Dear Holy Spirit,

Advent has begun. The wreath has been blessed. The First candle has been lit. We started singing “Angels and prophets among us.” But what do these all mean? I invite us all to pay close attention to the season. Listen to the scripture readings. Look at the symbols - the excitement, the joyful and hopeful anticipation, and the waiting.

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Second Collection – Dec. 9-10, 2023

This weekend, our second collection is for the Retirement Fund for Religious. Your gift will make a difference in the lives of elderly women and men religious and help provide the necessary care and medications needed as they age. To donate, please visit our online giving page by clicking here. Select "second offerings" under funds and then "National Retirement Fund for Religious" under sub funds. Thank you for your generosity.

Join us for an evening of reflection, music and prayer on Dec. 11th at 7pm. Diana Macalintal will facilitate the evening.

Parish Advent Reconciliation

Join us for Advent Reconciliation on Wednesday, December 13th at 7pm.

Thank You for Your Support!

On behalf of Birthright, thank you for your generous donations of diapers, formula, blankets and baby clothes for the baby drive in October. The items were delivered in early November and Birthright volunteers were overwhelmed by the outpouring of your support. The items will be gratefully received by families in need. Thank you again for your support!

Bringing Holiday Cheer: One Toy at a Time

This is the final weekend for the annual Sacred Heart Toy Drive! Please bring an unwrapped toy for a boy or girl, and drop them off in our bins which will be located in front of the church doors after all masses.

This is a HUGE EVENT at Sacred Heart that impacts thousands of families. Your donations enable parents to be able to shop for toys that they can give to their children at Christmas.

You can also give through Sacred Heart’s Amazon wish list. Click here to access it. When you choose a toy, it will go directly to Sacred Heart.Thank you for bringing a smile to the face of the many children we are privileged to serve during this holiday season!

Volunteer Opportunities

At SACRED HEART COMMUNITY SERVICE

Open your hearts during the holidays and help out at Sacred Heart Community Service’s Holiday Programs.

Your hands are needed to fill food boxes with ingredients for Christmas dinners, stack food boxes, and to help distribute food to customers for the upcoming holidays.

Signups are now open for food packing and distribution. Remember, it is one spot per person and you must sign up every person who is participating. If a sign up date is full and you want to still volunteer, please contact Mary Jane Vitkovich at mjvitkovich@hotmail.com.

To sign up for food packing on December 16th, please click here.

To sign up for food distribution on December 19th, please click here.

Toy Sorting and Distribution at Sacred Heart

Volunteer opportunities are now open to help out with Sacred Heart's Toy Program. Customers will be able to choose from among hundreds of donated toys to surprise their children on Christmas morning. Volunteers are needed to help with set up and distribution. To help with set up, please click here. To help with distribution, please click here. For any questions please contact Mary Jane Vitkovich at : mjvitkovich@hotmail.com.

Gifts of Opportunity

Holy Spirit Church is once again excited to offer our community the opportunity to give the gift of lasting change! This Christmas, we invite you to share joy by giving opportunity in rural Nicaragua by gifting in your name, your loved ones, friends, co-worker, or company. Your generosity and support will bless a child, family, or an entire community. Whether it’s the health of a family, their economic development, or education, your support will have a lasting impact.

Over the past 10+ years, hundreds of Holy Spirit community volunteers and missionaries work alongside Amigos For Christ staff in Nicaragua. Last year’s trip was a huge success and we are starting to plan for next year’s service trip scheduled for June 22-29th. Check out our website for more details.

This year, gifts are being offered in three areas: Education, Water & Healthy Living and Economic Development. Choose from sponsoring a scholarship student for a year, building clean-air kitchens to eliminate a major source of respiratory issues, funding microloans for families to create sustainable sources of income, and many more options.

Amigos for Christ 2024 Goals include providing for:

1,200 families with clean water = 6 water systems

200 bathrooms

200 clean air kitchens

70 students with direct sponsors

175 small business support

These incredible projects are made possible by YOUR COMPASSION and GENEROSITY! Your donations help break the cycle of poverty and transform life in Nicaragua.

HOW IT WORKS:

1. You purchase Gifts of Opportunity on behalf of your friends and family members by either:

• Stopping by the Gifts of Opportunity table outside of church after any mass between 12/2 – 12/17 and meet some of our incredible volunteers who will share their stories, and tell you firsthand how your gift will MAKE A DIFFERENCE this Christmas!

• Visiting http://amigosforchrist.org/gohs/

2. Your loved ones receive a beautiful card and keepsake ornament that explains the impact of their gift.

3. Families or communities in Nicaragua receive opportunities that will change their lives forever.

Winter Blood Drive

Stanford Blood Center will be on site on Sunday, December 17th. Appointment times are 8:30am-1:30pm – walk-ins accepted. If you are able to donate blood, please consider doing so to help alleviate shortages during the cold winter months. Appointments can be made online by clicking here. For any assistance, contact Row David – row.david@dsj.org

Survival Sack Ministry

Holy Spirit Parish staffs and manages the Survival Sack Program at Sacred Heart Community Center. We gather on the first and third Thursdays of the month from 8:30 am to 10:45 am to distribute Survival Sacks to those who are registered as homeless and living on the streets of San Jose. Homeless clients may pick up a backpack once every three months. The backpacks contain a small blanket, socks, underwear, a large hygiene kit, gloves, hat, toilet paper and a water bottle. Tarps donated by Holy Spirit Parish (Turkeys and Tarps Drive) are also available.

If you are over the age 18 and are interested in volunteering in this ministry, please click here to register for Jan. 4^th and here for Jan. 18th. If you want more information, please contact Tom Burgei or Patty O’Neil

at  tnburgei@gmail.com or call 408-504-0909 and they will speak with you about volunteer opportunities.

3sixty High School Ministry

Last Sunday, we had a great Advent reflection led by Chris Mardesich and Jon Martin. Their message encouraged us to go deep into waiting to help us prepare for the miracle in which we will celebrate. And to celebrate, our next 3sixty youth night will be on Sunday, December 17th. We will be having a Christmas social. For those who want to participate, we will be doing a white elephant gift exchange. Bring a wrapped gift of no more than $15 in value. Christmas attire is also welcome: ugly x-mas sweaters, nice x-mas sweaters, x-mas pjs, etc. This will be a great way to celebrate our last youth night of the 2023 calendar year.

Confirmation Year 2

The December session is scheduled for Wednesday, December 20th at 6:30pm.

Texas Mission Trip 2024

Registrations are now open! The Texas Mission Trip is scheduled for February 18-24, 2024. The trip marks its 10th anniversary of our National Mission trip, the 8th in San Augustine, Texas. Adults and youth as early as the 6th grade can serve. It is a great way to put faith into action. For more information, visit our website or contact Row David – row.david@dsj.org. Click here to register.

Revs Vs. Sems Basketball Tournament

Let's cheer on our favorite priests and seminarians with the Vocations Office's first event of the year! The tournament will be Sunday, Jan 21, 2024. Tickets are available to purchase through Fr. John Hoang. Please contact him for more information - john.hoang@dsj.org.