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President’s Message September 2021
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September 2021 and the celebration of Labor Day (6th September) marks the prelude to Fall.
This year our first day of Fall is 22nd September, the gardening enthusiast in the club are no
doubt preparing their gardens for the season changes.
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This month we will also begin the new mass schedule for St. Joseph Parish starting on
September 12th.Please check the parish website for the mass times and locations.
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Our September General Meeting will be held on Tuesday 7th September starting at 7:00PM. This
will be a remote meeting utilizing zoom. Our Guest speaker will be our very own Mission
Enthusiast and Mission coordinator Gary Dorighi. Gary will speak on “The Spanish Alta
California Missions and the Founding of Mission San Jose”. Please see article on September
General Meeting for log-in credentials.
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We closed out the month of August with two BBQ’s one on August 14th for the state of the
Parish meeting and the second for the Families and Faith program, see the article from Greg
Stephens in this newsletter. My thanks to the members who helped at both events.
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In August we were fortunate to have an in-person fellowship meeting (3rd August) the meeting
was attended by about 18 members, and we had a great time just socializing.
That’s all for this month, look forward to seeing you virtually at the General Meeting
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Spiritual VP September Newsletter article
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This is the second installment (borrowed from Wikipedia) explaining some history of the five saints portrayed down the left-hand side of the church. They were selected because they represent different communities in our parish. Today’s saint is Filipino Lorenzo Ruiz (November 28, 1594 – September 29, 1637), also called Saint Lorenzo of Manila. A Chinese-Filipino, he became his country's protomartyr after his execution in Japan by the Tokugawa Shogunate during its persecution of Japanese Christians in the 17th century.
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Lorenzo Ruiz is the patron saint of, among others, the Philippines and the Filipino people.
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Lorenzo Ruiz was born in Binondo, Manila, on 28 November 1594, to a Chinese father and a Filipino mother who were both Catholic. His father taught him Chinese while his mother taught him Tagalog.
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Lorenzo served as an altar boy at the Binondo Church. After being educated by the Dominican friars for a few years, Lorenzo earned the title of escribano (scrivener) because of his skillful penmanship. He became a member of the Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary. He married Rosario, a native, and they had two sons and a daughter. The Ruiz family led a generally peaceful, religious and content life.
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In 1636, whilst working as a clerk for the Binondo Church, Lorenzo was falsely accused of killing a Spaniard. Lorenzo sought asylum on board a ship with three Dominican priests: Antonio Gonzalez, Guillermo Courtet, and Miguel de Aozaraza; a Japanese priest, Vicente Shiwozuka de la Cruz; and a lay leper Lázaro of Kyoto. Lorenzo and his companions sailed for Okinawa on 10 June 1636, with the aid of the Dominican fathers.
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The Tokugawa Shogunate was persecuting Christians by the time Lorenzo had arrived in Japan. The missionaries were arrested and thrown into prison, and after two years, they were transferred to Nagasaki to face trial by torture. The group endured many and various cruel methods of torture.
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On 27 September 1637, Lorenzo and his companions were taken to Nishizaka Hill, where they were tortured by being hung upside-down over a pit. He died two days later on 29 September 1637, aged 42. The method, alleged to have been extremely painful, had the victim bound; one hand was always left free so that the individual may signal their desire to recant, leading to their release. Despite his suffering, Lorenzo refused to renounce Christianity and died from eventual blood loss and suffocation. His body was cremated, with the ashes thrown into the sea.
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According to Latin missionary accounts sent back to Manila, Lorenzo declared these words upon his death: I am a Catholic and wholeheartedly do accept death for God; Had I a thousand lives, all these to Him shall I offer.
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The following is a reminder of the new Mass times beginning the weekend of Sept 11-12
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12:00 PM – Main Church – Mass with Family of Faith
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3:00 PM – Mass in Vietnamese
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5:00 PM – Mass in Chinese
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7:00 PM – Mission Church – Mass with Youth, Confirmation, and Young Adults
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September General Meeting (remote with Zoom)
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Date and Time: 7th September starting at 7:00PM
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Meeting ID: 723 651 7968
Passcode: 708108
One tap mobile
+16699006833,,7236517968# US (San Jose)
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The Spanish Alta California Missions and the Founding of Mission San Jose
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Most of us in St. Joseph Parish Old Mission San Jose can recite from memory that our Mission was founded on June 11, 1797, by Father Fermin Francisco de Lasuen. However, likely few parishioners can tell the “big picture story” of why the Spanish came to Alta California, the strategy behind the sequencing of the Missions, and how the 14th Mission, Mission San Jose, came to be located where it still exists today.
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Men’s Club member, Gary Dorighi is volunteer Docent for Mission San Jose and co-author of the booklet, “The Story of Mission San José.” On Tuesday, September 7th at 7pm on ZOOM, he will answer these questions as well as share some unpublished drawings of how the 1797 Mission structures may have looked prior to the 1809 construction of the adobe church.
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Men’s Club Support Faith Formation Picnic 2021
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The Men’s Club set up their “smaller” grill to provide a tasty lunch to children and adults at the Faith Formation Picnic on Saturday, August 28th. The weather was warm, but Men’s Club griller Lou Zenzen remained cool as he racked up 100 burgers. Lettuce, tomatoes and slices of watermelon were prepared by the Kitchen crew of George Perry, Richard Lightholder, and Mike Burns, along with 48 steamy hotdogs. Ice cream for dessert was provided and distributed by the Women of St. Joseph.
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The serving line was directed by Louis Lau and Dennis Dubro, along with several Faith Formation helpers. They were an inspiration to Jonson Au and Peter Nguyen who wanted to know more about the Men’s Club activities.
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Many thanks go out to all of the above plus the other members who made this special event possible. Among these are: Skip Phair who bought and delivered the food, Gary Dorighi who helped out with the site selection, set up and tear down, and Greg Stephens for general planning and cleaning the St. Joseph’s kitchen floor.
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In all, Sr. Bernadette was very appreciative of the use of our portable PA system, and the support of the Men’s Club.
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Men’s Club Recognizes St. Joseph School 7th Grader
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A St. Joseph student begins the 7th Grade this year with a little help from the St. Joseph Men’s Club in the form of a tuition grant. The Men’s Club supports a Catholic education from St. Joseph School by offering this grant to a Parishioner’s 6th Grade child entering the 7th Grade. The idea is to reinforce at this critical junior high phase of a Catholic education the Men’s Club founding values of Spirituality, Service, and Fellowship. Of the applicants for this award, Siana Sowards was judged to have best represented these values in her everyday life. Congratulations Siana!
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Year at a Glance
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Here is a link to our "Year at a Glance" calendar:
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