Saint Albert Priory

Dominican Friars
5890 Birch Court
Oakland, CA 94618
(510) 596-1800

May 2004

The Dominican Friars of Saint Albert Priory, 2003-2004

A Busy Spring Season for the Priory  

May is always a busy month at the Priory. For the student brothers, final exams, papers and the other activities attendant to the closure of the academic year demand a great deal of energy. Classes end on May 14th at the DSPT, where most of our Brothers study. As a result, beginning on Monday, May 17th, our summer morning prayer schedule will begin. Beginning on that day and lasting until the Fall, Morning Prayer will be scheduled for 7:30.

Of much greater significance than our scheduling adjustment is the May 29th ordination to the priesthood of Brother John Evans and Brother Francis Le at Saint Theresa Church in Oakland. With the Evans and Le families, we friars have been anticipating this event with much eagerness for a long time. The new Father John will be assigned to our Newman Center in Eugene, Oregon, while the soon-to-be Father Francis will be serving at Holy Rosary Parish in Antioch, California.

At the end of the month, most of our student Brothers will disperse for their various summer assignments. To cite a few, some will be involved in ministry internships; others will study foreign languages abroad while others will be enrolled in a summer unit of Clinical Pastoral Education. Visitors will see far fewer friars around here.

Although the absence of so many of the friars may make the Priory seem empty, in fact there will be more than twenty of us home all summer, so do join us for worship whenever you can; you can help fill the ranks in choir! Our summer schedule will be posted in the June issue of this bulletin, and in the meantime, our May schedule is provided in the next column. God bless you.

Father Michael, O.P.
Prior

Liturgy Schedule

The Public is Always Welcome!

The Prior’s Wish List

Our Prior informs us that two priority items we are facing include a major remodel  of our institutional kitchen and roofing repairs that can no longer be avoided.  The cost of these projects is far beyond our budget.   We’d be grateful to you for helping us to complete this work. Budgeted items range in cost from $50 to $10,000.

1. A rebuilt institutional kitchen became an absolute priority a few weeks ago when the ovens stopped working.  Now our oven ventilation system needs to be entirely rerouted.  In addition to serving our community, the new kitchen will enable us to better serve retreats, renewal groups and study sessions during the summer and help generate additional income. The estimate for completion of this work is now $200,000. We have received nearly $90,000 from generous donors.  The ovens we just purchased cost $9,000.  Please ask to review the detailed budget if you are interested in supporting specific items.
    

2. Our roofing repairs can no longer be avoided or damage will become more extensive. This project  will cost $10,000. 

We thank those who have already made contributions to make these long terms projects a reality and we ask that others consider joining in this service to our community.

Introducing A Few Good Men

Brother Peter Do, a native of Vietnam, now calls Portland, Oregon, his hometown. His parents, Mr. Phuoc Do and Mrs. Ann Nguyen, and his siblings live in Portland.  Before entering the Order in 2001, Brother Peter had earned an M.S. in chemistry and was working on his doctorate.  He looks forward to ministering to university students at a Newman Center.

Born in the Philippines, Brother Jesson Lim Mata came to the Order in 2001 from Seattle, where he studied Political Science at Seattle University.  He is the second youngest in a family of five children.  Before entering the Order he worked with the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta.  His artistic talents benefit all of us.

Brother Jeremiah Loverich is a member of the last novitiate class to enter the Order at Saint Albert Priory in 2001. The son of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Loverich of Flagstaff, Arizona, he was a high school teacher with an M.A. in secondary education from Mt. St. Mary’s College, Los Angeles.  Brother Jeremiah, a published poet, would like to serve in campus ministry and itinerant preaching.

If he’s not working in our library, Brother Raphael Mary Salzillo is probably on the organ bench. This native of Florence, Oregon, entered the novitiate in 2001 with an M.S. in Applied Physics from U.C. San Diego.  The son of Thomas and Renita Salzillo, he would like to teach or do campus ministry.

Thank You

Special thanks to the friends, neighbors and family members who worship with us on Sundays. This year at Easter you presented us with more than $4,000 in the collection!  The gifts we receive at Easter, Christmas and our once-a-year collection for the support of our young Brothers, are extremely important to our annual budget and so are very much appreciated.  Thank you very much.

Pilgrimage Site: Saint Dominic’s in Benicia

The oldest parish in our Province, Saint Dominic, was founded in Benicia in 1854. Sunday Mass is at (5:30 pm on Saturdays), and on Sunday mornings at 7:30, 9:00, 11:00; and 12:30 and 5:30 p.m.  Daily Mass is celebrated at 7:00 and 8:15 a.m.; the Rosary is recited with the friars at 7:45 a.m. and Morning Prayer is prayed in conjunction with the 8:15 Mass.  The parish has a perpetual adoration chapel next door to the church, and Saint Dominic Cemetery, where parishioners as well as the deceased friars of the Province are buried, is also in Benicia. Take 680 North to 780 North; at the Fifth Street exit turn left and proceed to I Street, where the parish is located on the right.  To reach the cemetery, turn right at the Fifth Street exit; the cemetery is as the top of the hill on the right.

Our Province participates in eScrip. The group name is “Western Dominican Province” and the group ID number is I 54804935. Can you support this endeavor? It’s free!

Click Here!