San Damiano Retreat

Lord, make me a channel of your peace. That where there is hatred, I may bring love. That where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness, That wher...e there is discord, I may bring harmony, That where there is error, I may bring truth, That where there is doubt, I may bring faith, That where there is despair, I may bring hope, That where there are shadows, I may bring light, That where there is sadness, I may bring joy. Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort, than to be comforted, To understand than to be understood, To love than to be loved. For it is by forgetting self that one finds. It is by forgiving that one is forgiven, And it is by dying that one awakens to eternal life. Amen. *This is the version of the St Francis Prayer that Mother Teresa prayed. Picture: The River Lude in Lancaster

San Damiano Retreat will be closed on July 5 in observance of Independence Day. Happy holiday to you. As Pope Francis says in Fratelli Tutti: "freedom proclaims that we can 'build harmony and understanding between different cultures and religions. It also testifies to the fact that, since the important things we share are so many, it is possible to find a means of serene, ordered and peaceful coexistence, accepting our differences and rejoicing that, as children of the one God, we are all brothers and sisters'"

Artwork by Frederick Fiebig.

God speed, Fr. Max.

A while back, we posted a video of 2 newborn baby deer under one of the benches. It is hard to say for sure, but we think this is one of those babies, a bit more grown.

Join Jim Briggs at San Damiano for "Conscious Aging" July 23-24. https://conta.cc/3wQkOOH

Pulled in too many directions? A Private Retreat at San Damiano offers an individual the opportunity to step away from the busy world and refresh/renew body, mind and spirit. www.sandamiano.org

In the sure and certain hope of the Resurrection, we inform you of the passing of Rena Grant. Rena, a long time friend and collaborator in many of our ministries, including the Covenant Program, Retreat ministry, spiritual direction and our Review Board, died Sunday June 13, 2021, the Feast of St. Anthony.

Opinion is really the lowest form of human knowledge. It requires no accountability, no understanding. The highest form of knowledge is Empathy, for it requires us to suspend our egos, and live in another's world. -Bill Bullard

The Daily Thomas Merton "May we not neglect the silence printed in the center of our being. It will not fail us."... ~Thomas Merton #thedailythomasmerton

When that for which we hoped for arrives and faith and hope grow quiet, the work of love remains. St. Augustine

The only bird that will peck at an Eagle, is the crow. He sits on his back and bites his neck. The Eagle does not respond or fight with the crow. It doesn't was...te time or energy on the crow. It simply opens its wings and begins to rise higher in the sky. The higher the flight, the harder it is for the crow to breathe. Eventually the crow falls due to lack of oxygen. Stop wasting your time with the crows. Just take them to your heights and they'll fade. May you fly to new heights....

The Interfaith Community of San Ramon Valley is offering a retreat series on Faith and Racial Equality. They invite you to a zoom mass Sunday January 24 to atone for the sin of racism. https://www.interfaithccc.org//atonement-service-for-the-/

Rustic Treasures sale ends this evening. Lots of great items to bid on at https://sandami2021.ggo.bid/

We're having a crab feed to go on February 12. Sign up by Feb 8 to secure a crabby meal for your Valentine. https://sandamiano.org/events/crab-feed-to-go/

Rustic Treasures On-line Rummage Sale runs January 15-22. Bid for unique artwork, household items, electronics and more! https://sandami2021.ggo.bid/bidding/package-browse

Kings. Happy birthday, #MLK.

Thank you to our Veterans for your sacrifices and service. Photo by Craig Adderley from Pexels

Please join us on November 14 via Zoom for this retreat based on the insights of the book, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy by Mark Vroegop, the Psalms, prayer story telling, poetry, music and ritual for our day. Your guides Bidi and Patti Keenan draw upon their many years as spiritual directors. Limit of 25. Sign up today at https://rb.gy/tmgg1r

A #BlackCatholicHistoryMonth event. Email: [email protected] Event: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/122107178859

And it is also election day. Holy One, You who are beyond all naming and all claiming, as I rise this morning, I come to You in prayer for this world and this nation. On this momentous day of reckoning, this time filled with both palpable fear and cherished hope, I pray the power of Your Word and the presence of Your Holy Spirit will be with us as we vote. Grant that unity in Your intent may prevail over enmity in ours, that the high and noble vision of justice, mercy and hum...ility may nurture resolve in every soul, and that the narrow selfishness and greed which has infected us may burst into a breadth of vision that grows a renewed nation and a hopeful world. O God, keep every voter safe this day from pandemic, hatred, and all forms of sin. Ennoble each one’s heart, strengthen each one’s courage, and plant in each a higher purpose that together moves us according to Your eternal will and way. Amen. Rev Dr. Davida Foy Crabtree

Blessed All Souls Day to you. This week, please zoom with us for "Prayer and Temperament" on Nov 3. Fr. Ken will discuss "Fratelli Tutti on Nov 6. www.sandamiano.org

Volunteers make our world go around. Eagle Scout Nicholas Phillips has built a flagstone pathway in the Canticle Garden. He has aptly named it "Pathway to Paradise." We send a heart-felt thank you to Nicholas for adding to the beauty of San Damiano.

Can you believe that it's time to move the clocks back an hour on November 1? What will you do with your extra hour? We have a suggestion, provided you are 21 and older. Join Jan Stegner for "Drinking with the Saints" Zoom cocktail hour

Make a difference this holiday. Shop for gifts at smile.amazon.com/ch/94-1674666 to generate donations for San Damiano Retreat Center

The man doesn’t know that there is a snake underneath. The woman doesn’t know that there is a stone crushing the man. The woman thinks: I am going to fall! And... I can’t climb because the snake is going to bite me! Why can’t the man use a little more strength and pull me up! The man thinks: I am in so much pain! Yet I’m still pulling you as much as I can! Why don’t you try and climb a little harder!? The moral is you can’t see the pressure the other person is under, and the other person can’t see the pain you’re in. This is life, whether it’s with work, family, feelings or friends, we should try to understand each other. Learn to think differently, perhaps more clearly and communicate better. A little thought and patience goes a long way. Be kind to people. Everyone we meet is fighting their own battle.

[pictured: Sam Nasada OFM, St. Barbara Province] Franciscan Friar Joe Nangle, OFM, has commented on our upcoming elections using this Sunday's Gospel and quotes... from Pope Francis's new encyclical 'Fratelli Tutti'.... 'The memory of Jesus’ words, give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and going ahead to pay the required tax exemplifies God-fearing citizenship on the Lord’s part. 'This specific detail of our common memory has a special relevance for us at this historical moment. As both Christians and Americans we are faced with the need for discernment about the current election of political leadership in our country. Giving to God what is God’s in this context means voting for the candidates who will best reflect the servant leadership which Christ preached and modeled. And it will be good if in this discernment our memories recall the very next Chapter of Matthew’s Gospel. He gives to Caesar by calling out at length the hypocritical religious-political leadership of his country: Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, you preach what you do not practice; all your works are performed to be seen; blind guides, you are like whitewashed tombs, beautiful on the outside but inside are filled with dead men’s bones. The memory of the Lord’s strong words teaches us that faithful citizenship at times includes, even demands, pointing out the sins committed by the agents of crimes particularly against the poor, the forgotten, the discarded within our country and abroad. In this regard Pope Francis could well have entitled one part of Fratelli Tutti Words to People of Good Will As They Vote on November 3." 'As part of his global social analysis in the first chapter he says: In some countries a concept of popular and national unity... is creating new forms of selfishness and a loss of the social sense under the guise of defending national interests. (No. 11) The one thing it leaves in its wake is the drive to limitless consumption and expressions of empty individualism. (No. 13) Political life no longer has to do with healthy debates about long-term plans to improve people’s lives and to advance the common good, but only with slick marketing techniques primarily aimed at discrediting others. (No, 15) 'Our memory of Jesus today takes us finally to his reply to John the Baptist who asks if Jesus is really the long-awaited Messiah. Affirming his God-given vocation, Jesus says of his public ministry what Isaiah (Chapter 61) had prophesized about the Chosen One through him the poor have the good news preached to them. The bottom line for us who remember Jesus and are called to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s has to be: which among the candidates for public office at this time will best represent the good news of the Gospel for the poor of our nation and the world?' [Sunday Lectionary Readings link:] https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101820.cfm