A Word from Your Pastor March 17 - Second Sunday of Lent

Dear Parishioners:

Frustration is a common experience.  All human being experience the “pull” that comes from things not being as we want them to be. 

As with most human experiences, there is something good about this and something not so good.  We get caught up in our frustration in a negative way when its source is from ourselves, noticing the fact that the world is not shaped according to our own desires.  Our thoughts and feelings created by the difference between the way the world is and the way we would have it if we were in charge keep us focused on ourselves. 

On the other hand, there is also a kind of frustration that comes from acknowledging that things are not the way they should be and that they could be better.  This frustration is not focused on ourselves, but on the goal.  It can supply us with an impulse toward growth and an encouragement to persevere on the quest for something greater.

The Transfiguration is a sharing in the vision God has for human beings.  Peter, James and John are privileged to see the glory of the Lord and to have imprinted on their minds and hearts the hope of our earthly journey.  When the experience takes place, they do not understand.  But it prepares them personally for the scandal of the Cross.  When Jesus’ Passion and Resurrection are fulfilled, they will remember the Transfiguration and it will begin to make sense for them.

Each one of us is destined for glory.  All our companions on the journey are destined for glory.  The frustrations and struggles of living in the world before glory is manifested are meant to be a reminder that what we will one day know comes at a cost, but at a cost that is worth it.

May our continued journey through Lent open our hearts to the hints of glory that are all around us.   May we begin to see our companions on the journey in the light of glory.

A Word from Your Pastor March 10 - First Sunday of Lent

Dear Parishioners:

Lent has begun.  This year, I invite you and your family to go to the desert.  In the desert, however you may shape it for yourselves, I invite you to renew your understanding of the Gospel and to live the Sacraments.  Find a way to get away from things, to create an atmosphere of prayer and peace for yourself and for each member of your family.  Let your works of Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving be methods to grow in your commitment and understanding of the Gospel and of your practice of the Sacramental Life.

Pray:  Read a Gospel.  Choose Luke, which is the Gospel of Year C, that is read at Sunday Masses.  Choose Mark, the shortest Gospel, or Matthew, the Gospel that shows Jesus as fulfillment of the Old Testament, or John, the Gospel that shows how it all fits together with the Word made Flesh.

Fast: Find a way to detox from media, to detach from all that keeps you too busy.  Give up a food that you enjoy.  Study the Scriptures to see the different kinds of penances done by God’s people and try them for yourself.

Give Alms: Participate in a particular charity as a family.  Spend time with your children or with someone who is always alone.  Reconnect with old friends.  Give to your favorite charity.  Give something of yourself – your time and your talent – in addition to your treasure.

Today’s Gospel tells us of the Temptation of Jesus after His Baptism.  Our Lord was tested, and He prevailed.  May we discover our own temptations and learn to trust in the Spirit to free us to be who God calls us to be.

A Word from Your Pastor March 3

Dear Parishioners:

Lent is coming!  With Ash Wednesday this week, we begin our six-week journey to Easter.  It is a time for Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving.  It is a time to deepen our Faith, to enliven our Hope and to grow in our capacity to Love with God’s own Love.  It is a time to pay close attention to our relationship with God and His Church.

These days, the Church is in the public eye more prominently than ever.  Our reputation is sullied because some of our worst sins are exposed for all to see.  This is a painful time.  Yet, our call is to put our trust in God.  God’s Mercy is available to all who are open to receive it.  The message of Reconciliation has been entrusted to us to share with the world.  We cannot allow our failings or the failings of our leaders to keep us from our resolve to turn to God and to serve as a witness to the truth of Faith.

We pray in a special way this year that our children be given an authentic and clear witness by our practice of the Faith.  I invite every family to renew its commitment to bring all its members to church.  Parents, you teach your children more by your actions than by your words.

For Prayer:  Attend Mass every Sunday.  Bring the family to Stations of the Cross on Friday.  Choose a day for Lenten family prayer – the Rosary, Divine Mercy Chaplet, Stations of the Cross at home.  Send someone to Wednesday adoration to bring your family’s needs to the Eucharistic Lord.

For Fasting:  Remember the fast and abstinence assigned by the Church to all adults – no meat on Ash Wednesday and all Fridays of Lent, fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.  Choose something as a family to “give up” during Lent – television one day a week, electronic devices during family time, etc.

For Almsgiving: Practice charity by giving time to others.  Use the Lenten Rice Bowl.  Volunteer at a Soup Kitchen.  Participate in the activities of St. Vincent DePaul.  Find a common cause for your family to work on together.

Don’t let Lent pass you by.  Open your heart to God’s purifying grace though the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  Pray for the Church to be truly all that God calls her to be.  Allow your life and the life you share with your family to become ever more centered on the Gospel.

Lenten Regulations for Catholics

Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of fasting and abstinence for Catholics. In addition, Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence.

For members of the Latin Catholic Church, the norms on fasting are obligatory from age 18 until age 59. When fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal, as well as two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal. The norms concerning abstinence from meat are binding upon members of the Latin Catholic Church from age 14 onwards.

Members of the Eastern Catholic Churches are to observe the particular law of their own sui iuris Church.

If possible, the fast on Good Friday is continued until the Easter Vigil (on Holy Saturday night) as the "paschal fast" to honor the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus, and to prepare ourselves to share more fully and to celebrate more readily his Resurrection.

For further information and reflections, see the Unites States Catholic Conference of Bishops’ site:  http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-year/lent/catholic-information-on-lenten-fast-and-abstinence.cfm