Solemnity of Christ the King
November 21, 2021
Immense Gratitude!

Dear Parishioners,

What an amazing response to the call for action! As a community, St. Martin of Tours collected over 800 new and gently worn coats for our Annual Cloak Drive. We provided 500 to the farmworker families, and another 300 for our neighbors. A group of volunteers will be distributing coats to our neighbors at St. James park on November 21. Thank you so much to all those that supported the coat drive with their treasures and talents. Below is a thank you from Dr. Ann Lopez.
Dear Father Saju and Parishioners at St. Martin of Tours Church,
We at Center for Farmworker Families are so deeply grateful for all of the beautiful jackets and coats that you sent and distributed to the farmworker community.
On Friday we designated a special place at our monthly Distribution for the jacket/coat give-away. As farmworkers came through the line to receive food and household goods, we helped them choose a jacket that fit them. Then, they joyously packed one up with their other donations to take to their places of residence.
It is more than comforting to know that these most deserving, most marginalized people will be warm this winter with new jackets and coats. Thanks for all the peace of mind that you have provided for all of us.
Many blessings, and Happy Holidays,
  • Dr. Ann Lopez, Director
  • Center for Farmworker Families

We are still in need of the following items for our Food Drive:

White Rice ~ Bags of Black Beans ~ Vegetable Oil ~ Masa
Toilet Paper ~ Paper Towels

Please drop off your donations to the Food Barrels before Mass or at the Parish Office Monday - Thursday from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Our last collection will be at Thanksgiving Mass, November 25th at 9:00 AM where the food will be blessed before distribution.

We thank you for everything you do and your willingness to take care of others. God Bless!!

Fr. Saju & Fr. Gener
LITURGY
Anyone that feels sick, has tested COVID positive, or has been exposed to a person who is COVID positive should stay home and attend the live-stream Mass.
Mass Intentions
November 20 - November 26
To schedule a Mass intention, please email stmartinoftours@icloud.com.
Saturday 5:00pm - Ben Patellaro † and Jack Elaney † and Pete Nulud (Birthday)

Sunday 8:30am - James & Vincee Viso †

Sunday 10:00am - St. Martin of Tours Parishioners

Sunday 11:30am - John Rossi †
and Sofia Rita Vernacchia (Health)

Monday 8:00am - Marie Westergard †

Tuesday 8:00am - Lydia Zapanta †

Wednesday 8:00am - Right to Life

Thursday 9:00am - St. Martin of Tours Parishioners (in Thanksgiving)

Friday 8:00am - James Schallau †
PRAYER REQUESTS FOR THE DECEASED:
Andrew Flores, Justin Ebner, Manuel Eres, Rose Scudero-Jones, Aleksis Cantu, Bill Scharrenberg, Michael Glazzy, Dolores Santana, Luciana Sanvicente
PRAYER REQUESTS FOR THE SICK:
Nadja Haddad, Josephine Baroni, Sr. Rose Mary Maguire, Michael Joseph, Kay Macken, Dee Jackson, Sofia Rita Vernacchia, Msgr. John Sandersfeld, Diane Borella,
Hilaria Amezquita, Maximillion Smith, Joe Arant, Midge Zylker, Kyle Anderson, Jose Mendoza, Michael Griffith Jr., Helena Knapen
Please pray with us for our parishioners, family and friends.
Prayer Angels Ministry
Prayer is one of the greatest gifts you can give another. If you or someone you know is in need of prayers (sick, deceased, birthday, anniversary...), please email Therese Lehane at tlehane@stmartin.org and let our Prayer Angels pray for you or someone you know.
NEWS & EVENTS
Upcoming Parish Events

DATE | EVENT

11/19 Food Box Distribution under the tents 4:00 - 5:00 PM (volunteers 3-5:30 PM)

NOW - 11/25 Food Collection (see note above for more information)

11/25 Thanksgiving Mass in the Church at 9:00 AM

11/25 Giving Trees will be in the Church

11/25 - 11/26 Parish Office Closed in Observation of the Thanksgiving Holiday

12/2 Holy Hour Adoration & Benediction in the Church at 7:00 PM
For a complete list of Parish events:
Congratulations Max

Max is an exemplary disciple and minister of Christ. To quote our pastor, Father Saju Joseph, “Ministry should start with an intention to be with, not for.” Max walks with Christ proclaiming the Good News to those he meets, to those he knows, and seeks to proclaim the Good News to those who need to hear and experience it. 

Maximilian is gifted with the talent of music. He uses that gift in the service of others. Max has founded and leads an organization called, “Art of the Heart”.  As the leader of this organization, he recruits other young talented musicians to volunteer their time and talent to contribute to the performance of virtual concerts to the elderly living in assisted living facilities, those who are sheltering in place alone, as well as pediatric patients in hospitals around the globe. These young musicians are not only grateful that they are able to utilize their gifts toward the service of others, but they sense a feeling of fulfillment in themselves by making people happy. One of their local clients is the Sacred Heart Jesuit Center in which their concerts were able to be streamlined to the residents during the time they were sheltering in place. 

Maximilian extends his ministry to the poor in our neighboring communities by participating in St. Martin of Tours Food Box Program. He is also active in Bellarmine’s campus ministry and Christian service program. During these times when the participation of youth in the Mass is declining, Maximilian’s devotion to his faith and heart for God has not ceased. He attends Sunday Mass regularly with his family serving as an usher for our parish along with his younger brothers.  At Bellarmine, he ministers as an altar server, eucharistic minister, and a lector.

Through his compassion and generous service to others and to our parish community, Max shows in himself, the face of Christ, and it is my pleasure to nominate him on behalf of our parish, St. Martin of Tours, for a Saints in the City, St. Francis of Assisi Award. He will receive the award from the Bishop on November 19.
Thank you Sophia, Madison & Logan

Thank you Sophia Antuzzi, Madison Busch, and Logan Busch (+friends) for their hard work on making hundreds of place mats. Every year these beautiful holiday placemats are delivered to our local nursing homes where they are enjoyed by the many residence at Thanksgiving dinner. Their art work is amazing and what a great way to put a smile on somebody's face at this time of year! THANK YOU !!
Thank you St. Martin of Tours School

A HUGE THANK YOU to the school community for their participation in the Thanksgiving Food Drive. We collected over 4 full barrels of food (stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, tinned veggies and pumpkin) that will be given to our food box recipients this Friday afternoon. We also have free turkeys to give to the first 52 families that arrive. YUM! What a great gift at Thanksgiving! THANK YOU!
Food Box Volunteers Needed

Food box packing Friday, November 19th
3-5:30pm (volunteers)
Food Box pick up Friday, November 19th 
4-5pm (clients)

We utilize the "Client Choice" model, where we set up a shopping market under the tents outside the church, and allow our clients to pick what they need. With this setup and the holidays, we need a LOT more volunteers. Please mark your calendars and bring your children to volunteer. Covid regulations will still be in place, masks are required and closed toe shoes, please sanitize on arrival. Please email tlehane@stmartin.org if you have any questions.
Annual Giving Tree

The St. Martin of Tours community has always been extremely generous over the years to our Giving Tree program. Covid wasn't even able to hold us back when we adapted and were able to provide gift cards to those in need. This year, our Giving Trees are going back up and we are so excited! The Giving Trees with tags will be placed at the back of the church on Thanksgiving Day, November 25th. This year St. Martin of Tours is providing gifts for 100 farmworker family members; they are the red tags on the trees. We will also be providing grocery store gift cards to our food pantry clients, as well as our farmworker families; they are the green tags on the trees. Please take the tag of your choice, purchase the gifts or gift card, and return the tag with gift on or before December 12, 2021 to the church before Mass, or the parish office (Mon. - Thurs. from 10AM-5PM). The gifts will be sorted and delivered to the farmworkers families before they have to vacate their current home, so please return all gifts UNWRAPPED by December 12. We thank you in advance for your continued generosity and kindness. God Bless you and Happy Holidays.
St. Martin of Tours Speaker Series 
Thursday, December 9th

In just a few weeks, the Church will be celebrating the Advent season. The Advent season marks the beginning of the liturgical new year, four Sundays before December 25. It is a season of desire and hope. Nothing about Advent should be inherently depressing, but because we live in physical bodies that respond to the cycles of light and dark and warmth and cold, for some people this season corresponds to greater emotional or psychological darkness. How poignant then, that Advent is a time to notice the darkness of our world and wait, long for, and pray for the coming of Jesus, the Light of the World. 

Please join us Thursday, December 9 from 4:00pm-5:15pm in the Church as Father Angelbert Chikere shares a prayerful Advent reflection with us. Father Angelbert holds a Master of Divinity from Santa Clara University’s Jesuit School of Theology. He is no stranger to St. Martin of Tours as he was previously assigned to our parish as a seminarian. He is currently a parochial vicar for St. Lawrence the Martyr Catholic parish in Santa Clara. We hope you can join us to be spiritually filled during this Advent season, deepening our longing for Christ in our lives. 
STEWARDSHIP & DEVELOPMENT
Parish Support

We thank you for your continued support during these challenging times! Please be as generous as you can as our collections have fallen short of our budget. If you would like to make a secure one-time donation and/or setup regular online donations, please use the GIVE NOW button. Thank you again!!
Support the Catholic Campaign for Human Development

Our second collection this weekend will support the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. More than thirty-eight million people in the United States live in poverty. This collection supports programs that empower people to identify and address the obstacles they face as they work to bring permanent and positive change to their communities. Learn more about the Catholic Campaign for Human Development as www.usccb.org/cchd.
Parish Office Hours
Monday -Thursday 10 AM to 5 PM

If you or a loved one is in need of Sacramental care, such as anointing of the sick, last rites or confession, Fr. Gener & Fr. Saju are available. Please contact them directly using the staff directory below.
Liturgical Ministries
Volunteer Signups

If you are interested in being a lector, usher, eucharistic minister or altar server, use the button below to signup. If you have any questions, please contact the parish office at 408-294-8953. Thank you!!
FAITH FORMATION & SPIRITUALITY
Dates to Remember
RCIA: 
November 21 – 11:30 AM session in the parish office 
November 28 – 11:30 AM session in the parish office 
December 5 – 11:30 AM session in the parish office 
 
CCM (Children's Catechetical Ministry)/First Eucharist Preparation: 
November 25 – No CCM sessions (Thanksgiving)
December 2 – 4:00 PM to 5:15 PM: CCM sessions for children
December 4 – 10:00 AM to 11:25 PM First Reconciliation for those preparing for First Eucharist

Confirmation: 
November 21 – 4:00 PM to 5:15 PM: Candidate session in the Community Building
December 5 – 4:00 PM to 5:15 PM Candidate session in the Community Building 
December 12 – 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM Virtual Student and Sponsor Meeting 
A Closer Look at God…..
Christogram 

We don’t always have the time or space to write out our full names or other words. Think of all the abbreviations and acronyms we use every day: TGIF – IDK RSVP – LOL. 

The earliest Christians abbreviated Jesus’ name. Over time, the arrangements of these letters became symbols. These early believers spoke mostly Greek, so the main symbolic abbreviations that have come down to us today are rooted in Greek. 

Chi-Rho are the first two letters of the word Christos, or Christ, which means, “anointed one”. 

I-H-S are the first three letters of IHSUS, the name of Jesus in Greek. 

Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. In the Book of Revelation, Jesus says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the one who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 22:13). Through this, we learn that Jesus is fully God, present everywhere and from eternity. 

We see these letters in many places: on Bible and lectionary covers, on altar coverings and carved in ambos. We see them on the paschal candle. These letters in an ancient language speak to us today in the same way they spoke to the earliest Christians, revealing to us that Jesus is Lord, always and forever. 
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November 21, 2021 Christ the King
 
Daniel 7: 13-14 • Revelation 1:5-8 • John 18:33b-37
 
…Son of Man received dominion, glory and kingship… —Daniel 7:14

Jesus Christ is the faithful witness…and ruler of the kings of earth. —Revelation 1:5
 
“My kingdom does not belong to this world…My kingdom is not here.” —John 18:36
 
Jesus is the KING OF KINGS! Jesus is the KING OF HEAVEN AND EARTH! Yet Jesus isn’t like earthly kings who are wealthy and powerful and can make people do whatever they want them to. Jesus wants what is good and right for everyone in the world. He doesn’t want power for himself - he wants everyone to be treated with justice and to have what they need to live joyful lives. Can Jesus be the King of your heart? He wants to be. He wants to work together with us to bring about a Kingdom of love and equality. 

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for being an awesome God. You are the most gentle, loving, just, kind, glorious, powerful king in all of heaven and earth. We love you and invite you into our hearts. 

Family Reflection: What are some ways that I can live as though Jesus is the king of my heart? If Jesus came to visit our home today, what kind of “royal treatment” would we give him to celebrate his presence? 
Children's Sunday Bulletin & Activities
Web Link for this week - Children's Sunday Bulletin & Activities:
AROUND THE DIOCESE & COMMUNITY
Sunday December 5, 2021 at 11:30am
40th Anniversary Jubilee Closing Mass
at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph

Join Bishop Oscar Cantú celebrate the closing mass of the 40th Anniversary Jubilee. Tree planting with Bishop Cantú in honor or St. Joseph will follow after mass behind the Cathedral. Everyone is also encouraged a local pilgrimage including a visit to the Cathedral. The Cathedral will remain open until 5pm for visiting pilgrims. Please share images in social media. Facebook Instagram.
Stay up to date with Diocesan wide news, events, and stories as well as news from the USCCB and the Vatican. Read the Bishop’s messages, see what our children are doing in school, and learn about upcoming community events. Follow the Diocese of San Jose on FacebookInstagramTwitter, and Vimeo. Social Media Posts: Facebook Instagram
Diocese of San Jose Year of St. Joseph

Diocese of San Jose Year of St. Joseph Webpage
We hope that through using these resources you will grow in love and devotion St. Joseph as the guardian and protector of God’s people, the Church. May Saint Joseph and the Holy Family intercede for us in this work of rededicating ourselves to the mission of Jesus Christ.  www.dsj.org/yearofstjoseph 
RESOURCES & ASSISTANCE

Questions?
Please email the Parish Office.