St. John the Baptist Catholic Church

Dear Parishioners,

Several points: 1. Thank you so much for your generosity last week for Haiti.  We will see that your precious love offerings will go directly to the Little Sisters of St. Therese and Sr. Denise.   Your sharing and caring means a lot to me personally.  We’ll keep you informed.

2. Last Sunday GRIP held its annual meeting and reviewed the past year and plans for the future.  Our church was signaled out with a certificate of appreciation for our many volunteers in all aspects of GRIP, from the board to serving food to financial support.  I am very proud of Joe Orr, who served as vice chair of GRIP.  There is always room for you to participate.  Just phone the rectory.

3. The second reading of St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians is about love.  “Love is patient, love is kind, love is never jealous … it is not inflated … it does not brood over injuries … it does not rejoice in wrong-doing … it bears all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never fails.”

I am so proud of the many members of our church who live this life of love and service.  Jesus is pleased with your stewardship.

Peace,
Fr. John

Dear Parishioners,

My heart breaks for Haiti and our sisters and brothers who have been devastated by a huge earthquake.  For the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, this is a disaster of epic proportions.  The major casualties took place in the capital city, Port-au-Prince.  Our sister parish in Fond Tortue is in the mountains, a good distance from the epicenter.  We know little of the damage in our sister parish.  However, we simply must send prayers and support to those affected by the earthquake.  To this end we are collecting money to help relief efforts in that country.  Financial donations should be made out to St. John the Baptist Church – Haiti.

St. Paul in today’s reading reminds us that we are all members of the Body of Christ.  When one member of the body hurts, the whole body is in pain.  Let’s try in our small way to relieve some of the suffering of our sisters and brothers in Haiti.

Peace,

Fr. John Maxwell

Tickets are now on sale for our seventh annual parish crab feed, this year known as Cupid’s Crab Feast.

It will be held on Saturday evening, Feb. 13 − the day before Valentine’s Day and the last Saturday before Lent. Tickets are $40 a person (the same as the last two years), and $45 at the door. The Navea family will be our chefs.

No-host cocktails and hors d’oeuvres will start at 6 p.m., followed by dinner at 7 o’clock.

You can purchase tickets at the church exits or by going online to www.sjcrabfeed.com.

Seating is limited, so please buy your tickets now!

. . . and Donate a Gift

If you received a Christmas gift that you don’t need or which duplicates something you already have, please consider donating it for St. John’s upcoming Cupid’s Crab Feast auction.  You can drop off your donation at the parish office, or call us at 232-5659 for a pickup.

Sr. Denis holds donated medicines.

The second collection for the Third Sunday in ordinary time, Jan 23-24, will be used for Haiti.  The money will be sent directly to the Little Sisters of Saint Teresa (Sr. Denise).  Sr. Denise will use the donation to help the people in her section of Haiti.

Dear Parishioners,

In the second reading today, St. Paul tells the Corinthians – and he also tells us at St. John’s Church – that the Holy Spirit gives unique gifts to each one of us.  That is wonderful to think about.  The Holy Spirit has a plan for each one of us.  The Holy Spirit gives us special talents and gifts and also time to use these blessings to build up the Body of Christ in El Cerrito.

Please take a few moments to ask yourself: “What are my gifts?”  “What special talents did God give me?”

Some of our gifts seem unimportant, but they are critical to living our lives as God intended.  For example: Some of us can make wonderful soup that feeds not only the body but also the soul.  Some of us are great cleaners, and we use our talents to beautify the church and perhaps our sick neighbor’s home.  Some of us have a compassionate heart, and that allows us to reach out to the sick and lonely and frail.  Some of us have the gifts of deep prayer, and our mission in life is to pray for others.  Some of us are teachers, and we use our gifts to educate both children and adults.

The bottom line is that we are all gifted Christians.  Our challenge is how we use these gifts of the Holy Spirit to make this world a better place.

Pease,

Fr. John