IN THE DIOCESE
tvc.dsj.org | November 20, 2018
3
In The Spirit of Thanksgiving: Inaugural Society Of Saint Joseph Legacy Mass
By Carolina Scipioni
Endowment & Planned
Giving Program
Manager, Catholic
Community Foundation
of Santa Clara County
More than 1,500 years ago, Saint
Ambrose wrote, “No duty is more urgent
than that of returning thanks.” This is still
true today, especially during this time
of Thanksgiving. While our gratitude
can never equal the greatness of the
gifts we receive, we are called to return
thanks in any way we can.
It was in this spirit of thanksgiving
that on October 14, we gathered at Saint
Christopher Parish as a community
of faithful to recognize the Founding
Members of the Society of Saint Joseph
at the Diocese’s fi rst Legacy Mass.
Named after our patron saint,
this honorary society is comprised of
Catholic men and women who have
made a commitment to name a local
parish, Catholic elementary school, the
Diocese of San Jose or any ministry of
the Diocese as a benefi ciary of a gift (of
any size) in their estate plans.
Bishop Patrick J. McGrath and
Bishop Oscar Cantú celebrated a beau-
tiful liturgy that exuded the spirit of
thanksgiving. Together, we prayed in
thanksgiving for the many blessings
we have received, in thanksgiving for
these legacy gifts which will allow us to
continue to build our Catholic Church
and most of all, and in thanksgiving
for the presence of God in our lives.
It is through Him that all these things
are possible.
Following Mass, the bishops, pastors
and parishioners from diff erent corners
of our Diocese joined together at a
reception and had the chance to meet
each other, tell their stories and share
our Catholic faith. Wendy Brennan,
Development Director at Saint Patrick
Elementary School, had the chance to
meet a former teacher who has planned
for a legacy gift for the school. Wendy
shared, “Saint Patrick School is elated
that an alumna teacher has chosen to
remember us in her estate plan. Gifts
like this help guarantee that we can
continue our mission to provide a
Catholic education to those for whom
it would otherwise be out of reach.”
Joe Naylor, Chief Development Of-
fi cer of the Diocese was also delighted
to witness supporters and benefi cia-
Diocese Celebrates the Feast of Santo Niño
The Diocesan Council of Filipino
Catholics (DCFC), Diocese of San Jose,
invites one and all to the annual cel-
ebration of the of the nine-day Novena
Masses in honor of Santo Niño (Holy
Child) from January 10 to January 18
to be held at diff erent parishes.
Bishop Patrick J. McGrath and Bish-
op Oscar Cantú will be the celebrants
at the fi nal celebration on Saturday,
January 19, at noon at the Cathedral
Basilica of Saint Joseph, 80 S. Market
Street, San Jose.
A colorful procession of the Filipino
“Sinulog and Karakol” will take place
in the Cathedral at 11:45 a.m preceding
the Mass. At 6:30 p.m., a dinner dance,
capping the celebration will be held
at the Pavalkis Hall of Saint John the
Baptist church, 279 S. Main St., Milpitas.
Ticket is $30 prepaid and $35 at the
door. For information, call Lou (408)
439-9414, Poi (408) 729-7228 or Marilyn
(408) 834-9577.
“The Society of Saint
Joseph allows the pastor
and parish community the
opportunity to recognize
and celebrate the
parishioner’s gift while
they are still with us.”
-Joe Naylor
Chief Development Offi
cer
Diocese of San Jose
ries come together for this event. He
shared, “In most cases, pastors don’t
fi nd out that their parish is the recipi-
ent of an estate gift until they receive
the paperwork from an attorney after
the parishioner has died. The Society
of Saint Joseph allows the pastor and
parish community the opportunity to
recognize and celebrate the parishio-
ner’s gift while they are still with us.”
Pastors were grateful for this op-
portunity. “I know that a legacy gift
is fueled by both love and hope for
the future and, as such, it means more
than fi nancial support,” said Father
Saju Joseph, pastor of Saint Martin
of Tours Parish. He was excited to
see some of his parishioners who are
Founding Society Members at the
mass and reception in October. “All
year long I thank God for the love and
hope these parishioners give, and I
also cherish this once-a-year opportu-
nity to sit with them and express my
heart-felt gratitude.”
The Society of Saint Joseph is man-
aged by The Catholic Community
Foundation of Santa Clara County in
partnership with the Diocese of San
Jose. Mary Quilici Aumack, Executive
Director of the Foundation, is delighted
to see long time parishioners join the
society every week.
Since May of this year, the Society
has welcomed 78 members who have
made provisions for 29 diff erent par-
ishes, Catholic elementary schools and
ministries of the Diocese of San Jose.
“All these gifts whether large or small”,
Aumack said, “will provide FOREVER
VALUE for these faith communities and
for this, we are grateful.”
The next Legacy Mass & Recep-
tion will be held in the fall of 2019
and we look forward to welcoming
more members. Visit our Society
of Saint Joseph page to learn more
about becoming a Founding Member
cfoscc.org/societyofsaintjoseph or call
Carolina Scipioni at (408) 995-5219.
Saint Cyprian Parish Simbang Gabi Schedule
December 15 5:00 p.m.
December 20 6:30 p.m.
December 16 6:00 p.m.
December 21 6:30 p.m.
December 17 6:30 p.m.
December 22 5:00 p.m.
December 18 6:30 p.m.
December 23 6:00 p.m.
December 19 6:30 p.m.
Visit www.dsj.org/simbanggabi for a complete schedule of Masses.
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