Aug 21, 2024
Dear Catholic School Families,
Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year! Whether you are continuing with our community or joining us for the first time, we are deeply grateful for the trust you have placed in us. Your decision to choose a Catholic education for your children is one we honor with great responsibility and joy. We look forward to partnering with you in the sacred work of nurturing your children’s growth in faith, wisdom, and character.
As we begin this new academic year, I am filled with hope and excitement. Our Catholic schools are more than just places of learning; they are vibrant communities where faith, knowledge, and love intersect to shape the hearts and minds of the next generation. In Silicon Valley, a place known for innovation and progress, our schools offer something truly unique: an education rooted in the enduring values of the Gospel, guiding students to not only excel academically but to lead lives of purpose and virtue.
Over the past few weeks, the dedicated principals, faculty, and staff of our 26 elementary schools have been engaged in prayer and professional learning. This collaboration across schools is a blessing that allows us to strengthen our ministry and ensure all our schools thrive. Each year, we draw upon student performance data, recent research on child development, and emerging educational best practices to guide the professional development of our faculty. This year, we particularly focused on math, early literacy, classroom management, and student support.
- Our new teachers dove into the intensive work that our diocese has undertaken over the past two years to strengthen math instruction, which has led to continued growth in student math achievement year over year across our schools.
- Our primary teachers engaged with literacy experts on learning and practicing research-based methods to ensure every child receives a strong foundation in early reading skills.
- With the support of our keynote speaker from the Alliance for Catholic Education, our faculty began a year-long journey to develop school-wide systems for effective classroom management and behavior support, making sure every child feels safe and supported to succeed academically, spiritually, and emotionally.
Amidst all this work, I witnessed a deep sense of energy, joy, and hope among all those who minister in our schools. Their passion and dedication affirm our collective mission: to ensure every child feels known and valued, nurtures a lasting relationship with Christ, develops tools to navigate today’s complex world, and receives an excellent education that inspires lifelong success. We believe that Catholic education is truly transformational, and we are excited for the year ahead.
As our faculty and staff gathered last week for our annual Convocation Mass with Bishop Cantú, we lifted each of you – our families and students – in prayer. May the grace of God guide us, the wisdom of the Holy Spirit inspire us, and the love of Christ unite us in this shared journey.
Thank you for entrusting us with the education and formation of your children. Together, let us embrace this school year with open hearts, eager minds, and a shared commitment to making it a blessing for all.
Blessings,
Jennifer Beltramo
Superintendent of Catholic Schools
Jul 22, 2024
Spanish
“The joy of love experienced by families is also the joy of the Church,” proclaims Pope Francis.
Thus, in celebration of the love found in marriage and family, we, the Catholic bishops of California, are overjoyed to introduce ‘Radiate Love’ – a new initiative to encourage and inspire marriage. We are embarking on this journey over the next year to celebrate and support marriage and family life among the flock God has entrusted to us.
The institution of marriage is held dear by God. A marriage between a woman and a man is simultaneously a unique expression of the natural human longing for unfailing love, the source of new life and social health, and a key means by which God provides vital information about Himself and human nature. This is because marriage offers a penetrating glimpse into God’s identity as a communion of Persons and a model for how He loves us and how we are to love Him and every neighbor.
Today, however, many despair of marriage. Marriage rates are declining. It is increasingly seen as an unattainable luxury by poorer and marginalized Americans. And the ties between marriage and children are breaking, with unfortunate consequences.
Observing these losses and offering to help is not a work of nostalgia or an attempt of religion to lecture politics and society. Nor is it an opinion that everyone should marry. Instead, it is a proposal to advance human happiness and freedom, especially among vulnerable groups. It is also a proposal that harmonizes faith and natural reason, and it arises from the same charitable impulses by which Catholic schools educate children, our social services care for the poor, and our healthcare ministries nurse the sick.
Virtually every culture in every age has greatly supported stable relations between men and women and the children they bear. That is marriage. And today, we have overwhelming empirical evidence across the ideological spectrum justifying this preoccupation. Marriage undergirds human happiness, stability, and prosperity. It is the ideal setting to nurture children to a healthy adulthood. Family instability and absent or uninvolved parents – especially absentee fathers – are linked to poverty, crime, inadequate education and employment, and a whole host of other social ills. The decline of marriage is a leading factor in adult loneliness and the growing income and opportunity gaps between racial and socioeconomic groups.
In short, contemporary evidence soundly rejects decades of baseless claims that marriage constrains freedom and happiness, or that decoupling sex, marriage, and childbearing boosts romantic happiness. Most troubling, the uncritical acceptance of these claims often leads to unforeseen disastrous consequences for children.
Scripture strengthens the evidence from natural reason. In the beginning, the Creator pronounces that “it is not good for the man to be alone” (Gn 2:18). Jesus reaffirms the importance of lifelong marital unity (Mt 19:6). Saint Paul teaches that marriage offers a privileged entry into the mystery of God’s love for His people (Eph 5:32). The Gospel reports Jesus’ admonition that God’s way of loving – faithfully, sacrificially, fruitfully – must also be the measure of human love of neighbor (John 13:34 and 15:8-17).
Saint John Paul II called the family a “school of love.” It is where a man and a woman learn to give and receive the complementary gifts with which they are endowed. It is where family members first learn to love those very near “neighbors” strewn on their path – Good Samaritan-style – patiently, enduringly, mercifully, and even in the face of vast differences. It is how we are enabled to share this love with those outside the family and society.
In the words of Pope Francis, the complementarity in marriage and family life is “a great treasure… a thing of beauty.” It answers human longing for enduring love, is a boon to vulnerable children, the bedrock of a healthy society, a driver of freedom and social equality, and one of God’s most precious gifts to the human race.
With all of this in mind, the Catholic Church in California pledges to redouble its efforts to encourage, celebrate, and accompany dating and married couples through our Radiate Love initiative. We invite Catholic couples in all seasons of their lives to engage in their parishes and visit the website frequently in the year ahead. There you will find resources and suggestions to help bring the joy of the Lord’s grace into your relationship and family life, just as Jesus brought fine wine at the Wedding of Cana. Please accept this initiative as our gift of hope for marriage and family life.
May almighty God bless you and keep you always,
The Catholic Bishops of California
Jul 15, 2024
“We pray for the recovery of former President Trump, for the the death of Corey Comperatore, and for those injured in the shooting incident at the political rally in Pennsylvania. Let us pray earnestly for peaceful and civil discourse in this fraught election cycle.”
U.S. Bishops’ President Condemns Political Violence and Calls for Prayers for Peace
Following the news of the shooting at a political rally involving former President Donald Trump today, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, and president of the U.S. Conference of Bishops (USCCB) offered the following statement.
WASHINGTON – Following the news of the shooting at a political rally involving former President Donald Trump today, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, and president of the U.S. Conference of Bishops (USCCB) offered the following statement:
“Together with my brother bishops, we condemn political violence, and we offer our prayers for President Trump, and those who were killed or injured. We also pray for our country and for an end to political violence, which is never a solution to political disagreements. We ask all people of goodwill to join us in praying for peace in our country. Mary, Mother of God and Patroness of the Americas, pray for us.”
Earlier this summer, the USCCB issued a statement on political violence, urging all Christians and people of good will to abstain from political violence, and instead, ‘pursue what leads to peace and building up one another’ through dialogue, seeking justice.
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https://www.usccb.org/news/2024/us-bishops-president-condemns-political-violence-and-calls-prayers-peace
Jul 8, 2024
The Diocese of San José is delighted to announce that The Valley Catholic, now only in its second year, has been honored with two distinguished national awards from the Catholic Media Association for 2024. The Valley Catholic received an Honorable Mention in the Diocesan Catholic Magazine of the Year category and secured Third Place in the Special Issue category for the memorial issue “In Memory of Bishop Emeritus Patrick J. McGrath.”
What the judges had to say:
“I loved the fact that this entry had all of the articles published in three languages. Very impressive.”
“This special issue is a touching and beautiful tribute. Its articles are designed with care and dedication to the theme of the issue. Each piece is meaningful and professionally written and formatted.”
We enthusiastically invite the faithful of the Diocese of San José to read The Valley Catholic’s award-winning local coverage, available in both print and online! We also encourage you to share the magazine and its compelling local stories near and far. With new monthly features and web-exclusive content, The Valley Catholic is a powerful tool that may help unify and grow our Catholic community, while also reaching those who may be distant from the Church. This aligns with the first objective under Outreach priority in our Pastoral Plan: to share the Good News by encountering and listening to those currently not engaged in practicing the Faith.
Consider striking up a conversation with someone about one of our stories by visiting: www.TheValleyCatholic.com
Your participation is essential! We welcome story submission requirements and ideas, which can be submitted at https://www.dsj.org/storysubmission/
Join us in spirit as we celebrate this national recognition. Thank you for allowing us to tell the story of the Diocese of San José!
The Valley Catholic Editor and Communications Staff
May 28, 2024
Congratulations to the three men who were ordained to the order of presbyterate on Saturday, May 25, 2024, at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Joseph.
To serve the people of God and following consultation with the Clergy Personnel Board, Bishop Oscar Cantú has appointed the newly ordained priests to the following assignments, effective July 1, 2024.
Rev. Robert Lamorena to be a parochial vicar at Holy Spirit in San Jose
Rev. Ryan Mau to be a parochial vicar at Saint Lawrence the Martyr in Santa Clara
Rev. Duy Nguyen to be a parochial vicar at Saint Martin in Sunnyvale
Please pray for them, their first parish assignments, their first pastors, and for their own fruitful priestly ministry
