SOCIETY OF SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL | Founded in Paris in 1833, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul is a worldwide community of more than 800,000 lay Catholics, known as Vincentians, who join together to grow spiritually by offering person-to-person service to neighbors in need. Have you considered answering the call to help serve the poor by joining the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (for Adults) or SSVdP Youth (13-18 years old)? Contact sanrafael.svdp@gmail.com or call (858)588-2556. Facebook: @SVdPSanRafaelConference. All are welcome at our monthly

2023 THANKSGIVING FOOD DRIVE | Help us with collecting food to replenish and prepare SVdP Holy Family’s food pantry for the upcoming holiday season. Bring non-perishable food items to church. The food donations will be distributed on Friday after the Thanksgiving Holiday. Please bring your donations to church by Friday, November 24th.

LIFE CHOICES CHRISTMAS GIVING TREE | It’s a baby shower for the unborn at Life Choices Pregnancy Center. This center has been a life source for young women in the community contemplating abortion. Women’s Fellowship invites everyone to visit the decorated Christmas tree which will be located in the church foyer the entire month of December. Each tag on the tree suggests an item which is greatly needed at the Life Choices Pregnancy Center. Special Requests this year include: Toys for Christmas Gifting, Baby Shampoo, Baby Wipes, Wash Cloths and Towels, and Electric Breast Pumps by Medela. Please consider donating Amazon, Target, Walmart, Costco, and grocery gift cards. Direct Financial Donations may be made by scanning the QR Code or writing a check to “Life Choices”. Please place all unwrapped gifts in the adjacent bassinet. This is a wonderful opportunity to show your Christmas Spirit to those who need and will appreciate your help.

BREAKFAST WITH SANTA | Sunday morning, December 10th, the San Rafael Men’s Club will host its annual Breakfast with Santa event in the parish hall. Stop by for your family photos with Santa Claus, admire the beautiful model train display, and enjoy refreshments provided by the Men’s Club. Please come out for this annual tradition to bring some Christmas cheer to the children of the parish!

Sunday, November 19th, 2023

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FROM THE DESK OF FR. JAY

Our liturgical year is ordered in such a way as to lead us through the entire mystery of salvation won for us in Jesus Christ. It begins with Advent, when we ponder the Incarnation that leads us to the celebration of Jesus’ birth at Christmas. Following Christmas we enter into the public ministry of Christ during Ordinary Time, which begins with the feast of His Baptism. In the midst of Ordinary Time, we enter the deepest paschal mystery of Lent and Easter, culminating with the Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. The Easter Season concludes with Christ’s Ascension and Pentecost, the beginning of the Church. Finally, after the rest of Ordinary Time, we come to the great Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, commonly referred to as the Feast of Christ the King.

To help us have a better sense of what this Sunday’s celebration is all about, it’s important for us to consider the history of the feast, and the reasons that we have a special day dedicated to the Universal Sovereignty of Christ as part of our liturgical calendar.

When Pope Pius XI instituted a special feast honoring Christ “the King” in 1925, he was grieving for a world that had been ravaged by the First World War and which had begun to bow down before the “lords” of exploitative consumerism, secularism, and new forms of injustice. In his encyclical Quas Primas (from Latin: “In the first”), the Pope reminded Christians that the Kingdom to which they belong is “spiritual and concerned with spiritual things… it demands of its subjects a spirit of detachment from riches and earthly things, and a spirit of gentleness. They must hunger and thirst after justice and more than this, they must deny themselves and carry the cross,” (no 15).

The prayers and readings assigned for this solemnity present a rich and varied presentation of Christ the King, drawing on numerous images from Sacred Scripture. Falling as it does (in the Ordinary Form of the Mass) on the final Sunday of the liturgical year, this solemn celebration focus our attention on the One who is the “goal of human history, the focal point of the desires of history and of civilization, the center of humankind, the joy of all hearts, and the fulfillment of all aspirations,” (Gaudium et spes, no. 45).

For prayer and reflection

“His kingship is paradoxical: his throne is the cross; his crown is made of thorns; he has no scepter, but a reed is put into his hand; he does not have luxurious clothing but is stripped of his tunic; he wears no shiny rings on his fingers, but his hands are pierced with nails; he has no treasure but is sold for thirty pieces of silver.” – Pope Franci

Collect (Opening Prayer)

Almighty ever-living God, whose will is to restore all things in your beloved Son, the King of the universe, grant, we pray, that the whole creation, set free from slavery, may render your majesty service and ceaselessly proclaim your praise. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(from The Roman Missal)

Fr. Jay
Pastor

San Rafael Parish, San Diego

Catholic Church

News & Events

UPCOMING PARISH EVENTS

Sunday, November 19th, 2023

FROM THE DESK OF FR. JAY

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