A Word from Your Pastor - March 10

A Word from Your Pastor
 
Dear Parishioners:
 

I am offering some reflections concerning the three practices of Lent: Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving.  This week, we will look at Almsgiving.

“Alms” is not a word that we are very familiar with.  It comes from the Greek “elemosyne,” meaning “mercy, charity, alms.”  You may recognize the root from “Kyrie, eleison,” that is, “Lord, have mercy.”  This exercise is a practical form of self-giving, a sharing of material possessions with those in need.  Prayer and Fasting are outward looking in essence, but Almsgiving is even more other-centered.

A couple of times a month throughout the year, we have opportunity to give alms in the form of monetary donations to the various Second Collections and to St. Vincent DePaul.  During Lent, many also collect funds through the Rice Bowl campaign for Catholic Relief Services.  From time to time, generosity in this form of alms takes place to meet emergency needs such as victims of natural disasters (hurricanes, earthquakes, floods and the like).

At the present moment, St. Timothy Parishioners are being invited to consider giving alms in very practical forms.  The Knights of Columbus, cooperating with the St. Vincent De Paul Society of our parish, are inviting donation of cans of food for the St. James the Less Food Pantry.  A parishioner on a Medical Mission trip to Haiti is seeking medicine and other supplies for aid to those in need in Haiti.  Watterson students are collecting cleaning products for JOIN (the Joint Organization for Inner-City Needs).  In April, St. Vincent DePaul and the Women’s club will team up to assist those in need of clothing.  Each month, members of St. Vincent DePaul invite parishioners to make sandwiches for the hungry.

Parish Stewardship (the first collection) is not technically a charity – although Uncle Sam considers it so for tax purposes.  It is what each of us ought to give to support the ongoing life of the Parish Family.  For a family, paying the bills is not a charity, but a necessary part of life.  Room and board, utilities and garbage pickup are all paid for out of the family till.  Almsgiving begins when payments owed in justice are already met.

Every family should have its own “pet charities.”  Each individual has a duty to share time, talent and treasure beyond the bonds of family ties.  In Lent, we practice Almsgiving, along with Prayer and Fasting, to remind ourselves that we must be generous with the gifts we have received.

Year of Faith October 11, 2012 – November 24, 2013

We continue our journey through the Year of Faith.  As one way of observing this year, each week a small section of the Catechism of the Catholic Church is read before the start of Mass.  This is a small way of offering some food for growth in Faith throughout this year.

ARTICLE 2     THE TRANSMISSION OF DIVINE REVELATION

74 God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth”:  (1 Timothy 2:4.) that is, of Christ Jesus.  (Cf. John 14:6.) Christ must be proclaimed to all nations and individuals, so that this revelation may reach to the ends of the earth:

God graciously arranged that the things he had once revealed for the salvation of all peoples should remain in their entirety, throughout the ages, and be transmitted to all generations.  (Dei Verbum 7; cf. 2 Corinthians 1:20; 3:16-4:6.)

I. The Apostolic Tradition

75 “Christ the Lord, in whom the entire Revelation of the most high God is summed up, commanded the apostles to preach the Gospel, which had been promised beforehand by the prophets, and which he fulfilled in his own person and promulgated with his own lips. In preaching the Gospel, they were to communicate the gifts of God to all men. This Gospel was to be the source of all saving truth and moral discipline.” (Dei Verbum 7; cf. Matthew 28:19-20; Mark  16:15.)

Comment: The proclamation of what God has revealed to us is the purpose for our having been called into being as a community of believers.  We are to pass on the truth we have heard to all in our time and from one generation to the next. 

A Holy Hour

The Knights of Columbus and GIFT are sponsoring a monthly Holy Hour, which is scheduled this month on Sunday, March 10 from 7-8 pm. Evening Prayer will be recited as group with brief readings and meditation. Benediction will conclude the Hour. The Bishop has asked us to voluntarily commit to praying a Holy Hour once a month during this Year of Faith. Please make the commitment to personally join us and invite others to come with you. Between 6-7 p.m. a hot dish and drinks will be available for those wishing to come early and share in hospitality before the Holy Hour. All members of the parish are invited and all are welcome.

“Your faith will help you realize that it is Jesus Himself Who is present in the Blessed Sacrament, waiting for you and calling you to spend one special specific hour with Him each week.” (Blessed Pope John Paul II)

Monthly Rosary

The Knights of Columbus will be leading the Rosary next Sunday 3/17 at 9:40am prior to the 10:00 am mass. Our special intention for the Rosary next weekend will be for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, the papal conclave, and our next pope. Please join us. If you are unable to make it Sunday morning, Archbishop Lori, K of C Supreme Chaplin, has created a prayer that you can pray with your family at home. It is linked on the home page of the Knights of Columbus: www.kofc.org

40 Cans for Lent

Knights of Columbus council 14345 is sponsoring a food drive to benefit the St. James the Less Food Pantry. Thank you to all that have been participating and for those who haven't yet....there is still time! '40 cans for Lent' assists the St. Vincent de Paul societies of St. Timothy's and St. James' in their mission to the poor. 40 items of food donated by your family would be a significant Lenten sacrifice that would greatly benefit the less fortunate of our area. The food pantry currently has need of hearty soups, (and although not technically in a can) peanut butter, and macaroni and cheese. If a family prefers to make a cash donation rather than canned goods you may place an envelope marked 'food pantry' in the collection basket.

Pat Woods, the St James' Food Pantry manager, would like to let the parishioners of St Tim's know how grateful the pantry is for over 300 pounds of food already provided by the '40 cans for Lent' drive.

 

Lent has many opportunities for prayer and good works with the St. Timothy family:

--Spend some time Wednesday in the Presence of our Eucharistic Lord, following the School Mass until 6:30 p.m.

--Attend Stations of the Cross on Friday at 7 p.m. Go to your favorite Lenten Fish Fry at another local parish and come back to honor the Lord for what He did for us through His Passion and Death.

--Provide food for the needy through the St. James the Less Food Pantry by contributing to the Knights of Columbus “40 cans for Lent” campaign and/or supply Cookies for upcoming Kairos Retreats at Men’s and Women’s Prisons.

--Members of the Northwest Deanery are invited to special presentation for the Year of Faith at St. Brigid of Kildare on Wednesday, March 13, at 7 p.m.  Fr. Ed Hussey will speak about four of the primary documents of the Second Vatican Council.

--Make plans to take part in our Parish Lenten Penance Service Thursday, March 14 at 7 p.m.

--Lisa Harlan of our parish is going on a mission to Haiti mid-March with a medical team.  She would like to invite our congregation to assist with medical donations of supplies and medication.  They would need to be collected no later than the 15th of March.  A box is available in the vestibule for donations of Multiple vitamins, Tylenol, antacids, anti-fungal medicine, Monistat 7, Benadryl, Neosporin, Advil, Pepto-Bismol, anti-bacterial wipes, Mucinex, and the like.

 

 

A Survey of Spiritual Needs: A Lenten Opportunity 

What helps you to know God’s love in your life?

What helps you grow in relationship with God and others?

Please share your thoughts with us by participating in an exciting survey opportunity. This survey is being shared with Catholics throughout the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. It is available in both English and Spanish, and will take less than 15 minutes to complete. Your responses will be anonymous; however, you will be given the opportunity to share your response to one question on the survey, as a way of helping others learn from, and be inspired by, your experience. Through your participation, our parish and parish leaders everywhere will learn about what helps us all to grow closer to God with faith that shapes our daily lives.

St. Timothy Church will participate in the survey from Ash Wednesday, February 13, 2013, until March 19, 2013, the Feast of Saint Joseph.  Please offer your own input by going to this web address:  www.surveymonkey.com/s/spiritualneeds.  Be sure to identify St. Timothy Church, Columbus, as your parish.