Dear Fellow Parishioners, This Sunday we join countries on every inhabited continent in celebrating Father’s Day. While the Third Sunday in June is by far the most common day for celebrating it, there is a smaller group of 14 traditionally Catholic countries which celebrate Father’s Day on March 19, the Feast of St. Joseph, the […]
Dear St. Vincent de Paul community, My name is Fr. Mauricio Rodriguez. I am 39 years old, and I am originally from Silao, Guanajuato, Mexico. I was raised in a Catholic family, and I’m the youngest of four brothers. In 2006, I moved with my family to Sonoma County. In 2013, I started getting more […]
Dear Fellow Parishioners, This edition of “The Pastor’s Desk” might be called “The Tale of Two Vocations”. This weekend, Deacon Christopher Girolo, a long-time SV parishioner and alumnus of our parish schools, was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Santa Rosa. Ad multos annos! Vocations, like people, manifest themselves in an infinity of unique […]
Dear Fellow Parishioners, This week, Fr. Stuart is announcing his move from St. Vincent’s to St. Apollinaris Parish in Napa. No one will miss him as much as I will. In this diocese, while pastors are important in their own way, there is no more valued servant of the People of God than a talented […]
Dear Fellow Parishioners, Beginning next weekend, graduations and commencement ceremonies will take place all over the country, from Kindergartners in pint-sized caps and gowns, up to the doctoral level, and beyond. At the higher levels, graduates often add two-sided hoods, color-coded to the field of study – green for medicine, purple for law, brown for […]
Dear Fellow Parishioners, Mother’s Day is one of the very few, if only, observances celebrated throughout the world. It is truly transcultural. The vast majority of these celebrations take place either on the second Sunday in May, or on another day in Spring, the season of new life. (Consistent with this logic, Argentina celebrates Mother’s […]
Dear Fellow Parishioners, I would like to continue my discussion of the interior of our church, statues, windows, and other works of art. First, I’d like to share some general thoughts on the roles of art and technology in the history of the Christian, and then specifically “Catholic”, Church. For the first 1,500 years of […]
Dear Fellow Parishioners, Last week I shared a few thoughts about devotions in general, and more specifically about the devotional life and design of our church. The response was surprisingly positive, and I’ve decided to go a week or two further on this subject. The statues and devotional images behind the communion rail and facing […]
Dear Fellow Parishioners, I would like to address a few matters regarding Catholic devotions in general, and the devotional life of our parish. Over the past week, I was contacted by a very nice couple, new to the parish, who expressed an interest in establishing First Saturday devotion to Our Lady of Fatima. It would […]
Dear Fellow Parishioners, After forty days of Lent, and the three-day Triduum, we have arrived at the culmination of the Passion of Jesus Christ, which is his Resurrection. There are two main names for the celebration of the Resurrection: “Easter” and “Pascha.” “Easter” is derived from the Saxon feast of Eostre, whereas “Pascha” is […]