Pastor’s Letter & January 31 Bulletin

Pastor’s Letter & January 31 Bulletin

29 Jan 2021 | Posted by: chadmin

The January 31 bulletin is available online. 

Dear friend,

It seems hard to believe, but Lent begins in a few weeks. Ash Wednesday is February 17. History shows us that many Catholics love to start the Lenten Season receiving the ashes of repentance. The Forty Days of Lent invite us to prepare for the Lord’s Passion, Death and Resurrection by seeking forgiveness and renewal. While we know we constantly need forgiveness for our mistakes, the Lenten Season offers us the ability to focus our need to renew our relationship with Jesus Christ. To help maintain our social distancing, we will schedule Mass attendance for Ash Wednesday through Eventbrite. Rhonda will send the links to register for Mass this coming week. We hope a two-week period will allow us to safely fit as many people in church as possible. We will have parish Masses at 7am, 8am, 11:30am and 5:30pm. I will do a school Mass for our kids at 9am. Attendance at the four parish Masses will require a reservation on Eventbrite.

The use of ashes on Ash Wednesday is not only a mark of repentance, but the traditional reminder of our mortality. Eventually we will all pass from this life to the next and be presented before God. From the 1^st century, ashes were used as part of a public ceremony when Christians sought forgiveness for sins. The public use of ashes also involved the public confession of sins. A few hundred years later, the Church began the practice of the private celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation between a Christian and a priest. The use of confidentiality allowed individuals to receive the certitude of forgiveness without public knowledge. Around the year 1000, the Church was administering ashes on the top of the head for all Christians as the Season of Lent began. Catholics in the United States and Africa are familiar with the implementation of ashes in the sign of a cross on the forehead. Because of the Coronavirus Pandemic, the United States Catholic Bishops have requested that ashes be administered or sprinkled over the top of each individual’s head. This year, instead of receiving a cross of ashes on your forehead on Ash Wednesday, parishioners will walk forward in traditional lines, slightly bow your head before the priest or minister and then receive ashes sprinkled over the top of your head. This will prevent the touching of each Catholic on the forehead, yet still allow us to all receive blessed ashes as we begin the Lenten Season. We will give further instruction and a reminder as the Season of Lent approaches.

In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus rebukes an unclean spirit. The spirit comes out of the oppressed man. The onlookers respond in awe at the authority of the word of Jesus. “What is this? A new teaching with authority.” The religious leaders were not accustomed to one speaking with authority the word or commands of God, but rather the simple memorization and repetition of the Scriptural commands. It is an important meditation for all of us to reflect on the word of command that Jesus gives to us in the Scriptures and that he speaks to each of our lives. As we pray this week, may we acknowledge the authority that Christ has over each of our lives that exists to encourage moral fortitude and strength in holiness. Have a great week.

God bless,

Father David