Week 10 Kickback - Movie Night
Come take a break from studying! We will be having a movie night with some essential pre-finals snacks this Friday in OU common room. Hope to see you all there!
Surfing Catholics at Stanford
Join us for our monthly surfing outing – we’re all beginners so no experience needed. Join our WhatsApp for more info/to rsvp.
CLICK HERE to join our WhatsApp.
Grad Students - Sunday Scoop
Join other grads & post-docs with Fr. Chrysostom for a pre-exam week ice cream run. We’ll visit Somisomi, a Korean dessert chain known for its fish-shaped, waffle-like pastry called taiyaki. These pastries are filled with custard, red bean, or Nutella and topped with premium, creamy soft-serve ice cream. After the 4:30pm Mass, meet outside the front of Memorial Church and we’ll head over to Somisomi.
Spring Break Backpacking Trip: Point Reyes
(Location updated from the Lost Coast due to group regulations.)
Join the Catholic Outdoor Ministry team and Fr. Chrysostom for a Spring Break backpacking adventure at Point Reyes! Great for first-time backpackers. We’ll explore one of California’s most stunning coastlines, hiking along rugged cliffs and quiet beaches in a highly sought-after wilderness area.
Expect abundant wildlife—tule elk, seals, sea lions, birds of prey, and possibly elephant seals and migrating gray whales with their calves. Each day includes a 6–7 mile hike on well-established trails, with campsites that have running water and toilets.
We’ll celebrate Mass each evening before dinner with outdoor Adoration, begin our days chanting the Psalms, and end with Compline (Night Prayer)—often on the beach. Backpacks will be around 30 lbs, with shared gear and affordable Stanford gear rentals available.
Cost: $50/person (scholarships available)
Sign up: https://forms.gle/ZQbHGBrAZZMZcckA9
Christ in the City Mission Trip - Denver
Arrive on the Sunday after finals (03/22) to Christ in the City, a young adult missionary community striving to share genuine human connection with those living on the streets of Denver, CO. After an evening of orientation, we’ll spend five days living out the mission: receiving the love of Christ in prayer and community and then hitting the streets—not to “fix” those we meet, but to building genuine connection with simple acts of friendship, listening ears, and compassionate presence. On Saturday (03/28), we’ll debrief the experience over breakfast and head home in the early afternoon—arriving back in time for the first week of the Spring quarter.
Cost: $250 deposit--fully refunded after the trip, but forfeit if you cancel after flights and lodging have already been purchased on your behalf. If serious circumstances prevent you from paying the deposit, please contact frbart@stanford.edu.
Register by January 25 » [Google Forms]
Questions?
For logistics: diegogc@stanford.edu
To learn more about CITC: bshortt@stanford.edu
OCIA Day of Reflection
A retreat day for Catechumens and Candidates preparing to enter the Catholic Church.
Bach, Widor, and the Grand Organs of Memorial Church
We invite you to experience the majestic sounds of the two incredible organs in the choir loft at Stanford Memorial Church on Sunday, April 19th, at 2:00 PM. Music Director, Nicholas Mourlam, will perform a concert featuring J.S. Bach‘s Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor and Charles-Marie Widor’s Symphony for Organ No. 5. Admission is free and open to the public; a free-will offering will be accepted to support Catholic Community at Stanford’s music ministry.
OCIA Moral Theology - OPEN TO ALL!
All are welcome to attend our Crash Course in the Catholic Understanding of Morality OCIA Sessions. This session, “Love, Sex, and Sexuality in Catholic Teaching,” will look at sex in the broader context of human living and how to live Christian life in a secular (and sometimes hostile) world. For more information, contact Oriana at orianatp@stanford.edu.
Location: Old Union 3rd Floor Common Room
Stanford Film Study Group — Calvary
Please join the Stanford Catholic Film Group on Monday, March 9, to discuss “Calvary” (2014). This Irish comedic drama focuses on a priest who deals with many parishioners with grievances with the Church, including a confession of an upcoming murder. It stars Brendan Gleeson, Chris O’Dowd, Kelly Reilly, Aidan Gillen, Dylan Moran, Domhnall Gleeson, and M. Emmet Walsh. Bishop Robert Barron wrote that the film “shows, with extraordinary vividness, what authentic spiritual shepherding looks like and how it feels for a priest to have a shepherd’s heart.” Lauren Ely for First Things wrote: “Is it possible for a film to capture the horror of the sexual abuse scandal … while at the same time presenting a case for the necessity of the institutional priesthood? [T]his is exactly what Calvary manages to do.” We’ll be meeting at 7:30 on Zoom. It’s available very widely.
Click here to find out how to watch.
A Zoom link will be sent the day before, so if you’re not on the email list currently, send a message stating “I’m Interested” to StanfordYRCFilm@gmail.com. Everyone is invited!
Hike & Mass
Come join us for a beautiful hike in the iconic Marin Headlands. Enjoy sweeping views of the ocean and surrounding landscape, including Tennessee Valley, Rodeo Lagoon, and Rodeo Beach. Although steep with some stairs, this hike is well worth the effort. We will celebrate Mass mid-hike, followed by time to enjoy your lunch. We expect the outing to last just over half a day and will be joined by the young adult group from St. Dominic’s Catholic Church in San Francisco. Afterward, there may be optional social time add-on, such as a visit to a café. Since options nearby are limited, however, we may simply drive to one of the nearby viewing pull-offs for the Golden Gate Bridge, and enjoy hot chocolate and coffee together by our cars.
Meet in the Tressider Parking lot at 8:30 a.m. and expect to return around 2:30 p.m.
Click here to sign up.
Undergrads Week 9 Kickback
Undergrads are invited to a Poker night on Friday March 6 from 7-9PM in the Old Union Common Room. While we won’t be gambling, there will be a prize for the winner!
OCIA Moral Theology - OPEN TO ALL!
All are welcome to attend our Crash Course in the Catholic Understanding of Morality OCIA Sessions. This session, “Virtue Ethics,” will teach us how to live habitually in order to become better (more virtuous) persons.
For more information, contact Oriana at orianatp@stanford.edu.
The class will be located in room 200-030 on the Main Quad. This is a classroom in the “History Corner”. When approaching the Main Quad from the Oval it is the first building on the left of the main entrance to the quad..
Family Weekend Mass
Save the Date! – Family Weekend Vigil Mass on 2/28
Happy Family Weekend! We’ll be having a special vigil Mass on Saturday 02/28 at 4 pm for all families. This Mass will count for your Sunday obligation and should help any family members traveling on 02/29. After Mass, join us for a small gathering and high-quality photos with our in-house expert photographer, Father Bart, ready take high quality photos of you with your families in front of Memorial Church. See you there!
We’d love to extend this Family Weekend invitation to your parents and loved ones! Please fill out this form to help us get in touch with your family so we can share event details, reminders, and all the good stuff. Thanks for helping us roll out the welcome mat for your people!
Lent Grad Retreat
Into the Desert: Transforming Trials into Encounters with God
God’s vocation for us is to flourish, yet, like Jesus being sent into the desert by the Holy Spirit for temptation, God often uses trials and difficulties - or deserts - as opportunities to mature us as His beloved sons and daughters. In this retreat, we will delve into the biblical and spiritual significance of the desert, as a place of transformation and encounter with God and evil, and examples for triumph in the battle.
Details
The retreat will be held at the breathtaking lighthouse at HI Point Montara, which sits on a spectacular bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, including trails to their own on-site cove beach. It is the perfect place to retreat from the business of life and reconnect with God. Though it is not a Catholic venue, we will have the Blessed Sacrament reserved during the retreat. Expect chant, adoration, Mass, and free time to sit by the ocean to reflect. Talks will be about 30-40 min with time in your small group to discuss & unpack it after. Registration is $100 via Venmo “Stanford-Catholic” - however, we want everyone who wants to attend to be able to, so scholarships are available (just email cmijinke@stanford.edu).
Our accommodation will be mostly in two Lodges (The Surfside House, and Sea Lodge). Rooms are shared (including some bunk beds) or with some private sites available (reserved first for couples). Men/women will sleep in separate rooms. There are no venue staff for cooking/cleaning, so this is a self-run retreat. Each lodge has a fully stocked kitchen where we will be cooking and doing dishes together. Your small group will double as your chore group. Meals are still being finalized, but you can expect a vegetarian, yet hearty soup-and-bread dinner on Friday, simple but tasty breakfasts/lunches, and a deluxe Saturday night dinner followed by a social.
Retreat for Members of the Legal Profession
43rd Annual Retreat for Members of the Legal Profession
Silent Retreat for Men and Women
Discernment and the Call to Leadership
In the end, it is important to remember that we cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are.— Max De Pree, Leadership is an Art
Each of us is called to make a difference in our world. How might God be inviting me to do so, in this place and time, with the experiences and gifts I have been given? Our weekend will provide the opportunity to listen for God’s voice in becoming what we need to be, what we are called to be—for ourselves and our world.
Thomas H. Smolich, SJ is the Rector of the Jesuit Community at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University in Berkeley. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1974 and celebrates the 40th anniversary of his ordination this year. His academic background includes the Master of Divinity from the Jesuit School of Theology, the Master in Pastoral Studies from Loyola Marymount University, and the MBA from Stanford University. He has long experience in Jesuit leadership, serving as the first Executive Director of Proyecto Pastoral at Dolores Mission in East Los Angeles (1988-1993), the Provincial of the California Province of the Society of Jesus (1999-2005), the President of the Jesuit Conference of the United States (2006-2014), and most recently, as the International Director of the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) in Rome (2015-2023).
For more information and to register, please contact Oriana at orianatp@stanford.edu. Scholarships available for Stanford Law students.
Stanford Catholic Alumni Happy Hour
We will gather on the back patio of Bar Darling on Chestnut Street in the Marina District of San Francisco. Drinks are on us! Alumni of all class years, friends and guests are welcome! If you would like to be an Event Sponsor to help offset the expenses for this event, you can make a Venmo donation to “Stanford-Catholic” and let us know in memo that it is for Happy Hour.
Click here to register you and your guests.
OCIA Moral Theology - OPEN TO ALL!
All are welcome to attend our Crash Course in the Catholic Understanding of Morality OCIA Sessions. This session “Good, Evil, Rightness, and Wrongness as Human Considerations” will focus on Christian anthropology as the basis for understanding sin and goodness. What makes an individual action “right” or “wrong?” What is sin? What is the difference between venial and mortal sins? For more information contact Oriana at orianatp@stanford.edu.
The class will be located in room 200-030 on the Main Quad. This is a classroom in the “History Corner”. When approaching the Main Quad from the Oval it is the first building on the left of the main entrance to the quad.
Opportunity Center
Join us as we cook and serve breakfast for the Opportunity Center! Cooking will begin at 7:00 am in EVGR A, and serving will be at 8:00 am at the Opportunity Center. Sign up here!
Freshman Class Dinner
Calling all frosh! You are invited to a freshman class dinner on February 22nd after the 4:30 PM Mass. It will be in the Old Union 3 rd Floor Common Room and we will be serving Chipotle.
RSVP here and invite a friend!
Mercy Night
We have our first-ever Mercy Night at Stanford, happening Thursday, February 19th at 7 p.m. in Memorial Church. It’s an evening of quiet prayer, contemplative music, and reflection in God’s presence. You can pray, sing quietly, light a candle before Christ, go to confession with one of our priests or just sit in silent reflection. Prayer teams will be available to pray with you if you need intercession or healing. Stay 5 minutes or full hour and a half.
Mardi Gras Party
Join us for our Mardi Gras (or Fat Tuesday) Party to celebrate the start of a wonderful Lenten Season! We will be serving Tacos and enjoying some good music at Jerry House over by Lake Lag. All are welcome!
Toy Drive
The holidays have passed, but the spirit of giving remains. The CC@S's Justice and Service team is organizing a gift drive for the children at the Ronald McDonald House to be delivered around Valentine's Day. Gifts will be collected after all three masses on 02/08 and 02/15. Like St. Valentine, help us spread joy and love!
Click here to see current needs. Thank you for your generosity!
Surfing Catholics at Stanford
“Roses are red,
petals will part —
saltwater will sooth you
if you have a lonely heart.”
CLICK HERE to join the Catholic Surfers for our next surf Saturday, Feb 14. Beginners welcome. Jesus walked on water—now you can too. To prevent bots and spammers, when you request to join, tell us you’re part of the community so we know you’re legit.
Kickback Week 6
Got a Valentine in mind? Come make the flowers yourself. Join us Friday, February 13th on the third floor of Old Union for a flower-arranging night and movie—because handmade blooms hit harder than the store-bought.
Study Night
It’s midterm season- you’re tired, hungry, and need to study. Come on over to Study Hall in Old Union 301 from 8-11 PM (or whenever Old Union closes) for some snacks, On Call drinks, and community.
Opportunity Center
Join us as we resume breakfast cooking and serving for the Opportunity Center this quarter! Cooking will begin at 7:00 am in EVGR A, and serving will be at 8:00 am at the Opportunity Center. Sign up here!
Grad Students Super Bowl Watch Party
CALLING ALL GRAD STUDENTS!! GCSA is hosting a Super Bowl Watch Party in EVGR B 144. Whether you’re there for the football, Bad Bunny, commercials, or free food we can’t wait to see you!
Toy Drive
The holidays have passed, but the spirit of giving remains. The CC@S's Justice and Service team is organizing a gift drive for the children at the Ronald McDonald House to be delivered around Valentine's Day. Gifts will be collected after all three masses on 02/08 and 02/15. Like St. Valentine, help us spread joy and love!
Click here to see current needs. Thank you for your generosity!
Hike & Mass with UC Berkeley at Angel Island
Come join us for a day on iconic Angel Island—often called the Ellis Island of the West, where many immigrants first stepped into a new life in America. The views of the ferry ride from SF alone are worth it, with sweeping vistas of the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco skyline. Once on the island, we’ll hike to the summit of Mount Caroline. At 788 feet, the peak offers panoramic views of the Bay Area and will be the setting where we hope to celebrate Mass. The hike is an easy-to-moderate, ~5mile loop, featuring rocky coves, beaches, grasslands, and city views. Angel Island also has a rich and sometimes sad history as a World War II POW camp and an immigration station. Time permitting, we’ll visit one of the small museums before heading back.
Cost & Logistics:
Ferry $9.25 with Clipper Card, $14 without Clipper Card
Carpool contribution: Please bring $10 cash to help your driver cover gas and parking
Scholarships are available: don’t let cost be a barrier.
What to bring:
Comfortable hiking shoes
Layers (the ferry will be windy)
Lunch/snacks, water, sunscreen, and a Clipper Card if you have one (highly suggested)
Trail Details:
Distance: 7 miles
Elevation Gain: 1300 ft
Estimated Time Hiking: 4 hours
Schedule:
8:30 AM – Meet at Tresidder Lot (Stanford)
8:45 AM – Depart from Tresidder Lot (carpool)
9:45 AM – Park near San Francisco Ferry Building
Suggested parking $25: https://maps.app.goo.gl/1QNjohHE6ModSXFm810:15 AM – Ferry DEPARTS from San Francisco Ferry Terminal, Gate B
11:00 AM – Arrive on Angel Island
- Hike Angel Island loop
- Summit of Mt. Caroline Livermore
- Mass at the summit (weather permitting)
- Lunch/free time
- Visit Immigration Station museum (time permitting)3:00 PM – Return to ferry; board 10 min before departure
3:20 PM – Ferry DEPARTS Angel Island for San Francisco
3:50 PM – Arrive at San Francisco Ferry Terminal, Gate B
4:00 PM – Return to cars; depart for Stanford
5:00 PM – Arrive back at Tresidder Lot
Click here to RSVP
Radiating Christ's Joy
Tricia Bolle, a Stanford Alum, will give a talk titled “Radiating Christ’s Joy” on February 3 from 7PM-9PM in 420-040. She is a visionary missionary with over a decade of experience bringing the gospel to Asia and the Founder of the St. Francis Xavier Lay Missionary Society. A true evangelist, she empowers laypeople to radiate Christ’s joy, challenging us to see every daily encounter as a chance to witness God’s love.
Stanford Athletics Mass
All Stanford student-athletes and staff are warmly invited to a special Mass on Wednesday, January 28 at 8:00 PM in Memorial Church. All athletes, coaches, staff, and athletic department members are welcome to join us in offering the season, the work, and the people who make Stanford Athletics possible to God. Join us afterwards for some quick refreshments. Bring your teammates!