COMMUNITY
tvc.dsj.org | May 23, 2017
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Catholic Cemeteries…Celebrates Memorial Day with Veterans Tributes and Masses
By Kathy Fanger
You are invited on Memorial Day,
May 29, at 10:30 a.m. to the Annual Vet-
erans Tributes and Masses at Calvary
and Gate of Heaven Catholic Cemeter-
ies. We are proud to join more than 1,000
Catholic cemeteries, large and small,
across our nation in participating in the
celebration, “Serving God and Country:
A Memorial Day Salute to Our Heroes,”
developed by the Catholic Cemetery
Conference three years ago.
We will pray for and honor those
men and women who have sacrifi ced
their lives in order to defend the rights
of all to freedom, justice and peace. Our
prayers will include deceased veterans,
all active military serving around the
world, and all of our deceased loved
ones. We will pray for an end to hostil-
ity and violence, so that true peace and
cooperation may come to our world.
The Veterans Tributes will feature:
The National Anthem, Prayer, Speeches,
Lowering of the Flag, Wreath Presenta-
tion at the Military Branch Flags, Taps,
and a Tribute Wall.
Gate of Heaven Memorial Day
Event: The Veterans Tribute begins at
10:30 a.m. at the outdoor Pavilion area;
Mass at 11 a.m. with presider, Monsi-
gnor Francis V. Cilia. Tents and chairs
will be provided. There will be food
trucks available after the Mass. Please
allow time to park.
Calvary Memorial Day Event: The
Veterans Tribute begins at 10:30 a.m. in
the main parking lot area; Mass at 11
a.m. with presider, Reverend Christo-
pher Bennett. Tents and chairs will be
provided. A food truck will be available
after the Mass. Please allow time to park.
Many organizations will partici-
pate including: The American Legion,
Wreaths Across America, Knights of
Columbus, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts,
ROTC students, local parish and high
school choirs, and lay parish ministers.
History of Memorial Day
Memorial Day, or Declaration Day,
was announced on May 5, 1868 by Gen-
eral John Logan and was fi rst observed
on May 30 that year when fl owers were
placed on the graves of Union and Con-
federate soldiers at Arlington National
Cemetery. Its purpose was to observe
a day when our nation intentionally
remembers and honors all those who
have given their lives in service to their
country. It is not to honor war, but to
honor those who died in the many
confl icts and wars that our country has
seen. We acknowledge that this service
holds great risk and we are grateful to
those who have paid the ultimate price
– their lives.
Some of the rituals that are observed
on Memorial Day include placing fl ow-
ers, fl ags and momentos on the graves
of loved ones, particularly veterans,
and fl ying the U.S. fl ag at half-staff until
noon. In December 2000, the “National
Moment of Remembrance” resolution
was passed which asked that at 3 p.m.
local time, for all Americans to volun-
tarily and informally observe in their
own way a moment of silence, remem-
bering the true meaning of this day.
For more information, contact (650)
428-3730 or catholiccemeteriesdsj.org.
Caregivers Mass & Brunch
July 22 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Gate of Heaven Catholic Cemetery
All Saints Chapel
22555 Cristo Rey Drive, Los Altos
Presider: Father Christopher Bennett
If you are a caregiver for a loved one
in a home, nearby or far, you and the
person for whom you care, if they are
able, are invited to come pray with oth-
ers and enjoy a complimentary brunch.
Please RSVP by July 14 to (650) 428-3730
or www.ccdsj.org.
Climate Disruption: A Scientifi c Call to Action
Dr. Andrew Gunther, Ph.D., used this
title for his remarks to about 70 people
on April 18 at Our Lady of the Rosary
Church (Saint Thomas Aquinas Parish,
Palo Alto). His talk was co-sponsored
by the parish’s Green Committee and
the Peninsula Interfaith Climate Action
group.
Dr. Gunther told of the early begin-
nings of inquiry into and development
of climate change science. He said most
of the additional heat resulting from the
presence of harmful greenhouse gas
(GHG) is stored in oceans, how warming
water quickens the pace of ice melt and
weakens oceans’ ability to retain car-
bon dioxide. When the area of ice fi elds
shrinks, their ability (90%) to refl ect the
sunlight is diminished, causing more
energy to be absorbed, warming the
oceans. This results in a self-reinforcing
loop. Before our modern times, the deep
ice fi elds, ice caps and permafrost re-
mained pretty constant with their deep
freeze temperatures. In geologic times
there were no thermometers, so scien-
tists used “proxies” – other indicators,
such as tree rings, corals, deep-settled
sea sands, stalactites and air bubbles
in Antarctica ice cores. These proxies
showed indications of little GHG until
our industrial era’s heavy use of fossil
fuels for mass production. Deforestation
also results in increasing CO2 and is
responsible for 20% of human-caused
greenhouse eff ect.
There have been temperature chang-
es, but Dr. Gunther, with charts and
graphs, demonstrated that the heating
trend and the GHG trend have been
always upward since the industrial
revolution, the GHG spike strikingly so.
We are seeing the harm. Sea level
rise and ocean acidifi cation, coral death,
dead trees, harmful insect migration,
algae blooms, methane eruptions from
thawing permafrost, shift in hurricane
paths, droughts, fl oods, storm surges,
health care costs, civil turmoil, refugees,
wars, revolutions – and more.
Fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) are
the problems. Gunther predicted we’ll
be using them for a long time, but at
last we’re making the essential move to
wean ourselves. This is the 195-nation
2015 Paris accord, an agreement to start
to hold temperature rise to 1.5C - 2.0C
degrees from pre-industrial levels.
There are some encouraging signs but
nothing to get back-patting about. Big
business seems to see the need; super-
size companies are on board. In Con-
gress there is a growing, evenly-divided
bipartisan group, the Bipartisan Climate
Solutions Caucus; former Secretary of
State George Shultz and other Republi-
cans are advocating a revenue-neutral
carbon fee. Many states have programs
independent of federal policy.
Dr. Gunther agreed with the sci-
entifi c community that time is of the
essence. Start fixing it now before it
becomes unfi xable. He quoted Apollo
Astronaut Rusty Schweikart who saw
planet Earth from space, “We aren’t
passengers on Spaceship Earth, we’re
the crew. We aren’t residents on this
planet, we’re citizens. The diff erence in
both cases is responsibility.”
In closing Dr. Gunther asked, “Do
you really want your children or grand-
children to ask you, ‘Why did you do so
little when you knew so much?’ ”