Text Box: THANK YOU “Dear friends in the St. Margaret Mary community: Thanks to all those who baked such delectable items for the first Seminary Society Bake Sale. Your generosity in providing items to sell and in purchasing other’s wonderful treats made the day a great success! You will be remembered at Masses both in Chicago at the Shrine of Christ the King on Pentecost and here in Oakland on July 18. May God bless you all for your support and kindness.” - The Seminary Society serves the seminarians in the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest.” THANK YOU A sincere and grateful THANK YOU to all who prayed for my intention on Divine Mercy Sunday; bring or send cards and gifts and helped to make the Feast of Divine Mercy Sunday and my 34th anniversary of my Ordination a joyous and memorable celebration. May God bless you all! NOVENA OF HOLY MASSES FOR OUR MOTHERS The second Sunday of May (this year May 10; (this Sunday) is celebrated as MOTHERS’ DAY. In our parish, a NOVENA of nine Holy Masses will be celebrated for the intentions of our mothers (living or dead). Our mothers deserve our love, honor and respect. We will pray for them during the Holy Masses on May 10 at 8:30 AM, 10:30 AM and 12:30 PM; on May 12 at 6:00 PM, on May 13 at 8:00 AM and 7:30 PM, on May 14 at 6:00 PM, on May 16 at 8:00 AM and 10:00 AM. Special memorial books for our mothers, living or deceased, will be placed in our church. A letter with information about the Novena of Holy Masses was sent to all our parishioners by mail. Additional forms are available in our church. BEST WISHES TO ALL OUR BELOVED MOTHERS! May God bless you all, and may the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, protect you always. FIRST HOLY COMMUNION On next Sunday, May 17, at the 10:30 AM Mass, the children of our parish will receive Holy Communion for the first time in their lives. After the Mass, we will host a reception for these children. All parishioners and friends of St. Margaret Mary Church are invited, and encouraged to attend to show support for these children and their families. We need your help; we ask that you bring a side dish to share. Please contact Valerie Burkart at valzb@sbcglobal.net or call her at (925) 875-0281 to help with this joyous occasion. Please pray for our children waiting for their VERY IMPORTANT DAY when they receive Jesus in the Holy Eucharist; and pray also for their parents, teachers and catechists. OUR CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE CHILDREN AND TO THEIR PARENTS. Text Box: IGNATIAN SILENT RETREAT FOR MEN Preached by priests of Miles Christi, an order devoted to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. June 5 at 4 PM to June 7 at 4:30 PM at San Juan Bautista, CA. $220 single room, $275 private. Apply Miles Christi, PO Box 701200, Plymouth, MI 48170; infousa@mileschristi.org; or contact Christine Timmerman at (209) 357-0128. PRAY FOR ALL THE SICK: For all who are sick: members of our families, friends, parishioners, and especially: Fr. Joseph Fiedorowicz; Fr. Theo Palis; Msgr. Robert Adams; Sister Antoinette Fong; Titus Ekanem; Donald Braten; Martha Tork; Lianne Claver; Juan & Nancy Duenas; Jose Isidro; Frank Martin; Paul Valerovski; Harry Garland; Anthony Krzyzanski; Richard Mansfield; Giovanni & Elisa Mancarti; Ted Price; John Kachmash; Enrique Aguilar; Myrna Lanzar; Theresa Long; Abbot Eugene Hayes; ............. & those whose names are written in the Book of the Sick, and all sick people in the entire world. PRAY FOR THE DEAD: For deceased members of our families, friends, parishioners & benefactors of our parish: Bill Leitao, Harry Winkler, Inetta Calori, those who died recently: Louise Drake, Stanislaw Marciniak; Fr Frank Houdek; ..................................... and for all the faithful departed, especially for all the Poor Souls in Purgatory. PARISH FAMILY NIGHT On Sunday, May 24th we would like to invite all our parishioners: young and old, with children and without, to celebrate that afternoon together. You can come to the 3:30pm Holy Mass (Marian Movement of Priests) and Holy Hour afterwards; or just come to the Parish Hall for the 5:00pm Potluck Dinner. Bring some food to share. After the dinner, we will see a video about the "Our Lady of Fatima Shrine" in Portugal. This year it is the 92nd anniversary of the Apparition to the three Portuguese children. HOLY WATER On Holy Saturday we blessed the water during the Easter Vigil Mass. If you wish, you can take that water to your homes. THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD The Ascension of the Lord is observed always 40 days after Easter. This year, it will be on Thursday May 21st. In the USA, many ecclesiastical provinces, also our diocese, transferred this celebration to the 7th Sunday after Easter, this May 24th. It is the final act of our redemption that Christ began on Good Friday. On this day, the risen Christ, in the sight of His apostles, ascended bodily into Heaven. The reality of the Ascension is so important that the creeds (the basic statements of belief) of Christianity all affirm, in the words of the Apostles’ Creed, that "He ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead." The denial of the Ascension is as