St. Joseph Basilica

06/03/2026

During Father Steve’s last Mass at St. Joseph, he spoke about the Most Holy Trinity and their relationship with one another. In the Trinity, we see that we are truly made for community. He says, “the Most Holy Trinity, they are constantly at work and in relationship, God the Father loves the Son, sacrificed His Son for salvation. God the Son loves the Father by His perfect obedience on the cross. And the Holy Spirit is a fruit, the expression of the love between the Father and the Son.” In the relationship among our God in three Persons, they set an example of what our relationships could look like. Father Steve highlights three main traits of a Trinitarian love: equality, sacrifice, and purpose.

In our relationships, does there always have to be a power dynamic, or is it possible to treat each other as equals with respect, dignity, and mutual love? We see this in the Trinity where the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit form an equal triangle. There is no hierarchy in the Trinity; they are all equal.

Another trait of Trinitarian love is sacrifice. “God, the Father's sacrifice, His most prized possession, is His only Begotten Son, right? And the Son obediently sacrifices Himself for our salvation, and the Holy Spirit is that advocate that constantly is at work in our lives.” Because it is through sacrifice, it is in denying ourselves, losing ourselves, that we are saying that it is not just about ourselves anymore. In losing ourselves, we are choosing to make space for another.

The third trait is purpose. What is the purpose of our relationships? It is to be disciples of Jesus. As we are perfectly loved by God, so are we called to love as He has loved us. Though we may not be perfect, the love that God sends through us is. In our faith, we are called to imitate the love of our Triune God in our relationships. So we ask ourselves, “What am I missing? What do I need to work on?” so that we can carry out God’s love for us and reveal it to others.

In your life, which relationships do you have that allow you to experience all three traits? Which ones need some more work?

https://youtu.be/x3Wmxr83HSA

06/02/2026

Join our community in this annual sacred tradition of bringing Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament out into the streets of Alameda!

Find other additional and important information on the second slide! SAVE the photo to remember all the details. Thank you!!! 😊

05/28/2026

We will miss you. Fr. Steve!
Read this week's E-news/E-bulletin filled with inspiring updates. Click on the link to read:
https://conta.cc/4uIswbO

05/27/2026

Become what God created you to be.

05/26/2026

When we allow Christ to be at our center, when we allow the Holy Spirit to fill us, when we choose to be bold in our love, then we are doing what we were called to do--to love another as He has loved us.

As Father Mario shares in his homily from the 5th Sunday of Easter, he says, "we are made for love. Which means if we're made for love, we're made to be gathered into a community. And if we're made to be gathered into a community, then that means that we are made for the Church. We are made for the Catholic Church, we could say, because this is Christ's community. He wills that all people be called into a relationship with Him. Everyone, the sinner, and the one sinned against. He wants everyone to be a part of His community."

So thank you, St. Joseph Basilica community, for being here. Thank you for sharing yourselves with us. Thank you for making this community so warm and beautiful.

We also can't thank our priests enough for being the Good Shepherd to us, for being His voice, for herding us to where we must go. We see all that you do, and definitely, God does, too. We are so grateful and so proud of all of you. Trust that you are always in our prayers.

05/26/2026

Last Sunday, we were so blessed by the powerful words that Father Alvaro spoke during his homily. Clearly, the boldness we experienced was truly something that came straight from above.

In his homily, Father Alvaro reintroduces to us the Holy Spirit, who is the third person of the Holy Trinity, the One that comes to kindle the fire of love within us. It descends upon us at Mass, every time we celebrate the Eucharist, as it did when the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles during Pentecost. It is the same Spirit whose presence we invoke every time we make the sign of the cross. It is the same Spirit who was there at the very beginning in the Old Testament, through Christ’s life, death and resurrection, to the apostles, all the way until today in the Catholic Church. Here is a quote from Fr. Alvaro’s message yesterday:

“We are strengthened so that we can proclaim with boldness that Jesus Christ is alive. That Jesus is risen from the dead, because no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit. No one. The Holy Spirit is the one who gives us the grace to become saints. Brothers and sisters. The hour has come to become the saints that God created us to be. The hour has come to stop treating holiness, like it is only for a few people. The hour has come for us to decide to make a decision to whom we will serve. Holiness is our calling. Is your calling. We were not created only to work, to make money, to buy things, to eventually die. We were created to become saints.

Come Holy Spirit, and set us on fire. Come and wake us up, as you did with the apostles. Only after receiving the Holy Spirit, the apostles were able to achieve so much. They didn't go back to their own way of life. They didn't just go fishing again, and start taking taxes again. No, the apostles, because of the truth of the resurrection, they left their homes, and they left many of their loved ones. And they left their communities, and their safety, and they went out to the ends of the earth, to other countries where people did not want to hear about Jesus, and they proclaim it with boldness, and with joy, and with passion.

They left their comfort zones, and their families and jobs, and their livelihood, to spread the gospel, because they saw with their own eyes, the Risen Lord. And they said, I have no choice. I have to preach with boldness. I have to share this Gospel message and fulfill the mission that Jesus gave us because He did rise. He did rise, and we saw it with our own eyes, so we cannot stay silent. Now, ask today the Holy Spirit, to unleash the greatness of our soul, to unleash the greatness of what God has placed inside of us, that we can fulfill our mission on earth as well.

Without the Holy Spirit, the apostles wouldn't have been able to fulfill the mission that Jesus had given them. Because if we lack the Holy Spirit, we can do nothing. But we can do everything with Him.”

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Now in the comments below, feel free to share with us what you feel when you hear "we were created to become saints". What is it calling you to do? We'd love to hear it, so we can bless each other and pray for each other. Spread the fire of the Holy Spirit in you!🔥 Thank you!!!

We could not have been more blessed by the powerful words that Fath...

05/26/2026

St. Joseph’s first outdoor Mass for Pentecost Sunday was fire. We had four priests in their bright red vestments concelebrating the Mass, the quad was packed, the weather was perfect, and Father Alvaro spoke of the boldness that the Holy Spirit gives us. We could not have imagined a better start to our outdoor celebrations with Christ at its very center. (Plus the party afterwards!)

Let us remember some of the words that Fr. Alvaro shared with us yesterday, that it may move us to become a flame of God’s love for others and help us discern how God is calling us to become a saint in our own special way:

“Today, I pray that God will send His Holy Spirit upon you, to unleash the hidden greatness of your soul, because God has a mission, that only you can fulfill, but you have to say yes. Yes to the Holy Spirit. Yes, to Jesus Christ. You have to. You may not be called to a physical martyrdom in the 21st century, but God is calling you to die in small ways. God is calling you to speak the truth. Even when it’s uncomfortable. He’s going to call you to be bold when you might not want to. He is going to call you to stand when others want to run away. That’s how the Gospel is spread, because that’s what the Holy Spirit does. The Holy Spirit will send you beyond your wildest dreams. The Holy Spirit will fill you with a boldness that no one on earth can begin to comprehend, and no one on earth can match, because it is from God, because it’s from above, it comes from Him.

If you really want to live a life that’s filled with purpose, invite the Holy Spirit into your heart, immerse yourself in the Word of God, ask God to reveal to you what you were designed for, what your mission is, how you can better love. Ask God to reveal to you how you can become a saint. Believe me, God chooses imperfect people like the apostles, like you and I, and fills those imperfect people with His perfect love.”

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We would also like to thank everyone who made this happen! We are all SO blessed because of what you have contributed. Trust that God smiles as He sees every little thing you do for Him. Thank you also to those who attended. You have enriched us all by your very presence.🙏

05/24/2026

Pentecost Sunday - Happy Birthday Church!

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.

“But you will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”-Acts 1:8