February 21, 2021: The First Sunday of Lent

Genesis 9:8-15; 1 Peter 3:18-22; Mark 1:12-15. In the first reading, God establishes a covenant with Noah and his sons, promising never to flood the earth again. In the second reading, Peter writes to his community about those in the days of Noah who were saved through water. This prefigured baptism, which is what saves them now. In the Gospel, Jesus is tempted by Satan in the desert. He then goes to Galilee to begin his public ministry.

Domenica 1^A Di Quaresima

Avviarsi verso la Pasqua  è “salire” verso Gerusalemme. In cammino verso la festa della nostra liberazione riconosciamo I nostril peccati, chiedendo perdono. Nel deserto, Gesù vince le tentazioni e prende slancio per la sua missione di salvezza.

封齋期第一主日

封齋期第一主日的讀經都是關於耶穌在曠野四十天祈禱守齋，受魔鬼試探。瑪竇、瑪爾谷和路加都記載這事件，但若望福音並沒有。今年我們讀的是瑪爾谷福音。這篇福音記載得很簡單，並沒有像其他兩部福音那樣詳，細地記述魔鬼怎樣試探耶穌。

耶穌在曠野裏受魔鬼試探，祇是祂和魔鬼作戰的開始，而祂最成功地使魔鬼大敗，是祂被釘死在十字架之時。同樣，我們四十天的封齋期也是為加強我們力量，幫助我們一生不斷地抵抗各種引誘，每年都有封齋期，為的是幫助我們一次又一次地好好準備。以期能夠絕對滿全我們在領洗時所作的承諾：棄絕魔鬼，棄絕犯罪。當年梅瑟帶着以色列人在曠野四十年，先知厄里亞為逃命在曠野走了四十天，天主都默默在他們身邊，天主當然也會默佑我們勇敢地走好這世界的旅程，祇要我們時刻信賴祂，依靠祂。

From Fr. Gael: Rainbows are beautiful. And every time I see one, I am in awe of this beautiful phenomenon of nature. Our first reading from Genesis, however, reminds us that the rainbow is also a sign of God’s loving covenant with us. A covenant on God’s part, that is permanent and irreversible.

Christ came to put the definitive touch of God’s covenant with us. God will always love us no matter what. A covenant, however, is a two-sided agreement. Christ ratified the agreement by his, birth, his life, his death and gloriously by is Resurrection. How do we, individually, ratify our own compliance with the covenant. Mark in the Gospel gives us the answer: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the  GOSPEL.” That doesn’t need much clarification. Each of us has to respond to the covenant in a particular way. We have to repent (change in our lives what needs to be changed). We have to individually believe in it (live the Gospel day by day [some days better than others, always with the opportunity to REPENT]). The next time we see a rainbow, it will offer us a chance to renew our individual covenant. The rainbow is beautiful, but even more so the beauty of God who is faithful to his covenant of LOVE for us. –Fr. Gael Sullivan SDB

Mass Intentions For The Week

Sunday                                 February 21, 2021
8:45       Clementine & Giosue Bresolin +
The Aicardi, Dal Cin, & Camoriani Families +
10:15     Fr. Mario Rosso, SDB + – Carla Ferrando +
12:00     Peter Domenici, III + – Luigi & Rosa Mangini + 

Monday                               February 22, 2021
7:00        Frank Sanguinetti +
9:00        Gaetano Alioto + – Gig Ghiglieri +

Tuesday                              February 23, 2021
7:00        Lorene & Valerio Cuneo +
9:00        Maria Guidi & Albertina Sultana +

Wednesday                       February 24, 2021
7:00        Birthday of Amelia DeNicolai +
9:00        Carmela & Margaret Passanisi +

Thursday                             February 25, 2021
7:00        Patrick Louis Ross +
9:00        Elena, Angelo, & Delia Serafini +

Friday                                   February 26, 2021
7:00        Thanksgiving for Fr. Mario Rosso, SDB +
9:00        Joseph Leo Torre & Family +

Saturday                             February 27, 2021
7:30        Fr. Dave Zunino, SDB +
9:00        Gary Shelton +
5:00        The Giurlani Family +

Rest in Peace

Fr. Bob Stein, SDB

Alan Cabito

Particular Items

Thank You! We are deeply touched and grateful for the prayers and support so many of you have sent for those of us (clergy and staff) who tested positive for Covid. What an example of God turning all things to good! Please keep praying for quick recovery! The Church and office are scheduled to re-open on March 1.

Lenten Disciplines and Opportunities

Abstinence from meat is observed on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and all the Fridays of Lent by all Catholics 14 years of age and older.

Almsgiving: During Lent, the Church encourages generosity to local, national, and worldwide programs of sharing.

Reception of the Sacraments: During Lent, the Church encourages attendance at daily Mass, reception of the Eucharist, and Reconciliation (Confession).

Friday Virtual Stations and Soup Supper: On all the Friday’s of Lent, our parish groups will be organizing online Stations of the Cross, Lenten Soup Suppers, and faith sharing. Start time is 6:55PM.  Here is the login info, which will be the same for all meetings:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82469417915?pwd=TnVLSEtmUHVRYVZZSEtMYlZzSm5Edz09

Meeting ID: 824 6941 7915
Passcode: 794049

Confessions: Please make an appointment for confession by calling the parish office.

End abortion with 40 Days for Life! Join us in peacefully praying for the end to abortion in San Francisco! The 40 Days for Life campaign runs from February 17 to March 28 at the current Planned Parenthood location at 1650 Valencia Street from Mondays through Saturdays and the upcoming Planned Parenthood location at 1522 Bush Street on Sundays. You may sign up for vigil hours on the website www.40daysforlife.com/sanfrancisco. For more information, please email us at sf40daysforlife@gmail.com or leave a message at 408-840-DAYS (3297)

Eucharistic Adoration/Holy Hour: Come and share your joys and struggles with Jesus—He wants to see you and hear about your day! Every Wednesday, Holy Hour streams from 7:00-8:00 PM.

Saints Peter and Paul Salesian School Accepting Applications: Our K-8 Salesian school is accepting applications for this year and next. Call the school at 415-421-5219 for more information, and visit sspeterpaulsf.org/ to learn more about the school.

Religious Education-CCD:  The 2020-2021 Religious Education-CCD program will begin on October 4, 2020. We are welcoming and accepting students from Pre-K to Grade 8.  During this unusual period of the pandemic, all our classes will be held online via Zoom. The goal of the program is to help children to grow in faith and working together with parents we hope to help the children come to experience God in their own lives and to familiarize them with the teachings and traditions of the Catholic Church. Our program is focused on Public school students who do not have an opportunity to have religious education in their school.  Classes are held every Sunday from 9:45am to 11:00am.  Kindly fill out the 2020-2021 CCD registration form on our website: parish.sspeterpaulsf.org/religious-education/

Daily Rosary: Before the lockdown, parishioners were praying the Rosary daily following the 7:00AM Mass. Let’s start this up again!

The Year of St. Joseph! On December 8, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, Pope Francis, in his Apostolic Letter Patris Corde (With a Father’s Heart) declared this to be the year of St. Joseph. How much we all love this humble yet enormously important saint!

In his book Consecration to St. Joseph, Fr. Joseph Calloway writes that consecration to St. Joseph means “that you acknowledge that he is your spiritual father, and you want to be like him. To show it, you entrust yourself entirely to his paternal care so that he can lovingly help you acquire his virtues and become holy…St. Joseph, in turn, will give those consecrated to him his loving attention, protection and guidance.”

The first person to entrust themself to the spiritual care of Joseph and Mary was actually Jesus, he added.

“And so we give ourselves to their care, just like Jesus did when he was growing up. He lived under their roof, he was under their care, and he didn’t just go to his mom, you know, he went to his dad as well to St Joseph. So that’s what it is, entrusting ourselves to St. Joseph’s spiritual fatherhood to help us grow in virtue and closer to Christ.”

Religious Education – RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults):  We welcome adults who would like to enter the Catholic faith, or those who have not received the Sacraments of Confirmation and or Eucharist.  During this unusual period of the pandemic, all our classes will be held online via Zoom. Classes will be held every Thursday from 7-8pm. Kindly fill out the RCIA Participant General Information form on our website parish.sspeterpaulsf.org/religious-education/ and forward to ete@sspeterpaulsf.org

HELP: Remember your Church still needs your gifts. Go here to help: http://parish.sspeterpaulsf.org/donate/

Liturgical Calendar
Sunday                 21           First Sunday in Ordinary Time
Monday               22           The Chair of Saint Peter the Apostle
Tuesday               23           Lenten Weekday, Polycarp; Bishop, Martyr
Wednesday         24           Lenten Weekday
Thursday             25           Lenten Weekday
Friday                  26           Lenten Weekday
Saturday              27           Lenten Weekday
Sunday                 28           Second Sunday of Lent

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