St. Stephen Catholic Church Walnut Creek CA

10/25/2024

Dear Friends,

Halloween is around the corner, and I know children and many adults are excited at the prospect of dressing up in their spookiest or most imaginative attire and trolling the streets in search of treats. At our school we have a parade on that day, and it has always been a fun-filled event for all. “Halloween can be a wonderful holiday for children,” said Linda Gulyn, professor of psychology at Marymount University in Arlington. “But fears related to Halloween are real to children, especially in the preschool years, ages 2-5.” It is important that adults and parents pay attention to their fears.

“The Dark Charm of Halloween” is the title of a new book launched by the International Association of Exorcists (AIE, by its Italian acronym.) It was written by its vice president, Father Francesco Bamonte, along with Alberto Castaldini, spokesman for the institution. They explained that the consumerist reinterpretation of the Celtic festival in the United States emptied it of its content of faith and allowed it to once again “become rooted in magic, horror, and death, unlike Christianity,” in addition to being “closely linked today to dark realities such as witchcraft and satanism.” Although most of those who celebrate it “have no intention of celebrating witchcraft and the devil,” they put themselves “in communion with this maleficent spiritual current” and become “more vulnerable to the ordinary and extraordinary actions” of the devil.

The authors also warned that some children’s websites offer links to satanism pages and noted that on Halloween there is a proliferation of “acts of blasphemy and sacrilege against the Christian faith and symbols.”

Let us really reflect on the beginnings of the festival. According to Dr. Marcel Brown, of the Alcuin Institute for Catholic Culture in Tulsa, “The feast of Halloween is one of those feasts on the Catholic calendar that is celebrated on the eve of a great solemnity.” Dr. Brown explained that the word Halloween refers to the Feast of All Saints. The word itself is taken from an older English term, “hallows,” meaning “holy”; and “e’en”, a truncation of the word “evening,” in reference to the Vigil of the feast. “So really, Halloween is the feast of the celebration of the feast of All Hallows,” he said. “So, it’s a day when Catholics celebrate the triumph of the Church in heaven, and the lives of the saints on earth.”

He continued, “So just as we commemorate the feast of All Saints on November 1st, beginning with All Hallows’ Eve on Halloween, we also think about and turn our minds really, to the last things: death, judgment, heaven, and hell. And really our focus should be, since we all must die and are destined to judgment, how then are we to live?” I hope and pray all have a safe celebration of Halloween!

We have organized a special Mass for this Sunday, October 27th at 9.00am where children get to dress in their Halloween costume, but celebrate the true meaning of Halloween as a call to be a saint. They will gather in the Parish Hall at 8:45 am, then they will enter the church through the sacristy door. Children will then process through the church and back to the Parish Hall where our children’s Mass will begin. Our Team has worked hard to make this Mass a very meaningful celebration.

10/23/2024

10/22/2024

Update on Synod on Synodality: “The Role and Authority of the Bishop in a Synodal Church” was the title of one of the two theological-pastoral forums organized in the context of the Synod that is in process right now. Professor Anna Rowlands is a member of the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development and holder of the St. Hilda Chair in Catholic Social Thought and Practice at the University of Durham, UK. She moderated the interventions of the various speakers, who are all taking part in the General Assembly of the Synod on the theme of synodality.

Rowlands introduced the first guest, Professor Galli, who framed the figure of the bishops in terms of “brothers” and “friends,” noting what he called a “novelty” of the Second Vatican Council: seeing “in the episcopate, in the ‘we of the people of God,’ the realization of the Church in its pilgrimage in the world.” This is a foundation, for Professor Galli, that contemplates the episcopal figure committed “in” and “for” the Church, with the same “filial dignity” as its people. According to Galli, the ultimate goal must remain that of “discerning the charisms of individuals and communities, at the service of the evangelical mission.”

The model of the episcopal figure is always Jesus, capable of “governing by serving.” The ecclesiastical authority, therefore, does not possess “the totality of charisms,” Galli said. The bishop can “watch over” but not “do everything.” The ability to delegate is therefore also seen as necessary, without hiding the presence of one’s own, personal weaknesses.

Professor Galli concluded his speech with two questions: “Bishops have advisors for complex practical matters, but do they have theological advisors?” and “Bishops are accountable to God for their ministry, how can they be accountable to the people of God as a whole?”

The discussion on the authority of the bishop is ongoing and I feel good about this conversation. Personally, for me, having lived with many bishops, the question boils down to the selection of bishops. The church must choose candidates who value the role of lay people especially women in our midst. The candidates to leadership in the church must be servants at heart, who understand the importance of delegation and decentralization of authority. They must be shepherds who have no political leanings, but have a heart for everyone regardless where they are in their faith journey.

As the choice of a bishop can potentially guide and shape the journey of a given diocese or archdiocese for sometimes decades at a time, the nomination and appointment of bishops in the Catholic Church is one that has a significant impact on the lives and ministerial focus of Catholics in almost every segment of the Church. To many people the process of how these new shepherds are appointed to their dioceses remains largely unknown, or at least largely opaque. In too many cases, I know that bishops start preparing someone -- perhaps a star seminarian or their priest-secretary or someone they admire -- to be a future member of their very exclusive club, the episcopal college, someone who is just like them. Several years ago, Pope Francis called on all bishops and priests to bring the healing power of God’s grace to everyone in need, to stay close to the marginalized and to be “shepherds living with the smell of the sheep.” If Pope Francis is right and the holy people of God really do have a "scent" for what is right and good in a bishop, then we must find a way to include them more fully in the selection process.

~Fr. Paulson