PASTOR'S MESSAGE

Dear Members and Friends of the Hungarian Catholic Mission:

I wish you and your families a Blessed New Year in 2013. How time flies! It seems only yesterday that we were celebrating Christmas, and now we are already in Lent and preparing to celebrate the Easter mysteries. As we begin the Lenten season with Ash Wednesday, let us reflect on the many blessings we have (with God’s grace) as we consider those in need.

In recent months, I have been overjoyed at the progress the Hungarian Catholic Mission has made in preserving its faith, culture and charity programs.

• Our community is steadily growing, due to more and more wonderful young couples finding and joining us. Since our last bulletin, we welcomed four young members to our community in the Sacrament of Baptism.
• The attendance to our Sunday Masses is steadily growing and becoming even more spiritually enriching. Our after-Mass receptions have continued to be truly community building and family-oriented gatherings.
• Our website has been equally successful, in bringing more attention to our cause to include donations and getting volunteers.
• The little playgroup for toddlers and their families are growing as well, and we hosted a number of major cultural events to great success.

We can count God’s blessings on our work, but still have much more to give, especially in the area of our charity work. We have established our Five Charity Foundations of which one (The Deva Foundation) is up and running, thanks to many enthusiastic volunteers. In order to take advantage of our charitable possibilities, we need more volunteers to assure that we can continue to help our brothers and sisters in need. Therefore, I encourage you and welcome you to volunteer and join us to do God’s work. Even if you can only contribute a few hours, it would make a great difference.

May the good Lord bless you and reward you for the kindness and keep you always in His loving care.

Fr. Maurus Nemeth OSB
Pastor of the H.C.M.

HABEMUS PAPAM!

“IF GOD DIDN'T FORGIVE EVERYONE, THE WORLD WOULD NOT EXIST.”

Vatican City, 17 March 2013 (VIS) – “Never forget this: the Lord never tires of forgiving us. Have you thought about the patience that God has with each of us?” These were the words that Pope Francis addressed to the nearly 200,000 people who had travelled from around Italy and from around the world in to be able to live this first Angelus with the new Pope.

The Holy Father commented on the day's Gospel reading, the passages that recount the story of the adulterous woman. “God's face is that of a merciful father who is always patient. ... He never tires of forgiving us if we know how to return to him with a contrite heart. 'Great is the Lord's mercy',” was the new Pope's profound message. He combined his written text with spontane-ous, off-the-cuff comments, which were full of good humour. Following is the complete text of the Pope's words.

“Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!”, the Pope began. After our first meeting last Wednesday, today I again give my greetings to you all! And I am happy to do it on Sunday, the Lord's Day! This is beautiful and important for us Christians: to meet on Sunday, to greet one another, to talk as we are doing now, in the square. This square that, thanks to the media, takes on worldly dimensions.”

“In this Fifth Sunday of Lent, the Gospel presents us with the story of the adulterous woman whom Jesus saves from being condemned to death. It captures Jesus' attitude: we do not hear words of contempt, we do not hear words of condemnation, but only words of love, of mercy, that invite us to conversion. 'Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more!' Well, brothers and sisters! God's face is that of a merciful father who is always patient. Have you thought about God's patience, the patience that He has with each of us? That is His mercy. He always has patience, is always patient with us, understanding us, awaiting us, never tiring of forgiving us if we know how to return to him with a contrite heart. 'Great is the Lord's mercy', says the Psalm.

“In these days, I have been able to read a book by a cardinal—Cardinal Kasper, a talented theologian, a good theologian—on mercy. And it did me such good, that book, but don't think that I'm publicizing the books of my cardinals. That is not the case! But it did me such good, so much good... Cardinal Kasper said that hearing the word mercy changes everything. It is the best thing that we can hear: it changes the world. A bit of mercy makes the world less cold and more just. We need to understand God's mercy well, this merciful Father who has such patience... Think of the prophet Isaiah who asserts that even if our sins were scarlet red, God's love would make them white as snow. That is beautiful, [this aspect of mercy].

I remember when, just after I was made bishop, in 1992, the Madonna of Fatima came to Buenos Aires and a large Mass for the sick was celebrated. I went to hear confessions at that Mass. Near the end of the Mass I got up because I had to administer a confirmation. An over 80-year-old woman came up to me, hum-bly, very humbly. I asked her: 'Nonna [grandmother]—because that's how we address our elderly—Nonna, you want to con-fess?' 'Yes', she told me. 'But if you haven't sinned...' And she said to me: 'We have all sinned...' 'But perhaps the Lord will not forgive you...' 'The Lord forgives everyone', she told me, with certainy. 'But how do you know that, ma'am?' 'If the Lord didn't forgive everyone, the world would not exist.'

I wanted to ask her: 'Tell me, have you studied at the Gregorian [Pontifical University]?', because that is the wisdom that the Holy Spirit gives: the inner wisdom of God's mercy. Let us not forget this word: God never tires of forgiving us, never! 'So, Father, what is the problem?' Well, the problem is that we get tired, we don't want to, we get tired of asking forgiveness. Let us never get tired. Let us never get tired. He is the loving Father who always forgives, who has that heart of mercy for all of us. And let us also learn to be merciful with everyone. Let us call upon the intercession of the Madonna who has held in her arms the Mercy of God made human.”

After praying the Angelus, the Pope greeted the tens of thou-sands of faithful who overflowed St. Peter's Square: “Thank you for your welcome and your prayers,” he said. I ask that you pray for me. I renew my embrace to the faithful of Rome and extend it to all of you who have come from various parts of Italy and the world just as to those who are joining in with us by means of the media. I have chosen the name of the Patron Saint of Italy, St. Francis of Assisi, and this reinforces my spiritual ties to this land that, as you know, is where my family originated. But Jesus has called us to be part of a new family: his Church. [He has called] this family of God to walk together the paths of the Gospel. May the Lord bless you and the Virgin protect you! And don't forget this: The Lord never tires of forgiving. We are the ones who tire of asking forgiveness.”

FAITH

Our Baptisms

Since our last Bulletin, with God’s grace, we are delighted to welcome three new members into God’s Family and our Community in the Sacrament of Baptism.

We welcomed Peter Mark Galambos, son of Ludwig and Marta Galambos, into God’s Family and our Community on November 18.

On November 25, while celebrating our Traditional Thanksgiving Mass, we welcomed Eva Victoria Thompson, daughter of Attila and Roseanne Thompson, into our Community.

We welcomed Maxton Bela Dihen, son of Ildiko Dihen, into God’s Family and our Community on January 13, 2013.

Our Deceased

Since our last Bulletin, two dear members of our Community returned to their Creator.

Janos Lazar succumbed to his illness and died peacefully in his home at the age of 83. We celebrated for his eternal repose on February 10th. After Mass, his friends honored him with a reception in the midst of the Hungarian Catholic Mission Community.

Erzsébet Avvakumovits returned to her Creator on January 15 at the age of 73. She died peacefully in her home surrounded by her children and grandchildren. We celebrated the Mass of the Resurrection for her on February 2, in the Priory Chapel in the presence of her family and many friends. After the Mass, her Family and close friends hosted a reception.

May they rest in peace!

Light a Candle

Prayer is one of the most important ways as Christians to be close to God. Please pray for all of those who are sick, the injured, the elderly, and the homebound. May the Lord comfort and strengthen them and all the members of our parish community. There are so many prayers that we hold in the silence of the hearts—and there is a beautiful way to express these prayers to the Lord through our Light a Candle section on our Hungarian Catholic Mission website. It is a wonderful way to express both our personal needs and our community needs. Through the attached link, you will find an electronic candle that you may light. I encourage each of you to make a private or public prayer on our web site. You also have the opportunity to read some of the other prayers of members of the community, and these prayers are always remembered during Mass intentions.

Please take the opportunity to look at our website and offer prayers for those in need. Thank you for your prayers. Light a Candle link:

Light a Candle

Hungarian Saints of the Quarter

In our newsletter, we honor two Hungarian saints each quarter, a man and a woman. These Hungarian saints demonstrate exemplary virtues and wonderful service to the Lord and His people, and their feast days fall within the time of that quarter. Read about the lives of these saints, and the inspirational lives that they led with the help of God’s grace.

Saint Margaret of the Árpád Dynasty

Lived: 1242 - 1270
Canonized: 1943
Feast Day: January 19

Biography:

The daughter of King Béla IV and Maria Laskarina, niece to Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, and the younger sister of Saint Kinga and Blessed Yolanda, Margaret had been born into a holy family. When her family was exiled to Croatia during the Mongol invasion of Hungary (1241–42), her parents vowed that if Hungary was liberated from the Mongols, they would dedicate the child to Christ. Margaret entered the Dominican convent of Veszprém in 1245, and later transferred to the Convent of the Blessed Virgin founded by her parents on the "Rabbit’s Island" (Nyulak szigete) near Buda. Today, Margaret Island is named in her honor, where the ruins of the convent can still be seen. She spent all her life here, dedicating herself to Christ and opposing all attempts of her father to arrange a political marriage for her with King Ottokar II of Bohemia—due to the her solemn vows taken at the age of eighteen. Saint Margaret did not take pride in her wealth or parentage, but strove to imitate the saints in their holiness. Margaret took pride in hard work doing chores around the convent, and was especially welcome in the infirmary, and she made it her special duty to care for those who were too disagreeable for anyone else to tend to.

Saint Adalbert

Lived: 939 - 997
Canonized: 999
Feast Day: April 23

Biography:

Saint Adalebert was born into a noble family, and after entering the priesthood, later became Bishop of Prague. Throughout his life, he focused on evangelizing Pagans throughout the country and neighboring countries, including Hungary. A humble man noted for his charity and deliberate poor life, he resigned from his position as bishop in 989 and lived as a hermit in St. Alexis Benedictine monastery. In 993, Pope John XV sent him back to Bohemia and ordered him to act as bishop again. Then, he founded the first monastery in the Czech lands, in B&rtilde;evnov. Nonetheless, the nobility there continued to oppose his ministry. In 995, a rivalry resulted in the murder of several of Adaelbert’s brothers. Following this tragedy, he escaped to Prague, despite the Pope’s call for him to return to his post. Adalbert then traveled to Hungary and baptized Géza of Hungary and his son Stephen in the city of Esztergom. Adalbert was later martyred in 997 on the Baltic Sea coast It is recorded that his body was bought back for its weight in gold by Boleslaus the Brave and transported back to Prague in 1039.

WINTER CULTURAL EVENTS (2012)

November 3. Our annual traditional "Disznó" Dinner was held.

Report

The Hungarian Catholic Mission's annual Disznótoros Dinner was a great success!

The dinner was held on November 3, 2012, to honor the cultural contributions of the talented Hungarian actress and singer, Elizabeth Tárczy Kovács. Along with Ms. Tárczy Kovács, there were many distinguished guests in attendance at the dinner, including the Consul of the Hungarian Republic to Los Angeles, Dr. Oliver Pinter.

The dinner was a sold-out event comprised of an exceptional home-made sausage meal, lively entertainment, and the popular raffle event. The proceeds from this evening will support the promotion of Hungarian cultural events in the San Francisco Bay Area.

If you did not have the chance to make it to this year's Disznótoros Dinner, you have missed a lot and we hope to see you next year!

November 25. After Mass, the Mission's traditional Thanksgiving celebration was held in combination with a great community lunch.

December 2. Our Scouts' Santa Claus ceremony took place in the Priory theatre with the participation of more than 250 children and their parents. It was an extremely memorable ceremony, and well attended.

December 16. After Mass, Boy Scouts had their usual Bethlehem performance with great success. Everyone enjoyed this nicely prepared and wonderful Bethlehem presentation.

December 24. At 8 PM, in the Midnight Mass we celebrated the birth of Lord Jesus. The Mass was followed by a reception at the students’ Dining Hall.

December 30. On the last Sunday of the year, we had a Thanksgiving Holy Mass and we sang the Tedeum.

February 10. At the Mission Counsel's meeting, the head of the Mission ratified the Hungarian Catholic Mission's renewed Charter on which they worked during the latter half of the year.

February 24. The Mission's annual meeting was held. Fr. Maurus (the Pastor of the Mission), Ildiko Zentai (the President of the Mission) and Adam Kobor (the Treasurer of the Mission) presented their annual reports and also the leadership of the Mission Counsel has been renewed.

Treasurer’s Report for the Annual Meeting of February 24, 2013

Dear Pastor, President, and Members of the Hungarian Catholic Mission,

I would like to thank you and every donors for all your financial support to the Mission’s activities. I am also pleased to announce that we formed a Financial Committee with Eva Etter and Chuck Berls, and our meetings are also attended by Father Maurus, our President Ildiko Zentai, and David Maigret, our financial advisor. The Committee reports to the Mission’s Council, and is responsible for preparing the budget plan and controlling the use of funds. I would like to thank all of them, as well as everybody else who help a lot with the Mission’s finances, including our former treasurers Arpad Kovacs and Istvan Borbely, as well as Eva Kovacs and Laszlo Fritz. I would also like to thank Arpad Szoboszlay for sponsoring QuickBooks software that supports out bookkeeping.

The Mission switched to a fiscal year cycle of July 1st through June 30th that is more in line with the fiscal years of most of the U.S.-based institutions. Thus, the statement presented at our Annual Meeting of February 24 is actually a mid-year statement that covers the first 8 months of fiscal year July 2, 2012 through June 30, 2013. However, the report also covers the full calendar year of 2012, so there is no time period that we would miss reporting. Going forward, we will prepare the official full fiscal year statement as of June 30th each year.

For the 2012 calendar year the Mission had a surplus largely exceeding those of the earlier years. This was mainly the result of the recently established special foundations that need to accumulate some cash balance to support their future goals.

I would like to ask you to consider donating this year’s “annual membership” in case you haven’t done so yet. This is a voluntary donation with an indicative annual target of $100/family, but the Mission welcomes any donation, lower or higher, depending on your individual situation.

On behalf of the Hungarian Catholic Mission, I would like to thank you again for your generous support throughout the year.

Adam Kobor
Treasurer

March 17. We celebrated our National Day. On that occasion, was presented the operetta Countess Maritza by the Alexander Szoboszlai theater from Los Angeles. The show was a tremendous success.

Report

The festivities began at the Woodside Priory's chapel, where a Memorial Mass was held to remember those who sacrificed their life for our nation. The service was followed by a delicious lunch for the mass attendees. After the social luncheon ended, the festivities continued at 1:00 pm in the Priory's Theater.

Each year, the event is opened with a flag ceremony of the First Californian Cavalry and the Scouts. After Fr. Maurus' opening prayer, Anna Kobor (9) recited to us Posa's poem: "Magyar vagyok, magyarnak születtem." This was followed by Aron Sarmasi performing Ferenc Liszt’s "Szerelmi Álmok" on the piano. This year, our event speaker was Dr. Oliver Pinter, Deputy Consul General of Hungary in Los Angeles. Dr. Pinter also read to us the Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orban's commemorative message. This was followed by consular honors awarded to three members of the Hungarian Catholic Mission: Mrs. Katalin Szabo, Mr. Arpad Kovacs and Mr. Istvan Borbely, who made significant contributions for the Hungarian cultural cause in the San Francisco Bay Area. We listened to Zina Bozzay's Székely traditional songs, and watched a performance called "Aprók tánca" by a 20-member children's "Mazsola" folk dance group.

The performers then presented some outstanding poems and songs from the Museum Garden. Gabor Magyari Kope recited Petofi's poem: "Feltámadott a tenger," followed by Dr. Zoltan Egyed reading of the "12 Pont". There was also a special performance given by Gyula Szabo, who sang Petofi's poem, "Nemzeti dal" while playing on guitar with the Mission's Choir. It was a beautiful performance. Our scouts Jolan Gero, Luca Gero, Sophie Messer, Danielle Vinella recited Petofi's beautiful poem: "Csatában". The Eszterlánc Hungarian Folk Ensemble, now already with 20 members, gave a performance called “Mezoségi táncok,” which was incredible. Gabor Magyari Kope's, pastor of the Hungarian Reformed Church, provided the closing prayer. Father Maurus expressed his thanks to all who contributed to the success of the program. The celebration ended with the Hungarian National Anthem.

The Memorial celebration was followed by Sandor Szoboszlai's Southern California Theater's play here at the Woodside Priory Theater, with nearly 400 guests in attendance. This year, Imre Kalman's two act Hungarian operetta, Countess Maritza, was performed. The performance was unbelievable—the fantastic scenery, the music, the costumes, the performing dog, the memorable characters— the performance was such an amazing quality that the audience applauded repeatedly between scenes. I noticed that the children’s mouths were gaped open in awe and amazement throughout the entire performance. They enjoyed the show immensely, and most of these children, especially those who were born in the US, had never seen a Hungarian play before. We are proud of that through this theatrical performance; they received lessons in Hungarian language, history, music and dance. At the end of the operetta, the audience thanked the actors for their contributions and talents with a standing ovation.

Yet even after all of these exciting events, it still was not the end of the celebrations. The operetta Countess Maritza was followed by a very savory dinner of Hungarian Tejfolos Chicken Paprikas with nokedli., and as is written in the book, red and white wine spiced up in the Student's Dining Hall. The room was packed full of people. More than 200 portions of food were served to the guests. Everyone was in agreement that this was a great day, with beautiful events, and fine food.

It was good to be Hungarian on this day and we felt great pride in our Hungarian heritage, with the wonderful holiday celebrations, the delicious Hungarian traditional foods, traditional poetry and theatrical performances, and this was the ideal atmosphere to bring together the San Francisco Bay Area Hungarians here at the Woodside Priory, organized by the Hungarian Catholic Mission. I believe that we fulfilled the Mission's objectives, that on this day we gave the opportunity to care and preserve the Hungarian language, tradition, and culture to keep it alive for future generations.

Thanks to those who joined us and came to celebrate this wonderful day.

Ildiko Zentai
President of the Hungarian Catholic Mission

March 24. – Palm Sunday – with the usual Palm Sunday liturgy. Confession after Mass.

March 31. – Easter Sunday – after Mass will be the usual Agape / Food Blessing.

SPRING CULTURAL EVENTS

May 5. In our Mass, we will remember Cardinal Mindszenti

May 12. We celebrate Mothers' Day in our community. The reception will be traditionally served by the men.

May 20. We celebrate Whitsun.

May 26. – Memorial Day – We will remember our heroes in the Mass.

June 2. Scout year final. There will be a Scout performance in the Priory Theater which will be followed by the Scouts' Dinner at the Student's Dining Hall.

ANNIVERSARIES

Fifty years in California ...

Bela Nemeth, who later became known as Father Maurus, came over from Canada to California almost 50 years ago, in August of 1963, to the Woodside Priory, where he immediately began his year of preparation (probation) for the Benedictine life as a priest and a teacher. He was admitted to the Benedictine Order in 1965 in the Woodside Priory Community. He did his year of novitiate at the Benedictine Abbey of St. John in Collegeville and at the same place he did his university studies as a preparation for the priesthood; these he continued later in St. Patrick's Seminary, Menlo Park, California. While doing his theological studies in the seminary, he started to get involved with the life of the Priory School. He gat ordained to the Priesthood in 1972. During the last 50 years, he has been involved with every aspect of the Woodside Priory Community and School; being a Business Manager, Maintenance Director, Foodservice Manager, Treasurer, School Bus Driver, Dorm Master, Biology Teacher for 43 years and the Head of the Science Department for 34 years. He is also the Pastor of the Hungarian Catholic Mission since 1994.His amazing organizing skills enriched every aspect of the life of the School and Community. Since his retirement from teaching two year ago, he is concentrating his creative energies on his pastoral work as the Pastor of the Hungarian Catholic Mission.. We congratulate him on this significant anniversary and pray to God to give him many more successful years in good health in the service of His people.

Father Christopher was born a hundred years ago ...

This August, we celebrate the birth of Father Christopher's centenary. For decades, he diligently and selflessly served the Hungarian minority far from his country and in exile. He organized, served, and managed the Woodside Priory School for many years and with his teaching and example educated the youth. He held together our Mission as a pastor for many years. He was involved in the Mission even after his retirement to Pannonhalma until his death in 1999. In both social and religious circles, he had many friends and admirers. His energy and hard work ethic greatly impressed all those who knew him.

The public celebration of this important anniversary preparation has yet to commence. We are looking for volunteers to share personal memories about Father Christopher to share them with each other. All written and verbal ideas are welcome.

OTHER CHURCH EVENTS

This year, during the absence of Fr. Maurus, Fr. Christinel (Christian) Vorniku will take care of pastoral duties in the Mission, hold the Hungarian mass and will be available for spiritual needs. Fr. Christian comes to us from Transylvania. He will be the guest of the Benedictine Community and the Mission from July 1 to August 3.

CHARITY

Thank you for your generous contributions to the Hungarian Catholic Mission. I feel it is very important to show where we were financially in 4th Quarter Revenue in 2011 versus 4th Quarter 2012. As you can see, your contributions impacted most on the Deva Foundation where we were able to help a Deva Technical School with a $10,000 contribution by Dominic Gallello.

It is our goal to apply 50% of all donations to any of our six approved charitable foundations. The remaining 50% of monies donated will be put into the Hungarian Catholic Mission Bank account.

It is our intent to grow our bank account over time so that with future emergency requirements, we can make a bigger impact in helping Hungarians in need.

If you have not donated to any of our foundations, in the past, I encourage you to look up our six foundations on the web site so that you can understand, what we are doing in each of the foundations. You will find on the web site videos of our foundations and the ability to contribute on line. With your generous help, we can make a difference in helping Hungarians in need.