FATHER'S TWO-CENTS WORTH

                                                                                                                                                           

Well, here we are at the last week of Lent.  Today is Palm Sunday, and we are in Holy Week.  Thursday, Friday, and Saturday are the three holiest days of the Church Year. We celebrate the institution of Holy Eucharist on Thursday.  It is a day when all Catholics should come to church and receive the Body and Blood of Christ—Christ present to us for the journey through life. After the service, there will be an hour or so of adoration time to commemorate Christ’s prayer in the Garden of Olives.  We will close this time of prayer at 10:00 P.M.  On Friday, we celebrate the suffering and death of Christ, when He gave Himself to the cross to save us from our sins.  Again, we should come to church to appreciate how much God loves us that He gave His Son Jesus, to die for our sins;   we conclude the service by receiving Christ in the Holy Eucharist.  And on Saturday evening, we celebrate the new life Christ gives us in the Sacrament of Baptism, as we bless water and fire and renew our Baptismal promises.  All of this surrounds the remembrance of Christ’s death and resurrection.  It is for our sins that He died—to free us from our sins, eternal damnation, and to open heaven to us.  Our presence or absence to these services will show our faith and our love for Christ.   Jesus asks for our heart!  Where will our heart be during these holy days?

 

Friday, at 12:00 P.M., we will have the community Stations of the Cross, sponsored by the Ministerial Alliance.  It will begin at St. John’s United Church of Christ, and proceed down Church Street to the small park across from Region’s Bank.  The Stations of the Cross is a devotion/service of the Catholic Church.  It is a reenactment of Christ’s road to Calvary and His death and burial.  It is our way of joining in with Him in prayer and pilgrimage.  Please come and pray with us!  Please come and demonstrate our faith, and personal commitment.

 

On Tuesday, at 10:00 A.M., I will have mass at the Grange Nursing Home for the residents;  on Wednesday, at 10:00 A.M., I will have mass at Mar-Ka Nursing Home;  on Tuesday, at 12:00 P.M., the Blessing of the Holy Oils will take place at the Cathedral by our Bishop.  We are invited to attend this Mass of the Holy Chrism at which the Bishop blesses the Chrism that will be used in Confirmation for our students and in the Sacrament of Baptism, along with the Oil of the Catechumens and the Oil of the Sick.

 

The collection on Good Friday is for the Holy Land and helps to maintain the churches in that area, and those who are responsible for them.

 

On Easter Sunday, we have our special Easter collection for the parish, as well as the second collection for the poor (the final one for Lent).  We ask you to be generous to your parish at this time, in gratitude for the many blessings God has given to you.

 

To all of you, then, I wish a blessed Easter.  I wish you a new life in Christ, and the joy of the risen Lord and the promise of heaven to all of you.  May His peace be with you in a special way this week, and all of the days of your life!  May your faith be a light to yourself, and to the entire world!  May Christ be alive in you!

 

 

REMINDER

There will be NO PSR on Easter Sunday, March 23rd.

 

Lenten Project

PSR will be collecting dry goods for the Food Pantry as a Lenten service project. The 8th grade will be heading up this project and will be  responsible for collecting and assigning items to each grade. The food pantry is in need of paper towels, tooth paste & brushes, dish soap, face soap, toilet paper, lotion, shampoo, etc. PSR will be collecting these items during the six weeks of Lent. Thank you for your help.