Ministry opportunity of the week: support the 2018 Catholic Stewardship Appeal which has the theme “Dare to Lead.” Today I highlight support of Catholic schools and religious education. There are 107 Catholic schools in the archdiocese and over 30,000 children in religious education. Please watch for the mailing and be as generous as possible.
This Saturday, February 24, Br. Silas Henderson SDS will give a mini retreat for Lent from 9 am to noon in the rectory living room. More information can be found in this bulletin. Please take advantage of this opportunity for a good start to Lent. In cycle B of readings, which we are using this year, all the Sunday Old Testament readings deal with the covenants God made with His people throughout salvation history, either the making of the covenants (this week with Noah, followed by Abraham and then Moses), the fulfillment of a covenant (when the Jews returned to Jerusalem after the exile), or the promise of the covenant written in the hearts of people (the new and eternal covenant made with the Blood of Christ). All of these covenants tell us the same thing: God will not abandon His people, He is always there, even when we turn away: He is waiting for us to turn back. That is the purpose of Lent: a time to return to the Lord with all our hearts. It is an invitation to slow down and spend some time reflecting on the health of our spiritual life, how we are living our baptismal commitment, how we are growing in our relationship with the Lord. Please enter into this season: make use of the reflection materials provided, as well as the presentations by Br. Silas. There will be adoration, vesper services, stations of the cross, a reconciliation service, communal anointing. The goal is to be closer to the Lord as we remember and celebrate His Passion, Death, and Resurrection during Holy Week and Easter. And let us support each other in prayer. -- Paul James Portland, SDS Comments are closed.
|