all meet! By way of introduction, I thought I would share a bit about myself with you. 

I was born in Buffalo, New York in 1962 and moved to the Bay Area (Concord) with my family in 1969. I attended De La Salle High School, and after graduating from U.C. Davis in 1985 with a degree in Rhetoric and Communications, spent six weeks on a Summer of Service with Youth with a Mission (YWAM) in Scotland. I worked in the insurance industry for two years before joining the National Evangelization Teams (NET). From August 1987 through August 1988, I traveled with NET conducting retreats for high school students across our country and throughout Australia. While on NET, I contacted the Vocation Director for our Diocese to pursue the possibility of a life of ministry. 

Returning from NET, I entered St. Joseph’s College Seminary in 1989 for a year of pre-theology study. In 1990, I entered St. Patrick's Seminary in Menlo Park and was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Oakland in my home parish of St. Francis of Assisi, in Concord, on June 10, 1995. 

While in the seminary, I joined the United States Air Force as a chaplain candidate. As a chaplain candidate, I was on duty at Barksdale AFB, The United States Air Force Academy, Lowry AFB and Vandenberg AFB. After ordination, I continued my service in the Air Force as an active reserve chaplain at Travis AFB until 2000. 

From 1995 through 1998, I was a parochial vicar at All Saints Parish in Hayward. My second assignment was here at CCOP under the watchful eye of Fr. Dan Danielson from mid-1998 until May of 2001. From May 2001 until December 2003, I was assigned to Assumption Parish in San Leandro. After two and a half years as pastoral administrator, I became the pastor of St. Augustine Church in Oakland where I served from June 2006 through August 2012. From there I was off to be pastor at St. Charles until I returned here to CCOP on July 1, 2019. 

I have also served as Director of Communications and Media Relations for the Diocese of Oakland. I currently serve on the Presbyterial Council and am a member of the Bishop's College of Consultors. 

During the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy held by the church in 2016, I was commissioned by Pope Francis as a Missionary of Mercy. One of my greatest joys in ministry is conducting retreats, parish missions, days and evenings of reflection and teaching scripture. I have discovered, from my earliest days on NET, that I have a missionary heart. 

In addition to ministry, I am a trained working voice over artist and have performed on stage since first grade! I have been cast in more than 65 musicals throughout my life. Currently I am rehearsing “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” which opens later this month at the Bankhead Theater in Livermore. I also thoroughly enjoy travel, movies, and anything else that strikes my fancy on a given day. 

As I mentioned, I am sure that in the years ahead we will get to know each other well. I look forward to working with you to build the Kingdom of God here in the Tri-Valley. Have a blessed and peaceful week. 

- Fr. Mark