A Letter from Fr. Paul - March 26, 2017

Lenten Penance Service: for our tri-parish cluster will be held Sunday evening, March 26, at 6 pm. This Lent the service is at St. Bernard and there will be 6 priests available to hear individual confessions. Please take advantage of this opportunity to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This coming weekend, April 1 and 2, we will have our Lenten anointing of the sick at each Mass, for those who wish to take advantage of this sacrament.

And Tuesday, March 28th, our seniors group will have Mass in the chapel at 9 am followed by a showing of a documentary The Original Image of Divine Mercy. Welcome! Hot cross buns, OJ, and coffee will be served. I invite you to consider participating in these occasional Masses and programs.

The third week of our One Percent Challenge (days 15 through 21) invited us to reflect on well-known scripture passages that show us that Jesus wants a personal relationship with everyone.

Monday and Tuesday we were with friends of Jesus: Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Jesus praised Mary who spent time to build a relationship with him (as we are doing in the One Percent Challenge) and he wept at the tomb of his friend Lazarus. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday Jesus reached out and related to those who were outcasts in society: the woman caught in adultery, the blind man Bartimaeus, and the hated tax collector Zacchaeus. Saturday’s story of the Prodigal Son reminds us that the Lord is always waiting for us to return to a relationship with Him, no matter what we have done wrong.

Finally, our Sunday reflection on the competition and jealousy among the disciples ends with Jesus reminding us that our close relationship with Him will lead us to serve, rather than look for self-advancement.

How has the One Percent Challenge been for you or you and your family so far? Has it strengthened your relationship with Jesus? Please let me know your experience, either in person or by e-mail.

And let us continue to support each other in prayer as we enter the last full week of our challenge

-- Paul James Portland, SDS