Saint Anthony Catholic Church San Jose

A message of invitation to all people with Indian heritage living in Almaden Valley: Dear All, I’m Fr. Tad, the new pastor at St. Anthony Church in Almaden Valley, San Jose.... In my previous parishes I have met many people from India and I have come to respect all of them. I have observed how hard working and devoted they are to their families and to their faith. My travels to India 3 years ago helped me to understand just a little bit better how spiritual the people from India can be. Recently I even noticed some Indian families coming to our parish every Tuesday evening and praying the rosary as well as having a great devotion to St. Anthony. For that reason I would like to extend an invitation to all of you with Indian heritage: If you don’t have a spiritual home and are looking for one, please know that St. Anthony Church in Almaden Valley is ready to welcome you wholeheartedly. We would love to see you and worship with you together. Our church has already a few wonderful Indian families as members of our community and it would be nice to see more such families joining us and enriching us with your cultural heritage. If you live in Almaden Valley or even further, please, stop by and see if this church could become your new spiritual home. Just know that you are welcome! Fr. Tad Pastor

Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Charles Borromeo. He was the Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584 and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation combat against the Protestant Reformation together with St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Philip Neri. During the plague in 1576, St Charles closed the churches and offered mass in the streets, so the faithful could participate. Almighty God, you have generously made known to man the myste...ries of your life through Jesus Christ your Son in the Holy Spirit. Enlighten my mind to know these mysteries which your Church treasures and teaches. Move my heart to love them and my will to live in accord with them. Give me the ability to teach this Faith to others without pride, without ostentation, and without personal gain. Let me realize that I am simply your instrument for bringing others to the knowledge of the wonderful things you have done for all your creatures. Help me to be faithful to this task that you have entrusted to me. St Charles Cares for the Plague Victims of Milan, Jacob Jordaens, 1655

Our Little Church got some thorough cleaning outdoors today and all the bushes were trimmed. The first visit to a beauty salon is accomplished.

Parishioners are welcome to join in this indoor service. The link to make reservations will be sent out each week by Fridays. Weather permitting, our Outdoor Sunday Masses are now at 9:30AM and 11:00AM under the Oak Tree. Worship Aids for our 3 Masses are available at: http://bit.ly/SASunday8AM http://bit.ly/SASunday930AM... https://bit.ly/SASunday11AM Please print your own copy and bring to Mass. See more

St. Anthony’s painting at our church. St. Anthony, keep our community members safe, intercede and pray for us.

New re-arrangement of our worship space in order to accomodate the 25% of the people coming for the indoor services. A big thank you to Doug, Son and Van for the many hours of their volunteer work.

Congratulations to a wonderful couple who entered today the bond of the holy matrimony.

Friday, October 23, 2020 GOSPEL Luke 12:54-59... Jesus said to the crowds, When you see a cloud rising in the west you say immediately that it is going to rainand so it does; and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south you say that it is going to be hotand so it is. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time? Reflection by Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus criticizes the crowd by saying that they could interpret the earth and the clouds, but did not know how to interpret the present time. So, how do we know what’s going on in the world? How do we read the signs of the times? We could do so politically, sociologically, culturally, or economically. All these ways are valuable lenses for viewing the world. But note the important difference in the Bible. What was peculiar about ancient Israel was their reading the world through theological lenses. When they wanted to read the signs of the times, they wondered what God was doing and why. The deepest and truest reading is the theological one that seeks after the divine causality and purpose that works under and through all the other lenses. The modern period has become largely conditioned by a Deist view of God, whereby God is construed as a distant object only vaguely related to the world. On this reading God does not actively involve himself in the affairs of economics, politics, or culture. Ah! But that’s not the biblical reading. For the biblical authors, God acts in and through all the ordinary events and dynamics of the world.

FOUR PRINCIPLES FOR CATHOLICS DURING ELECTION SEASON by Bishop Robert Barron Every four years, Catholics face an intense dilemma in regard to the vote. There are ardently Catholic Democrats who wonder how their co-religionists could possibly choose a Republican candidate, and there are ardently Catholic Republicans who express precisely the opposite opinion. And both sides, typically, look with eagerness to their bishops and priests to resolve the tension. Each presidential e...Continue reading

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After many hours of hard work by dry-cleaning the carpet in our church we have achieved the desired effect of cleanness. When our parishioners return for the indoor services, there will be a fresh and clean air to breath. Sanitization, safety and social distance will distinguish our worship space.

The foundation for our storage unit has been laid.

Thursday, October 15, 2020 MEMORIAL OF SAINT TERESA OF JESUS, VIRGIN AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH St. Teresa of Avila (15151582), also known as St. Teresa of Jesus, was born in Spain to a large, devout, and prominent Catholic family. Fascinated with the lives of the saints taught to her by her pious parents, as children she and a brother tried to run away from home to seek martyrdom among the Moors. After an uncle found them and returned them home, they built hermitages for them...selves in the family garden. At the age of 14 Teresa was plunged into sorrow upon the death of her mother; to find consolation she asked the Virgin Mary to be her new mother. When she began to exhibit worldly vanities, her father placed her in a convent to be educated with other ladies of her social class. Determined to avoid marriage, and motivated more by the need for security than love for God, at the age of twenty Teresa entered religious life as a Carmelite nun. For two decades she led what she describes as a mediocre prayer life, hindered by too much socialization with visitors. However, an intense prayer experience in her forties helped her to renounce worldly attachments and enter deeper into a life of prayer. She advanced rapidly and taught others to do the same, being encouraged by a vision of the place reserved for her in hell if she was unfaithful to God's graces. She had many profound mystical experiences for which she was often slandered and ridiculed. After the reform of her own life she worked hard to reform the laxity of many Carmelite convents, and was successful even while being greatly opposed in her efforts. She was a strong and important female figure of her era, and her great progress in the spiritual life led her to write the spiritual classics Interior Castle and The Way of Perfection. For these works St. Teresa of Avila was named the first female Doctor of the Church. Her feast day is October 15th. See more