Catholic San Francisco: Spirit moved layman’s push for sacred vows

Source: http://www.catholic-sf.org/news_select.php?newsid=24&id=58804

August 10th, 2011
By Valerie Schmalz


St. Thomas More Parish in San Francisco is hosting a wedding for as many as 20 couples — one parish’s response to a decline of almost 50 percent in weddings among Catholics in the past two decades.

“We’ll be doing a real shebang. Areal wedding,” said Joe Espinueva, a parishioner and organizer of “Operation I Do,” a totally free wedding and reception for couples who were civilly but not sacramentally married or have been in a common law marriage.

“There will be cutting of cake. There will be dancing. We will want these people to feel they are getting a real marriage from the church,” said Espinueva.

Parishioners are volunteering to cook dishes, bake cakes, and offering to donate bouquets. Many of the marrying couples’ children will serve as flower girls and ring bearers.

Marriage preparation according to church norms is under way, said Espinueva. “We are not trying to do a microwave wedding or a shortcut wedding,” said Espinueva, who said he was sacramentally married at St. Thomas More four years ago, years after entering a civil marriage. The parish will engage in follow up with the couples after the wedding to keep them engaged spiritually with the church, Espinueva said.

“We started in our church a campaign to say for those married civilly — let us help you to marry in the church,” said pastor Msgr. Labib Kobti. “All that I want to do is to bring you back to the church and make from your wedding a sacrament. This we called ‘Operation I Do.’”

The parish expects numerous priests concelebrating and at least 500 wedding guests. It will host the reception at the large church hall on St. Thomas More school grounds, said Espinueva. “Msgr. Labib said we will be putting tents outside if that’s not enough space.”Among those who will wed are couples who have been married civilly for 28, 17, 11years, Msgr. Kobti said.

Espinueva said the Holy Spirit inspired the idea after he saw an article May 27 in Catholic San Francisco describing an archdiocesan decline in Catholic weddings that mirrors national trends. In the Archdiocese of San Francisco, marriage declined 47percent from 1990 to 2010 while during the same period the number of Catholics in the archdiocese grew from 395,000 to 444,008. Archbishop George Niederauer has formed a task force to study the issue.

“There are so many couples in our local church who could benefit from this kind of outreach,” said Msgr. James Tarantino, archdiocesan vicar for administration and moderator of the curia.

Three St. Thomas More parishioners who are in their third year of training for the diaconate have been interviewing couples and helping them fill out paperwork to marry. The men are Romeo Cruz, Arthur Sanchez, and Marcos Cobillas. Those couples who may need help with a previous marriage and a divorce are getting assistance in working with the archdiocesan marriage tribunal, Espinueva said.

The owner of a music store in Serramonte Mall, Espinueva said he has been asking his customers if they know any Catholics married civilly but not in the church. He is also handing out fliers. That effort, as well as couples who want to become involved with Couples for Christ or the Filipino-couples group “Opening your heart to the Lord” or Bukas Loob SaDiyes, have been the source of most of the couples who will marry, he said. Both groups require couples to have been sacramentally married to participate.

The effort to help couples marry in the church is also an initiative of the Family Ministry in the Latino community of the archdiocese, said Father Francisco Gamez. Twenty-five couples will wed at St. Mary’s Cathedral in a ceremony presided over by Bishop William Justice on Saturday Aug 13.Several other parishes have similar events, archdiocesan officials said.

Couples have not married in the church for many reasons, Espinueva said. Obtaining baptismal certificates, or divorce certifications from other countries or jurisdictions is difficult. The marriage preparation process is unwieldy for some.“ Another reason they have been telling me, they are embarrassed because they have been living together for quite some time and have not received the sacrament of matrimony,” he said.

An actual wedding date is not yet set as the parish races to complete all the paperwork, Espinueva said. Espinueva is a co-chairman of Catholics for the Common Good which is battling efforts to legalize same-sex marriage as well as promoting sacramental marriage in the church.“I would like to put it in the context of this saint who was killed by protecting marriage, St. Thomas More,” Msgr. Kobti said. “Harry the 8thI wanted to get married and he wanted to divorce his wife and this, our saint, said, no, you cannot divorce.” St. Thomas More was beheaded July 6, 1535, and King Henry VIII defied the pope leading to the formation of the Church of England. “He died protecting marriage,” Msgr. Kobti said.

Referring to the years when he could not receive holy Communion because he was not in a blessed marriage, Espinueva said, “The feeling of being able to receive the holy Eucharist without any conscience is so beautiful. Most of these people are not receiving holy Communion because they know they cannot and they are so eager to be married so they eventually can receive Jesus Christ.”

“This is not my project, this is the Holy Spirit’s project,” said Espinueva. “I think the Holy Spirit planned everything. We just opened all our hearts. We are doing all this out of love. It’s just a four-letter word, but it takes a lot of time to practice.”
For more information, contact Joe Espinueva at operationido@yahoo.com or at (650) 892-7184.

From the Aug. 12, 2011 issue of Catholic San Francisco.

September 11, 2011: Visit of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem

ON HIS FIRST PASTORAL VISIT
TO THE BAY AREA AND SAN FRANCISCO,
HIS BEATITUDE FOUAD TWAL,
THE ROMAN CATHOLIC PATRIARCH OF THE HOLY LAND
Will celebrate Holy Mass for peace, justice & reconciliation
On September 11 at 12:00 Noon
At St. Thomas More Catholic Church
Thomas MoreWay/off BrotherhoodWay, San Francisco, CA 94132
WWW.STMCHURCH.COM
ALL ARE INVITED

Click here for details

FROM ASH WEDNESDAY TO EASTER 2011

During Lent we are called as good Catholics to abstinence and fast. We are called to pray more; the Church offers us, spiritual retreats, Stations of the Cross every Friday at 7:00 PM, daily and Sunday masses. We are called to go to confession (so as to be forgiven we need first to forgive). We are called to be more charitable at home, at school, at work and in the streets. We are called to show through our good example our Catholic promises of LOVE.

ASH WEDNESDAY Masses: March 9, 8:30 AM, 11:30 at San Francisco State University, 8:00 PM

SPIRITUAL RETREATS:  STM Parish retreat: April 9, from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM (to after 5:00 PM Mass)

                                             University retreats see schedule on the board.

CONFESSIONS: before and during masses, Penitential Rite: Friday April 8^th at 6:30 before Stations of the Cross, confessions continue during the stations.

LIVE STATIONS OF THE CROSS: April 15, indoor, in the Church at 7:00 PM; Good Friday at 12:00 Noon

                Outdoor, around the church

HOLY WEEK 17-24 of April

PALM SUNDAY: 

April 17, schedule of Masses as each Sunday of the year

HOLY THURSDAY: 

Cena Domini 7: 00 PM English; 9:00 PM Arabic

GOOD FRIDAY:  

9:00 AM, Stations of the Cross, starts at Coit Tower, winds down the hill to National Shrine of St. Francis, 610 Valejo & Columbus, finishes at 11:00 PM

12:00 NOON at St. Thomas More, outdoor station of the Cross featuring professional actors

1:00 PM, Passion of Christ, ENGLISH

9:00 PM, Passion of Christ, ARABIC

HOLY SATURDAY: 

7:30 PM Ceremony of the Light and Holy Mass of the resurrection, ENGLISH

10:30 PM Ceremony of the Light and Holy Mass of the resurrection, ARABIC  

EASTER:   

8:00 AM Brazilian/Portuguese Mass

10:00 AM English Mass

11:45 AM NO ARABIC MASS

8:00 PM English Mass

REMEMBER to teach your family about:

Abstinence: 

Everyone fourteen years of age and older is bound to abstain from meat on ASH WEDNESDAY, the FRIDAYS of Lent and GOOD FRIDAY.

Fasting:  

Everyone eighteen years old and over but under the age of sixty is bound to fast on ASH WEDNESDAY and GOOD FRIDAY. On these two days, the law of fast allows only one meal a day, but does not prohibit taking some little food during the day so long as this does not constitute another full meal. Drinking liquid is allowed. The faithful are called to fast during all Lent if they can. Going to Mass every Sunday, doing acts of charity, forgiveness, and good deeds of virtue are obligations of daily life of Catholics especially during Lent.