St. Joseph Basilica

09/05/2026

An Alpha testimony—Speaking in front of people has always been one of my greatest fears. Whether it’s forty people or four people, I would get overwhelmed very quickly. So I asked God, “Why? Why am I so afraid? And if I must speak, what do I say?” Then God answered me by giving me food.

Whenever I am asked to eat, it always tells me that someone is thinking about me. Once, my Alpha leader told me the meatballs were really good. But then her jaw dropped when she saw me take only one small piece. You see, I don’t know how to eat when I feel sad or scared or, you know, when I feel like my heart is bleeding. But every time someone reminds me to get food, someone brings me food, or someone shares their food, it feels like they see me. It feels like Jesus Himself sits by my side, looks me in the eye, and says, “Before anything else, let Me love you first.”

A few days later, I arrived early at Alpha. But I was not yet in the best space, so I decided to step away. Then Jesus called me and said, “Come back. I have something to show you.” When I returned, the food was set aside, and everyone was finished eating. I didn’t really mind because I felt too gutted to eat. Then out of nowhere, somebody says to me, “Take this plate. This food is for you.” They even wrote my name on it.

Lord, how can I ever repay You for the love You give to me? Not only do You love me first, not only do You hold me when my heart is bleeding. You see me wanting to leave, yet I see You simply wanting me back. And then You say to me, “I will never run out of love for you. I have placed your name in My heart for you to know that this love that I carry is meant specifically for you.”

In the beginning, I could barely speak. But today, I stand in front of a crowd of over 400 because all must hear about the One whose love is perfect. The One whose love puts even our greatest fears to shame. The One who offers us His Body and His Blood so that we may never hunger and thirst again. The One whose name we proclaim. The One whose name is Jesus.

So I ask you today, what does your heart seek? What do you fear? Allow yourself to be fed. Allow yourself to be loved. Try Alpha.

09/03/2026

Curious about the picture? Check out this week's E-news for the scoop and other parish updates.
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09/03/2026

See you on Friday at 6PM at ST. BARNABAS for ice cream and Mass!

Meet at St. Barnabas, okay? NOT at Notre Dame Hall. See you there!!!

09/03/2026

Brothers and sisters, there are many voices competing for our hearts, and some of them will look very convincing.

Some will even appear holy because sometimes the enemy appears as an angel of light.

So when a powerful thought comes, bring it to prayer, bring it to Jesus. If it is something serious, bring it to a priest, to a spiritual director, bring it to confession.

Don’t keep going over and over in your mind with the same thought because the enemy loves secrecy. But if you bring things into the light, you expose the lies from the evil one, and he loses power.

And the voice of Jesus in today’s Gospel is very clear. Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.

Even if we suffer here on earth, remember that our final destination is Jesus—is heaven.

If it takes you away from Jesus, no matter how beautiful the argument is or convincing, it sounds, don’t buy it. It is a spiritual fake bill.

So discern wisely because the Holy Spirit will always lead you to Jesus Christ and never away from Him.

Always lead you closer to Jesus Christ, and never away from Him.

09/01/2026

Last Sunday, we had the St. Vincent de Paul Fundraising event at Selhorst Hall at St. Barnabas. It began with food and music, then came the heartwarming testimonies of those whose lives were changed by the programs of SVdP. We saw during this event how every bit of help we give truly goes a long way. After the raffle winners were announced, everybody left with both tummies and hearts that were full.

We would like to thank all the organizers and volunteers who helped make this event possible. Thank you as well to those who came and supported this meaningful endeavor. Thank you for faithfully carrying out the mission of St. Vincent de Paul today.

If you are interested in supporting SVdP, find out more below:
https://www.svdp-alameda.org/

09/01/2026

Allow God to take full possession of your heart. Let yourself be duped by the Lord.

09/01/2026

Don't come alone!
Bring 3 people in your life who are looking for community or exploring faith.
Join us at St Joseph Basilica - Notre Dame Hall
1014 Lafayette Street, Alameda
See you at 6:30pm!

09/01/2026

This week, Father Alvaro uses the analogy of spiritual fake bills. Fake bills have to look real in order to fool people. Otherwise, no one would fall for it. The evil spirit works in the same manner. It will always mask itself under the appearance of an angel of light to fool others, so it is very important to be able to discern whether something is truly from God.

In the Gospel, Peter says to Jesus, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” Then Jesus says, “"Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do." It may seem natural that Peter would not want Jesus to suffer because we humans do not want our loved ones to suffer. But Jesus knew better. This was no ordinary suffering–this was the will of the Father. It was presented with a mask of love, but the evil one was actually trying to tempt Jesus.

Many times, the voices will sound very convincing. We will be presented with two seemingly equally good things. But the question we must ask ourselves is, “Which one is for me? Where is God leading me?” It is not enough to ask which one is easy or difficult because Jesus never promised that it was going to be easy. Jesus did promise that He will be with us always until the end of the ages. So what we ask instead is, “Is this leading me towards God or away from God?” When we choose to follow Him, God gives us a sense of joy and peace that only our great God can give. Likewise, we know it is the evil spirit when it brings about anxiety, anger, or resentment. So pay attention to the movement of the Spirit within you.

So how do we remain strong against temptation? How do we know if it is the voice of the Father? We let ourselves be duped–be duped by the Lord. We allow Him to burn a fire within our hearts, a fire that is imprisoned in our bones to the point that we cannot endure it anymore. That we need to go out and become missionaries and apostles that are sent to proclaim the Word of God without fear. If we allow the Lord Jesus to take full possession of our hearts, God’s voice will be the loudest and clearest among all.

This week, Father Alvaro uses the analogy of spiritual fake money. ...

08/31/2026

Last week, the youth group focused on who is number one, and that is God. With that, they played games all about square one. They played cubes and convos, four square, four corners, extreme tic tac toe, and tour build. They had a lot of fun, but also a lot of learning more about who this number one is.

They talked about God who is the creator and designer of the universe. He’s the one from whom and in whom all things exist. He’s the reason we’re alive and is the most important thing in our lives. And when we forget that He is number one, everything else falls apart.

So when it feels like life is not going our way, we have to remember to go back to square one–we go back to God. We continue to get to know Him in prayer because when we get to know this great God who risked everything for us, then we would know that in His eyes, we are always worth it.

Join this amazing group of teens again this Friday! See you there!

08/30/2026

Who comes to mind?
Invite 3 friends to pull up a chair at Alpha this session.
Save your spots here:
https://forms.gle/jQDgsCZzUh37ku7r9