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 meetings. You do not need to be a member to attend.)

LENTEN FISH FRY DINNERS | Lent is just a few weeks away, which means Knights of Columbus Lenten Fish Fry Dinners. The Lenten Fish Fry Dinners will take place every Friday in the Parish Hall from February 24th to March 31st. Please come join for a delicious meal and supporting various Knights of Columbus charities. Fish & chips, salad, cole slaw, clam chowder, ice cream and a baked fish option will be served weekly. Pre-Sale tickets will be sold in front of the church or parish hall at the end of each Mass starting the weekend of February 4th through February 19th.

Ticket Prices:
Adults – $15 ($20 at the door); Family – $30 ($35 at the door); Children (Ages 5-17) -$7

Our “Golden Ticket” are the best deal in town for admission to the Fish Fries:
Adults – $65
Family – $140 (*Family tickets are intended for single families w/two adults and their children ages 5-17)

Menu:

March 31: Salmon, Linguini in Clam Sauce
Grand Prize – Las Vegas Getaway

Looking forward to seeing you there!

PARISH EASTER EGG HUNT & PICNIC | The San Rafael Men’s Club invites everyone to the Annual Parish Easter Egg Hunt and Picnic on Saturday, April 8, at 10:30 a.m. at Silverset Park in Poway. There will be food, candy, prizes, and egg hunts for all ages. Join us for fellowship and FUN – All at no cost to you! No RSVP is needed, just show up rain or shine and bring your family and friends! Donations of chocolate Easter bunnies for the Easter Egg Hunt would be greatly appreciated. Please drop them off at the church office. Thank you! Contact Susan Sullivan at (858)675-0581 with any questions.

WOMEN’S FELLOWSHIP APRIL MEETING | Join us on Monday, April 17th, at 7:00 p.m. in the parish hall for our April General Meeting. Dancers from Doherty Petri School of Irish Dance will be performing under the direction of Tehya Baxter. Hear about the culture of Irish Dance. As an added bonus, you will have the opportunity to learn the Irish Jig!

FRIDAY NIGHT BINGO | Women’s Fellowship will host a Bingo Night Friday, April 21, in the Parish Hall. Join us for fun, fellowship and light snacks. We look forward to seeing you! Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. Play will start at 7:00 p.m. The cost is $10.00. We play 8 games with 3 chances to win each game. Prizes are gift cards. No reservation is necessary. All men and women ages 18 and up welcome. SAVE THE DATE: Our final Bingo Night of the season will be May 19th at our usual time. Questions: contact Judy Roessler at judy92127@gmail.com or Chris De Francesco at bklyn197@aol.com.

KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS 2023 SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM | The Knights of Columbus from San Rafael are offering five scholarships this year ranging from $500 to $1,000 each. More information and application forms are available in the parish office. The deadline to submit your application is May 1, 2023. The five scholarships are: Matt Herriman Memorial Scholarship, Caroline E. Cox Memorial Scholarship, Catholic University Scholarship, Community College Scholarship and Vocational/Trade School Scholarship.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS! | San Rafael will celebrate the birthday of the Church on Sunday, May 28th, with our annual Pentecost Festival. The Festival will begin at 3:00 p.m. Come and have birthday cake, play Bingo, win a mini-cake at the Cake Walk sponsored, bid on wonderful items donated for the Silent Auction, win prizes from the Opportunity Drawings, and sample great chili at the Chili Cookoff. The silent auction will have lots of great items this year so bring your checkbook or cash so you can bid on and win your favorites! Kids will be able to play unlimited games. Toast and enjoy each other’s company with a glass of wine or beer while enjoying a hamburger, hot dog prepared by the Knights of Columbus. The Holy Spirit will guide our talents to join the various ministries and groups at the Ministry Fair. Conclude your day with a beautiful concert from our talented choir at 6:00 p.m. San Rafael is a wonderful parish, come and share the fun!

Sunday, March 26th, 2023

FROM THE DESK OF MSGR. DENNIS

At this point this year the Church’s celebrations and remembrances begin to take on a greater urgency to remind us of how Christ lives and works in the Church. Saturday we celebrated the Feast of the Annunciation when the Archangel Gabriel announced to Mary that God had chosen her to be the mother of Christ. We can’t even begin to imagine the turmoil that must have set up in her mind when Mary heard this earth-shaking news. Saint Basil the Great writes about how all of creation must have stopped and held its breath during the time of the announcement and Mary’s response. After hearing what the angel had to say and she pondered what this news meant, all of creation stopped to listen. All attention was focused on that small home in Nazareth. The angels stopped, turned their gaze to her and listened. The Patriarchs, Judges, Prophets and Kings who had gone before stopped and directed their attention to Mary. Men and women of faith throughout the preceding ages wondered: What would she say? What would happen? Then, when Mary finally said “Yes. Let it be done to me according to thy word” all of heaven erupted into shouts of glory. Those not yet in heaven because the Messiah had not yet come to open the gates of paradise for them danced and sang and clapped in the ensuing pandemonium! Our salvation was near at hand! What a glorious day for all of humanity! Thank God for the faith of Mary!

This Sunday the gospel focuses on the raising of Lazarus from the dead. Amidst the grief of Lazarus’ death, the bewilderment of Martha and hopeful prayer of her sister Mary, Jesus comes to calm the stormy sea of confusion and chaos that engulf them. After listening to Martha’s “in your face” diatribe Jesus calms her down and reassures her that all will be well as He leads her to a profession of faith in Him as the Messiah.

Life is a series of ups and downs, high points and low points, times we remember and cherish – and times we’d just as soon forget. However, in all of these times we must never forget that despite events that cause us grief and disruption Jesus is here to lead us to His comforting embrace that He alone is all that matters in the world. The evil one will try to deflect us from the arms of Jesus by poisoning our minds with doubts and worries but our simple faith in the love and power of God in our lives will kick those poisons to the curb. The things that cause us distress are at times too many to be counted. Other people who are not Believers might ridicule our trust in God but, in the end, we will be vindicated.

The celebration of the convergence of these two great events this year should reinforce our confidence in the presence of God and our confidence that God alone is our shield, our strength, our joy, our peace, our salvation!

Msgr. Dennis L. Mikulanis, S.T.D.
Pastor

San Rafael Parish, San Diego

Catholic Church

News & Events

UPCOMING PARISH EVENTS

Sunday, March 26th, 2023

FROM THE DESK OF MSGR. DENNIS

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